Dundee City Council is proposing to launch a consultation on the closure of St Pius X Roman Catholic Primary School and Nursery.
As part of this process, the Council will also seek views on the potential expansion of the catchment area of St Francis RC Primary School to accommodate the existing St Pius X RC Primary School catchment area.
The Children, Families and Communities Committee will be asked to approve the proposed consultation which could see the permanent closure of St Pius X RC Primary and Nursery at the end of the academic session 2025/26.
The consultation period would run from Monday 4 November to Tuesday 17 December.
St Pius X RC Primary School pupil roll has been in decline for five years and is not projected to increase.
The St Pius X school building is one of the oldest in the city, except for the Edwardian and Victorian Primary Schools, and costs an increasing amount of money to maintain the building.
If a decision to close St Pius X Primary School and nursery is taken, the alternative school buildings available offer more modern and vibrant learning environments for our young people.
The closure of St Pius X Primary and Nursery would result in a reduction in expenditure amounting to approximately £911,800 in financial year 2027/28 onwards and a part year reduction of approximately £571,000 in financial year 2026/27.
However, there would be a one-off cost of approximately £300,000 associated with disposing of the property.
This consultation would be undertaken in accordance with the schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, which requires a formal consultation to take place whenever there are changes to the school estate.
If St Pius X Primary closes, St Francis Primary would become the new denominational catchment school for all children living in the current St Pius X catchment area.
All children attending St Pius X Primary have an allocated non-denominational catchment school based on their home address. These include: Ballumbie, Claypotts Castle, Craigiebarns, Fintry, Longhaugh, Mill of Mains and Rowantree Primary Schools.
Children Families and Communities Convener Stewart Hunter said: "The decision to propose this consultation was not taken lightly. St Pius X RC Primary School’s declining school roll and the increasing cost of maintaining this building has led us to consider this option.
"I would like to reassure staff that no job losses will occur if this proposal is approved. Staff will be offered alternative positions in other local authority settings in the city in line with local agreements and will be supported to transition to a new setting or school."
The statutory consultation must run for at least 30 school days.
As no catchment areas exist for nurseries in the same way as primary schools, families will have the choice to apply to any nursery provision across the city and not just within their local area.
Following the consultation period the feedback will be analysed and the council is aiming to bring a report to the Children, Families and Communities Committee in May 2025.
The Children, Families and Communities Committee will meet on Monday 28th October 2024.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
