Giving young people the best educational start in life will be on the agenda when the Community Services Committee meets next week.
A proposed learning estate strategy will be considered, covering everything from outdoor learning, school rolls, and the condition of schools, to community involvement, national education priorities, and local ambitions for young people in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute.
The strategy also sets out future aims and priorities. These include:
- All schools should be civic and community hubs, serving education and the aspirations of the wider community.
- Partnership working, with local community and national partners, is key when considering any new builds or adaptations
- Schools will play their part in achieving climate change targets
- Outdoor learning activities will enhance educational attainment
- Future strategic investment will primarily focus on our islands, as previous investment has been in our mainland schools, reaching the greatest number of pupils. Feasibility studies will be progressed for attracting LEIP3 (Learning Estate and Investment Programme) funding for Mull and Islay. The first phase of the studies, expected to conclude towards the end of the year, will be a high level assessment of suitability for LEIP3 funding. If funding is secured, local communities will then be invited to get involved as early as possible in designing and delivering high quality learning establishments.
Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, Policy Lead for Education said:
“We want young people in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute to have the best possible start in life. We want them to leave our education service ready and able to build successful lives.
"Our learning estate strategy has an important part to play in this, as it sets out how we will get greatest impact for our young people from our estate.
"It’s therefore a very important document and I look forward to discussing its proposals fully at Committee next week. Delivering the best for our young people will as always be the priority.â€
A copy of the strategy is available on the council website: Learning Estates Strategy - committee paper Aug 2021 RM FINAL.pdf (argyll-bute.gov.uk)