Gwynedd Council

OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE

Gwynedd Council

Strategic Outline Programme (SOP) - Band B Update

For return by 31 July 2017

OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE Strategic Outline Programme – Band B Update - July 2017

Guidance

This form aims to capture the proposed changes to your Band B Programme since the most recent version of your Strategic Outline Programme/ Estate Strategy was agreed.

Please complete all relevant sections of this form including the statement of approval of this information in Section 12.

Please note that the budget for Band B of the Programme is fixed and prioritisation of projects will take place should applications for funding exceed the resources available. In the first instance projects will be prioritised based on building condition and sufficiency, but the exercise may take into account other factors such as flexibility of assets, efficiency of the education estate and deprivation.

Please return a signed, electronic copy of the form, to Jo Larner, Programme Director of 21st Century Schools and Education Programme by Monday 31 July via:

21stcenturyschools@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Section Contents:

1. Requested Band B Programme Envelope ...... 3 2. Summary of changes ...... 3 3. Strategic Case...... 5 4. Economic Case ...... 11 5. Commercial Case ...... 16 6. Financial case ...... 17 7. Management Case ...... 19 8. Application for Mutual Investment Model (MIM) funding ...... 24 9. Band B Projects ...... 26 10. Bands C and D ...... 27 11. Statement of Approval for Strategic Outline Programme (SOP) - Band B Update – July 2017 ...... 28

OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE Strategic Outline Programme – Band B Update - July 2017

1. Requested Band B Programme Envelope

Requested total of Band B envelope e.g. £15,000,000 £56,137,840

Requested Welsh Government contribution £29,768,788 e.g. £7,500,000

LA/ FEI contribution £25,640,538 Gwynedd Council e.g. £7,500,000 £728,515 (VA School contribution)

2. Summary of changes

What has changed since the latest version of your SOP/ Estates Strategy? 1000 words maximum

Gwynedd Council has continued to prioritise the 21 st Century Schools Programme within the Authority’s Strategic Plan. Since 2010, a total investment of c.£52 million has been committed to continue a major transformational programme which will deliver a sustainable and efficient educational estate in a mainly rural area. A School Modernisation Programme has reduced spare capacity and rationalised primary school sites, and has introduced innovative models for sustainable rural provision.

The successful projects approved within Band A of the Programme continue to be delivered on time and to budget. An assessment of the timetable in 2016 identified that there was capacity to complete an additional project and a revised SOP was successfully submitted to begin work within the Bangor Catchment Area. This will result in greater educational benefits being delivered by the Authority from the Band A Programme.

Since the submission of the previous version, Gwynedd Council has,

• Invested £13m and completed an innovative state of the art school for pupils with additional educational needs at Ysgol Hafod Lon Newydd, Penrhyndeudraeth which opened in October 2016

• Invested over £5m to build a new school in an area of severe deprivation at Ysgol Glancegin, Maesgirchen, Bangor which will open in September 2017

• Invested £5m to build a new area school in a very rural location at Ysgol Bro Llifon replacing a Category D building 2015.

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• Invested £4.3m and established a new 3-16 school, Ysgol Bro Idris, at Dolgellau on six sites.The school will open in September 2017.

• Invested £1m and completed improvements and refurbishments at Ysgol O M Edwards, Llanuwchllyn in 2013.

• Invested £10.27m and established an innovative 3-19 area school at Ysgol Y Berwyn, Bala which includes investment in a new 3-G pitch available for school and community use and important community services such a the local library, sports facilities and cinema and arts provision.

Gwynedd Council’s Band A Programme is on track to deliver,

• completed new school buildings which will improve the sufficiency of the educational estate;

• completed improvements and refurbishments at existing sites;

• a strengthened delivery of bilingual education;

• a greatly improved learning environment;

• new school networks actively collaborating to deliver the curriculum, increase the efficiency of financial expenditure, share resources and enable better opportunities for staff professional development.

Delivering Successful Futures

During 2016/17, a new model of supporting schools was introduced in order to strengthen school to school support systems, develop new partnerships and improve key stage outcomes, together with supporting schools to perform in the highest quartiles. A clear specification was implemented between the Council and GwE (Schools Efficiency and Improvement Service) in order to ensure that sharp and appropriate procedures are in place to monitor and evaluate progress in the schools.

