Decision details

The Director of Education and Inclusion Services advised Cabinet of the outcome of the recent consultation in respect of the proposal to open a new 3 to 19 special school in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) and introduce catchment areas for all 3 to 19 special schools across RCT, these are:

·       Park Lane Special School;

·       Ysgol Hen Felin; and

·       Ysgol Ty Coch.

Members’ attention was drawn to Appendix A of the report, which detailed the outcome of the consultation.

The Director informed Members that the documents noted 38% were against the proposals, but that it should read 37%. The Director advised that, overall, the consultation responses were positive with 56.5% in favour of the proposals and emphasised that some of the parents/carers appeared to have misunderstood the proposals, which was illustrated in Section 5 of the consultation document. It was therefore emphasised that as a result of the proposals, there would be no school closures and that the children in existing placements would remain in their current schools.

The Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation and Welsh Language thanked officers for undertaking the consultation and thanked individuals for their responses. The Cabinet Member was content that officers had been able to answer and address any points raised through the consultation including those of Estyn.

The Cabinet Member was content that the proposal to develop a new special school was the right step forward and would build capacity in an area of increased demand for the future. The Cabinet Member emphasised that pupils already attending special schools within RCT would not be required to move schools and that, if approved, new catchments would be put in place for future arrangements.

The Leader was in favour of the proposals and commented that the special school would be a huge investment, which was desperately needed.

The Cabinet RESOLVED:

1.     To note the content of the report;

2.     To note the information contained within the Consultation Report, which includes a summary of correspondence received during the consultation, including the full response from Estyn, feedback received from the online survey, and notes of the meetings held; and

3.     To progress the proposals to the next stage of the consultation process by issuing an appropriate Statutory Notice which will trigger the start of the Objection Period.