Decision details

The Director for Education and Inclusion Services advised Members of the outcome of the recent publication of a Statutory Notice in respect of the proposal to close Rhigos Primary School with pupils transferring to Hirwaun Primary School by no later than September 2024.

The Director informed the Cabinet that the Statutory Notice had been published on the 26^th January 2024, which triggered the commencement of the objection period. This ran until the 23^rd February 2024. During the objection period, a total of 1,440 objections were received by the closing date of the 23^rd February 2024, which consisted of:

·        54 written objections;

·        Two petitions signed by 951 and 65 respondents, respectively; and

·        1,384 respondents individually signed pre-written objections co-ordinated by the ‘Save Rhigos Primary School’ action committee.

In addition, 55 of the responses received during the consultation period which ran between 2^nd October 2023 and 17^th November 2023, were requested to be treated as objections. All of which had been made available to Cabinet Members.

With the agreement of the Leader, the following Non-Committee Member was

granted permission to address the Cabinet:

-       County Borough Councillor A Rogers

With the agreement of the Leader, the following members of the public were granted permission to address the Cabinet:

-       Ms M Evans

-       Mr J Morris

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The Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation and Welsh Language acknowledged that the matter before the Cabinet was emotive within the community and took the opportunity to reassure the speakers that the cabinet have reflected upon that and studied all responses in depth.

The Cabinet Member noted the Council’s statutory duty to keep surplus places under review and the sustainability of schools moving forward to ensure resources are used most effectively to provide young people with the best education within the best settings.

The Cabinet Member noted that there had been a steady decline in the number of pupils joining Rhigos Primary School and that there had been a further decline since the commencement of the consultation period in relation to the proposal. The Cabinet Member felt that this identified a clear trend, which had brought into question the sustainability of the school. The Cabinet Member spoke of the nearby Hirwaun Primary School and its 21^st Century, first class facilities, including ALN provision and compliance with the Equality Act 2010, thereby ensuring that no pupil, staff member, parent / carer or member of the wider community is prevented from fully accessing the whole extent of the facilities. The Cabinet Member was also rreassured that Home to School transport would be made available to all pupils and reassured by Estyn’s views contained within the appendix to the report. As such, the Cabinet Member was therefore content with the decision.

The Deputy Leader questioned how many pupils currently attend the breakfast club, to which the Director informed the Cabinet that there were 13.

The Deputy Leader also noted that there had been a further decline in pupil numbers at the school since the commencement of the consultation period in relation to the proposal. The Deputy Leader was of the view that the information contained within the report was factual and that the views of the Scrutiny Committee were balanced.

The Deputy Leader acknowledged the importance of schools within the community and spoke of the previous closure of a school within her own ward. The Deputy emphasised that, despite concerns raised by the community, the transition of pupils to a nearby school was seamless and the children adapted and went on to thrive. The Deputy recognised that the proposal was emotive to the community but was content with its reasoning and was therefore in support of the recommendations contained within the report.

Referring to the projections contained within the September 2023 Cabinet report, the Leader noted that the decline in pupils at the school was currently faster than previously suggested and sought assurance that officers were confident with the future projected trends that had been referenced. The Director advised the Cabinet that projections were based on live birth data provided by the Local Health Board and taken account of the existing children placed there. It was recognised that the numbers can fluctuate depending on factors such as families moving in and out of the area, but the Director explained that in the main, the projections were accurate with an approximate 1% variation across RCT in terms of pupil numbers.

The Cabinet RESOLVED:

1. To note the content of the report;

2. To note the information contained within the Objection Report, attached as

Appendix A to the Cabinet Report, which includes a summary of correspondence received; and

3. To implement the proposal with no amendments.