An online questionnaire to gather the views of local communities on the council’s existing learning estate will go live on Monday (22 February 2021).
This online questionnaire provides people with an opportunity to share their views and experiences of how our existing buildings support this aim, and will help us in our future capital planning
Phase 1 of the Learning Estate Review pre-consultation has been designed to offer schools and communities the opportunity to share their opinions on the condition of the existing learning estate. The pre-consultation will also gather views on how well the school estate supports learning. This follows an update to Council on 15 December 2020.
The questionnaire will run from 22 February – 15 March on the council’s Consultation Hub, to provide an easy and accessible way for people to participate. Respondents will be asked to comment on the condition of their school and to share their experiences on how it supports both learning and community use.
Phase 2 of the process will involve a series of online community engagement workshops, which will run from 10 – 28 May. The full range of information gathered across both exercises will be analysed and the findings presented to a future Council meeting as part of the development of the East Lothian Learning Estate Investment Plan (LEIP).
Cabinet member for Education and Children’s Services, Councillor Shamin Akhtar said: “We want to have a learning estate that meets the needs of learners and the communities. This online questionnaire provides people with an opportunity to share their views and experiences of how our existing buildings support this aim, and will help us in our future capital planning. It’s important that, despite the current restrictions around access to school buildings, we focus on developing a learning estate that supports communities now and in the future.
“I’m pleased to see this pre-consultation process begin so that we can gather as wide a range of views as possible to help shape our learning estate. While this is not a statutory consultation we are following best practice, as laid out by Scottish Government. I would encourage people across East Lothian to take part in this process and share their views on our school buildings.”
Information is being shared with a wide range of stakeholders.
The survey is available to view here and will be live for responses from Monday 22 February 2021.