Families shocked by sudden closure announcement at specialist Perthshire school

The closure of a school specialising in the education of pupils with additional needs is a “tragedy” for the families involved and raises serious questions about the level of support available to them in mainstream education, it has been claimed.

Parents learned this week that the New School at Butterstone will close its doors on Friday, potentially leaving children aged 11 to 19 with nowhere to go.

A school governor said the lack of notice was devastating for all those involved with the school, which has been caring for young people for the past 25 years.

Parents called last night for ministers to step in to save it as one senior SNP MP called it an “exceptional” facility. The closure has been blamed on financial problems and the demands of regulators for improved protection.

It currently has around 25 pupils and a waiting list of nearly 50, with up to 40 full-time and part-time staff.

Its planned closure follows a critical Care Inspectorate report which identified child protection failings.

That was followed up yesterday by a statement from the inspectorate and Education Scotland which said a complaint was received that raised “significant concerns” about how children were being protected from harm.

The loss of the Perthshire facility comes against a backdrop of widespread criticism of the Scottish Government’s presumption of keeping children with additional support needs (ASN) in mainstream schools, despite a drop in the number of specialist teachers.

Officials statistics released in December showed that a record 183,491 pupils were identified as having additional support needs, while the number of ASN teachers had fallen by 12 per cent.

Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative education spokesman, said: “I was very alarmed to see it was shutting its doors on Friday, which is an extremely short course of action and it means pupils and families involved have a very urgent decision to make.

“This raises an issue not just about the provision of specialist help but also about the presumption to mainstreaming in Scotland. There is a massive issue about whether that is the right thing for quite a large number of pupils.”

Magnus Linklater, a school governor, said it was being forced to close after a potential takeover fell through, and because regulators judged it had to do so because of safety regulations.

“We are now dealing with a lot of very vulnerable children who are having to deal with an alternative future,” he added.

“The whole ethos and origin of the New School was that there were people who were struggling in the mainstream sector. Children who either didn't go to school at all or sat at the back of the class and were isolated.

“For them the New School supplied the kind of support and surroundings, and ironically the safety, they hadn’t had before.

“It is a tragedy because of the school having to close because it is judged that it doesn’t conform to the highest standard of safety regulation, and also because it is being forced to close at such short notice.”

John Swinney, the Education Minister, who earlier tweeted that the school was “exemplary”, told MSPs assistance was being given to the families and staff. Pete Wishart, the SNP MP, said it was an exceptional facility and its closure was tragic.

However, in a joint statement the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland said that following a visit on November 8, inspectors reported concerns about leadership at the school and its ability to follow its child protection policies, and a formal improvement notice was served.

A spokesman said the board had since told inspectors they planned to close, adding: “The local authorities, together with Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate, are working closely to ensure that there are appropriate and carefully considered plans for each of the young people at the school.”