Improving Consultation on rural school closures   - a full report of this publication by the Scottish Consumer Council is available to download the Summary or Full Report.

The research explores the consultation on school closures in four communities, taking in the views of council officials and parent and community members.  From the findings it is clear that the current procedures fail to ensure that the voices of parents, pupils and other community members are heard effectively in the decision-making process.  In particular, they found that parents required better and more detailed information on the proposals and a longer time-scale to respond.  There was also support for a clearer focus on community impact.  The published this report during the SCottish Government's consultation on "Safeguarding our Rural Schools and Improving School Consultation Procedures".  They hope that the Scottish Government takes account of their findings and in doing so, develops a framework for rural school closure consultations that will ensure a stronger voice for parents, pupils and community members.  

ALSO  

he Scottish Consumer Council research summary paper - "Out to Lunch?" summarises research commissioned by the SCC in 2006/2007 looking at the lunchtime choices of pupils, specifically S3 and S4, aged 14-16 years old who regularly choose not to eat school dinners but instead prefer to purchase food outside school.  The aim of the research was to identify the motivating factors behind pupils choosing to buy their food out of school as well as identifying where they go and what they choose to buy.  There is a stock of this research summary paper in the SPCA office - please contact Jennifer Gallacher by email if you would like a copy - info@scottishparents.com 

Download the Summary or Full Report of "Out To Lunch".