Scottish Catholic Observer

Parents of pupils at St Joseph’s in Milngavie (above) hope to save their Catholic primary school from closure by taking it into community control and seeking grant funding directly from the Scottish Government.

In December, the Scottish Government brought to an end two years of campaigning by pupils and parents by backing East Dunbartonshire Council’s decision to close the only Catholic school in the town.

The parents, who say they want St Joseph’s to become the first community-led school in Scotland, plan to hold a public meeting to discuss options and are seeking the support of Glasgow Archdiocese.

One funding option being pursued is to emulate Jordanhill School in Glasgow’s West End in seeking grant-aided funding from the government. Jordanhill was established in the 1920s as a demonstration school for Jordanhill College of Education and funded via the education budget. After the government decided to remove funding in the 1980s, the school became a political football and months of campaigning by parents concluded with the decision to fund the school via a government grant. The school is in charge of managing its own affairs.

Early indications from the Scottish Government, however, have been less than supportive of such a plan for St Joseph’s as all other Scottish schools are either independent and fee paying, or funded and controlled via the local authority, with the exception of seven-specialist schools such as those for the blind and deaf.

St Joseph’s plans to continue on the same site, and parents are hoping the council will agree to put the land and assets in a trust. Catholic education would remain a core part of the school ethos.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Archdiocese said that while the Church has ‘fully supported the parents in their efforts to maintain Catholic schooling in Milngavie’ and ‘shared their dismay at the decision to close St Joseph’s,’ the idea of a community-led school ‘is one which has come from the parents themselves.’

“The Church would not comment on such a proposal until all the implications had been worked through,” he added.

Laureen McIntyre, St Joseph’s Parent Council chairwoman, said: “Our children have the right to a Catholic education in their own community. If East Dunbartonshire Council is unwilling to provide Catholic education in Milngavie then we as parents, as a parish and as a community seek support to do it ourselves.”

Under council plans, St Joseph’s Primary will be closed and merged with St Andrew’s Primary in Bearsden in a new-build on the current St Andrew’s site.

Gordon Currie, East Dunbartonshire Council’s director of education, said the council had not had any approach from the parent council about the new proposals.

“However, it is our understanding that there is no mechanism in Scotland that we are aware of that would enable the school to be transferred to parental or community control,” he said.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Local authorities are responsible for the provision of education in their areas. The Scottish Government supports local authorities to provide appropriate schooling to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

“The current governance arrangements have served, and continue to serve Scotland’s schools well and there are no plans to change these or extend the current number of grant-aided schools funded by the Scottish Government.

“Any decision on individual land and assets is a matter for individual local authorities.”

—[email protected]