Agenda item

Pre-decision scrutiny (papers to follow)

Members were advised that this item would allow them to undertake a pre-decision scrutiny on Primary School Places to Serve Cathays and parts of Gabalfa, Heath, Llandaff North and Plasnewydd which would be considered by Cabinet on 19 October 2023.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Huw Thomas (Leader of the Council), Melanie Godfrey (Director of Education and Lifelong Learning), Richard Portas (Programme Director for the School Organisation Programme), Brett Andrewartha (School Organisation Programme Planning Manager); and Michele Duddridge-Friedl (Operational Manager, School Organisation Programme Strategy).

Councillor Thomas was invited to make a statement, in which he highlighted the process to date.  He explained that at its meeting on 23 March 2023, the Council’s Cabinet had agreed a recommendation to hold public consultation on three options to expand Welsh medium primary school provision and consolidate English-medium primary school provision.

Councillor Thomas highlighted the preferred Option 1 which was as follows:

• Transfer Ysgol Mynydd Bychan to the current Allensbank Primary School site.
• Increase the capacity of Ysgol Mynydd Bychan from 192 places (0.9FE) to 420 places (2FE) and increase the number of nursery places at Ysgol Mynydd Bychan from 64 to 96.
• Amalgamate Allensbank and Gladstone Primary Schools:
• Formally Close Allensbank Primary School.
• Formally Close Gladstone Primary School.
• Establish a new 420 place (2FE) English-medium Primary   School with nursery on the current shared Gladstone Primary School / St Monica’s Church in Wales Primary School site.
• Transfer St Monica’s Church in Wales Primary School to the current Ysgol Mynydd Bychan site and establish nursery provision at the school.

 The proposed changes would take effect from September 2025.

Members were informed that the proposal allowed for the expansion of Welsh medium provision in the area which was a key commitment in the WESP.  Cabinet was also keen to ensure that the proposal should not disadvantage English medium provision.  If the proposal went ahead measures would be taken to invest in the building to bring it up to standard. 

During the presentation of the report Members were informed that consultation had taken place on the three proposals with Option 1 being the preferred option.  The 230 responses received included 189 online and hard copy responses. There were 17 formal responses, 2 School Council responses and 5 email responses.  Specific responses were received from each of the governing bodies and headteachers at the schools and from a range of organisations including Estyn that said the standards would at least be maintained as part of the proposals.  There had also been a sizeable number of responses from individuals affiliated with the three schools, the highest proportion being from Allensbank Primary School.  Many of the responses were also closely linked to the proposals with each individual school.

Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised as follows:

• Members enquired whether the proposal provided a good balance of Welsh and English medium provision.  Officers responded that the rationale behind the proposal was to expand the provision of Welsh Medium and to provide a better balance of English Medium provision.  The intention was not to reduce but to allow for a re-organisation of provision. Members noted that if the Council proceeded with the proposal it would result in a larger school, with a more efficient make up and would partially clear the deficit of those schools leading to a securer financial base to start from.

• Members asked whether the Cathays primaries consultation had highlighted need elsewhere; and whether there was confidence about capacity of Welsh medium places for the future.  Officers responded that this had been earmarked for attention in the SOP Strategy and was currently in the process of being developed.  Members were assured that liaison would take place with scrutiny at the appropriate time to consider this. Members welcomed input into the draft strategy.

• Members asked questions relating to communications and ensuring that conveying Option 1 to parents and wider stakeholders was done effectively.

• Members also suggested that sharing information on equal provision (particularly in relation to funding) between Welsh medium and English medium provision be shared, to ensure that all parties were clear on this issue. 

• Members stated that given the results of the consultation suggested a potential ‘Option 4’, the rationale behind not considering this option be also included in communication with stakeholders.

• Members felt that it was critical that parents, staff and wider stakeholders were given clear, consistent messaging to encourage early buy-in to Option 1 and encourage a smooth transition to the new arrangements.  Officers responded that meetings had already taken place with the Chairs of Governors and Headteachers of the schools concerned.  It was reported that each of the schools had decided they would like to meet their staff themselves potentially with trade union representatives present.  Staff members of the schools involved were already aware and were aware on the day the papers were being released.  Members were informed that HR support was in place and opportunities were being taken to discuss the issues with staff affected to understand their views and concerns.  A previous consultation had also taken place and this was the second time.  All the mechanisms were in place to support a challenging situation for people. It was highlighted that the Council would respond to the consultation with transparency and honesty.

• Members queried staff displacement as a result of the proposals and felt it was critical that this was handled sensitively.  Officers responded that both schools had reducing roles so they would already be making difficult decisions about their teaching and learning staff.   In terms of the number of classes running currently and in the new form 14 teachers would be required (7 in each plus the nursery. Members were made aware that there was a chance that not all staff would secure roles but they would be given first opportunity to apply for roles and ring fenced if the temporary governing body agreed to that. 

• Members requested that the development of an effective, informative communications strategy be explored and reported back to committee, a response on whether the SOP Team would be developing such a strategy (which should include clear information regarding the rationale for the decision; FAQs using consultation responses as examples etc) should be included in the response to the Chair’s letter. 

• Members asked questions in relation to finance and viability of the Cathays Primaries proposal and the costs in relation to the renovation of current buildings. Officers responded that the Council was aware of the conditions of the buildings and it presented a good reason to bring some of the proposals forward.  Members noted that the works being undertaken were very extensive, quite complex schemes involving listed buildings. Members were informed that the roof works, stone works and scaffolding should be resolved the end of the year.  The Welsh Government was providing £1.8m capital investment funding to the existing Allensbank site and the Council would be providing funding to the existing Gladstone and St Monica’s Church in Wales Primary School sites to ensure they were suitable.

• Members enquired as to the implications and challenges of writing off deficit budgets in two of the closed schools and asked whether there were any financial implications in relation to the swap in diocese.   Officers responded that deficits often occurred when there was insufficient take up of school places. It was hoped that putting both the schools on a stronger footing and working closely with them that their delegated budget position would be able to be balanced, once the deficit was written off, and be stable going forwards.  Members also noted the transition money being put into the budget to support the two schools coming together (£60k per organisation per school) which would be tapered down over the years to support the transition. The deficit would be paid off from the School Organisation Planning Revenue Reserve Fund which would be subject to the same mechanisms that funded the programme.

RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward