To consider a report by County Councillor Phyl Davies, Portfolio Holder for Education and Property.
Minutes:
Cabinet considered responses received during the objection period following the publication of the Statutory Notice. The Leader and Portfolio Holder thanked the staff and governors for the very cordial reception given to the Cabinet when they visited the school. She also acknowledged the large amount of correspondence received by the Cabinet.
284 objections had been received during the statutory period. A summary of the objections was contained in an appendix to the report. Having considered the objections received, it was officers’ recommendation that the Council proceed with implementation of the proposal to close Llanfihangel Rhydithon C.P. School from the 31st August 2022, as outlined in the Statutory Notice.
The Portfolio Holder for Education outlined the reasons for the recommendation:
· To address the issue of low pupil numbers.
· To reduce the Council’s overall surplus capacity in primary schools.
· To realise a financial saving to the Council.
· To enable pupils to attend larger schools, which would be better equipped to meet the requirements of the new curriculum.
· To enable pupils to attend larger schools, which could provide a wider range of educational and extra-curricular opportunities.
· To enable pupils to attend schools with better quality accommodation.
· The proposal meets all the Critical Success Factors.
The Director of Education noted that the Council had set out a clear ambition for schools service following an extensive engagement exercise with the schools community and this strategy was now being implemented. The Director reminded the Cabinet of the guiding principles underpinning the transforming education strategy, not least the development of a world class rural education system with learning entitlement at its core. The realisation of the strategy required the reorganisation of the school infrastructure which went beyond the closure of small schools. Estyn had noted that the authority had a purposeful and ambitious vision to ensure that its education provision met the needs of all learners. The Director advised that developing and implementing the new curriculum would be a challenge for all schools particularly small schools due to the workload.
The Head of Transformation and Communications advised that if the proposal was approved pupils would transfer to larger schools of at least equivalent quality that would be able to offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities. It was Estyn’s view that the proposal was likely to at least maintain the current standards of education provision. The quality of accommodation at the alternative schools was at least equivalent to that in Llanfihangel Rhydithon School. There were sufficient school places available within a 10 mile radius. Journey times would be less than 45 minutes each way. There would be a reduction in the number of surplus places, better strategic management of the school estate and a saving to the Council. It was not anticipated that the proposal would have a negative impact on the educational attainment of any pupils from economically deprived backgrounds or that it would raise any equality issues. Support would be provided to any pupil with additional learning needs to ensure a successful transition to an alternative school. The Head of Transformation and Communications advised that although a community impact assessment concluded that there would be a negative impact on the community by closing the school, on balance it was considered that this was the most appropriate response to the issues identified for formulating the proposal. She noted that Llanfihangel Rhydithon was identified as a rural school and there was a procedural presumption in the School Organisation Code 2018 against closure. However, the closure of the school was seen as the most appropriate response to address reasons for the recommendations as outlined by the Portfolio Holder.
County Councillor Hywel Lewis spoke as the local member. He felt that it was misleading to suggest that small schools would have difficulty in delivering the curriculum and he noted the comments of Jeremy Miles the Minister for Education that the curriculum was appropriate for small rural schools. He argued that clustering would be a far more transformative approach. He felt that these options should have been considered and that by not doing so the Council was acting contrary to the Rural Schools Policy. He noted that the school had collaborated successfully with Llanelwedd Church in Wales School for seven years and that the Head teacher was a non-teaching head. He argued that the impact on Llanelwedd had not been thought out. He advised that there would be an application for a judicial review if the Cabinet went ahead with the decision.
County Councillor James Gibson-Watt speaking as the leader of the opposition asked the Cabinet to pause and reflect on what it was trying to achieve. He argued that if the Cabinet took the decision to close the school if would set it on a path of closing all small schools. He argued that schools had a wider role in rural communities and that they became less vibrant when schools closed. He noted that the school was a feeder school to Calon Cymru and that the Cabinet had not yet decided to what to do with that school.
The Portfolio Holder challenged the idea that a head teacher could develop the curriculum on two sites given the work involved. He noted that the strategy for transforming in Powys was a commitment to 13 secondary catchments. He noted that there was surplus capacity in the catchment and the Council had been charged by Estyn to address this. The Director of Education responded to the comments about misleading councillors and the curriculum. She reported that challenge adviser reports had highlighted that the development of the curriculum was placing a significant workload on all schools, particularly smaller schools. The Council was committed to work with all schools to ensure they were able to deliver the curriculum for Wales and to providing support to staff to undertake the professional learning required. The Director noted that the Cabinet had to be mindful of the long term sustainability of schools and giving time and space for teachers to develop and succeed. The challenges of teaching mixed age groups were also noted.
The Head of Legal and Democratic Services advised that judicial reviews were about process and that the Council had engaged a barrister to advise the Council and ensure that the code had been followed at every stage. Responding to the point made by County Councillor Gibson-Watt about setting a precedent he advised that each decision would be made on its own merits. The Portfolio Holder for Education reiterated this point noting that in some areas catchment reviews would be required and in some areas they would not.
The Head of Transformation and Communications confirmed that there wasn’t a blanket approach taken to schools transformation. She refuted the suggestion that officers were misleading members.
Cabinet was advised that of the 36 pupils at the school, just under half were closer to other schools. If the school closed, 29 pupils would be eligible for free home to school transport if they chose to attend their closest schools, 7 would not. All pupils could be accommodated on existing routes.
It was confirmed that federation with Llanelwedd had been considered but ruled out as it was not possible to federate a Community Primary School and a Church in Wales School. The local member advised that the school was willing to become a Church in Wales School. With regard to the point made about Ysgol Calon Cymru, Cabinet was advised that an informal engagement had been carried out on options but that was focused on the school in the first instance and not on primary schools in the catchment which would be looked at in a second phase.
Having considered the objections and the comments made at the meeting it was
RESOLVED
1. To receive the Objection Report in respect of closing Llanfihangel Rhydithon C.P. School.
2. To approve the proposal to close Llanfihangel Rhydithon C.P. School from the 31st August 2022, with pupils to attend their nearest alternative schools.
3. In accordance with the Scheme for Financing Schools, to introduce the following restrictions on Llanfihangel Rhydithon C.P. School:
- Spend at the school is restricted to that included in its approved budget plan and no virement of funds between budget headings is permitted unless approved by the Authority;
- Any staffing changes are subject to approval by the Authority;
- Any contracts awarded for the supply of goods or services are subject to approval by the Authority.
Supporting documents: