Save Southend Primary School

Southend Primary School is a good quality educational establishment, in a recently upgraded building, catering for children between three and twelve years old, and the wider community of Southend, Argyll.

Southend Primary School is now under threat of closure due to Argyll & Bute Council's Education Department's cutbacks. The parents, carers, and wider community believe that the proposal to move the children permanently to Drumlemble Primary School, which is ten miles from Southend Primary School, is deeply flawed and not practical to ensure that the children become 'Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens, Effective Contributors' to meet Argyll & Bute Council's vision.

Points that have been highlighted include:

Parents and carers of three and four year old children will not be able to access pre-school provision unless they have a car, can drive, have the finances to pay for the fuel for 6,000miles of extra annual traveling to and from Drumlemble, and 300 extra hours a year.

Children as young as four will be expected to travel an hour each way. There is no indication that there will be any adult supervision during this travel to ensure that the children are appropriately seatbelted in on booster seats if changing buses, or how children will access toilet facilities during the journey, just after breakfast. Parents and carers are deeply concerned that it is likely that younger children will wet themselves on these long journeys as the driver of the transport could not be expected to stop the bus on a 60 mile an hour road, with no pavement, and help a child to relieve themselves at the side of the road, in front of their peers. Such traumatic incidents can only damage a child's ability to learn, and their confidence.

Children as young as four will most likely be put on a bus with young people as old as 18 who they are likely not to know, unless they are related. It is not clear if any supervision is planned to support younger children.

If the current journey undertaken by Campbeltown Grammar School pupils is merged with the proposed Drumlemble Primary School run it is likely that journey times that currently run at 30 minutes for Southend Primary pupils will increase to well over an hour in good weather. In winter conditions this will increase further and for much of the year the children will be traveling in the dark. Parents and carers are concerned that these journeys are not appropriate for Primary aged children's age and stage of development. It is anticipated that the children will be tired and may even have to be woken up to begin the school day or their homework. This will clearly impact on their ability to learn.

Southend Primary School is one of the biggest employers in the village, with most staff living locally and having served the school for many years. This proposed loss will impact on the village socially and economically.

The Community of Southend is concerned that they will lose the connection with younger members of their community. This isolation from each other will result in more older people feeling an increased fear of crime and break down the good relations fostered by the opportunities that are created through regular fundraisers and curriculum projects at Southend Primary School that involve local volunteers.

Currently, there is a vacancy for a Doctor and a Minister. With no Primary School in the village it may be harder to fill these key positions. Younger couples and families will move out of the village or choose not to locate to Southend.

Please remove this proposal from your list.