Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors J Berriman, S Cox, M J Dorrance and D Selby.

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

There were no declarations of interest reported.

To consider a report by County Councillor Pete Roberts, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys.

Cabinet considered a report on the objections received during the statutory notice period to

·         To make a regulated alteration to alter the medium of instruction at Ysgol Bro Caereinion from dual stream to Welsh-medium.

·           This would be introduced on a phased basis, year-by-year, starting with Reception in September 2025 and Year 7 in September 2026.

16 objections had been received during the statutory objection period. The objections received and the Council’s responses to them were set out in Appendix B to the report. Having considered the objections, it was the recommended that the Council proceeds with implementation of the proposal.

County Councillor Gareth D Jones speaking as a local member thanked the Portfolio Holder and officers for listening to the concerns raised during the consultation process. He stressed the need for a bespoke funding package to help make a success of the transition to a Welsh-medium school and attract learners. The Head of Schools Transformation agreed that additional revenue support would be needed to help develop Welsh-medium education and that this had been raised with Welsh Government.  The Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys confirmed that he had lobbied the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Education.

County Councillor Aled Davies argued that all children across Powys should have access to a full Welsh-medium education. He asked if any neighbouring schools would lose their dual stream status and whether there would be a full range of subjects taught at Bro Caereinion. He also asked if the additional investment in Trochi would be available at other schools in the county. He also called for a more flexible transport policy to give parents choice.

With regard to the transport policy, the Cabinet Member advised that a change to the transport policy would require a separate formal consultation and statutory process which was why temporary arrangements had been put in place. He did not know what the impact of the change would be on other schools because this was subject to parental choice. He noted that there was a Scrutiny working group which would look at best practice in Trochi. The Head of School Transformation reminded Cabinet that one of the strategic aims of the transforming education strategy was to improve access to Welsh-medium education which this proposal supported.

County Councillor Bryn Davies supported the recommendation. He noted that the Council’s current Home to School Transport Policy did not differentiate between a Welsh-medium secondary school and a dual stream secondary school and he urged the Cabinet to review the transport policy to enable children to attend from other catchment areas. The Head of School Transformation confirmed that it was the intended to review the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy to ensure that pupils wishing to access designated Welsh-medium secondary provision are able to do so. This would be subject to a separate consultation.  In the meantime, parents who wished to their children to attend Ysgol Bro Caereinion from outside the catchment would have to make an application to the School Transport team. 

County  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.