27/10/2026
Please read and sign
The Issue -
Small rural schools are at the heart of many Aberdeenshire communities. They provide education close to home, help sustain local families and communities, and give rural children a strong sense of belonging within their local area.
In 2023, the Education & Children's Services Committee approved changes to the primary staffing formula that increased the smallest school roll band from 1-19 pupils to 1-25 pupils. This represents a 32% increase (the highest increase across all bands) in the lowest band and means that schools no longer qualify for a second class teacher until their roll reaches 26 pupils. As a result, more schools are now operating as single-class P1-P7 establishments.
The legal limit for a composite class in Scotland is 25 pupils. But a whole-school P1-P7 class is fundamentally different from other composite arrangements such as P1-3 or P5-7. One teacher is responsible for planning, teaching and assessing learning across seven year groups spanning ages 4 to 12, making it the broadest stage combination possible within Scottish primary education.
Since these staffing changes were introduced, Aberdeenshire Council's Learning Estate Strategy 2027-2030, published this month, has highlighted the importance of curriculum breadth, peer interaction, staffing resilience and the sustainability of rural schools. The Council has also identified educational benefits associated with schools operating with two or more classes. The move towards more single-class P1-P7 schools therefore appears to sit in tension with the characteristics the Council now associates with sustainable rural education.
This raises an important question:
Could the 2023 staffing formula changes be contributing to some of the very challenges that the Council now identifies as barriers to the long-term sustainability of small rural schools?
Where schools have moved from two classes to a single whole-school P1-P7 class, with higher pupil numbers than ever before, it is reasonable to ask whether this has affected or is affecting pupil experience, parental confidence, school roll trends, curriculum delivery or longer-term educational sustainability.
We are therefore calling on the Education & Children's Services Committee to commission a review of the policy in terms of:
the educational impact of whole-school P1-P7 composite classes;
the effect on pupil experience, learning opportunities and peer interaction;
the impact on school roll trends and parental confidence;
the relationship between staffing policy and long-term school sustainability;
whether the current staffing approach remains aligned with the Council's own objectives for sustainable rural education.
This petition is not about one school.
It is about ensuring that decisions affecting rural schools are guided by evidence, that Council policies work together rather than against each other, and that children across Aberdeenshire continue to receive the best possible educational experience regardless of where they live.
If you believe the impact of the 2023 staffing changes should be reviewed, please sign and share this petition. We need 100 Aberdeenshire resident signatures for the ECS Committee to consider the petition.
Review the Impact of Aberdeenshire's Primary Staffing Formula on Small Rural Schools
