Agenda item

Mrs. E. Heyes had earlier declared a personal interest in this item and left the meeting during its consideration and determination.

Councillor W.G. Hopkins had earlier declared that he is a governor on the Federated Llangennech School Governing Body and that the Local Authority’s Monitoring Officer had confirmed that he was permitted to take part and vote during consideration and determination of this item. 

The Committee considered a proposal to discontinue Llangennech Infant and Junior Schools and establish Llangennech Community Primary School in their place and the submissions received in response to the proposal to issue a Statutory Notice. The submissions received during the most recent consultation period, as set out in the consultation report, were included within the Objection Report.

The Director of Education & Children’s Services outlined the background to the proposal, the policy context and the content and layout of the report being presented to the Committee. He noted that a considerable response (1,418 responses) had been received, however, as the educational merits were the most important and determining factors in this matter, officers remained of the view that there were no changes required to the proposal following the latest stage of the process.

The following comments were made during consideration of the proposal:

The detailed report was welcomed and that it was stated that the Council was simply implementing that which the Welsh Government required of it. Disappointment was expressed that English-medium schools were not encouraging pupils to become bilingual and that the introduction of Welsh-medium provision was the only way in which the Council could ensure that all pupils were fully bilingual in both Welsh and English.

Reference was made to the significant amount of research, conducted in Wales and internationally, which supported the conclusion that dual-stream or English-medium schools did not create fully bilingual pupils and that full immersion in a Welsh-medium setting was the only way ahead, especially if the County was to address the significant decline in the number of Welsh speakers, as evidenced by the last Census of 2011. Reference was also made to the Welsh Government’s research that had shown that the performance and educational attainment of pupils in Welsh-medium only settings was not affected or hindered, as some suggested. It was felt that the failure to be bilingual was the real cause of division in communities. It was also noted that the Welsh Government had recently outlined its aim of creating 1 million Welsh speakers in Wales and it was clear that education would have to play a significant part in realising its ambition.  

Whilst the importance of increasing Welsh speakers and encouraging the use of the language was acknowledged. It was suggested that the objectors’ concerns should not be ignored. It was suggested that they had valid points and that not all their questions had been answered fully. It was essential that in order to be open and transparent, all the information needed to be provided in order to ensure that proposals such as this had everyone on board before moving ahead. The Director of Education & Children acknowledged the frustration with the process but noted that any concerns should be directed to the Welsh Government. The Local Authority was simply complying with the requirements handed down by the Government in Cardiff. He also stressed that the Authority had gone well beyond that which was expected of it during the consultation process in seeking to engage with all stakeholders. 

Reference was made to the consultation process and a view expressed that this had all been conducted correctly in accordance with the legislative requirements. However, if the proposal was implemented, it was certain that pupils from non-Welsh speaking homes would not simply be thrown in at the deep end but would be supported in every way possible in regards to their language skills. The Director of Education & Children noted that 50% of pupils in the Welsh-stream at Llangennech performed exceptionally well and that parents need not be concerned. The County’s schools were very good in nurturing and developing the Welsh language skills of pupils’ from non-Welsh speaking backgrounds.

The Committee RESOLVED: 

5.1       That the report be received. 

5.2       That being satisfied that there were no other related proposals; that the statutory proposal had been consulted upon and published in accordance with the School Organisation Code and contained all the relevant information and, having considered the consultation document and consultation report, the objections and any responses to the notice supporting the proposal in the objection report, it be recommended to the Executive Board that the proposal, as laid out in the Statutory Notice, be implemented. 

The Committee’s meeting was adjourned for 10 minutes following consideration of this item so that visitors could leave the Chamber.