Primary school to be added to Wales-wide school investment programme

Kieran Molloy, Local democracy reporter

A primary school in south Wales is to be added to a Wales-wide school investment programme – bringing its county’s total to just under £100m.

In the February 5 Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet meeting Sully Primary School was formally added into the Sustainable Communities for Learning (SCfL) programme.

The programme is a “long-term strategic investment in the educational estate throughout Wales.”

It is called a “unique collaboration between the Welsh Government, the Welsh Local Government Association, local authorities, colleges, and diocesan authorities.”

The long-term goal of the programme is to upgrade, refurbish, and rebuild schools to create modern and sustainable facilities for students.

The inclusion of Sully Primary increases the spend on the programme by £9,350,000, bringing the total investment in schools up to £99.189m, with the bulk of the money – around £80m – being provided by the Welsh Government.

During the meeting Cllr Lis Burnett, executive leader and cabinet member of performance and resources, called the inclusion “really, really good news”.

She said: “I actually need to add up just how much we’re spent on new schools since 2012.”

The meeting agenda reads: “The current school is a classroom short of a 2FE entry school and has multiple demountables (structures) which are over 20 years old, with overall condition and suitability rated as ‘C’. Surveys indicate over £800k in backlog maintenance”.

A 2FE entry school refers to a two-form entry, which means two classes in each year group.

The agenda continues: “The school site faces significant challenges, including severe space deficiencies, with the hall and kitchen falling between 30% and 40% below Building Bulletin recommendations”.

Building Bulletins are documents provided by central government that concern the proper design, layout, and construction of school buildings.

The money from the programme would be used to address these problem areas.

The cabinet approved the “rolling programme” in March 2024 and the council submitted a strategic outline programme, which outlines the business case, objections, and outcomes of a project, to the Welsh Government which identified what schools would benefit under the next wave of investment, one of which was Sully Primary School.

The programme’s first incarnation was under the banner “21st Century Schools and Education” and represented a £1.7bn investment in Welsh schools over a five-year period. The second phase began in 2019.

In 2022 the programme was renamed to Sustainable Communities for Learning.

The council will submit another strategic outline case to the Welsh Government and further cabinet approval will be required regarding the tender and appointment of the successful contractor.