The Story

The long read:

Some of you might remember the first Wee Schools Matter Campaign back in 2018 – well Wee Schools Still Matter in 2025!

In June 2018 Dumfries and Galloway Council Members agreed to a Transformation Programme to address the way in which schooling is delivered in Dumfries and Galloway. Their stated ambition was  and is “to make the school estate across the authority more sustainable… with the right buildings in the right places” (1, 2)

So far, this programme has seen increases in the number of children who have been educated in a single teacher primary school, changes to rural and small school partnerships and changes to the school estate with 9 primary schools currently mothballed and 2 schools having closed permanently.

In 2023 the council consulted on a new school model (3). Following this consultation the council approved 10 school model principles. Every school in the region has been evaluated against these principles and allocated a ‘sustainability score.’

Based on these scores 20% of  schools are deemed as “least sustainable” and can be considered at risk in the near future, with 50% of schools deemed “less sustainable” and at risk in the medium term (5-15 years).

Why are we worried now?

One of the propodals for the 2025/2026 annual council budget was to increase the threshold for mothballing to schools with a roll less than or equal to 25. We had Freedom of Information (FOI) data which suggested, if adopted this would have lead to the mothballing of 19 schools by 2029, with 13 schools potentially affected in the 1st year. We successfully challenged these proposals and they were not included in the SNP budget which was eventually passed by council.

Now, we find proposals which will lead to rural school closure again in the budget consultation for 2026/2027. The new proposals suggest redrawing catchment areas to increase the utilization of “modern” schools, closing surplus schools, and statutory consultation on closure for schools with a roll less than 20, 30 or 50.

We think the school model is wrong.

We disagree with the principles it contains.

We think it has been created with the specific intention of deeming our small and rural schools unsustainable and precipitating their closure.

We think the proposals contained in the current budget consultation will directly lead to the closure of rural and small primary schools and a significant change to the landscape of primary education in D&G.

What are the issues?

Why do wee schools matter?

Small and rural schools are amazing – low pupil to teacher ratios, great attainment, strong community. We think our schools are fantastic and want them to be as successful as possible.

We are concerned that this model will make parents wary to choose small and rural schools due to worries about closure.

Research conducted in the Glenkens and referencing communities elsewhere in Scotland highlights how important rural schools are to the resilience of rural communities and in shaping those communities for the future. There is a strong evidence base showing rural school closure is associated with rural depopulation in the medium term (4,5).

Doesn’t the council need to save money?

You will hear that the council needs to save money.

Our smallest rural primary schools – those with a roll of less than 25 – accounted for around 3% of primary education spend in Dumfries and Galloway in 2022/2023 (6).

Based on FOI data that we obtained from the council in 2024/2025 the savings projected from school closures in the 2025/2026 budget consultation equated to employee costs – teachers, teaching assistants, clerical and facilities staff. This means fewer jobs in our rural and small communities and, over time, fewer teachers region-wide. Savings in relation to buildings were minimal and outweighed by costs of transporting children to new catchment schools. This is contrary to the narrative that is often presented by council officers.

What do we want? 

Decisions to make permanent changes to our school estate lie with Councillors who sit on the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee. However, Education Department Officers collate options to present to this committee for consideration. We think that options being presented have a disproportionate effect on rural versus urban communities.

We are calling on our elected members to listen to and engage with rural and small school communities across the region:

Acknowledge that the school model ‘consultation’ did not directly engage with rural and small school communities, yet the model directly and disproportionately affects them.

Ask for the development of new school model, which recognises the rural character of our region, values rural and small schools and embeds education IN rural communities.

Remove proposals from the 2026/2027 budget which would directly lead to the closure of small and rural schools