Board considers closing troubled residential school

Published on Wednesday 7 May 2008 22:02

THE governors of a troubled residential school for vulnerable youngsters yesterday announced proposals to close the facility – only days after four councillors dramatically resigned from its board.

On Tuesday last week, four Aberdeen councillors – two Liberal Democrats and two SNP – quit the 12-strong board of Oakbank School following an unsuccessful motion of no confidence in Jane Arrowsmith, the residential school's principal, Yvonne Allan, the Labour councillor who is chair of the board, and Alan Donnelly, the Conservative councillor who is the vice-chairman.

The councillors from the city council's joint administration, Mark McDonald, Kirsty West, Aileen Malone and Gordon Leslie, have refused to comment on the reasons for their sudden resignations, but it is understood the motion of no confidence was linked to concerns over the school's falling roll and its financial situation.

The school employs 95 people, including teachers, care workers and administrative staff, but there are only 18 pupils at the school. The school made 14 staff redundant at the end of last year, blaming the job losses on a fall in the number of referrals from councils.

The governors yesterday announced that they are to consult on plans to close Oakbank later this year while a feasibility study is undertaken into the school's future.

Mrs Arrowsmith, who has been the principal for more than ten years, said Oakbank was 150 years old and required a modernisation programme to ensure that it could meet the demands of the 21st century.

Plans for a significant redevelopment of the school are to go before the city council's planning committee in the near future.

"Nothing is cast in stone," Mrs Arrowsmith said. "No date has been set for the possible closure. We would close for an indeterminate length of time with a view to developing a new provision on the current site.

"The school is not facing financial problems. The school is facing the fact that it's 150 years old and, in order to redevelop, the governors feel it is in the best interests of the school to close for a period of time."

The closure plan, she claimed, was in no way linked to last week's no-confidence motion. "The plans have been ongoing for a while," said Mrs Arrowsmith. "They are not linked in any way. But I was extremely disappointed to find myself, the children in my school and my staff involved in a political wrangle.

"Safeguarding the welfare and wellbeing of our children is my prime concern and, if this proposal were to go ahead, we would work in partnership with referring local authorities to ensure that our children were moved to a provision that would meet their needs in as sensitive and individualised a manner as possible."