Plaid will hold back pupils with delayed start date

Pupils will be held back with delayed start date

Carmarthenshire pupils could be ‘held back’ if controversial plans to delay the school start date for four year olds is passed, warns Labour Councillors.

Carmarthenshire Cabinet Members today decided to launch a public consultation in January to change the full-time admission arrangements of learners from the term of their 4th birthday to the term after their 4th birthday, beginning September 2024.

Whilst Carmarthenshire Council is the only local authority in Wales to allow primary aged pupils to start full-time from the term of their 4th birthday, Labour argues that the policy is essential to supporting families with the escalating costs of private care provision and providing pupils with a head start.

The ‘Rising 4s Policy’ was introduced by the Plaid-Independent Coalition in 1999 to address the large number of surplus spaces in Carmarthenshire schools. Carmarthenshire continues to have a large number of surplus spaces and growing in recent years with 2300 spaces in 2021, and the report highlighted that there would be a significant increase in surplus spaces if a change in the start date was enacted.

Pupils will be held back with delayed start date

Carmarthenshire pupils could be ‘held back’ if controversial plans to delay the school start date for four year olds is passed, warns Labour Councillors.

Carmarthenshire Cabinet Members today decided to launch a public consultation in January to change the full-time admission arrangements of learners from the term of their 4th birthday to the term after their 4th birthday, beginning September 2024.

Whilst Carmarthenshire Council is the only local authority in Wales to allow primary aged pupils to start full-time from the term of their 4th birthday, Labour argues that the policy is essential to supporting families with the escalating costs of private care provision and providing pupils with a head start.

The ‘Rising 4s Policy’ was introduced by the Plaid-Independent Coalition in 1999 to address the large number of surplus spaces in Carmarthenshire schools. Carmarthenshire continues to have a large number of surplus spaces and growing in recent years with 2300 spaces in 2021, and the report highlighted that there would be a significant increase in surplus spaces if a change in the start date was enacted.

Cllr Rob James, leader of the Labour group, stated “The idea that we should delay the start date for our pupils is astonishing. These will be the very children that have suffered during the pandemic with the lockdowns and an inability to mix with other children, so it is essential that we have as many opportunities as possible to support our young learners.

“Parents will naturally be concerned that this will mean expensive private care support or families deciding to delay returning to work when we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis and a workforce shortage. I absolutely agree that nursery provision in Carmarthenshire is a postcode lottery currently and that must be addressed, yet the changes being proposed will be a decrease in support for families, not enhancement. 

“Finally, for years Plaid Cymru have wasted millions of pounds in taxpayer funds by their inability to tackle the significant level of surplus spaces and inefficiencies in our schools, with next year alone requiring an extra £2 million in funding to compensate for this continued failure. Their own report recognises that there will be another significant increase in surplus spaces as a result of this change, something that I am sure Estyn will be concerned about.

“Pupils must not be held back during these times and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with parents and families to oppose this.”

, leader of the Labour group, stated “The idea that we should delay the start date for our pupils is astonishing. These will be the very children that have suffered during the pandemic with the lockdowns and an inability to mix with other children, so it is essential that we have as many opportunities as possible to support our young learners.

“Parents will naturally be concerned that this will mean expensive private care support or families deciding to delay returning to work when we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis and a workforce shortage. I absolutely agree that nursery provision in Carmarthenshire is a postcode lottery currently and that must be addressed, yet the changes being proposed will be a decrease in support for families, not enhancement. 

“Finally, for years Plaid Cymru have wasted millions of pounds in taxpayer funds by their inability to tackle the significant level of surplus spaces and inefficiencies in our schools, with next year alone requiring an extra £2 million in funding to compensate for this continued failure. Their own report recognises that there will be another significant increase in surplus spaces as a result of this change, something that I am sure Estyn will be concerned about.

“Pupils must not be held back during these times and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with parents and families to oppose this.”