Council urged to accept funding deal to save threatened school

Martin Shipton

Llanelli MP Dame Nia Griffith has urged Carmarthenshire County Council to accept a 75% funding deal to stave off hugely controversial plans to shut down a school for children with special needs.

The Plaid Cymru-led local authority has said it does not have the money to build a new school to replace the existing Ysgol Heol Goffa.

However, Dame Nia says the money is on the table for the council to use towards a modern state-of-the-art facility for pupils with additional learning needs, autism and profound and multiple learning difficulties.

County council education chiefs declared that the new school plan had to be ditched due to soaring costs which made the project unaffordable.

Funding

But in a letter to Llanelli’s Labour MP, the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, has confirmed that 75% funding towards a new school is still available..

Dame Nia pointed to Swansea, Pembrokeshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf councils which have all accepted 75% grants for new special schools to be built.

Speaking after a We Love Ysgol Heol Goffa march in L;lanelli, attended by more than 300 people, Dame Nia said: “The great turnout by parents, pupils and friends of Ysgol Heol Goffa shows just how much the school matters to us.

“We know that the provision for pupils there is outstanding, and that a new building is long overdue.

“Other counties have been taking up the 75% grant from the Welsh Government to provide new special schools.

‘Carmarthenshire County Council now needs to do the same, scrutinising every line of the contractor’s price to ensure that the taxpayer is not paying over the odds, and that every penny is well-spent.”

The county council’s decision to axe plans for a new school for Heol Goffa sparked fury in May this year and the formation of an action group which organised the march.

Labour Lliedi ward councillors Andrew Bragoli and Shaun Greaney said they were delighted that the 75% funding deal was on the table for the school.

Cllr Greaney said: “I hope this will be a game-changer and will mean a new school for the disadvantaged and vulnerable children who need it.”

‘Change direction’

Cllr Bragoli said: “Plaid must now have a change of heart. They must change direction and build the school and keep their promise. Otherwise how can we believe anything they promise? It has been their decision and their decision only not to go ahead with the school.”

Ms Neagle said in her letter to Dame Nia: ‘The Welsh Government has provided significant capital funding to support learners with additional learning needs across Wales.

‘Over the last three years, the Welsh Government has allocated £60m directly to local authorities to improve facilities for learners with additional learning needs.

“Some £3.8m of this funding was directly allocated to Carmarthenshire County Council.

“Our Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme has also seen significant investment in education facilities across Wales, with £2.6bn invested since 2012.

“Additional support is provided to assist local authorities to deliver specialist provision with special school and pupil referral unit projects attracting a 75% Welsh Government contribution which is higher than the standard 65% contribution for mainstream projects.”

Independent review

A spokesperson for Carmarthenshire County Council said: “The work to improve special education facilities in Llanelli has started. David Davies, former Head of Additional Learning Needs and Wellbeing for Vale of Glamorgan Council, has been commissioned by Carmarthenshire council to lead an independent review of the current Additional Learning Needs (ALN) specialist provision in Llanelli.

“The independent consultant will meet with learners, parents, staff, governors and wider stakeholders to listen and take on board their views. All future proposals that will be developed, following the independent review, will be subject to a full public consultation at the appropriate time.

“Carmarthenshire County Council is fully committed to delivering the very best education and improving facilities to all of its ALN pupils. While the authority awaits the report from David Davies, to determine its medium to long term provision of ALN education in Llanelli, just under £0.5m is being invested by the County Council to improve the current facilities at Ysgol Heol Goffa.

Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language Cllr Glynog Davies said: “Providing the very best education for our ALN learners is paramount for us as a council and the governing body of Ysgol Heol Goffa.

“Together, we have been working to ensure that the needs of the children and their families are met, both in the short term – through this investment of almost £0.5m in the school building, and in the medium to long term through the independent review of ALN provision in Llanelli.

“We have tasked the independent consultant to produce a range of costed options to the council for us to consider. We hope to receive this report in the next few months, in order to enable us to make a decision as quickly as possible.

“As is now well known, regrettably, soaring construction costs, a factor that is outside our control, meant we were unable to proceed with the tender to build the planned special school for Heol Goffa. At the request of parents, we have made a formal request to the Welsh Government to fully fund the increase in the construction costs; however the Government has confirmed that it is also unable to do so.

“We remain committed to investing in improved ALN provision in Llanelli, and I am looking forward to continuing to work progressively with Ysgol Heol Goffa’s governing body, to provide a first class education to our learners.”