WELCOME FOR SNP GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR RURAL SCHOOLS.

WELCOME FOR SNP GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. SNP MSP Aileen Campbell – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee - has today welcomed the announcement by the Education Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop that the bill the SNP Government will introduce this week will ensure a legal presumption against closure for rural schools. This would mean councils would consider a range of issues when considering the future of small rural schools, with cost alone being ruled out as a sole reason for closing these schools. Commenting Ms Campbell said: ‘I welcome these moves by the Scottish Government to meet yet another of the SNP’s manifesto commitments and look forward to Parliamentary support for this bill. “Cost alone should not be allowed to be a factor in the future of rural schools. T he educational needs of a rural area, transport, pupil welfare and the economic effects of closing a small school on a rural area, should also be considered. ‘If we want to encourage people to come to live and work in our most fragile communities we must provide schools within the local community for them to send their children to. “For this reason I look forward to the safeguarding many of these schools for the future, and welcome the cross party approach to this legislation .” The MSP for the Western Isles, Dr Alasdair Allan, also welcomed the announcement. Dr Allan has been concerned about plans for school closures in the Western Isles and recently welcomed the intervention of the Scottish Government to refuse a decision by Western Isles Council to close four secondary units in the islands. Dr Allan said: “I believe that access to a local school is particularly important in rural communities, not least in places like the Western Isles, where schools are at the very heart of a community. "This bill will help enshrine that principle in law and I am pleased that it is an SNP Government which is delivering this policy.”