Gwynedd Council is confident that this application for Band B funding builds on the significant improvements in the school estate achieved since 2010, to now focus on interventions which will make a major difference to the successful delivery of specific strategic priorities for the Authority and the Welsh Government. These include reviewing the provision of post-16 education, strengthening Welsh-medium education, creating excellent learning environments in very rural areas, maintaining pupils’ connection with their communities, encouraging collaborative models across schools and supporting leadership and professional skills.

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3. Strategic Case

How does your Programme link to local and national strategies e.g. the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, Welsh medium and childcare strategies? 1000 words maximum

Investment Objectives

Sufficiency and sustainability are central aims of Gwynedd Council’s approach in delivering its 21 st Century Schools Programme, The Band B Programme will focus on activities which will ensure that the synergies obtained from integrating the requirements of national and local strategies deliver better learning outcomes for pupils. The Authority’s Strategic Plan 2017-18 includes the objective of developing a network of viable schools for the future. Delivering this objective will create better conditions to develop leadership, increase and standardise education standards and improve experiences for children and young people.

The new Programme will thus build on opportunities provided by recent policy developments as outlined below.

Delivering a Strong Welsh-Medium Education Strategy

Gwynedd Council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan sets the ambitious objective of ensuring that all pupils in the county possess appropriate language skills in Welsh and English, to enable them to become full members of the bilingual community to which they belong. This strongly align’s with the principal objective of the Welsh Government’s Strategic Plan for the Welsh Language namely, “ to have an education and training system that responds in a planned way to the growing demand for Welsh-medium education, reaches out to and reflects our diverse communities and enables an increase in the number of people from all ages and backgrounds who are fluent in Welsh and able to use the language with their families, in their communities and in the workplace.” The policy aims to be an exemplar for the development of Welsh as a subject and learning medium from pre-school age onwards and promote children and young people’s use of Welsh as a social language.

The framework and strategic basis adopted for schools re-organisation within the 21st Century Schools Programme places the Welsh Language as one of the main principles and considerations when drawing up proposals. During any process of reorganisation, the Council is required to conduct a language impact assessment in the areas that are affected.

The Authority is also committed to supporting the Welsh Government’s draft strategy ‘A million Welsh speakers by 2050’,and ensuring that there are opportunities at every stage in an individual’s life to learn Welsh and learn through the Welsh language medium. Since launching the Welsh Language Charter in Gwynedd primary schools, innovative work has taken place to encourage children’s social use of Welsh. This has the potential to become a best practice approach for other local 5 of 29 OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE Strategic Outline Programme – Band B Update - July 2017

authorities in Wales.

Rewriting the Future

Gwynedd Council is committed to raising aspiration and achievement at all the Authority’s schools. This includes ensuring that there is effective family and community engagement, strong partnerships for the early years and high quality bilingual teaching and learning provision. Through appropriate and effective use of the Pupil Deprivation Grant, targeted support will be provided to eliminate the obstacles that pupils from deprived backgrounds face. Vulnerable children and young people will benefit from an Early Intervention Programme including support for early years and mental health services for teenagers.

Successful Futures

The proposed Programme will contribute to the Authority’s preparation for the implementation of the new curriculum as outlined in the Welsh Government’s policy document, A Curriculum for Wales, a Curriculum for Life (2016). This will adopt the four purposes of ambitious, capable learners; enterprising, creative contributors; ethical, informed citizens and healthy, confident individuals.

Improving the quality of learning environments for pupils and staff will be at the forefront of the Programme. This will be coupled with the need to develop an efficient and sustainable infrastructure for the education estate capable of a highly flexible use of assets for educational and community use. The Authority has a major challenge in ensuring that its educational delivery is sustainable in very rural areas where pupil numbers are small and schools are geographically remote. The proposed Programme will directly tackle this issue through innovative models for collaborative management and delivery whilst maintaining pupils’ connection with their local communities.

Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

The proposed Programme will adopt the key principles of the Gwynedd and Ynys Mon joint Local Development Plan (2016). Specific objectives include:-

• Parents and families are successful in bringing up and caring for their children • Children and young people are able to learn, gain crucial skills and to venture • Children and young people are able to voice their opinions and participate fully in the lives of their communities • Children and young people are able to live healthily and participate in physical, cultural and social activities

In addition, Gwynedd Council made a commitment to support safe and strong communities through ensuring:-

• Thriving and self-sufficient communities • People having access and reasonable transport to quality services

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• More young people and families of working age choosing to remain in the county to live and work • Gwynedd communities and families are supported to rise from poverty

The Authority’s proposal acknowledges the importance of connecting schools with their communities through considering the co-location of local services within proposals to improve school facilities, thus maintaining the sustainability of these services alongside improved learning environments for pupils.

In taking advantage of opportunities to establish co-located services, the Authority aims to ensure that the investment maximises the benefits of revenue cost efficiencies as well as placing the school hubs at the heart of the local community. The design of internal spaces will allow the community and schools to share facilities on site, whilst maintaining separate access arrangements which address the differing needs of the school and the community.

Talk Childcare

The proposed Programme will contribute to the delivery of the Welsh Government’s Talk Childcare pilot. The Welsh Government is committed to providing 30 hours per week of early years education and free childcare for working parents of three to four year olds, for 48 weeks a year. The free early years education currently provided by the Foundation Phase forms part of this offer. The main objectives in extending the right are to: • provide support in bringing up the next generation • provide more employment choices for parents • tackle poverty • promote equality • support child development

Gwynedd Council has been chosen by the Welsh Government to test the Talk Childcare offer in the well-being area of, • Bangor which includes Bethesda; • Porthmadog which also includes Criccieth, Penrhyndeudraeth, Harlech and Garndolbenmaen; • Ffestiniog which includes areas down to Trawsfynydd; • Dolgellau which includes the area around Barmouth, Corris, Dinas Mawddwy, Dyffryn Ardudwy and Llanbedr.

From January 2018, the well-being area of Caernarfon which includes Bethel, Cwm y Glo, Bontnewydd, Deiniolen, Llanberis, Groeslon, Llanllyfni, Clynnog, Llanrug, Llanwnda, Penisarwaen, Penygroes, Talysarn and Waunfawr will also be testing the offer.

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Highlight any differences to your strategic case since the latest version of your SOP/ Estates strategy was produced.

Please provide details of benefits and risks of your Programme. 1000 words maximum

Programme Benefits

The vision of the Authority’s current Strategy “ Excellent Primary Education of the Best Quality for the Children of Gwynedd” has six aims.

1) Appropriately-sized classes and high quality school leadership 2) Promote and strengthen the Welsh language 3) Develop a pro-active and creative long-term scheme 4) Make the best use of available resources 5) Create a learning environment of the best possible quality for the County's children and teachers 6) Develop schools into establishments that are central to community activity

The new Band B Programme will also support the Authority’s current plans to develop a series of principles which address the challenges of delivering high quality and sustainable education in a rural context. This approach will tackle the specific difficulties for primary head teachers of inadequate working conditions when trying to perform an administrative, managerial and educators’ role in the classroom through enabling 80% non-contact time. It also aims to ensure that composite classes contain no more than two age groups.

The successful projects approved within Band A of the Programme continue to be delivered on time and to budget. Since the submission of the previous version, Gwynedd Council has,

• Invested £13m and completed an innovative state of the art school for pupils with additional educational needs at Ysgol Hafod Lon Newydd, Penrhyndeudraeth which opened in October 2016

• Invested over £5m to build a new school in an area of severe deprivation at Ysgol Glancegin, Maesgirchen, Bangor which will open in September 2017

• Invested £5m to build a new area school in a very rural location at Ysgol Bro Llifon replacing a Category D building in 2015.

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• Invested £4.3m and established a new 3-16 school, Ysgol Bro Idris, at Dolgellau on six sites.The school will open in September 2017.

• Invested £1m and completed improvements and refurbishments at Ysgol O M Edwards, Llanuwchllyn in 2013.

