Council to work with parents as plans approved for £30m ASN campus

Falkirk Council’s education team pledged to work with parents and the wider community as councillors gave their final approval to plans to create a new ASN campus at Carrongrange High School in Grangemouth.

The proposals to create a £30m campus for pupils with severe or complex additional support needs, for ages five to 17, have been widely welcomed.

In April, councillors approved beginning a statutory consultation as the new campus effectively means the closure of Kinnaird Primary School’s Thistle Wing and Thistle Wing Annexe, and the Timezone at Maddiston Primary School.

All of the pupils and staff will move to the new campus at Carrongrange High School, which will also be expanded by the changes.

While the plans were widely welcomed, the consultation did highlight concerns from parents with children at the neighbouring Moray Primary that it will lose some of its playground to the new development.

Director of Education Jon Reid assured members of Falkirk Council’s executive this week that work has been ongoing with staff at Moray PS to ensure that the new arrangements also benefit their pupils.

While he recognises that there will be a loss of green space, Mr Reid noted that the development would leave Moray pupils with more than 11,000 square metres of outdoor playing space.

“To put that in context, the total outdoor playing space for Carrongrange High School and the new primary stages would be just over 5000 square metres, so there’s double the amount at Moray than there will be at Carrongrange,” he told members.

The new arrangements, he said, will also mean that Moray Primary will get a new outdoor playing surface, 1200 square metres, that will be suitable for activities all year round, in all weathers.

He said the current proposals are for a polymeric surface that can easily accommodate the number of pupils at Moray and that the headteacher is confident it will be suitable for outdoor events including sports day and PE.

There are also proposals to improve drainage that will enhance the outdoor areas at the rear of Moray Primary, while the school’s eco garden will also be retained.

Mr Reid also told members that discussions are ongoing to make landscaping improvements at Moray’s front playground.

The design team is also looking at fencing and security as that has also been a concern raised by many.

Taken together, he said, the measures will “provide a varied, accessible and more consistent outdoor space for Moray Primary pupils” and discussions with the design team will continue as the project progresses.

Mr Reid also reminded councillors that Moray PS is within a four-minute walk of 18 acres hectares of green space at Zetland Park, which the school currently uses.

He also told members that Moray currently has more than twice the space that national regulations would recommend for a new primary school, mainly due to its history as a Middle School for Grangemouth.

He added that he and colleagues would continue to engage with the school and with parents as the design work continues.

The council’s head of assets, Paul Kettrick, said consultation will continue when the planning application is made and that it will involve the wider community.

Another issue that has been raised is how traffic will be managed, given the high number of pupils who will be dropped off and picked up by taxi or adapted vehicles.

Mr Kettrick told members that a traffic management plan is being put in place and additional staff parking is being proposed on land to the eastern end of Abbotsinch Industrial Estate.

He added that while there will inevitably be disruption while construction takes place, the council is working with a very experienced team who would look to minimise any disruption.

The teachers’ representative on the executive, John Chalmers, told the meeting that there was also concern among staff about what the move would mean for them, particularly staff in management posts.

Mr Reid said the new campus would require a new management structure but said all teaching staff will transfer when it is ready.

He stressed that the changes were not a cost-cutting exercise and was a major investment in Additional Support Needs education locally.

Councillor Iain Sinclair, education spokesperson, said that he was content with the assurances officers have given that all of the concerns raised in the consultation will be taken into account.

But, he added that the decision being made by Executive members “was about the future of Carrongrange”.

He added: “It’s an incredibly important thing for us to get right because this is the education of some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the plans developing.”

The report was unanimously backed by councillors of all parties.