Fife Council urged to plan carefully for Dunfermline Learning Campus

A retired teacher, who worked on a joint-campus school elsewhere in Scotland, has urged education chiefs to think carefully when making plans and warned of possible pitfalls which may be met along the way.

He said countless planning meetings often saw him fighting his school's corner in efforts to ensure the respective schools retained their identity.

"The elected members' view of it was completely at odds with our view," said the West Fifer, who wished to remain anonymous. "They saw it as one big building. It demonstrated a complete lack of understanding about what a school is about.

"Our sole aim was to maintain our ethos and identity not to be absorbed into the big campus. There were some shared facilities which were the PE facilities, the dining facilities, the drama facilities and the library and assembly hall.

"PE departments are notoriously good at working together. At the moment, I believe the St Columba's kids are backwards and forwards to Woodmill so there is already an element of co-operation.

"However, with sharing PE facilities, it was initially clear what issues there were going to be. Are there sufficient indoor facilities for example on a rainy Tuesday morning to keep education going?"

He said that shared spaces in his former school were managed by a facilities management department which could also cause issues.

"If something happens and you needed to have an assembly, you have to go to the facilities management to sort this," he said. "The amount of time spent planning who would have what of the shared facilities and it depends on the co-operation of senior management of both schools.

"What I don't think elected members realise is the stress and strain it puts on senior management of the school."

Fife EIS spokesperson David Farmer said they had not been made aware of any concerns about the plans.

"The project at Woodmill and St Columba's is on a huge scale and we acknowledge that that bigger school will bring some potential issues," he said. "At the moment, what we have been doing is monitoring what has been going on in terms of the council's planning for the school.

"I think once there is more actual information for staff and for the trade unions, that is the point where potential concerns will surface. We are keen to see our members working in the best possible buildings they can work in."

Fife Council's head of education and children's services, Shelagh McLean, said the council had a lot of experience in creating innovative and flexible learning environments which suit the learning needs of children and young people, now and for the future.

"We achieve this through extensive engagement with all our stakeholders, and our pupils and staff are at the heart of this. Engagement has already taken place, over a number of years, and this will continue as the project progresses," she added.

"We're working closely with our partners to make sure Dunfermline Learning Campus provides the best experience for all those who will learn and work there."