Agenda item

Permission was granted by the Cabinet to hold a statutory consultation, in accordance with the requirements of section 48 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013, on the planned proposal to close Ysgol Nebo on 31 December 2026 and to provide a place for learners at Ysgol Llanllyfni from 1 January 2027 onwards.

The report was presented by Cllr Dewi Jones.

DECISION

To accept the report.

DISCUSSION

The importance of this item to the local area and the strong feelings around the item were emphasised.

The members were reminded that the decision before the Cabinet at this meeting was the decision to hold a statutory consultation.

He talked about the challenge facing the whole county due to declining pupil numbers, rising costs, and the need to ensure the best education and social opportunities for all children.

He assured the members that the consultation process would be open, transparent and meaningful, with all concerns being considered before a final decision was made.

He explained that discussions had taken place with the school community about the possible options, and he pointed out that the school's ideas for possible ways forward had been included in the supplementary papers. He reiterated that full consideration had been given to all options. 

The participants who had been involved in the discussions held at the school were thanked, and he noted that those discussions had been constructive. It was noted that the department was required to balance things against a specific set of measures. While constructive options had been proposed as ways forward, it was confirmed that the issue of pupil numbers at the school had led to this proposal. 

The Local Member for Clynnog Ward was welcomed to the meeting. He acknowledged that the School Organisation Code laid down a procedural presumption against the closure of rural schools and added that he did not believe that the evidence presented before the Cabinet satisfied the test for closing the school.

He noted that Ysgol Nebo was not failing as the number of pupils had increased by 50% in the last year and that a number of these pupils came from outside the catchment area as well.

He referred to the financial argument for closing Ysgol Nebo, reiterating that the potential savings from closing the School were smaller than they seemed. He added the need to consider the costs of redundancy and the risk of a higher number of children receiving home education, which would put long-term pressure on the Council.

He talked about the Governing Body's proposal to develop Ysgol Nebo into a pilot site for children with additional learning, emotional and social needs, in order to try to keep more children in mainstream education.

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       A member asked how the voices of these children who were currently attending Ysgol Nebo will be heard in the consultation. The member was assured that the voices of children and young people would be heard, as had been done previously, and that specific sessions would be conducted with children from Ysgol Nebo as well as children from Ysgol Llanllyfni. 

·       It was acknowledged that this was a challenging decision, and it was asked if the Local Member's comments would be included in the consultation and whether other options would be considered. It was noted that the options proposed had been interpreted in a way that aligned with the criteria for a mainstream school, which would therefore enable Ysgol Nebo to remain open at the same time as offering a provision to certain groups of children.

·       A member asked about the use of the school building should a decision be made to close it. Reference was made to the After-use Policy, which meant that consideration would be given to the use of the building by the Council, and there would be a discussion about community use.

It was pointed out that the numbers of pupils had been decreasing for decades now. It was noted that Ysgol Nebo had been through difficulties of low pupil numbers before, but the figure was not rising. It was added that there were fewer children within communities to fill many schools.