Agenda item

(NOTE Councillors G.O. Jones and L.M. Stephens, having earlier declared an interest in this item left the Council Chamber during its consideration and took no part in its determination)

The Executive Board considered a report on proposals to discontinue Bancffosfelen Primary School which, over recent years, had seen a decline in pupil numbers from 48 on the roll in January 2011 to 35 in January 2016 resulting in a 64% surplus of places at the school.

The Board was advised that following the departure of the Head Teacher in Easter 2014 the school had not had a permanent head, however, there was an informal arrangement in place between the governing body of Pontyberem and Bancffosfelen for part time cover to be provided by the Head Teacher of Pontyberem. Having regard to the above, it was considered the current arrangements could not be sustained as the school did not represent a sound, stable educational model or the best use of resources, there was no prospect of a significant increase in pupils for the foreseeable future together with the ongoing challenges the school faced to secure a permanent senior leadership.

The Board was advised that from an educational perspective, having such a small number of pupils made it extremely difficult for the school to deliver the breadth and depth of curricular and social experiences which pupils of that age required to fully develop. It was therefore proposed that the school should close on the 31^st August 2017 and that from the 1^st September, 2017 the catchment area of Bancffosfelen be re-designated and included within the existing catchment of Pontyberem Primary School.

It was also reported that following the sharing of the draft consultation with the local member, Chair of the Governing Body of Both Bancffosfelen/Pontyberem Primary schools and the Head Teacher of Pontyberem, the Governing body of Bancffosfelen had produced a detailed bilingual report with an additional option for consideration,(as detailed within the report). Additionally, observations had been received from the Chair of Governors and Head Teacher of Pontyberem School together with 23 letters opposing the proposal.

The Board was informed that the Education Scrutiny Committee at its meeting held on the 9^th March had considered the proposal and had recommended (1) that prior to making any recommendations to the Executive Board regarding the future of the school, the Committee receives a presentation from Bancffosfelen School’s Governing Body on its proposal to establish a community charitable trust and re-categorise Bancffosfelen as a voluntary aided school and (2) that prior to making any recommendations to the Executive Board regarding the future of the school, the Committee undertakes visits to Bancffosfelen, Pontyberem, Y Fro and Llanddarog schools.

Having regard to the Scrutiny Committees recommendations and its earlier decision to defer consideration on initiating the formal consultation on the closure procedure for Llanedi School, it was suggested that the consultation for Bancffosfelen be also deferred for a period of three months to the end of June 2016, thereby affording sufficient time for the submission of further information and for officers to make appropriate enquiries.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED