Agenda item

(a)       That Cabinet withdraws the amalgamation proposal;

(b)       That Cabinet requests an extension of time from Welsh Government as allowed under the School Organisational Code;

(c)        That the Council applies to Welsh Government for capital when the grant for the early years education fund is released to undertake the necessary improvements for Brynford;

(d)       That Cabinet invites the two schools to work with the Council on a federated two-site model; and

(e)       That the Council holds its powers to enforce a federation in reserve.

Councillor Roberts introduced the School Modernisation – School Standards and Organisation Act 2013 – Brynford and Lixwm Area School Review report which invited Cabinet to determine whether to proceed with a statutory proposal for school organisational change.

            The review began in June 2015 with consideration of the reorganisation of the provision in three schools; Rhos Helyg, Brynford and Lixwm as triggers had been met in the Council’s School Modernisation policy.  In December 2016 Cabinet resolved to move to a statutory consultation on amalgamation of Lixwm and Brynford onto a single site and leave Rhos Helyg alone.

            Councillor Roberts met with governors from Brynford and Lixwm to listen to their views and also with governors from Cilcain. Brynford governors supported amalgamation as it could result in capital investment through the 21^st Century Schools programme.  However, Lixwm governors preferred a federation which would ensure that Lixwm would remain in its community.  Attempts to develop a federation did not come to fruition so in January 2018, with no federation to consider, Cabinet determined that the statutory consultation process needed to be undertaken.

            He stressed that throughout the whole process there had been no pre-determination of an outcome and that the Council consulted fairly and openly.  All school reviews were unique and decisions were taken on the merits of the case.  This was evident in previous decisions that had been taken in relation to post 16 provision in Flint and the development of a federation between Ysgol Maes Garmon and Ysgol Mornant.  Many of the triggers in the Council’s School Modernisation Policy were met and the Council had fully complied with the Code in running the consultation process.

            There were genuine concerns on the long term sustainability of small schools in the current economic climate and the Council wanted to ensure that governors could still afford to put teachers and support staff in classrooms to support learners.  It was on that basis that he said the status quo was not a viable options.  Given the view of the Cabinet Secretary for Education on the need to protect small and rural schools he called upon Welsh Government (WG) to provide greater clarity on their developing policy for small and rural schools, including the definition of ‘rural’ and their rationale for the classification of Flintshire schools under that policy.  In addition he asked WG what the funding intentions were for small and rural schools if it was such an important policy to them so that Councils, like Flintshire, could be confident that those schools would get the resources they needed to remain sustainable in the future.

            The Chief Officer (Education and Youth) explained that the pupil numbers in both schools were below the recommended requirement for a sustainable small school.  In both schools almost half of the children came from outside the local area leaving unfilled spaces elsewhere.

            Federation was initially rejected by all of those involved in the first stage of the consultation process.  Lixwm since favoured that option in order to protect their school in its community and reassurances had been repeatedly given by the Council that a robust proposal would be given serious consideration; it was disappointing that this had not been achieved to date.

            One of the main opportunities the amalgamation proposal created by having one school on a single site was to be able to draw down WG funding to tackle the significant shortcomings in the building at Brynford which was in the worst category for suitability and had many deficiencies. The Brynford site was identified as the location for the amalgamated school as it was the only one of the two sites that was big enough to meet the requirements for current building regulations.  Many Lixwm parents had expressed a view that their school building was solid and it worked for them but there were longer term issues on the costs of repair and maintenance over time.  Whatever the outcome of the review, there was a need for a sizeable investment in the Brynford site to meet the needs of pupils more appropriately and support the delivery of the curriculum. 

            Consultation feedback was outlined and examples provided of those who agreed and those who disagreed with the proposal.  During the consultation alternative proposals were sought with the responses being:

·         25.41% suggested federation

·         15.57% suggested the status quo

·         41.80% could not make any alternative suggestion

There was general agreement that the federation of two schools under a single leadership and governance structure could provide many benefits and this was becoming more common as an educational model in Flintshire.  The Council still did have the power to force a federation but had generally taken the view that there needed to be willing partners for it to work successfully.

The Chief Executive added that he had provided advice throughout the process in the form of an arbitration role so that the consideration of the future of both schools could be carried out fairly and equally.  There had been a need to take into account both the educational needs and the community interests throughout the process as well as assuring there was a sustainable model for the future.  Lixwm School denied the need for any significant funding; the case for Brynford was clear.  The two schools needed to work together to develop a case for a two site model with a sustainable governance and funding model including community support and exercise of parental choice.

He felt the case for amalgamation had not been proven on the basis of the reasons given on surplus places/population growth potential, adequacy of the school estate for Lixwm, value for money of a new build and future negative parental choice of schools.

In conclusion, Councillor Roberts proposed the following recommendations:

1.    Cabinet withdraws the amalgamation proposal;

2.    Cabinet requests an extension of time from WG as allowed under the School Organisational Code;

3.    The Council applies to WG for capital when the grant for the early years education fund is released to undertake the necessary improvements for Brynford;

4.    Cabinet invites the two schools to work with the Council on a federated two-site model; and

5.    The Council holds its powers to enforce a federation in reserve.

Councillor Thomas thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for the report and the recommendations which she supported, particularly given that small schools were important to local communities.  She also commented on the point that the report had been submitted to Cabinet as the schools in question did hit many trigger points in the Code.  Councillor Butler concurred and thanked the Council for their work on the matter to try to find a suitable alternative proposal.  He also said that communities needed to accept housing developments to ensure that local schools remained sustainable.

RESOLVED:

            (a)       That Cabinet withdraws the amalgamation proposal;

(b)       That Cabinet requests an extension of time from Welsh Government as allowed under the School Organisational Code;

(c)        That the Council applies to Welsh Government for capital when the grant for the early years education fund is released to undertake the necessary improvements for Brynford;

(d)       That Cabinet invites the two schools to work with the Council on a federated two-site model; and

            (e)       That the Council holds its powers to enforce a federation in reserve.