Consultation on closure of Falkirk area primary school with just 16 pupils to go ahead

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A consultation will begin to close a Falkirk area primary school with just 16 pupils, councillors have agreed. Members of Falkirk Council's executive heard this week that the consultation on the closure of Blackness Primary would be "a genuine process" to engage with those who would be affected.

If the school is closed, the pupils will transfer to Grange Primary, Bo'ness', around three miles away. Read more: Falkirk Council agrees land sale that could see 242 new homes built in Denny Director of Education Jon Reid told the meeting: "I would like to provide categorical assurance that both parent councils will be involved and will be fully informed throughout the duration of the consultation."He said it would be a "genuine process to get the views of both communities and young people and those who have been affected by it".A member of Blackness Parent Council and the local community council, Jann Fairley, addressed the meeting to tell councillors how important the school is to the local community.She defended the right of parents to choose to send their children to a small, rural school, saying research showed clear benefits to children's learning, attitude and behaviour, while they are also "much better adapted to children who are neurodiverse"."This is something that us as parents see everyday," she said.Ms Fairley added: "The school has been a massive part of Blackness for over 100 years and has seen most of the residents of the village and holdings going through the school, and now their grandchildren are attending."But she also had several questions about the figures contained in the report, including the projected number of catchment children - figures that were updated the day before the meeting.The report to