Expansion plan for ‘oversubscribed’ school

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

A school for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that costs a council over £50,000 per student per year is currently “oversubscribed”, meaning some pupils are being placed in “costly” out-of-county alternatives.

Newport City Council is now considering a further expansion of Ysgol Bryn Derw to keep up with the demand for places.

Ysgol Bryn Derw is one of two special schools in the city, providing education and support for children aged 3-19 whose needs “cannot successfully be met” in other settings.

The school opened in 2017, and expanded three years later, but the 112 pupils currently registered there exceed the capacity of 96 places.

Report

“There is currently a waiting list for pupils needing a specialist ASD placement who are placed in Learning Resource Bases in local primary schools,” a Newport City Council report reads.

“Where this is no longer deemed suitable, these pupils are having to be placed in out-of-county specialist provisions, which are costly and are often a significant distance away from a pupil’s home address.”

The city council is planning a public consultation on plans to further expand Ysgol Bryn Derw by another 40 places, forming the latest part of a wider chain of school relocations around the city.

It is proposed the extra 40 places are created, from September 2025, at a “satellite base” for Key Stage 2 pupils, using the former Caerleon Lodge Hill infant building – which is currently used by Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Gwenlli.

But that Welsh-medium school will be leaving the site in April 2025 when Nant Gwenlli pupils and teachers move to their new classrooms in the Pill area of the city.

Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Gwenlli’s new home is currently occupied by Pillgwenlly Primary School, but the site will be vacated – in January 2025, according to council estimates – and the Pillgwenlly pupils will move to a new school that is being built as part of the Whiteheads housing development off Mendalgief Road.

Opening a new Key Stage 2 base for Ysgol Bryn Derw will come at a cost, with “necessary adaptations” in Caerleon expecting to reach £300,000, nearly half of which could come from Welsh Government match-funding.

The expansion will also mean the employment of up to 28 extra staff, according to the council report.

But these outgoings have to be balanced with the current spending on out-of-county placements for children who cannot secure a place at Ysgol Bryn Derw.

The council said this is currently costing it £50,048 per child each year – significantly more than the £25,878 it spends per pupil at the Newport school – and the “expected savings increase as the number of pupils accessing the provision grows over time” at the proposed new site.