A process that began in April when the council’s executive committee voted to explore mothballing, or temporarily closing, seven nurseries ended on Friday with plans to implement composite classes at at least three nurseries: Channelkirk, Ednam and Cockburnspath.
The composite classes will combine early learning and childcare (ELC) and primary pupils of different ages: Channelkirk and Ednam will have an ELC-P1 composite class, and Cockburnspath will combine ELC-P2.
After the consultation ended, parents expressed a mixture of optimism and frustration about the process that brought them to this point.
One parent told The Herald that the consultation was a “sham” and that the proposals presented to parents were “sold as a done deal.”
“The process over the last few months has left parents upset, lacking in trust, defensive, and feeling undermined.”
Nurseries were all briefed on their operational model for the upcoming year before Friday, although the online consultation form was open until Sunday.
One parent said that their headteacher had been briefed on how their settings would operate as early as 27 May, at least two days before parents were told what the council was proposing for their school.
Paul Fulton, a parent at Channelkirk Nursery, said that parents are ultimately relieved to have reached a “reasonable compromise” with the council over a process which began with their nursery slated for mothballing in 2025.
However, Mr Fulton still has questions about the future and concerns about how the council engaged with parents along the way.
“All along we have been advocating for open communication, transparency, and working together to find the best outcome for our children.
“Unfortunately, throughout the process, including the initial mothballing review and the subsequent consultation on alternative models, we have been left feeling frustrated by unanswered questions, misleading information and a feeling throughout that we are seen as a roadblock to be overcome.”
What information are parents still missing?
At the start of April, Mr Fulton and other parents at Channelkirk contacted The Herald after reading coverage about unsuccessful attempts to close nurseries in Dumfries and Galloway.
Mr Fulton expressed concerns that the Scottish Borders Council was attempting to mothball nurseries by changing their registration with the Care Inspectorate to inactive, rather than following Scottish Government mothballing procedures.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said that the term ‘inactive’ has no legal meaning under the law governing school consultations, adding that any temporary closure should be treated as mothballing and required consultation with the community.
At the time, the council did not respond to multiple questions from The Herald about the validity of its approach. Shortly after, it released papers that did not mention ‘inactive’ status and instead recommended that seven nurseries be mothballed.
The executive committee approved these recommendations on 15 April and agreed to begin consultations with parents. This decision was overturned less than one month later, however, after a special council meeting was called on 9 May to undo the committee decision and begin the consultation on composite classes.
Since it mentioned composite classes as a possible alternative to closure on 2 May, the council has failed to present any reports outlining the strategy’s potential impacts.
On 6 May, The Herald asked the council if there were any existing composite nursery and primary classes in the area and for the council to share any assessments it had carried out on the potential social and educational impacts of such compositions.
The next day, a spokesperson said: “This is a model we have used successfully before.”
The Herald asked again for any council reports on the educational and social impacts of composite nursery and primary classes and asked how the council determined that the model had previously been “successful.”
On 15 May, The Herald followed up to ask about a response.
On 19 May, a spokesperson said: “All of the information requested will be shared as part of the consultation.”
At that point, the consultation was due to close in two weeks, and each of the affected nursery communities had already held their promised in-person meeting with a council officer.
Parents at multiple nurseries expressed concerns about how those meetings were conducted, including the refusal to record them, poor note-taking, and a lack of information about the proposals.
Following parent concerns, The Herald asked again on 20 May for the council to confirm that it had voted on the issue of composite classes and opened a community consultation with no objective evidence supporting it as a strategy.
On 27 May, The Herald followed up to ask for a response and passed on concerns from parents who felt the information provided had been insufficient to help them make a decision about their children’s education.
A spokesperson said that the responses were “awaiting sign off,” but despite The Herald giving a final deadline for comment on 29 May, there has been no further response.
What is next for parents?
Pending approval from the Care Inspectorate for the council’s proposed composite models, the affected nurseries will implement their new composite classes in August.
Erin, a parent at Ednam, believes it could work.
She said she could see how ELC and P1 pupils could benefit from shared time. She also said that the council explained how primary pupils would continue to use the primary entrance, have lunch and assembly in the primary school portion of the building.
However, with the staff rearrangement and the continued use of the nursery space, she said she and other parents are left wondering exactly how the new model will save the council money. This raises concerns that the entire episode could be repeated next year.
She also said that although the council ultimately proved willing to engage with parents, the process has shown significant room for improvement.
“I think there are massive lessons for Scottish Borders Council and for the education department, but they very much have acknowledged this in the meetings.”
The council has also promised to create a working group to build a mothballing policy, which could have a direct impact on the nurseries currently under consideration.
Because of this, Mr Fulton said that having parent voices in the group is more important now than ever.
“We know our settings very well, we want to collaborate, we want to be heard, and we want to play an active and integral part of the working group, not just as an outside voice. We feel this is fundamental to our representative democracy.
“Having been so heavily involved in this flawed process for many months we feel we can offer some real insight and experience that can help and also hold the Education Department and SBC to account.”
The Scottish Borders Council has not responded to requests for comment.