New primary could become Welsh medium

Elgan Hearn Local Democracy Reporter

Hot on the heels of plans being agreed for a new primary school building, a proposal for it to become Welsh medium is set to be agreed by senior councillors.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet on Tuesday, February 24, senior councillors will receive a report on the proposal to change the Sennybridge school’s designation from dual (English/Welsh) stream to Welsh medium.

This change would be introduced on a phased basis year by year starting with the reception class in September 2027.

But the school governors want to see move to be implemented a year later.

The school currently has three classes taught in English and three in Welsh.

And of the 114 current pupils at the school 63 are in the Welsh medium stream and 51 in the English one.

Education chiefs recommend implementing the move to Welsh Medium on a phased basis, to minimise impact on pupils currently being taught in English at the school.

The report said: “The proposed date to start implementation of the proposal is September 2027, as this is the earliest date when implementation could commence.

“However, it is recognised that concerns about this proposed implementation date have been raised by the school’s governing body during discussions with them, and that the governing body have indicated a preference for a later implementation date.”

They explain that if councillors vote in favour of the move, a consultation on the proposal would allow governors and others with an interest to “raise these concerns” so that they can be mulled over as part of the process.

Comments from school governors contained in the report point out that there is already a lot of upheaval at the school with the move to Welsh medium education coming on top of the new school build and setting up nursery provision at the site.

The governors said: “The new school building is not scheduled for completion until Easter 2027, and some level of delay is almost inevitable.

“Managing a new build alone is a major undertaking; adding the establishment of a new nursery provision and a change in language categorisation at the same time places an unreasonable burden on both the headteacher, staff and the governing body.

“We believe it is important to reflect carefully on how feasible it would be for them to manage all of these responsibilities and simultaneously

“While we recognise that a full consultation process must take place before any decision is made, we would like to propose that September 2028 is the earliest date for implementation.

“This would better reflect the needs of children, staff, families and the wider community.”

Earlier this month Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority Planning committee voted to grant planning permission for the new £11 million school building.