Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any declaration of interest from a Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

Councillor Richard Dew declared a personal and prejudicial interest with regard to item 2 on the agenda and was not present when the item was considered.

To submit a report by the Director of Education, Skills and Young People on the County Council’s Schools Modernisation Programme in relation to Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir. 

The report of the Director of Education, Skills and Young People incorporating a proposal paper on schools’ modernisation in the Llangefni area with reference to Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol Bodffordd was presented for the Executive’s consideration. The report sought the Executive’s approval to proceed to a statutory consultation on the proposal to “relocate 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.”

As he had declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this matter, Councillor Richard Dew withdrew from the meeting during the discussion and determination thereof.

The Portfolio Member for Education, Libraries, Culture and Youth presented the report which set out the proposal for schools modernisation in the Llangefni area with specific regard to Ysgol Corn Hir and Ysgol Bodfordd. He referred to the decision in May, 2019 which was entirely the Council’s own decision made through the Chief Executive and the Executive, to rescind the original decisions in respect of schools’ modernisation in the Llangefni area and to request Officers to look afresh at the various issues in relation thereto and the requirements under the School Organisation Code 2018 and report back to the Executive in due course. The proposal paper forms part of this process and represents an initial internal assessment for which the Executive’s approval is sought as a basis for statutory consultation. The cornerstone of the vision for schools’ modernisation has always been the future of the Island’s children with the principal objective of the programme being to create the best possible educational environment for teachers and pupils to succeed thereby promoting high standards. Change can be difficult and implementing the schools modernisation agenda to date has at times been challenging, and whilst on the one hand it has involved the closure of some primary schools, it has also meant a significant investment of £22m in education on the Island through the creation of three new schools for present and future generations. In outlining the process and timeline to be followed for statutory consultation should the proposal paper be approved, the Portfolio Member urged all interested parties and stakeholders to take part and submit their views in order to ensure the consultation is as meaningful as possible.

The Director of Education, Skills and Young People guided the Executive through the proposal paper and confirmed that it had been the subject of legal advice in terms of the process and the expectations of the Schools Organisation Code 2018. He outlined the School Modernisation Strategy key drivers for change and the criteria that must be met when those drivers are applied to education provision in the Llangefni area and said that eleven reasonable alternatives/options for the Llangefni area had been considered which encompass Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni, Ysgol Bodffordd, Ysgol Corn Hir, Ysgol Y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn. A detailed analysis of each reasonable alternative has led to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

To submit a report by the Director of Education, Skills and Young People on the County Council’s Schools’ Modernisation Programme in relation to Ysgol Y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn.   

The report of the Director of Education, Skills and Young People incorporating a proposal paper on schools’ modernisation in the Llangefni area with reference to Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol Y Graig  was presented for the Executive’s consideration. The report sought the Executive’s approval to proceed to a statutory consultation on the proposal to “increase the capacity of Ysgol Y Graig to accommodate pupils from Ysgol Talwrn, close Ysgol Talwrn and review the catchment areas of Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol Y Graig.”

The Portfolio Member for Education, Libraries, Culture and Youth presented the report which set out the proposal for schools modernisation in the Llangefni area with specific regard to Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol Y Graig. As he had done under item 2, he referred to the background wherein the Council had in May, 2019 through the Chief Executive and the Executive, rescinded the original decisions in respect of schools modernisation in the Llangefni area and had requested Officers to look afresh at the various issues in relation thereto and the requirements under the School Organisation Code 2018, and report back to the Executive in due course. The proposal paper forms part of this process and represents an initial internal assessment for which the Executive’s approval is sought as a basis for statutory consultation. He referred to the Authority’s vision in instigating the schools modernisation programme and the main objective of the programme in seeking to create the best possible educational environment for teachers and pupils to succeed thereby promoting high standards. In doing so he accepted that change can be difficult and that implementing the schools modernisation agenda to date has at times been challenging, resulting on the one hand in the closure of some primary schools, but on the other hand leading to a £22m   investment in education on the Island through the creation of three new schools for present and future generations. In outlining the process and timeline to be followed for statutory consultation should the proposal paper be approved, the Portfolio Member urged all interested parties and stakeholders to take part and submit their views in order to ensure the consultation is as meaningful as possible.

The Director of Education, Skills and Young People advised that the general introduction he had made under item 2 regarding the key drivers for change and the criteria for education provision in the context of the wider Llangefni area applied in this case also with analysis of all the reasonable alternatives for education provision in the Llangefni area (section 5 of the proposal paper) concluding that there is no viable whole Llangefni area solution. As a result, and due to their geographical proximity, attention has focused on a possible solution for the Ysgol Y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn catchment areas and separately for the Ysgol Bodffordd and Ysgol Corn Hir catchment areas (as addressed under item 2). The Officer outlined the key challenges facing Ysgol Y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn (section 6) and said that ten reasonable alternatives  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.