Statutory Consultation on the review of Education Provision at Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery

This Proposal has been issued by Dumfries and Galloway Council Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing; Directorate in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended. Dumfries and Galloway Council is proposing, subject to the outcome of the statutory consultation process, to discontinue education provision at Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery which is currently mothballed and re-align its catchment area to Dalry Primary School and Nursery.

It is proposed that education provision at Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery be discontinued with effect from 27 April 2026.

• Document

  Proposal paper for the review of Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery (PDF, 10.98MB)

Update January 2026

In July 2025, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee agreed that a consultation with all stakeholders be undertaken on the proposal to close Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery, and realign its catchment area.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has undertaken this consultation seeking views on the proposal, under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. The Consultation Report can be viewed here:

• Document

  Carsphairn Primary School consultation report (PDF, 12.83MB)

A decision on this proposal will be made by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee at their meeting on Tuesday 17 February 2026. An update on the decision made in regard to this proposal will be made available via the link above.

Update February 2026

Following the decision of the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee on 17 February 2026 to approve the proposal to close Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery, Dumfries and Galloway Council has now informed Scottish Ministers of this decision in accordance with Section 15(2) of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended. 

Details for submitting representations to Scottish Ministers are as follows: 

By email - [email protected]  

By post - The Scottish Government, School Infrastructure Unit, 2A (South Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ 

The deadline for making representations to Scottish Ministers is Monday 9 March 2026 (3 weeks from the decision date). 

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee considered the findings of the statutory consultation on the future of Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery at its meeting on 17 February 2026 and approved implementation of the proposal to permanently discontinue education provision at Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery and realign the catchment area with Dalry Primary School and Nursery with effect from 27 April 2026. The Council is satisfied that implementation of the proposal is the best solution to address the underlying reasons for its formulation, namely: 

• Carsphairn Community Council have requested that Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery is formally closed in order to facilitate a CAT (community asset transfer).   
• Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery has been formally mothballed since August 2019. The number of children livening in the catchment area is not predicted to rise in the near future.  
• Dumfries and Galloway is currently experiencing a significant and sustained fall in pupil numbers with the National Records of Scotland predicting a further 18.2% fall in the 0-15 age group over the next 10 years.   
• Along with several other rural councils, Dumfries and Galloway Council is facing increasing challenges in recruiting staff.  
• Whilst the school is mothballed, the building is deteriorating with limited budgets for repairs, maintenance and capital investment.    

Officers of the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Directorate have carefully considered all of the consultation feedback and reviewed the proposal to consider whether any of the representations led Dumfries and Galloway Council to reconsider any other options as being reasonable alternatives to the proposal. 

Dumfries and Galloway Council has had regard to the points made at the public meeting, the written consultation responses and HMIE’s report. It thereafter carried out a review of the Proposal and all the reasonable alternatives and has concluded that the Proposal should be implemented with the catchment area of Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery be realigned to Dalry Primary School and Nursery. Implementation of the Proposal will allow children to have access to increased learning opportunities, wider experiences and better socialisation through being part of a school with larger pupil numbers. The current number of children from within the Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery catchment area wishing to attend Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery is insufficient to make the school viable. If the school were to remain mothballed this would be a continuing drain on the Council’s resources and against the communities wishes to seek clarity on the position of Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery and the aspirations of CLaDC. Implementation of the Proposal will assist Dumfries and Galloway Council to deliver ‘Best Value’ through making more efficient and effective use of its resources. Furthermore, Dumfries and Galloway Council will engage with the communities of Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery to explore options for future use of the school building. 

This notice is to inform interested parties regarding the decision made at the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee on 17 February 2026 to approve the proposal to close Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery with an implementation date of 27 April 2026This notice is available in accordance with Section 11A(3) of the Act.