Aberdeenshire Council reinstates four ELC settings following Full Council decision
Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to reinstate four Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings following a meeting of Full Council.
Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven had been marked down for mothballing/deactivation from August.
The decision had been made following agreement of the budget decision by Full Council in February, and delegated to the Director of Education following agreement of the guidance for mothballing/deactivating an ELC setting at Education and Children’s Services Committee in December.
At a meeting of the ECS Committee in May, a vote agreed to send a report to note the mothballing/deactivation of the four ELC settings to Full Council.
At the meeting, council leader Gillian Owen put forward a motion to withdraw the decision to mothball/deactivate; revisit the budget decision and to use reserves to cover the original agreed savings until other savings can be identified and considered.
The motion also requested amendments to the council’s own guidance to include whether the decisions continue to be delegated, and to include consultation with parents; place on hold any further mothballing until the new guidance has been agreed; and to write to the Scottish Government seeking an urgent review of statutory guidance for ELC settings under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.
The council leader said: “I apologise, on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council, to the parents for the anxiety and stress this has caused.
“This was never the intention but through the evolving position, the guidance which we as councillors have agreed and followed, has been challenged.
“This challenge has made us reflect that we need to take a step back and ensure our process is robust.
“We are in the unenviable position of having to make changes to services to live within our financial means. We understand and appreciate the value placed on the services we provide by our communities and how hard it is when we seek to change them.”
The motion was seconded by the deputy leader Anne Stirling.
She said: “I absolutely support the need for us to review our guidance on mothballing but let’s be clear – our current learning estate is too big, too expensive to maintain and increasingly is becoming unaffordable.
“In addition, and crucially, educational benefit should continue to inform our decision making. We must deliver our services within the budget and resources that we have.
“I hope today’s meeting provides some assurance that formal consultation will become a fundamental part of new guidance which informs any final decisions being made as has been requested by the parent bodies.”
Parents and carers will be encouraged to submit ideas and suggestions and become involved in the development of the review and its outcome as work progresses.
Full council agreed the motion.
What was agreed:
That the Council:
1) agrees in terms of Standing Order 8 to suspend Standing Order 7.2 in order to revisit its budget decision made on 27th February 2025 to rationalise the ELC delivery model in so far as it relates to the discontinuation of provision in specific ELC settings; and
2) if so agree to revisit the decision taken less than six months previously, agrees to remove budget line 03 relating to Changes to ELC delivery model and instead balance the budget through the use of reserves until such time as compensatory savings can be identified and delivered within this financial year; and thereafter
3) notes the decision of the Director of ECS in relation to the mothballing or deactivation of the Early Learning and Childcare at Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven; and
4) requests that the Director of ECS
i) withdraws his decisions made under delegated powers and instead reinstates the provision at Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven;
ii) brings forward a report suggesting possible amendments to the Aberdeenshire Guidance for Mothballing a School and the Aberdeenshire Guidance for Mothballing/Deactivating an ELC Setting to include whether the decisions continue to be delegated and to ensure that any decision is made with the appropriate consultation in line with the Scottish Government guidance;
iii) meantime places on hold any future implementation of mothballing or deactivation until such time as the Council has had an opportunity to consider amending it’s said Guidance; and
iiii) writes to the Scottish Government seeking an urgent review of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 - Statutory Guidance to address its lack of clarity on Early Learning Childcare settings.