• An assessment of the timetable in 2016 identified that there was capacity to complete an additional project and a revised SOP was successfully submitted to begin work within the Bangor Catchment Area. This will result in greater educational benefits being delivered by the Authority from the Band A Programme.

Gwynedd Council’s Band A Programme is on track to deliver,

• completed new school buildings which will improve the sufficiency of the educational estate;

• completed improvements and refurbishments at existing sites as part of the Authority’s Corporate Asset Strategy, enabling an overall 24% reduction in Council’s building stock. The Strategy has been successful in ensuring that the users of schools are in much better buildings today than they were a few years ago;

• a strengthened delivery of bilingual education;

• a greatly improved learning environment within the school estate;

• new school networks actively collaborating to deliver the curriculum, increasing the efficiency of financial expenditure, sharing resources and enabling better opportunities for staff professional development.

Programme Risks

As part of the preparatory actions for Band B, the 21st Century Schools Programme has examined and revised its analysis of risk for future sustainability and sufficiency of the education estate and learning environment. This analysis has demonstrated there are increased general risks for future educational provision in Gwynedd of not addressing the following issues, • declining pupil numbers in very rural areas; • an inability to introduce innovative learning models using ICT and collaborative teaching networks for rural areas; • continued high maintenance costs of the existing estate;

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• continued inefficiencies in the use of the existing estate; • an increased loss of essential community services in areas of high deprivation and rural deprivation as identified by the WIMI through a lack of co-location and management ; • continued inability to recruit head teachers in rural areas where there is already a high proportion of heads approaching retirement.

In addition, the Authority has identified specific issues which have been prioritised for action under Band B (see Section 4).

4. Economic Case

Highlight any differences to the Economic Case since the latest version of your SOP/ Estates strategy was produced. 1000 words maximum

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Critical Success Factors

The Programme will continue to apply critical success factors which enable the appraisal of potential options to consistently assess expected outputs and outcomes. These include the achievement of SMART objectives for,

• an increase in educational attainment • an increase in the achievement of bilingual provision • increased opportunities for staff development and leadership at all levels • more efficient management of the school estate • effective school networks to share educational resources and improve provision • maximising opportunities for the co-location of community services at school hubs • maximising community benefits from the investment which actively contribute to strengthening the supply chain and the local economy

These factors will be regularly reviewed during the Programme life-cycle to ensure that they continue to be fit for purpose.

Preferred Way Forward

Following the identification of risks to the successful delivery of Gwynedd Council’s Strategic Plan, the Authority has identified specific issues associated with business need which have been prioritised for action under Band B. At this stage of development, discussions will continue with stakeholders to maintain a flexibility of approach before final investment decisions are taken.

i) Post-16 Education Arfon Area – £18m

The Authority has identified the need to address post-16 education in the Arfon Area due to the wider impact of the likelihood of declining pupil numbers. The development of effective learning environments will be the main driver for meeting the diverse needs of post-16 learners. This may be facilitated through adopting a co-operative approach in the planning of future provision involving Further Education and the neighbouring authority with the potential for co-working agreements. The Authority will therefore progress strategies for post-16 delivery in awareness of other relevant strategic organisational plans within the region.

In January 2017, there were 732 pupils studying in sixth forms in the Arfon area. Over the next 5 years, it is anticipated that pupils numbers in KS5 will decline. This will result in smaller sixth forms in existing secondary schools. There are a number of courses in years 12 and 13 which are already financially unsustainable which, in turn, puts pressure on teaching resources and indirectly affects provision in KS3 and KS4. The following table shows a five year forecast of post-16 pupil numbers (based on 2015 data).

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2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Year 12 375 346 368 348 357 Year 13 341 323 298 318 300 Total 715 669 666 666 657

The current position of secondary school pupil numbers in the Arfon Area is shown in the following table. The proposed review of Post-16 education will aim to, • increase the range of academic and vocational provision; • increase the number of pupils who continue their education after KS4; • lessen the travel needs of pupils within the school day; • consider governance issues and the quality of bilingual learning provision.

