What criteria are applied by HM Inspectorate of Education when determining the educational impact of a proposed school closure.

HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) determines the educational impact of a proposed school closure by considering the likely effects of the proposal, if it were implemented, on certain groups of people as specified in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, namely the pupils and other users of the facilities at any affected school, children who would be likely to attend the school, and other pupils in the council area. HM Inspectors (HMI) take into account the arguments for positive impact set out in the council’s statement of the educational benefits which it believes will accrue from the proposal. HMI also consider any ways in which the council intends to minimise or avoid any potential adverse consequences which the council has identified as arising from the proposal.
In carrying out their determinations, HMI consider a range of factors, all of which can have a bearing on the educational impact of a proposal. These factors include the quality, nature and location of school buildings and grounds, and the quality of facilities and resources, curriculum, learning and teaching, school ethos, partnership with parents, attainment and achievement, staffing and pupil roll, and the overall quality of leadership and management of affected schools. HMI also consider the way in which closures and other changes to schools are being managed by the council.
HMI use professional judgement in determining the role of these factors in relation to the likely educational impact of proposed school closures. The professional judgements are informed by illustrations of practice in regard to these and other factors as set out in HMIE’s quality indicators in “How good is our school?” and in “Quality Management in Education”, which sets out quality indicators for the work of education authorities. The evidence gathered by HMI includes direct observation, discussion with stakeholders, and documentary evidence.
In cases of proposed closure of rural schools, councils are required to consider viable alternatives to closure, the likely effect on the local community with regard to sustainability and on the community’s access to the buildings, grounds and facilities if the school were to close, and the likely effect of different travelling arrangements on the environment and on children and young people and other school users occasioned by the closure. HMI use professional judgement in these cases too, and those judgements are informed by HMI’s knowledge of practice in a range of contexts, including the quality indicators set out in “How Good is Our Community Learning and Development?”.
HMIE determinations are in the form of advice to councils on the likely educational aspects of a proposal, and they do not constitute decisions on any proposal.