Petition launched to save school closed due to safety concerns

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

The anxious mother of a pupil at a school that’s closed unexpectedly said parents were desperate to know what’s going on.

Claire Warren was one of dozens of mums and dads who learned just before the start of this term that Carway Community Primary School, between Pontyates and Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire, was off-limits due to building safety concerns.

The council has provided a bus for pupils to attend Gwynfryn School, Pontyates, just over two and a half miles away, and said at the end of August that further assessments were needed for the building causing concern, which is called block three.

‘Struggling’

Mrs Warren said: “My daughter is struggling and I’m ending up taking her to Gwynfryn. It’s not our school of choice.” She said her nine-year-old, Charlotte, was autistic and had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Mrs Warren said she and other parents have sought updates from the council but were still in the dark about what happens next. “Nobody has told us anything,” she said. “If it was their child I think they would want to know.”

She has started a petition to save Carway primary which she said has been signed by 700 people and has called for a public meeting so council officials can put parents in the picture. “We need to know as parents and as a community what’s happening,” she said.

Safety signs

The mother-of-two also felt safety signs should be put up near Carway Hall, which has stepped in to host the school breakfast and after-school clubs and Cylch Meithrin (Welsh-medium) playgroups. She said Carway primary pupils also gather on the road outside the hall each morning for the bus to Gwynfryn primary. “Cars still whizz past,” said Mrs Warren.

The council said at the end of August that concerns about block three had been raised during a condition survey. That prompted a structural investigation during the summer holidays. It said at the time the decision to close the school was “solely to ensure the absolute safety of pupils and staff” and that it couldn’t say how long the arrangements would be in place for.

Carway primary had 59 pupils on its roll last November when Welsh Government education inspectors last visited and shares a head teacher and governing body with Gwynfryn primary and Ponthenri primary.

Asked to respond to Mrs Warren’s comments and concerns a council spokesman said: “We fully appreciate how difficult the situation is for both children and parents. As a local authority we endeavour to provide the best education possible within safe and nurturing environments.

“There has been no decision regarding the future of the school. Discussions between the local authority and the school’s governing body are ongoing. When more information becomes available it will be communicated to parents via the governing body.”