Secondary Schools NOR 11 -18 Post -16 Capacity Arfon Area (PLASC 2017) Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen 396 54 488 Ysgol Brynrefail 679 114 837 Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle 408 69 599 Ysgol Friars 1194 241 1328 Ysgol Tryfan 456 83 628 Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen 853 171 1164 Total 732

ii) Maintaining a Strong Welsh-Medium Provision in the Bangor Catchment Area - £18.11m

The 2011 Census (in comparison with the 2001 Census) shows a fall in the numbers who can speak Welsh in every ward in Bangor. A reduction of 10% has occurred in the number of Welsh speakers in the city in a decade - from 45% in 2001 to 35% by 2011. Whilst secondary bilingual schools in Gwynedd, with some variations, act in a comparatively similar way to one another with regard to linguistic strategies, especially at KS3, this is not the position in the Bangor area where both secondary schools provide considerably different provision to each other. This approach dates back to the the re-organisation of educational provision in the city in 1978.

Ysgol Tryfan teaches almost entirely through the medium of Welsh, following a language pattern for specific Welsh-medium schools established in other parts of Wales. Ysgol Friars has adopted a policy of teaching through the medium of English, except for the teaching of Welsh as a first language and some Welsh-medium input for classes at KS3. Both secondary schools in the city have an important contribution to make, not only to maintain standards of education and ensure that every pupil fully achieves his potential but also to promote Welsh and bilingualism, building on the progress made in the primary sector. However, there are now additional pressures on maintaining and increasing the number of Welsh speakers which require strategic intervention by the Authority.

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The case for change for the SOP approved under Band A focused on the immediate pressure for primary school places in specific areas of the Bangor Catchment Area. Under Band B, the projects to be developed will build on the re-organisation of primary provison and specifically focus on strengthening Welsh language provision in both primary and secondary schools. In addition, the importance of maintaining Welsh language skills from the Foundation Phase through to post-16 provision will be addressed particularly in the context of the impact of new housing developments. The results of the Arfon Area Post-16 Review will also inform future strategies in the Bangor catchment area.

iii) Unsuitable Accommodation

Although Band A has resulted in an improved school estate and the removal of Category C and D schools, there are still Category C schools at Ysgol Treferthyr, Cricieth, and Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes in Bangor.

Ysgol Treferthyr, Cricieth - £4.97m

A considerable part of this school was constructed using Vic Hallam type construction in the 1970s, which of course has a lifespan in the region of 25 years and is now in significantly poor condition. The Council has already invested in the region of £500,000 to extend its useful life some years ago, the effect of which has now been eliminated and the buildings have been assessed as being past their serviceable life. Further investment will only result in delaying the inevitable need to demolish and rebuild. Similar problems were addressed at Ysgol Groeslon and Ysgol Glancegin during Band A of the Programme. There is a considerable risk that the present buildings will not be able to continue to be used beyond the next 5 years and without forward planning the buildings will have to close without notice.

Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes, Bangor - £4.86m

This is a Category C school which has been identified as requiring immediate repairs. Ysgol Ein Hargwyddes is a Catholic (VA) primary school serving the parishes of Bangor, Bethesda, Menai Bridge and Llangefni, and is one of only two Catholic schools in Gwynedd. iv) Correcting the disparity in the condition and suitability of buildings in specific catchment areas - £10.2m

Gwynedd Council has adopted a strategy as part of its Asset Management Plan which aims to secure a significant improvement in the condition and suitablility of its education buildings portffolio. Over the past 5 financial years, the Council has demonstrated its committment to ensuring that children are offered the best possible educational environment by investing £10.1m of its own capital funds to target the backlog maintenance in school buildings, which has in turn resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of buildings in condition category A and B.

The Council’s desire is to continue to target schools backlog maintenance over the next 5 years, and improve the suitability of buildings. In particular, we aim to tackle those

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buildings located in areas which have already been subject to an educational review as part of Band A or Tranche 3 funding (22 buildings on 8 school sites), together with buildings in areas which are unlikely to be affected by any educational review in the future (67 buildings on 22 school sites). This will ensure that all children in those areas are educated in buildings which are in good condition and have suitable resources. This will eliminate the present disparity in the condition and suitability of buildings within the same catchment areas – where some pupils are educated in new buildings and others continue to attend buidlings which offer a significantly poorer educational environment.

