Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Eryl Williams, Lead Member for Education (copy enclosed) detailing the findings of the formal consultation for the future of Ysgol Rhewl and seeking Cabinet approval to publish the required statutory proposal for the closure of the school.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)       note the findings of the formal consultation for the closure of Ysgol Rhewl, and

 

(b)       approve the publication of a statutory notice to close Ysgol Rhewl on 31 August 2017 with pupils transferring to Ysgol Pen Barras or Rhos Street School to coincide with the opening of the new school buildings.

Councillor Eryl Williams presented the report detailing the findings of the formal consultation for the future of Ysgol Rhewl and seeking Cabinet approval to publish the required statutory proposal for the closure of the school with pupils transferring to Ysgol Ben Barras or Rhos Street School to coincide with the opening of the new school buildings.

 

Councillor Williams provided some background to the review of primary schools within the county and explained the context of the proposal as part of the wider Ruthin area schools review, highlighting the need to tackle surplus places and invest in building new schools to ensure the best education possible for pupils in the area.  After considering the consultation responses the view remained that the proposal to close the school and transfer pupils would represent the best option for ensuring pupils in the area remained able to access good standards of education in modern, fit for purpose facilities.

 

Cabinet discussed the report and consultation findings, particularly in terms of the language impact and sought clarification in this regard and the loss of bilingual provision.  Questions were also raised around capacity in other schools to relocate pupils and traffic management concerns.  The following responses were provided –

 

·        officers referred to Welsh Government guidance ‘Defining schools according to Welsh medium provision’ (2007) and the language categorisation process which focused on provision and attainment.  A dual stream primary school offered two types of provision with the option of Welsh medium or English delivery. The outcomes for the Welsh stream was as per Category 1 and the English stream as per Category 5.  Reference was also made to the Welsh Government’s Welsh-medium Education Strategy (2010) which contained a definition of bilingual provision – a term used to refer to a wide range of teaching and learning settings which could include varying amounts of Welsh in delivery.  Whilst historically some Ysgol Rhewl pupils had transferred to the Welsh stream in secondary school none had done so in recent years.  If the school closed there would be alternative provision within the context of the categorisation

·        whilst acknowledging the wealth of responses against the proposal the case for closure had been made based on the need to rationalise schools and tackle surplus spaces and sustainability issues.  Only 20 of the 54 pupils resided in Rhewl/Llanynys with the remainder living outside of that area

·        assurances were provided that there would be sufficient capacity in the school system to relocate pupils – the proposal coincided with the opening of the new schools at Glasdir and following discussions with parents sufficient space would be planned to accommodate pupils

·        confirmed a traffic management study would be undertaken together with the safer routes assessment as part of the detailed feasibility study of the Glasdir site.

 

Councillor Merfyn Parry spoke against the proposal and referred to his recent email to Cabinet detailing his views on the report which he had submitted on behalf of Ysgol Rhewl governors.  He drew particular attention to the following points –

 

·         concerns regarding the suitability of the route for pupils from Rhewl to Glasdir

·         reference to the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations that new schools should not be developed near to major roads, as was proposed at Glasdir

·         reference to the recent report to Communities Scrutiny Committee on the language categorisation of schools and the status of Ysgol Rhewl

·         the bilingual status of the school had not been appropriately addressed – once it was known that assessment in Welsh was an indicator of Welsh language delivery 4 pupils had been immediately identified who could be assessed in Welsh with a possible 10 – 12 pupils who could be assessed at a later date

·         if parents wanted Category 2 provision the only option would be Ysgol Llanfair

·         there would be a massive impact on the community if the school closed

·         the impact of the future housing development had not been accounted for.

 

Councillor Parry pointed out Cabinet had debated the merits of a Category 2 school under the previous item but was now debating the closure of such a school and forcing parents to choose between Category 1 (Welsh) and Category 5 (English).

 

The following responses were provided –

 

·         the categorisation process for schools in Denbighshire as reported to Communities Scrutiny Committee was confirmed – it had been recognised that over the last 2/3 years no pupils at the school had been through the Welsh medium stream in terms of outcomes but the school had been working to develop that offer and increase Welsh medium delivery.  Within the context of the dual stream setting the expected outcomes were Category 1 for the Welsh stream and Category 5 for the English stream

·         the proposal was to close the school with pupils transferring to Ysgol Pen Barras (Category 1) or Rhos Street (Category 5) – if parental preference was for Category 2 applications would be assessed as part of the usual school admissions process based on capacity, however free school transport would not be provided if it involved bypassing a school which delivered the same provision

·         the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations were clarified and referred to England not Wales – they were not considered applicable in this case.

 

In response to further questions the council’s policy regarding disposal of former school buildings was clarified and it was explained that any capital receipts generated would be ear marked for modernising education projects.  Assurances were also provided that Cabinet had sight of all consultation responses and the opportunity to test any alternative proposal.

 

Councillor Parry thanked Cabinet for reading the responses and urged members to think carefully about the proposal to close a thriving village school.  In moving the recommendations Councillor Eryl Williams advised that the decision to recommend closure had not been taken lightly and he had great empathy with the school but believed it to be the best option for the future education of pupils in Denbighshire.

 

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

 

(a)       note the findings of the formal consultation for the closure of Ysgol Rhewl, and

 

(b)       approve the publication of a statutory notice to close Ysgol Rhewl on 31 August 2017 with pupils transferring to Ysgol Pen Barras or Rhos Street School to coincide with the opening of the new school buildings.

 

At this juncture (4.30 p.m.) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.