Agenda item

To submit a report by the Director of Education, Skills and Young People.

The report of the Director of Education, Skills and Young People seeking the Executive’s approval for a plan to relocate a portacabin on the old Ysgol Corn Hir site to Ysgol Bodffordd was presented for consideration.

The report was introduced by Councillor Dafydd Roberts, Portfolio Member for Education and the Welsh Language. The plan for which the Executive’s approval was sought would enable Ysgol Bodffordd to provide free school meals in line with Welsh Government’s scheme to provide universal free school meals to primary school children.

The Director of Education, Skills and Young People advised that since the introduction of universal primary free school meals for Reception and Years 1 and 2 children, the uptake has increased as evidenced in the report and a similar increase in demand is anticipated as the scheme is extended to include provision for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. The Authority is now planning to ensure that schools are ready to provide free school meals for all primary school children in Anglesey by 2024. Where necessary, more staff are being recruited and building adaptation work is being undertaken. The challenges in relation to facilitating viable provision in Ysgol Bodffordd are more substantial and are a risk to the Council’s ability to fulfil the scheme. The current arrangements at the school as described in the report are not suitable for providing school meals in current demand and extending the arrangements to accommodate more children is not practical in the long-term especially as it is anticipated that by September 2023, 74 children will be attending the school and all will be offered free school meals thereby creating a potential increase of between 15 and 30 additional meals per day.

Joint visits to the school have been made by the Learning and Property Services and Chartwell Officers and discussions have been held with kitchen staff and the Head Teacher and it has been decided that due to the layout of the building the only viable option to overcome the food serving challenges is to convert one of the classrooms adjoining the kitchen into a canteen and to relocate the classroom. As there is no suitable space within the current building a new space will need to be created, and as the school’s layout and ground levels mean that developing an extension would be challenging it is proposed that installing a portacabin on the school site which is separate to the main building for use as a classroom is the most appropriate solution. The availability of a portacabin in good condition on the site of the old Ysgol Corn Hir means that it can be repurposed thereby maximising value for money. The cabin placement works including securing planning consent as well as undertaking alterations to the kitchen on operational premises will be programmed over a period of a year as to manage risks and minimise disruption as per the outline plan and timetable set out in the report. Costs of up to £250,000 are foreseen which will be funded through the free school meals grant.

The Executive acknowledged the universal primary free school meals policy as a product of the Co-operation agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru which ensures that all primary school children in Wales will be provided with free school meals by 2024 without exception and notwithstanding the implementation challenges to be overcome in some instances, would bring benefit to all those children.

It was resolved that subject to securing planning consent, to approve the plan to relocate a portacabin on the old Ysgol Corn Hir site to Ysgol Bodffordd to ensure that Ysgol Bodffordd can provide free school meals in line with Welsh Government’s scheme to provide universal free school meals to primary school children.