Eoligarry Says No To Closure

24 May, 2010 - 11:36 — admin

Eoligarry Says No To Closure

Not just the parents but the whole community turned out for the “so called conversation” about Eoligarry School on Monday evening. In attendance was Malcolm Chisholm from the Comhairle, who presented the Council’s position with regard to the current Review of Education to those present.
 
No Case for closure was the response from all those present.
 
Barra has already had more than it’s fair share of school closures, We have lost Brevig, Vatersay and Craigston over the years and are left with only two primary schools to serve Barra and Vatersay. There are very few areas in Lewis which have lost 60% of their primary school provision.   A full page report of the meeting is enclosed.
 

Community Conversation Eoligarry School 

On Monday night parents of Eoligarry School along with interested members of the community met with Bernard Chisholm, manager for Early Years and Inclusion and Councillor Gerry MacLeod to discuss the future provision of education at Eoligarry School, there was no representative from the Education Committee present as the Chair of the Education Committee, Councillor Morag Munro had unfortunately missed her plane in Stornoway. The main item for discussion was the proposal of Comhairle to amalgamate Eoligarry School with Castlebay Primary in 2014.
 
Parents outlined the many benefits to retaining Eoligarry School. Chiefly:
● The right to parental choice when it comes to which school your child attends. This is protected by legislation in Scotland.
● If the proposed amalgamation goes ahead then the travelling time on public transport for many pupils would be in excess of the Comhairle’s current policy of 30 minutes.
● Keeping a thriving, successful school which is well respected, and is at the heart of the community at the North end of the island.
● The school roll has changed little since 2002 and is set to remain static around the 25 mark at least until 2014.
 
It was also pointed out that Eoligarry Township had made the land across the road from the school available to Barra and Vatersay Housing Association to build houses in order to bring families into the area, make the community and the school sustainable and stop the population decline, a move congratulated by, and commented on by the Chief Executive of the Crofter’s Commission as unprecedented. The community recognises the success of this in the number of families that this had brought in to the local area with 15 children of primary and pre-school age currently living in these new houses alone.
 
The condition of the buildings of Castlebay School, currently classed as category C (poor) was then discussed. Bernard Chisholm conceded that since Eoligarry School is currently classed as category B (satisfactory condition) there could in fact be NO AMALGAMATION until Castlebay School reached at least category B standard because councils cannot move children from satisfactory accommodation into poor accommodation. The date the Comhairle anticipates for these structural improvements is 2018.
 
Bernard Chisholm, when asked, was unable to justify the Comhairle’s proposals to close Eoligarry School given that choice is protected in legislation, travelling times would be in excess of council policy, and the proposed amalgamation could not conceivably take place until at least 2018, meaning that many of the parents currently involved in these discussions would not even have children in the school at that time. Bernard Chisholm agreed that these matters would indeed pose a challenge for the education committee.
 
There was anger when, questioned by parents, Bernard Chisholm admitted that by closing Eoligarry School the Comhairle would only make a saving in real terms of £20,000 per year and especially when he confirmed that the current Nicholson Institute had recently had new lockers provided at a cost in excess of £23,000!
 
There were 18 questions asked which the Comhairle representatives could not answer on the night, a list was prepared to be taken back to Stornoway and clarification will be sent to the Parent Council. The main points being:
● What are the savings to be made by the closure of each of the schools on the Comhairle’s list?
● The Parent Council would like the working capacity of the school recalculated and clarified.
● The proposed timetable of improvements to Castlebay School
● A whole community meeting as this is not just as issue for education in Eoligarry it affects the children at Castlebay School as well.
 
What became clear during the meeting was that the Comhairle and Parents have different priorities when it comes to education. The Comhairle aspire to provide “quality education in quality buildings” while receiving best value for money. However as parents the value we place on our children’s education is different. It is how the education of our children enriches them. It is not how much it costs, rather the cost to them if we don’t get it right and no monetary value can be put on lost potential.
 
Eoligarry School is a well respected, successful and thriving school and it remains open for business!