Commentary on Sections Process for all schools Section 3 – Educational benefits statement
10.Section 3 provides that when a local authority decides to consult on a relevant proposal they must prepare and publish, as part of their proposal paper, a statement to be known as an “educational benefits statement”. This duty may be read in the context of section 3(2) of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 which sets out local authorities’ responsibilities to endeavour to secure improvement in the quality of education in their schools, and exercise their functions with a view to raising standards of education. In making a relevant proposal an authority would have to be certain that it is fulfilling its duties in relation to that Act.
11.The educational benefits statement must set out the authority’s assessment of the likely effects of the proposal, if it were implemented, on certain groups of people as specified in section 3(1)(a)(i) to (iv), namely the pupils and other users of the facilities at any affected school, children who would be likely to attend the school, and other pupils in the authority area. The authority must also explain the educational benefits that it believes will accrue from the proposal and why, and any ways in which it would minimise or avoid any adverse consequences which it has identified.
12.Where a local authority decides to consult on more than one proposal at the same time they would be able to package them together into one proposal paper (section 4(3)). However they would have to produce a separate educational benefits statement for each proposal.