The total cost of clearing the backlog Maintenance in these 89 buildings on 30 school sites will be £10.2M. This will result in all 89 buildings being in condition category A by the end of Band B. As part of this upgrading project, we will also be dealing with suitability issues i.e. environment, layout, location, flexibility, servicing requirements, general servicing requirements and size of key rooms.

Infant class size capital grant As part of a grant bid relating to the Welsh Government’s aim of reducing infant class sizes and raising standards, the Authority will be submitting a capital element to their bid to increase the capacity at Ysgol Glancegin, Maesgeirchen. This will be subject to Capital Panel approval following a submission of a Business Justification Case (BJC).

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5. Commercial Case

Highlight any differences to the Commercial Case since the latest version of your SOP/ Estates strategy was produced.

Please include details of what delivery models you are considering e.g. batching or single delivery. 1000 words maximum

Gwynedd Council will consider each project, assessing the possible options of Traditional procurement, Design and Build, or using Early Contractor Involvement, all of which have been used successfully by the Authority in Band A.

During the implementation of Band A, we have successfully developed our relationships with local contractors and consultants and have seen the benefits in improvements in quality and delivery to timetable. Through Early Contractor Involvement we aim to integrate the experience of the contractors into the design stages with benefits in improved buildability and greater cost certainty.

Design teams will be appointed by tender, either through frameworks or by open tender as appropriate. Gwynedd Council does not currently have the capacity to carry out this design work in-house.

Procurement Strategy

Our preferred procurement route is via the North Wales Construction Framework and we are currently working with other North Wales authorities to appoint a second generation framework in anticipation of Band B. Main contractors will be appointed off the framework through mini-competition.

In order to cover the diverse range of project values which may derive from the Band B programme across the region, and to encourage local SME’s to participate in the programme, the financial scope of the framework is to be extended to five tender value bands: £250k > £1m £1m > £2.5m £2.5m > £5.5m £5.5m > £10m Over £10m

By utilising a framework the desired outcome is that the potential for community benefits are maximised both in economic and social terms.

Batching

The opportunity to batch projects will be considered once the programme has been finalised, and will include the programmes of neighbouring authorities.

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Community Benefits

Gwynedd Council places a strong emphasis on the development and delivery of community benefits on schools construction projects, and has achieved considerable success, in particular in the areas of local supply and training. We will continue to incorporate this requirement into our major projects and for Band B we will extend this requirement into the contracts for small value refurbishment and extension contracts. We will seek to maximise all areas of community benefits, focussing particularly on the areas targeted by the 21 st Century Schools programme and the specified benchmarks.

Lessons Learned

Gwynedd Council has developed a team that has delivered projects under SCIF, Tranche 3 and Band A of the 21 st Century Schools Programme. The team has strong record of delivery to time and budget and maintains a ‘lessons learned’ register across the programme.

In addition to many small scale but important lessons we have sought to develop our procurement methodologies and our ways of working with and involving contractors, to the benefit of the programme in Gwynedd

Co-location of Services

Gwynedd Council will build on the experience of community Campuses such as the Bala Learning Campus to deliver innovative teaching within buildings providing a variety of the learning spaces fit for 21st Century. The needs of each area will be assessed and where appropriate new school buildings will be developed to provide a range of services such as sports facilities, libraries, and community spaces for the whole community. In rural areas, new models of co-location and multi-use sites represent the most viable and sustainable model for retaining both education and community provision. In Gwynedd, according to WIMD 2014, eighteen areas in Gwynedd were considered as amongst the most deprived in Wales in relation to the “access to services” indicator.

6. Financial case

Highlight any differences to the Financial Case since the latest version of your SOP/ Estates strategy was produced.

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Indicative Costs

The overall costing of Gwynedd Council’s Band B Programme has adopted a high level approach whilst more detailed consultation takes place through a comprehensive engagement process. Therefore at this stage, initial indicative costs only are shown in the table below.

The main challenge for the Authority remains the higher cost of maintaining high quality learning environments within very rural areas and providing innovative delivery models which include the potential for collaboration and co-working with other partners.

