The development of schools as the hub of the community is fast becoming a key strand of the strategy to deliver integrated services to children and families in isolated rural areas of Scotland.
The issue was debated last Friday at the seminar The School as the Hub of the Community, organised by Children in Scotland and aimed at drawing together the experiences of practitioners and sharing best practice.
A mapping exercise is being completed to establish the extent to which schools in rural areas are already acting as a hub for services, and a study visit is planned next month to the Asker community in Borgen, Norway, where a campus has been built comprising a school, church, health centre and kindergarten.
The Growing Up in Rural Scotland report to accompany the conference, by Sarah Gillen, early years policy manager at Children in Scotland, said that the Dundonald Primary school in South Ayrshire had been constructed on similar lines, with its new building attached to an existing activity centre. The complex includes a community library as well as sporting and kitchen facilities, which are used by the school during the day and are open for public use after 4pm.
South Ayrshire Council described the school, which was built in 2000 at a cost of 45m, as 'a 21st century learning centre'. Acting head Ken O'Hara said, 'The school has become a centre of excellence and is the heart of the community. We share the gym hall, library and kitchens with the community and it helps to foster good relationships.'
Ian McLaughlan, chief executive of the Scottish Pre-School Playgroups Association, said, 'We are encouraged by the concept of community schools acting as a hub for services, but we want to know what role there will be within this concept for the voluntary sector agencies and community-led pre-school groups.' He pointed out that the Scottish Executive had stressed that parents should be included in efforts to integrate services both to scattered rural areas and to urban areas. 'In our view there is no better way of doing that than through the community-led pre-school movement,' he added.
Mr McLaughlan said rural isolation was 'a huge issue' in Scotland and more creative use of transport resources could help to ensure more inclusion. In her report, Sarah Gillen revealed that the Scottish Executive had recently refused a request from Highland Council for more money to help with school transport. The council currently spends 8.7m a year transporting 10,000 children to and from school each day. However, it only receives 4.45m.
The council has also urged the Executive to make pre-school education statutory 'to address some of the transport difficulties that exclude young children living in remote areas'. Currently it is not statutory and pre-school children do not have the same right to transport to and from nursery as school children.' Mr McLaughlan said, 'It is not just about the caring and learning of that young child, but how a parent can try to find ways to improve the quality of their lives in the rural dimension.'
The Growing Up in Rural Scotland programme will be examining parents' involvement and their varied roles in developing, managing, planning and delivering services in selected rural communities. The focus will be on linking key themes from the integrated early years strategy to the opportunities and challenges for parents and carers in rural communities. A seminar in January 2005 will showcase the findings.
The second annual conference of Growing Up in Rural Scotland will take place on 10-11 March 2005. For information contact sgillen@childreninscotland.org.uk.