East Lothian Council has said there are no plans to close any of its schools despite issuing guidance to elected members on how they would do it.
Education chief Nicola McDowell published guidelines for the process of closing a school and mothballing it in the councillors’ library service ‘for noting’.
The move comes just weeks after the local authority announced it was extending the temporary closure of two rural primary schools in the county which have fewer than 10 pupils on the school rolls.
Humbie and Saltoun Primary Schools are mothballed for another school year due to low numbers.
The guidelines which have been lodged in the members’ library out line the process of starting a statutory consultation ahead of closing a school and the actions required to meet their legal obligations.
They also set out the steps taken to mothball a school including the level of consultation needed and how it should be implemented and reviewed.
East Lothian Council said the decision to publish the guidance for councillors was taken to provide ‘transparency’ over current decisions that had been taken.
A spokesperson said: “Given we are continuing to mothball two primary schools, Humbie Primary and Saltoun Primary for the session 2025/26, the guidance we have published is to ensure that we are setting out our processes and timelines in a transparent way.
“There are currently no schools under consideration for closure.”
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
