Hopes new education centre will reduce need for out-of-county placements

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

An educational service supporting pupils who have social or emotional difficulties is set to open at a fifth site next month.

Newport’s Bridge Achievement Centre (BAC) will open at the former Connect Centre in Mendalgief Road, which was recently used as a temporary base for some pupils from St Andrews Primary School.

It will welcome 30 secondary school-aged pupils and have a “high staffing ratio” of three adults for every six to eight learners.

There are hopes the move will reduce the need for out-of-county placements.

‘Left behind’

“Without the BAC, many of these children and young people could be out of the education system or having to travel miles from their homes for lessons,” said Cllr Deb Davies, Newport City Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for education.

“We don’t want anyone left behind and the centre tutors and staff make sure young people don’t miss out on educational and other opportunities that they need now and for their futures.

“This not only benefits the pupils themselves but their families and our communities.”

The new site will operate in normal school hours, and the council said pupils’ families will also attend the Mendalgief Road centre to support their children.

Literacy and numeracy lessons

The centre will provide literacy and numeracy lessons, as well as activities based around skills and practical knowledge such as household finance, budgeting, and planning and cooking meals.

The BAC also operates at four other sites across the Newport area – with centres in Lliswerry, Bettws, and two in Rogerstone.

Following their most recent visit, in March this year, a team from inspection agency Estyn said staff at the BAC “create welcoming and positive environments which support pupils’ learning successfully”.

The centre also has “calm and assured leadership”, provides a “broad and balanced curriculum”, and “most pupils are well behaved and engage well in lessons”.

Until earlier this year, the former Connect Centre was providing junior pupils from St Andrew’s Primary with temporary classrooms, while a new £16 million teaching block was under construction in Lliswerry.

The school had been forced to knock down the former Key Stage 2 building over safety concerns, after a “serious structural defect” was discovered in 2021.