Agenda item

To submit a report by the Director of Education, Skills and Young People in relation to the following schools:-

•  Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir  

The report of the Director of Education, Skills and Young People with regard to the schools’ modernisation programme in relation to the Llangefni area was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report set out the responses to the statutory consultation held in February/March 2020 on Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol Bodffordd and sought the Executive’s approval for the other reasonable alternative which is to build a new school for Ysgol Corn Hir and leave Ysgol Bodffordd as it is as the most appropriate way forward with regard to the two schools.

Having declared a prejudicial interest in both this and item 6 on the agenda, Councillor Richard Dew now withdrew and was not present for the remainder of the meeting.

The Portfolio Member for Education, Libraries, Culture and Youth introduced the report by saying that the Schools’ Modernisation Programme in this case involves weighing and assessing the future of Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol Bodffordd and the consequent impact on all the stakeholders, especially the children at the two school whose interests and well-being should be the predominant consideration. He reiterated that modernising schools can be a contentious issue and is among the most challenging aspects of the Council’s work and that he fully understood parents’ and others’ concerns in relation to this matter. The schools’ modernisation programme sets the groundwork for the future of schools over the next 50 years at a time when they are under pressure from budgetary cuts, burdensome maintenance costs and meeting the requirements of the New Curriculum as well as the impact of Covid. The Council has to consider how the school system can be made more effective in the sense of creating the conditions under which teachers and pupils can flourish and also how it can be made more efficient in terms of making the best use of resources and ensuring that all schools receive their fair share of the budget. The Portfolio Member referred to the Council’s major strategies and plans to which the Schools Modernisation Strategy 2018 is linked.

Between 6 February and 20 March, 2020 a statutory consultation on the future of Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol Bodffordd was held. Officials were authorised to carry out the consultation after the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and the 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. It should be noted that the Council has received a letter from the School Organisation and Admissions Branch of Welsh Government confirming that Welsh Government Ministers are giving the Council an extension until March, 2021 to publish any proposal. The Council has operated in accordance with the School Organisation Code 2018 throughout the pandemic period.

The Portfolio Member referred to the key drivers for change as set out in the Schools’ Modernisation Strategy 2018 which include improving educational standards; improving leadership and management; ensuring that school buildings are fit for purpose; reducing the number of surplus places (in the case of the Llangefni area ensuring sufficient capacity); 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.

As previously, the Portfolio Member thanked all those who had taken part in the consultation process.

The Director of Education, Skills and Young People highlighted the main points of the report and said that a statutory consultation was held between 6 February and 20 March, 2020 which considered a number of proposals (examples provided in the written report) including the Council’s original proposal for the two schools which was to re-locate and extend Ysgol Corn Hir to a different site to accommodate pupils from Ysgol Bodffordd, close Ysgol Bodffordd and review the catchment areas of Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir. Following the statutory consultation the proposal that is being recommended to the Executive is the other reasonable alternative which is to build a new school for Ysgol Corn Hir and leave Ysgol Bodffordd as it is.

There were 823 online responses and paper responses to the consultation. Responses were received from staff, parents, governors and children at both schools as well as from individuals and organisations (summary provided at section 5 of the written report). The significant feedback from the majority of stakeholders associated with the two schools confirmed acceptance of the original proposal with regard to the need for a new school for Ysgol Corn Hir but questioned why this should be at the expense of Ysgol Bodffordd. As part of the process, other educational models were put forward and were assessed by officers against the criteria and drivers of the current Schools’ Modernisation Strategy (section 6.4 of the report refers). After considering all the alternatives and following a comprehensive analysis of their strengths and weaknesses against the drivers of the Schools’ Modernisation Strategy, the other reasonable alternative proposed by stakeholders is considered to be the most appropriate way forward because it meets most of the key challenges faced by Ysgol Bodffordd. This would equate to a partial implementation of the original proposal i.e. a new building would be provided for Ysgol Corn Hir, but Ysgol Bodffordd would not close and its pupils would not be moved to the new school building. The proposal has changed for the following reasons –

•           Standards at Ysgol Bodffordd – Ysgol Bodffordd has improved in terms of its category moving upwards from Amber in 2015 to Yellow (B) in 2019.

•           Curriculum Delivery – Ysgol Bodffordd is in a strong position to collaborate with other schools in the local area to deliver the curriculum. 

