State of the art facilities in two of the city’s secondary schools could be opened to the public as part of a trial to develop schools as community HUBs, if councillors back a report on Monday September 28.
Using schools for wider community activities is not a new concept there are many models operating across Scotland, with local examples in Tayside in St John’s RC Academy in Perth, Brechin High School in Angus and Wade Academy in Fife and this will be the first trial of its kind in Dundee.
The policy & resources committee will be asked to approve a new Community Hubs approach for Kirkton, which would see Baldragon Academy and St Paul’s Academy open their doors for more use by the public, with St Paul’s including library services.
Education, advice, information, support, guidance, sport and leisure, prevention/early intervention services and community activities would all also be provided from the new locations.
Consultation and engagement with local people and groups is highlighted as vital for the trial to go ahead.
The trial would begin early next year, following consultation and set up periods, replacing activities at the Kirkton Community Centre and library.
A community library would be provided at St Paul’s and opening hours across the hub locations for activities would be more flexible than the current arrangements at the community centre.
Council leader John Alexander said: “This area contains superb modern amenities in two secondary schools that could be used much more by people to access services and activities.
“The question isn’t about a building but rather, how we provide the best quality facilities to the wider community. When we have state of the art facilities not being used to their full potential, it’s right to consider newer community campus models.
“There is the potential for this trial to provide better facilities, to a larger population and with more flexible opening hours. For example, the current community centre does not operate at weekends and I’m sure that weekend openings is something that the community would want to see during this trial.
“Already, these two schools are the focus of community activities and contain first-class spaces that are much more appropriate.
“Of course, consultation and engagement are hugely important on how the HUBs are developed and during the time we trial these new ideas. No decision will be made on the existing centre while this is trialled.
“This is a bold and ambitious idea to provide quality services from quality facilities. We have also looked at the success of the Forfar Community Campus and other examples to see the benefits that these new schools can bring for the wider community.
“I must emphasise that this is a trial that is being proposed and will help us to focus on how we might take forward the community hubs concept.”
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%.
