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This email can be used as a template for an email or letter. Just copy the text to your own email or word processor. It may be worth considering customising the letter if you have other issues you would wish to include.
Subject:
Proposal to Close Fort Primary School
To:
cc:
steve.cardownie@edinburgh.gov.uk; cammy.day@edinburgh.gov.uk; allan.jackson@edinburgh.gov.uk; elaine.morris@edinburgh.gov.uk; rob.munn@edinburgh.gov.uk; gordon.munro@edinburgh.gov.uk; marjorie.thomas@edinburgh.gov.uk; lazarowiczm@parliament.uk; Malcolm.Chisholm.msp@scottish.parliament.uk; thomas.kerr@tesco.net
Dear Ms. Tee/Councillors,
I am a parent of two children who attend Trinity Primary school. In June I wrote to you concerning the proposal to close Fort Primary School and transfer all of the children to Trinity. At that time I could see no benefit from the proposal, and now, having reviewed the full consultation paper, my views are unchanged.
As a member of the Parent Council I was part of the deputation to the Education Children & Families Committee on the 8th of September and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to start to make our case. During the deputation the Parent Council from Fort Primary presented an alternative proposal to the committee - that Fort Primary would not close but that instead Victoria Park Child and Family Centre would relocate to create the new Fort Early Years Centre.
There are a number of fundamental problems with the current proposal including the following:
1. It does not put the children at the heart of the process - their education will be harmed if they are forced to transfer to a school as overcrowded as Trinity will become should this proposal be approved. Class sizes of 38 in P1, 33 in P2, 37 in P3 are being anticipated.
2. The proposal is temporary and there will be significant costs in closing Fort and then re-opening it following the anticipated population growth in this area.
3. Unlike the other school closures, there would be no capital receipts from the sale of the closing school.
The alternative proposal offers a number of advantages:
1. The education of the children will not be harmed by this alternative proposal. There will be no need for huge class sizes at Trinity and teaching spaces such as Science Room, IT Suite, Library and SFL Room will not be lost. Fort can retain its Positive Action Status, under which it has achieved attainment results of 10% above comparable schools.
2. The 'surplus capacity' at Fort would be significantly reduced while the area would retain additional capacity required to cope with the anticipated population growth in this area. Under the current proposal Trinity at 96% occupancy would be full within a very short time and Victoria now has only limited capacity to accommodate additional children. Rather than being mothballed, Fort would be available to accommodate the population growth with no need for further disruption.
3. The proposal will generate capital receipts comparable with those anticipated under the existing proposal. The sale of the Victoria Park Child and Family Centre could still proceed and there would still be savings to the Council resulting from the closure of that site. There would be no need for the expenditure associated with the (limited) infrastructure changes currently proposed for Trinity and the conversion of Fort Primary.
As I said above, I can see absolutely no benefit from the original proposal to close Fort and I urge you to seriously consider this proposal as it offers a number of benefits, both to the community and to the council.
Regards,
I am a parent of two children who attend Trinity Primary school. In June I wrote to you concerning the proposal to close Fort Primary School and transfer all of the children to Trinity. At that time I could see no benefit from the proposal, and now, having reviewed the full consultation paper, my views are unchanged.
As a member of the Parent Council I was part of the deputation to the Education Children & Families Committee on the 8th of September and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to start to make our case. During the deputation the Parent Council from Fort Primary presented an alternative proposal to the committee - that Fort Primary would not close but that instead Victoria Park Child and Family Centre would relocate to create the new Fort Early Years Centre.
There are a number of fundamental problems with the current proposal including the following:
1. It does not put the children at the heart of the process - their education will be harmed if they are forced to transfer to a school as overcrowded as Trinity will become should this proposal be approved. Class sizes of 38 in P1, 33 in P2, 37 in P3 are being anticipated.
2. The proposal is temporary and there will be significant costs in closing Fort and then re-opening it following the anticipated population growth in this area.
3. Unlike the other school closures, there would be no capital receipts from the sale of the closing school.
The alternative proposal offers a number of advantages:
1. The education of the children will not be harmed by this alternative proposal. There will be no need for huge class sizes at Trinity and teaching spaces such as Science Room, IT Suite, Library and SFL Room will not be lost. Fort can retain its Positive Action Status, under which it has achieved attainment results of 10% above comparable schools.
2. The 'surplus capacity' at Fort would be significantly reduced while the area would retain additional capacity required to cope with the anticipated population growth in this area. Under the current proposal Trinity at 96% occupancy would be full within a very short time and Victoria now has only limited capacity to accommodate additional children. Rather than being mothballed, Fort would be available to accommodate the population growth with no need for further disruption.
3. The proposal will generate capital receipts comparable with those anticipated under the existing proposal. The sale of the Victoria Park Child and Family Centre could still proceed and there would still be savings to the Council resulting from the closure of that site. There would be no need for the expenditure associated with the (limited) infrastructure changes currently proposed for Trinity and the conversion of Fort Primary.
As I said above, I can see absolutely no benefit from the original proposal to close Fort and I urge you to seriously consider this proposal as it offers a number of benefits, both to the community and to the council.
Regards,