Project Description Estimated Capital costs

1. Post-16 Review in the Arfon £18m Catchment Area

2. Maintaining a Strong Welsh- £18,114,485 medium Provision in the Bangor Catchment Area

3. Unsuitable Accommodation:

a) Ysgol Treferthyr £4,966,590

b) Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes £4,856,765

4. Disparity in the condition and £10,200,000 suitability of buildings

Total cost £56,137,840

Funding Arrangements

Whilst the Authority will continue to explore alternative sources of funding, it is anticipated, in the current economic climate, that contributions from sources including, in these incidences, capital receipts and ongoing revenue savings will be limited. The Authority will consider the case for prudential borrowing on this basis.

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Project Description Funding arrangements WG Gwynedd Council (50%) (50%) 1. Post-16 Review in the Arfon Catchment Area £9,000,000 £9,000,000

2. Maintaining a Strong Welsh- medium Provision in the £9,057,243 £9,057,242 Bangor Catchment Area

3. a) Ysgol Treferthyr £2,483,295 £2,483,295

4. Disparity in the condition and suitability of buildings £5,100,000 £5,100,000

Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes is one of two Voluntary Aided (VA) Catholic schools in Gwynedd (there is also one VA Church in Wales school, Ysgol Beuno Sant, which is included in the Bala Band A Project). For VA schools, governors’ expenditure may be supported by up to 85% grant aid from the VA Capital Building Programme administered by the Welsh Government, with the governors themselves required to meet the remaining 15%.

Project Description Funding arrangements WG Catholic Church (85%) (15%) 3. b) Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes £4,128,250 £728,515

Affordability Gwynedd is currently reviewing its 10 year asset management plan and will be considering the funding of the projects at the levels shown as part of that review. The financial obligations will be regularly reviewed over the coming period to provide assurance to the Authority that the planning assumptions remain valid.

7. Management Case

Highlight any differences to the Management Case since the latest version of your SOP/ Estates strategy was produced. 1000 words maximum

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Programme Management Arrangements

The Senior Responsible Officer for the programme is Gwynedd Council’s Corporate Director, Iwan Trefor Jones, whilst the day to day running of the programme comes directly under the Education Department led by Garem Jackson – Interim Head of Education. The Modernising Education Team works alongside the Head of Education to deliver the aims and objective of the Programme.

The Programme Board will continue be responsible for all projects that form part of the Council’s 21st Century Schools Programme, reviewing educational provision and built facilities across the county. The Programme Board will maintain an overview and prioritise the work within the Programme. Each individual school building project will have an appointed Project Manager and a Project Board with members appointed to undertake individual tasks. These Project Boards will report to the Programme Board on the progress of projects and on any issues that are referred upwards. The Programme Board’s main responsibilities will be to:

1) Oversee work streams for projects within the Programme

2) Ensure that all schemes within the programme are financially viable from the outset, and remain viable throughout the life-cycle of the Programme

3) Ensure appropriate level of resources are available to project leaders for the successful completion of the individual projects

4) Authorise any financial expenditure changes in the Programme or individual projects which go beyond agreed tolerances.

5) Consider any external constraints on the Programme

All activities within change management processes will be mapped through the identification of key outcomes and the necessary actions required, ensuring successful delivery. Timescales for carrying out such actions, the resources required, and where required, the need for additional resources, will also be determined.

PRINCE2 project management disciplines will be used to ensure all changes are delivered on time and to the required standard. The individual activities needed to complete the individual sub-projects will be delivered as work packages within the overall project.

Programme Milestones

Programmes milestones will be agreed following discussion by Gwynedd Council Cabinet and the approved milestones will then be submitted to the Welsh Government.

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Programmes Assurance

The Business Change Manager will be responsible on behalf of the Senior Responsible Owner for delivering the Programme Benefits Realisation Plan. The Manager will be expected to define the benefits gained through Programme activities and monitor activities to ensure that the improvements are delivered. The role will include an evaluation of activities to ensure continuous improvement within the Education Department. The Business Change Manager is expected to work closely with the Programme Manger.

Lessons learned reports will be created throughout the Programme period and disseminated to inform other work, including future phases of the 21st Century Schools Programme. All future projects within the Programme will follow best practice established through the successful delivery of Band A.

