These decisions follow the end of a period of formal consultation which ran between 11 May and 28 June 2015. Feedback from the consultation was considered carefully before Members made their decisions.
The Welsh Government has requested local authorities to reduce surplus school places, by setting a target of 16% of surplus school places by January 2017. Accordingly, all local authorities in Wales have to adapt their education provision in order to reduce these surplus places.
It was noted that the surplus places in Ysgol Cwmpadarn is currently at 66%, with the expectation that the number of surplus places at the school will remain consistently around the same level for the next few years. It was also noted that the surplus places at Ysgol Llangynfelyn is currently at 71%, with the projection that the situation will remain at a similar level for the next few years.
A copy of the Consultation Document was also sent to Estyn for their observations. In their response, Estyn considered a range of key questions with regard to the current proposal, before summarising that “the proposal is likely to at least maintain the current standards of provision in the area”.
Cabinet Member for Learning Services, Children and Young People’s Partnership, Councillor Hag Harris, said: “The recommendations were considered carefully before being decided upon by Members. The Council is committed to ensuring the best education for all of the county’s children, and reorganising provision will help to ensure that the children in this area will be able to benefit from the highest standard of education in a period of heightened financial pressures.”
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