Frustration over 'pause' on progress with new schools for St Clement's and Park as Highland Council awaits Scottish Government funding announcement
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A BID by Highland Council to ease frustrations over five unbuilt school projects has backfired as parents, councillors and an MSP voiced concern at the delay.
Beauly, Dunvegan and Park Primary in Invergordon are all scheduled for replacement along with St Clement’s Special School in Dingwall.
A new primary for Tornagrain between Inverness and Nairn is also in the pipeline.
The council has pointed to Scottish Government delays in funding announcements for the hold-up in getting work started and vowed to offer briefings to stakeholder groups.
Funding was sought from the government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), to be confirmed at the end of last year.
The council subsequently flagged it would need to look at “affordability and deliverability” before making decisions on what work could be done.
Avril Robertson, a parent and member of St Clement’s Parent Council, warned the school as it is, is not fit for purpose children who attend are already disadvantaged.
She said: “The people who represent our kids aren’t shouting loud enough for their human rights. It feels like St Clement's is a ‘Cinderella school’, having been denied funding for years.”
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Local councillor Angela Maclean said: "It’s really disappointing that there has been no further update from the Scottish Government on all of the school bids put forward from Highland Council. St Clement's School although based in Dingwall, as your readers will know covers a wide catchment area, and is in an extremely poor condition, and must be replaced. "Highland Council has been progressing with the land acquisition and design of the new school as far as possible. However, until we know the outcome of the LEIP bids it’s not clear if unsuccessful will the funding then come from the Highland Council Capital Budget.
"There was a firm commitment from Highland Council in the previous Administration that St Clement’s was the priority. All ward councillors are still advocating for St Clement’s to be the number one priority.
"In a letter from the chief executive of Highland Council we have been informed that all the stakeholder meetings will now pause until we have clarity from the Scottish Government. The children, previous parents councils and members have fought a hard battle for many years to ensure that this new build would happen. We are all still working towards that ultimate goal. “
Council officers are continuing land acquisition and design work in the meantime and Cllr Maclean added: “The children, previous parent councils and members have fought a hard battle for many years to ensure that this new build would happen. We are all still working towards that ultimate goal.”
MSP Kates Forbes, who has campaigned for St Clement’s, said: “In an ideal world the Scottish Government would have announced this round of funding at the end of last year as originally planned. There have been multiple delays and this has been equally disappointing and frustrating – particularly as I believe the case for new schools in Beauly and for St Clement’s has been well-documented and well-evidenced.”
She has written to education secretary Jenny Gilruth about the matter.
There was just as much frustration surrounding Park Primary, demolished after a major fire, with pupils currently housed within Invergordon Academy.
"What’s more, I am aware the children of Park did draw pictures of a new school and they do appear excited and are waiting eagerly for development to occur and while these matters will always be decided according to available funding, I do think it must be considered that these children are currently, in effect, schoolless." - Councillor Tamala Collier
Cromarty Firth ward councillor Molly Nolan said: “It is increasingly frustrating that the Scottish Government has not issued a decision on whether or not the Park Primary building replacement project will receive government funding.
“The pupils, parents and staff at Park Primary deserve a new school building at the earliest opportunity, and they deserve certainty around how it is going to be achieved.
“Whatever the outcome, I urge the Scottish Government to make a swift funding decision so that the council can move forward with its capital programme review and ultimately deliver a new Park Primary school building.”
Fellow ward councillor Tamala Collier acknowledged frustrations and said of Park: “The Highland Council has...issued a report on the capital investment program where they stated they will continue with design and planning work on all major projects.
"No projects have been dropped from this. As a stakeholder, I will be updated when decisions are made in relation to whether the work on Park Primary is to continue.
"Obviously, I would like to see Park Primary being a priority. At present, the kids of Park Primary are situated in portacabins at Invergordon Academy. A lot of work has gone into the development of these portacabins and the staff have worked hard to ensure they are welcoming for the children and adequately equipped.
"However, there have been ongoing parking issues and a portacabin is always likely to be less stable than a new building. I do think the children of Park need a place they can consider theirs.
"It's not always easy for children when they go to a school. However, where there is instability I would presume this may make things harder than they need to be. A new building would give the children a place to call their school and would also give them a place where they can build a sense of ownership which is more likely to see them look after it.
"What’s more, I am aware the children of Park did draw pictures of a new school and they do appear excited and are waiting eagerly for development to occur and while these matters will always be decided according to available funding, I do think it must be considered that these children are currently, in effect, schoolless."
