Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from the Corporate Director (Children’s and Adults).

2.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 310 KB

To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the meetings held on 15th and 23rd December 2020 as correct records.

Additional documents:

3.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda.

4.

21st Century Schools Programme - Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng pdf icon PDF 258 KB

To consider a report by County Councillor Phyl Davies Portfolio Holder for Education and Property.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a request to increase the Council’s funding allocation for the Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng building project by £1,358,514 to reflect the additional costs incurred due to the re-design of the scheme following collapse of Dawnus Construction Ltd and the Cadw listing of the old Ysgol Maesydre building and to submit the revised project cost information to Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools Programme. This would enable the project to proceed to construction stage.

 

County Councillor Pete Roberts, Chair of the Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee, referred to the email sent by the Chair and Vice Chair of the Audit Committee and himself to the Cabinet highlighting the costs per pupil of the project relative to other projects. He argued that there was insufficient detail in the report on how the additional costs had arisen and suggested that SWAP be asked to look into the project.

 

Cabinet was advised that the project had changed considerably since the collapse of Dawnus and the listing of the old Ysgol Maesydre building. There had been a robust tendering process and the contract had been awarded to the contractor offering the best value for money and quality. Cabinet welcomed project which would secure the future of Welsh-medium education in Welshpool.

 

                        RESOLVED  

                                 1.     To increase the Council’s funding allocation for the Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng building project by £1,358,514 to reflect the additional costs incurred due to the re-design of the scheme following collapse of Dawnus Construction Ltd and the Cadw listing of the old Ysgol Maesydre building. 

 

                                 2.     To submit the revised project cost information to Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools Programme.

 

5.

Llanfair Caereinion C.P. School and Caereinion High School pdf icon PDF 472 KB

To consider a report by County Councillor Phyl Davies Portfolio Holder for Education and Property.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the responses to the consultation on the proposal to close Llanfair Caereinion C.P. School and Caereinion High School and establish a new bilingual all-age school for pupils aged 4-18 on the current sites of Llanfair Caereinion C.P. School and Caereinion High School to open on 1st September 2022. Based on the findings of the consultation, the advice of officers was that the Council should proceed with the proposal to amalgamate Llanfair Caereinion C.P. School and Caereinion High School to establish a new all-age school by publishing a Statutory Notice. Officers confirmed that as a named rural school, additional steps had to be taken following the consultation to reassess the options as well as alternative proposals that had been put forward during the consultation. Having undertaken that exercise that the recommendation remained as before.

 

County Councillor Gareth Jones, the local Member, welcomed the proposal and confirmed that the governing bodies were very willing to engage to explore ways to develop and enhance the Welsh-medium provision in Llanfair Caereinion.

 

  

                        RESOLVED

1.   To receive the Consultation Report in respect of establishing an all-age school in Llanfair Caereinion.

 

2.    To approve the publication of a statutory notice to close both Llanfair Caereinion C.P. School and Caereinion High School from the 31st August 2022, and open a new dual stream all-age school for pupils aged 4-18 on the sites currently occupied by Llanfair Caereinion C.P. School and Caereinion High School from the 1st September 2022.

 

3.   To accelerate the dialogue with representatives of the two schools and the community to explore ways to develop and enhance the Welsh-medium provision in Llanfair Caereinion, and to include all feeder schools in this dialogue.