Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol Y Graig
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ISLE OF ANGLESEY COUNTY COUNCIL Report to: The Executive Date: 17 December 2020 Subject: Report on the Consultation – School Modernisation Llangefni Area Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol y Graig Portfolio Holder(s): Councillor R. Meirion Jones Head of Service / Rhys H Hughes Director: Director of Education, Skills and Young People Report Author: Emrys Bebb Tel: 2919 E-mail: [email protected] Local Members: Councillor Bob Parry Councillor Dylan Rees Councillor Nicola Roberts A –Recommendation/s and reason/s Reasons: Officers have considered reasonable alternatives for the education provision in the Llangefni area as a whole, and for the catchment areas of Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol Y Graig in particular. Officers conclude that the expansion of Ysgol Y Graig through the proposed £6 million project, to ensure the current and long-term sustainability of education, and to ensure that there are sufficient school places to meet current and future demand, is the preferred option. It is recommended that the Executive: Approve the proposal which is to "Increase the capacity of Ysgol y Graig to take pupils from Ysgol Talwrn, close Talwrn School and review the catchment areas of Ysgol y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn" Authorise officers to move to the next part of the process set out in the School Organisation Code (2018) and issue a statutory notice for a period of 28 days early in the New Year. Authorise officers to undertake responses to the statutory notice producing an objection report (if any) for the purpose of further consideration by the Executive in the New Year. Authorise officers to re-publish the Impact Assessment on the proposal as part of the ongoing impact assessment of the proposal on equality, the Welsh language and the community. Background Between 6 February 2020 and 20 March 2020, Council officials undertook a statutory consultation on the future of the two schools in question. Officials were authorised to carry out the consultation after the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and Executive considered the 'proposal paper' in January 2020. The consultation closed on the last day of school before the first lockdown period, as a result of the global pandemic that transformed education provision for a time. 1 It is important to note that the Council has received a letter from the Welsh Government (School Organisation and Admissions Branch) stating that Welsh Government Ministers are giving the Council an extension until 19 March 2021 to publish any proposal. The Council has operated in accordance with the School Organisation Code 2018 throughout the pandemic period. As part of that consultation, the Council's original proposal and a number of other proposals were considered in detail. e.g. Establishing a multi-site school, Ysgol y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn Undertaking current and projected maintenance work at Ysgol Talwrn Expansion of all primary schools (Ysgol y Graig, Ysgol Talwrn, Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir) There were 57 online responses and 10 letter and email responses to the consultation. Responses were received from individuals and community organisations such as Merched y Wawr and others. Of the 57 online respondents, 52 (91%) disagreed with the proposal, while 5 (9%) agreed with the proposal. Of the 52 who said they disagreed with the proposal, 48 of these were associated with Ysgol Talwrn. There were 7 respondents associated with Ysgol y Graig. 4 of these 7 (57%) disagreed with the proposal, while 3 of the 7 (43%) agreed with the proposal. As part of the process, other educational models were also received and they were assessed by officers against the criteria and drivers of the current school modernisation strategy (set out below) while preparing the consultation report. Examples of the type of models presented are: Building a new 21st Century primary school for Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol y Graig and closing both schools. Federating Ysgol Talwrn with Ysgol y Graig Providing Nursery and Reception classes at Ysgol Talwrn and Years 1-6 at Ysgol y Graig After considering all the responses and following a comprehensive analysis of their weaknesses and strengths against the drivers of the school modernisation strategy, the original proposal is considered the most appropriate way forward. This conclusion was reached because the proposal meets the key challenges (set out below) faced by Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol y Graig and meets the requirements of the key drivers of change set out in the School Modernisation Strategy 2018. These include: • improving educational standards; • improving leadership and management; • ensuring that school buildings are fit for purpose; • reducing the number of surplus places; • reducing the overall cost of education and the variation in cost per pupil; • maintaining and improving Welsh-medium provision and • increasing the community use of school buildings. In addition, the proposal would secure sufficient school places for the future. 2 The proposal meets the requirements of the key drivers as follows: Standards across all schools need to be at least good or excellent. In addition, schools in the area would be expected to be in the green category, i.e. schools that are performing well and need the lowest level of support. The new expanded school would be in a position to maintain the Estyn grade and retain the green categorisation in the medium to long-term. Leadership and management must be good or better in all schools. In this context, headteachers need sufficient non-contact time to balance leadership and management challenges with teaching commitment - at the new expanded Ysgol y Graig, it is envisaged that the headteacher would have no teaching commitment. It would be possible to build and further develop a senior management team, which could improve leadership and management. The school building needs to provide an inspiring learning environment that will encourage all pupils to achieve their potential across all areas of learning. In addition, all schools must comply with the Equality Act 2010 in terms of accessibility for children with disabilities - a new 21st century building will be designed, with low maintenance costs and an excellent BREEAM rating. The current and projected maintenance costs of both schools of £408,500 would be written off. The expanded school will be fully compliant with the Equality Act 2010. Sufficient school places need to be available in the area to meet current demand, future forecast numbers as well as reduce surplus places. In addition, there is a need to reduce pupil movement from within and outside the catchment area if possible - it addresses the need to provide sufficient places at Ysgol y Graig. Pupils from Talwrn will also be taught in classes where the age range is smaller. Fewer pupils will move between catchment areas. Any revised school provision in the area will need to be cost efficient i.e. there is a need to reduce revenue costs and any current and projected maintenance costs. In addition, there is a need to reduce the variation in cost per pupil across individual schools - there would be a reduction in the average cost per pupil in the expanded school. The projected cost per pupil at the new expanded school would be approximately £3,436 (based on the 2019/20 budget). This is lower than the average for Anglesey Primary Schools - £3,988 (2019/20). It also eliminates the variation in cost per pupil between the two schools - Ysgol Talwrn - £4,553 (2019/20), Ysgol y Graig - £3,429 (2019/20). The proposal incurs an additional revenue cost of approximately £33,000 per annum (more information is provided in part 7), however it eliminates current and projected maintenance costs of £408,500. If the council were to fund this work through an unsupported loan over a 20-year period, it would cost around £32,000 a year to fund. It can therefore be concluded that the proposal is close to cost neutral. Welsh-medium provision - at the very least, the existing good provision would be maintained. Community use of school buildings and associated facilities needs to be maintained and maximised where possible - the wider community would continue to benefit from the use of the newly expanded school building. In summary, therefore, the recommended proposal is to "Increase the capacity of Ysgol y Graig to accommodate pupils from Ysgol Talwrn, close Ysgol Talwrn and review the catchment areas of Ysgol y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn" 3 B – What other options did you consider and why did you reject them and/or opt for this option? A number of options (or referred to as reasonable alternatives in the report) were considered as part of this report. All options have been considered against the key challenges identified for the Llangefni area and the schools being considered. C – Why is this a decision for the Executive? The Executive is responsible for school organisation matters. CH – Is this decision consistent with policy approved by the full Council? Yes. It is in keeping and consistent with the Anglesey School Modernisation Strategy 2018 (adopted by the Executive in October 2018) and Annual Delivery Document 2019/20 (adopted by Full Council). D – Is this decision within the budget approved by the Council? Yes – as part of the School Modernisation Programme. The new provision is estimated to cost around £6 million to build. If the proposal is approved, it will be funded by the Welsh Government who will contribute 65% through the 21st Century Schools Band B programme, and the Isle of Anglesey County Council who will contribute 35%. If the current Ysgol Talwrn building is sold, it is assumed that this could contribute approximately £150,000 towards the Council's contribution. The Council's contribution to the project will be funded through unsupported borrowing. The annual repayments are estimated to cost around £94,000.