Statutory Consultation on the review of Education Provision at Palnackie Primary School

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 Palnackie Primary School, which is currently mothballed, and re-align its catchment area to Dalbeattie Primary School.

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

• Document

  Proposal paper for the review of Palnackie Primary School (PDF, 5.84MB)

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 Palnackie Primary School, 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

  Palnackie Primary School consultation report (PDF, 4.76MB)

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 Palnackie Primary School, 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 Palnackie Primary School at its meeting on 17 February 2026 and approved implementation of the proposal to permanently discontinue education provision at Palnackie Primary School and realign the catchment area with Dalbeattie Primary School 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: 

• On 22 April 2025, Members of the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee agreed to the mothballing of Palnackie Primary School due to the very low projected pupil roll for August 2025 (3 enrolled pupils). 
• 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% decline in the 0 -15 age group between 2018 and 2032. 
• Alongside several other rural councils, Dumfries and Galloway Council is facing increasing challenges in recruiting and retaining staff. 
• The pupil roll at Palnackie Primary School is not forecast to exceed 10 pupils over the next three years. 
• 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 due regard to the points made at the public meeting, the online consultation responses and HMIE’s report. It thereafter carried out a review of the Proposal and all the reasonable alternatives as above, and has concluded that the Proposal should be implemented with the catchment area of Palnackie Primary School realigned to Dalbeattie Primary school. 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 Palnackie Primary School catchment area wishing to attend Palnackie Primary School is insufficient to make the school viable. If the school were to remain mothballed this would be a continuing strain on the Council’s resources and against the communities wishes to seek clarity on the future position of Palnackie Primary School. 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 Palnackie Primary School to explore options for future use of the school building should they wish to explore this.   

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 Palnackie Primary School with an implementation date of 27 April 2026. This notice is available in accordance with Section 11A(3) of the Act.