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 8 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.’

What does my school 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?

Simultaneously, one of the proposals for the 2025/26 annual council budget is to increase the threshold for mothballing to schools with a roll less than or equal to 25. We have  Freedom of Information (FOI) data which suggests, if this is adopted, 19 schools could be mothballed between now and 2029, with 13 schools potentially affected this summer.

It is worth noting that no mothballed school in Dumfries & Galloway has ever reopened; mothballing is basically ‘closure by stealth’. It is a long process for the Council to apply to close a rural school, with a stringent set of guidelines and rigorous consultation process. However, there are no guidelines and there is no necessary consultation process when mothballing a school.

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 changes to mothballing thresholds would be the first phase in the implementation of this model.

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).

Currently there is only one school facing a recommendation for mothballing this year. However, we are worried, firstly, that mothballing thresholds could be changed. Secondly, that unless we act now to challenge the model itself it will become, as it is perhaps intended, a self-fulfilling prophecy; rural and small school rolls will fall and more will see their doors close.

This would dramatically change the shape of rural communities region-wide and affect possibilities and opportunities for the future.

Doesn’t the council need to save money?

You will hear that this model is needed to save money.

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

Based on FOI data that we have obtained from the council, the savings projected from school closures equate 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 are minimal and outweighed by costs of transporting children to new catchment schools.

This is contrary to the narrative that is being presented by the Council’s school model team.

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 and to:

Stop recommendations for mothballing for rural and small schools

Stop recommendations to changes to school structure through reductions in number of classes

• We believe school mothballing / changes to school structure should be at the request of Partnership Headteachers (who already manage school budgets) and school communities
• Teachers and parents are the best judge of what is sustainable for their particular context and what is right for their children

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.