Relevant Scrutiny Committees within the Authority will provide regular internal audits of the 21st Century Schools Programme, both through conducting reviews of educational provision and subsequent property renovation and building projects.

Name Job Title Role

Senior Responsible Iwan Trefor Jones Corporate Director Owner

Cllr. Gareth Thomas Cabinet Member for Education Senior User

Garem Jackson Head of Education (Interim) Programme Director

Dafydd Gibbard Corporate Property Senior Manager Senior Supplier

Cllr. Dafydd Meurig Cabinet Member for Property Senior Supplier

Iwan Evans Head of Legal Services Senior Supplier

Dafydd Edwards Head of Finance Programme Assurance

Modernising Education Programme Hedd Tomos Programme Manager Manager

Gateway Reviews

The Authority’s 21 st Century Schools Programme was last reviewed in 2014. The process provides a valuable opportunity to obtain additional feedback from key internal and external stakeholders and provided reassurance that the programme retains stakeholder support and commitment. The previous review noted that the Program has made excellent progress towards achieving the vision towards strengthening the educational provision in Gwynedd.

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Please provide details of the structures in place to deliver the projects within your Programme and contact details of the core team. 500 words maximum / organogram

Programme Structures

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Please provide key milestones for the Programme

COPY PLAN HERE

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8. Application for Mutual Investment Model (MIM) funding

Do you intend to deliver any of your Band B projects using the Mutual No Investment Model? Delete as appropriate

If: • No - please move to the next Section 10 • Yes - please complete the relevant section for local authorities or further education institutions below.

(a) Local Authorities

Schools Number Size Cost – based on WG guidance Please indicate Primary how many school buildings you Secondary would use this funding for: Total

Please provide brief details including title and estimated capital cost of the project/s. 1000 words maximum

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(b) Further Education Institutions

Colleges

Please provide brief details of your college project(s), together with the estimated capital cost using the Welsh Government capital rate per m 2.

Please give details of the extent of the works planned e.g. campus, block replacement, extension and the type of facilities e.g. construction, hairdressing and beauty. 1000 words maximum

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9. Band B Projects

How many projects do you intend to 5 deliver in Band B?

What are they? (Please note that details of the projects should also be included in the attached table). The projects should be ranked in both documents in order of priority. 500 words maximum

Project Title Estimated Capital costs 1. Post -16 Review in the Arfon Catchment Area £18,000,000

The project will aim to address the current and future needs of post-16 learners within the Arfon Area.

2. Maintaining a Strong Welsh -medium Provision in £18,114,485 the Bangor Catchment Area

The project will aim to address the decline in Welsh speakers in the Bangor area and strengthen Welsh-medium educational provision.

3. Ysgol Treferthyr £4,966,590 The project will complete essential improvements at a school site wihich is at high risk of closure due to unsuitable buidlings.

4. Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes £4,856,765

The project will enable immediate remedial work at one of only two Catholic schools in Gwynedd.

5. Disparity in the condition and suitability of buildings £10,200,000

The project will aim to ensure that children across the whole of Gwynedd benefit from learning in high quality learning environments.

Total cost £56,137,840

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10. Bands C and D

Please provide an update for Bands C and D of your Programme. [Band C will run from April 2024- March 2029; Band D will run between April 2029 and March 2034]. Band C 500 words maximum

To be confirmed following further discussion.

Band D 500 words maximum

To be confirmed following further discussion.

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11. Statement of Approval for Strategic Outline Programme (SOP) - Band B Update – July 2017

Please complete as appropriate:

I confirm that the updates in this form have been signed off by either the Cabinet of the local authority or the Board of the further education institution:

Local Authority / College Gwynedd Council

Name Printed Iwan Trefor Jones

Name Signed

Position in the organisation Corporate Director

Date DD/MM/YYYY 31/07/2017

If there has not yet been sign off at Cabinet or Board level, please confirm when this is anticipated. Please also confirm at what level the document has currently been signed off.

The document has been signed off at Board Level.

It is expected that the SOP will be formally submitted to the Cabinet for approval in October.

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