PARENTS battling to stop severe overcrowding at a Glasgow primary school claim new council plans are "an insult".

 

The Space For Hillhead campaign has been fighting to improve cramped conditions at the west end school.

Now Glasgow City Council has released its response to a consultation into the issue.

And campaigners said the proposal is a "tokenistic gesture" that does not address the school's problems.

Space For Hillhead hoped the school's adjoining nursery would be moved to an alternative site but council bosses have pledged to keep it open.

Instead they will convert a section of the car park into a large general purpose room for use by the school.

They will also cap the primary one intake at 75 in August 2015 and redraw catchment areas.

Sarah Lowndes, of the Space For Hillhead campaign, said: "I do not consider this good news at all - Space for Hillhead wanted Kelvin Park Early Years Centre (KPEYC) moved to a new site.

"Effectively Glasgow City Council has decided to prioritise the 79 places provided by their flagship non-statutory nursery over the needs of the 682 children enrolled in the school.

"If GCC proceed with this new proposal they will be failing a whole generation of primary school children, who, unlike the KPEYC children who attend their bespoke, uncrowded facility for two years, are stuck in an overcrowded school for seven years."

Council bosses said the new proposal will take four years to reduce pupil numbers.

Catchment area changes will affect Oakgrove, Anderston, Garnetbank, Hyndland and Thornwood Primary Schools.

Hillhead, on Gibson Street, was built three years ago following a merger with other primary schools and was designed for of 632 pupils.

It currently has around 680 pupils while the school's dedicated art room and music room have already become classrooms, as has its library.

The parent council has also said there are insufficient toilet facilities and pressure on the dining room.

Meanwhile, the Keep Kelvin Early Years campaign has been fighting to keep the centre on the Hillhead site.

Parents there are delighted the nursery with the education department's decision.

Kate Cotter, of the Keep Kelvin Early Years campaign, said: "We would like to thank all those who supported us throughout the period of this decision making process, resulting in the recommendation for retention of the Early Years Centre on site.

"We would like to thank in particular those who actively campaigned, who attended public meetings, and who completed consultations; to those who provided many other types of support to the parents involved and affected.

"We are pleased that the Early Years Centre will be retained onsite, reflecting the will of the majority of both nursery and school parents in the consultation responses.

"We do understand there are capacity issues at the school, but are also pleased to see that these are being addressed without recourse to the nuclear option of closing the Early Years Centre.

"This has been a very intense period for parents on all sides of the debate, and we hope that all parents can now turn their attention to continuing to support both School and Nursery in providing a first class education at Early Years and at Primary level."

The consultation document will go before councillors next year.

A final decision will be taken at an executive committee meeting of the council January 22, 2015.

Dr Lowndes added: "My youngest child is in Primary 4, therefore a year after he leaves primary school the school will be adhering to Scottish Government guidelines about general purpose space.

"For the rest of his primary career, he and all his peers will continue to attending a school with insufficient General Purpose rooms, an overcrowded dinner hall and an inadequate playground - all of these infrastructure issues could have been addressed if Glasgow City Council has put their hand in their pocket and moved KPEYC.

"Building a dance/drama studio in the underground car park will not solve the serious infrastructure issues in the school and seems like a tokenistic gesture, almost an insult."

A letter sent to parents from Director of Education Maureen McKenna said: "These recommendations are founded on the desire to address the issue of flexible-space within Hillhead Primary School whilst ensuring that all children and young people in all the schools and the Early Years Centre have the best possible learning opportunities and facilities."