Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Gill German, Lead Member for Education, Children and Families (copy enclosed) on the findings of the formal consultation to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn and seeking Cabinet approval for publication of a statutory notice for Denbighshire County Council to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn from 1 September 2024 subject to the new build being ready.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       note the findings of the formal consultation to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn;

(b)       approve the publication of a statutory notice for Denbighshire County Council to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn from 28 April 2025.  The implementation of the proposal will be subject to a site being agreed, planning consent being given, finance being available and the new build being ready, and

(c)        confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, as part of its consideration.

Councillor Gill German presented the report on the findings of the formal consultation on the Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn project and sought Cabinet approval to the publication of a statutory notice for the Council to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn.  She also referred to an amendment to report recommendation 3.2 to incorporate a revised implementation date of 28 April 2025.

The project was part of the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme (Band B) approved in September 2020.  The school currently provided specialist provision for pupils with autism aged 3 – 19 across four sites in Denbigh.  It was proposed to bring all sites together in a purpose built building in a field next to Denbigh Leisure Centre and currently used by Denbigh High School, and to increase capacity of the school as demand for those specialist places increased.  Details of the consultation responses had been set out in the report together with the consultation report and supporting documentation.

The Head of Education and Principal Manager – School Support elaborated on the proposal to increase the school’s capacity based on the predicted increased demand and current capacity issues.  Discussions had been ongoing with Welsh Government during development of the business case with much work undertaken to ensure the right size for the school going forward and a clear pathway for gradually increasing pupil numbers at the school and admission arrangements.

Cabinet welcomed the proposal to increase the capacity of the school to meet the growing demand for places.  Main areas of debate focused on the following –

·       the need to create more opportunities for school leavers with learning disabilities was highlighted by Councillor Elen Heaton.  It was confirmed the current design for the school did include a community café which aimed to provide increased community engagement in the school and opportunities for pupils with learning disabilities, particularly in post 16 provision, to use the new facilities and develop social skills and links with the wider community.  There were already primary schools in the county with café areas and other models in the third sector with adults with additional learning needs.  However, safeguarding of pupils was paramount and if that could not be guaranteed, then it would not be pursued

·       Councillor Rhys Thomas raised concerns regarding the wording of report recommendation 3.2 and sought clarity on specific elements within the School Organisation Code and how it related to the proposal, particularly with regard to specifying a location for the school, concerns over the consultation process alongside the separate pre-planning consultation for the proposed new school site, and concerns over the proposed site itself. A special Denbigh Member Area Group meeting had been arranged to discuss the site selection process and concerns in that regard.  Consequently, he felt there would be merit in deferring publication of the notice or rewording recommendation 3.2 to ensure clarity regarding the current process and decision making.  Councillor Gill German stated her preference for an amendment for clarity rather than deferral given the timescales involved and potential impact on progressing other projects.

The Monitoring Officer provided legal advice on those points, and subsequent points raised to clarify other processes, as follows –

¨     the proposal was not for a new school; the proposal was to increase the capacity of an existing school, so the provisions of the School Organisation Code related to the notice and consultation in so far as they related to the alteration of an existing school, not the creation of a new school

¨     with regard to publication of the notice, or deferring publication of the notice, the notice had to be published within a certain time following the consultation and a deferral would potentially risk being out of time for the process

¨     in terms of an amendment to recommendation 3.2, clarity was required in that the ‘subject to’ referred to the implementation of the proposal and not that the proposal was ‘subject to’ the new build being ready or any other factors.  However, the implementation of an increase in the school’s capacity could not be implemented unless there was somewhere for that increased capacity to be accommodated.  Therefore, the suggest rewording of the amendment should make it clear that implementation of the proposal would be subject to other factors and not the publication of the statutory notice 

¨     the requirement in the School Organisation Code to state the site of the school in the notice related to the establishment of a new school and therefore did not apply in this case given the notice was about increasing the pupil numbers.  However, in the additional information which accompanied the notice it was possible to set out where a proposed site was envisaged

¨     the statutory notice did need to specify the proposed implementation date

¨     with regard to the impact on the process in the event the proposed new site failed through the planning process, it would not be possible to implement the change unless or until an appropriate site had been identified

¨     detailed the decision making process for Cabinet following publication of the notice and whether or not to continue with the proposal in light of any objections received; there were other processes that determined whether or not the site was appropriate.

¨     approval of the notice in respect of the school organisation proposal was an executive decision for the Cabinet and would in no way prejudice any subsequent planning application for the proposed new site which was for the planning authority to determine and a separate decision making process.

The Lead Member and officers responded to questions from non-Cabinet members, clarifying that a delay in the projects relating to the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme could have an impact on future projects under that programme, but would not affect other school projects subject to different funding streams.  With regard to future pupil numbers, it was noted there had been a recent decrease in out of county requests due to various reasons and a review of the admissions process and policy was being carried out to ensure the school offered the best possible option to as many pupils as possible with close working with other local authorities in North Wales.

At the close of debate, Councillor Gill German restated her amendment to report recommendation 3.2 to incorporate a revised implementation date of 28 April 2025 and removal of the reference to the new build being ready.  Councillor Rhys Thomas read out his suggested amendment for a new sentence in recommendation 3.2 regarding implementation of the proposal.  Upon being put to the vote it was –

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      note the findings of the formal consultation to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn;

(b)      approve the publication of a statutory notice for Denbighshire County Council to increase the capacity from 116 to 220 at Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn from 28 April 2025.  The implementation of the proposal will be subject to a site being agreed, planning consent being given, finance being available and the new build being ready, and

(c)      confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, as part of its consideration.

At this point (11.45 am) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.