Clatt School Closure Statutory Consultation
Update - On 24 April 2025, Aberdeenshire Council made the decision to permanently close Clatt School and reassign its catchment area to Rhynie School.
Scottish Ministers are required to review the decision making process before the closure of Clatt School can proceed. The public can request a review of the decision by Ministers by either emailing schoolclosure@gov.scot or writing to The Scottish Government, School Infrastructure Unit 2A (South) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ. Any representations must be made to Scottish Ministers by 14 May 2025.
The survey and consultation has now closed. All written and oral responses any other relevant documentation have been sent to Education Scotland for their consideration. Education Scotland will produce a report addressing the educational aspects of the proposal. Officers will review the proposal in the context Education Scotland report, survey results, oral and written representations and produce a final report on the consultation. The report will be considered by Marr Area Committee, then Education and Children's Services Committee on 20 March 2025 and a final decision on the proposal will be made by Full Council on 24 April 2025.
Aberdeenshire Council is proposing to discontinue education at Clatt School, which is currently mothballed, and re-assign the catchment area to either Kennethmont School or Rhynie School.
The statutory consultation will run from 4 September until 8 November 2024. A public meeting to discuss the proposal will be held at Clatt Village Hall on 1 October 2024 at 6.30pm, all are welcome to attend.
Following the statutory consultation period, officers will submit the proposal document, survey results, written and oral representations, and other relevant documentation to Education Scotland for their consideration. Education Scotland will produce a report addressing educational aspects of the proposal. Officers will then review the proposal in the context of the Education Scotland report, survey results, oral and written representations and produce a final report on the consultation.
Please follow this link to find out more about the proposal:
https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/schools/school-info/education-consultations/
The survey is available below.
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In March 2022 a decision was made by the Director of Education and Children's Services to temporarily mothball Clatt School from the start of the new academic year, August 2022. Mothballing is the temporary closure of a school which does not, in itself, lead to statutory consultation.
The Primary 1 admission period for Aberdeenshire Schools took place in the week commencing 16 January 2023, no applications were received for Clatt School. The deadline for submitting placing requests was 15 March 2023, no applications were received for pupils wishing to attend Clatt School.
Officers wrote to all residents in the village of Clatt in May 2023, inviting anyone to express an interest in their child(ren) attending Clatt School. There was an insufficient number of pupils wishing to attend Clatt School for the school to become operational again and to ensure the educational experience is viable for all pupils. On this basis Clatt School was mothballed for a further academic year 2023/24.
The Education and Children’s Services Committee on 31 August 2023 received an update report and authorised an option appraisal to be carried out regarding the future of Clatt School.
One of the options identified as part of the appraisal could be to close the school. If this is considered to be the only viable option for the school, then Aberdeenshire Council must undertake a statutory consultation under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. If closure was the only viable option, there would be extensive consultation with the Clatt community and Marr Area Committee.
It is important to ensure all other alternatives have been identified and robustly considered prior to undertaking any statutory consultation on this matter. Therefore, we would like to give you an opportunity to provide any further alternatives to closure.
Any further suggestions can also be provided in the last question of this survey, as well as emailed to LearningEstates@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or posted to Aberdeenshire Council, Learning Estates, Gordon House, Blackhall Road, Inverurie, AB51 3WA.
We would be grateful if you could complete this short survey indicating your views on the future of Clatt School. This will allow officers to explore all possible options for the school.
A drop in session with officers from Learning Estates has been arranged at Clatt Village Hall on 4 October 2023 at 5 - 6.30pm. All are welcome.
The survey will be open until 6 October 2023 and any alternatives to closure should also be submitted to Aberdeenshire Council by this date.
Map 1 - Clatt School Catchment Area Map
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