•           The Welsh language – with 60 pupils at Ysgol Bodffordd (85%) and 138 pupils at Ysgol Corn Hir (61%) speaking Welsh at home (PLASC 2019)  Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir have the potential to sustain and further develop the existing Welsh-medium provision.

•           Capacity – the other reasonable alternative meets the capacity needs under consideration as part of the original proposal and therefore meets the expected future increase in pupil numbers.

•           Travel arrangements – the other reasonable alternative is unlikely to change pupils’ current travel arrangements. Pupils from Bodffordd, who at present walk or cycle to school are likely to be able to continue to do so without probable changes to the carbon footprint.

•           Bodffordd Community Centre – there will be no changes. As a result, the community centre at Ysgol Bodffordd can continue to be used as at present.

•           The School Organisation Code 2018 – Ysgol Bodffordd is identified in the Code as a Rural School, and as a result the Council has followed a more detailed set of procedures and requirements in formulating the other reasonable alternative. (The Code does however note that a presumption in favour of rural schools does not mean that a rural school will never close).

The Officer referred to the impact assessments that were conducted with regard to the Equality Act, Language, Community and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 the outcome of which is set out in the appendix to the consultation report.  The number of responses to the impact assessment question provides 95% certainty that the response is correct and matches the feelings of the rest of the consultation respondents. A 95% confidence level means that if the survey was conducted 100 times, the same results would be provided 95% of the time. The Impact Assessment is a live document and has been updated to include stakeholder comments received during the statutory consultation period; the current assessment includes an assessment relating to the new proposal recommended for implementation. The Impact Assessment will continue to be regularly updated throughout the development period so that should another risk/issue arise, the Council in partnership with the local community can put in place mitigation measures to overcome the risk or issue that arises. This arrangement will operate throughout the development phase and will be accountable to the Corporate Programme Board for Services Transformation.

The cost of building a new school for Ysgol Corn Hir is estimated to be approximately £9m to £10m. Subject to approval, it will be funded by a Welsh Government contribution of 50% through the 21st Century School Band A programme with the Isle of Anglesey County Council contributing the other 50%.

The Director of Education, Skills and Young People said in conclusion therefore that it is recommended that a new school is built for Ysgol Corn Hir and that Ysgol Bodffordd is left as it is.

On the Chair’s invitation, Councillor Aled Morris Jones, Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee reported from the Committee’s meeting earlier in the afternoon which had considered the consultation report and the recommended proposal. The Committee received representations from Mr Dafydd Jones, Chair of the Governing Body of Ysgol Corn Hir and from Mr Gareth Parry, member of the Governing Body of Ysgol Bodffordd and was thankful to both for their input. The Committee heard about the lack of space and its impact on the learning and teaching environment at Ysgol Corn Hir and noted that the school is currently 17% over capacity. The Committee further noted the availability of Welsh Government grant funding under the 21st Century Schools Programme and the opportunity this presented to have a modern fit for purpose school for Ysgol Corn Hir which was widely supported by the community. The Committee noted also the strong stakeholder support for keeping Ysgol Bodffordd open as well as the reasons why this was now being proposed. The Committee was unanimous in its support for the other reasonable alternative put forward and recommended its approval by the Executive.

The Chair thanked Scrutiny for its work with regard to both the matter under consideration and the previous matter, and in particular for bringing a different perspective and robust challenge to the debate, sentiments which were echoed by the Executive as a whole.

There was consensus among the Executive’s members about the importance of bringing in modern facilities to the Authority’s school stock which provide the right learning environment, resources and space to meet future requirements including those of the new curriculum. As important is the need to have in place a sustainable and cost effective education system that meet the needs of pupils equally. In considering the other reasonable alternative as presented and what it entails in terms of ensuring quality and standards of education at both Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol Bodffordd as well as the reasons for the change of proposal, and having noted the feedback and recommendation from Scrutiny, the Executive was satisfied, and was agreed that the other reasonable alternative as recommended represents the most appropriate way forward in this case.

It was resolved –

•           To approve the proposal to build a new school for Ysgol Corn Hir and leave Ysgol Bodffordd as it is.

•           To authorise Officers to implement the decision as soon as possible and to note that its implementation is outside the expectations of the School Organisation Code (011/2018).

•           To authorise Officers to re-publish the Impact Assessment on the proposal as part of assessing the proposal’s ongoing impact on equality, the Welsh language and the community.