The 20 schools, including nine in the Northern half of the state earmarked for closure, will be assessed against a range of criteria including their enrolment trends, occupancy, proximity to another school, community links and educational provision.

According to the government document, the recommended maximum travel time by bus is 30 minutes each way for primary school students and 50 minutes each way for secondary students.

Schools that are too far from the nearest school may not be recommended for closure.

Schools that would take in students from closed schools would need to have the capacity to accommodate extra students.

The government will also consider education provision, including the range of curriculum areas available for students, the capacity of the school to teach all curriculum areas confidently and to a high standard by qualified teachers, the age range of composite classes and student achievement information.

The financial position of schools will be taken into account to determine whether the school's current and recent figures indicate it could operate within budget without supplementary sources.

Leadership and management criteria indicators include the capacity of the school to provide for the professional needs of staff, teacher morale and satisfaction and the levels and nature of staff turnover.

Schools' community links will also be measured in terms of parental satisfaction and the contribution of the school to the community and vice-versa.