Statutory ConsultationReview of Secondary Education

Provision in the Mid and North West of Pembrokeshire

Evaluation and Review to date Survey of Welsh Medium Demand in:

Milford Haven, Neyland and Haverfordwest (South) area St David’s Peninsula

Strategic Review into the Development and Delivery of 14-19 Education and Training Provision in Pembrokeshire (TRIBAL, 2014)

Review of Education Provision in the St David’s Area – Preliminary Consultation (February 2014)

Review of Secondary Education Provision in the Haverfordwest Area – Preliminary Consultation (February 2014)

Inclusion Service – Annual Report (August 2014) Planning for the Future of Welsh Medium Education in Pembrokeshire

(Cabinet, January 2015) Joint Master planning between Pembrokeshire County Council and

Pembrokeshire College

Educational Standards

Surplus Places

Post 16 Funding and Progression

Additional Learning Needs Provision Welsh Medium Provision

Condition and Suitability of Buildings

The Case for Change

Educational Standards Educational Standards currently vary from school to school - two secondary

schools in the Mid and North West currently in ESTYN ‘follow up’ categories.

New ‘National School Improvement and Categorisation System’ introduced, with schools current categorised by colour, which signifies the level of support, challenge and intervention required.

No schools in “Green” category, i.e. Good and outstanding.

Tasker Milward VC School and Ysgol Bro Gwaun classified as ‘Red’ i.e. Poor standards requiring critical intervention

Automatic warning from LA and subsequent use of statutory powers – loss of autonomy with a more directed approach

Welsh Medium Provision

Welsh medium secondary provision needed in mid/south of the county.

Excess travel times and distances are acting as deterrent to some parents in choosing Welsh medium provision for their children.

Travel time from central and southern areas of the County to Ysgol Y Preseli is perceived to restrict pupils from those areas from accessing school clubs and other extra curricular activities an as well as affecting their well being.

There is a need to consider further extending Welsh medium provision beyond traditional Welsh speaking areas.

Compelling evidence that primary provision is required in the Milford Haven and St Davids area and extended provision required in Haverfordwest.

Essential to ensure secondary provision can be established with strong and sustainable primary feeder schools.

Additional Learning Needs

The County Council’s education inclusion strategy supports the principle that, as far as possible, children should be educated within a mainstream school environment and as near as possible to their home.

There is currently insufficient provision in Pembrokeshire for pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4 with complex learning needs and more severe additional learning requirements.

There is a lack of such provision in a Welsh medium setting.

Post 16 Funding and Progression All secondary schools have predominantly academic sixth forms, with

Pembrokeshire College providing mainly vocational programmes with some A Level Provision.

TRIBAL report concluded ‘this fragmented approach is costly, not providing high quality learning experiences for all learners and is impacting on outcomes for learners.

Students are not being advised appropriately on the best blend of courses for their needs and abilities; significant drop-out rate at the end of Year 12.

Impact of Welsh Government’s new funding arrangements for post 16 provision from September 2016 will impact on the scale of provision and the range of resources that can be made available to learners.

Evidence from Audit Commission suggest inefficiencies are more likely to arise when school sixth forms operate with fewer than 150 students. – currently 4 out of 5 secondary schools in the mid and north west area of the county have sixth forms with fewer than 150 pupils.

Surplus Places Currently significant level of surplus places in individual schools included

within the context of this proposal, with surplus places amounting to approximately 20% collectively.

Welsh Government recommend there should be no more than 10% surplus places across primary and secondary schools.

Higher than necessary level of school places indicate financial resources are not being used in the most efficient or effective way to improve the quality of education.

Estyn report in 2012 on the quality on Local Authority Education Services concluded ‘ amongst other matters “.. The authority is responding too slowly to the increasing level of surplus places in the secondary sector’.

Condition and Suitability of Buildings

Current condition of all schools buildings is poor and will require significant and costly ongoing repair and maintenance to prolong their use.

An estimate of current backlog repairs and maintenance costs based on survey completed in 2009/10 was approximately £21 million.

A Building Conditions Survey graded the four secondary schools involved in this consultation process ‘C’ – poor with major deterioration as a result of Building Condition Survey.

A Suitability Survey graded two schools Grade C – ‘ Poor with teaching methods inhibited’ and two schools a Grade B – “Reasonable with behaviour/morale adversely affected”.

Preliminary Consultation Preliminary Consultation took place February/March 2014

4

5 options for change identified and presented to Council in October 2014

Following further appraisal of possible options, full Council agreed to commence statutory consultation on preferred option.

Exploration of Options •74 options

resulting from preliminary consultation process

•Each option scored against published evaluation criteria; numerous 11-16 and 11-19 options included everything from retention of 6th forms to one single super school

•5 broad based options which scored the highest

•5 options presented to Council in October 2014

•Sixth form provision included in options, subject to determination of site/s

•Approval given to undertake more detailed appraisal process

5

•Masterplanning consultants engaged to undertake feasibility which included Stakeholder Group participation and detailed analysis of site availability and suitability for 11-16 and 11-19 options•Conclusion drawn that sixth form provision best provided on the Pembrokeshire College campus

Preferred Option Close Sir Thomas Picton and Tasker Milward VC schools and establish a new

11-16 English medium secondary school with additional ALN provision for pupils with complex learning needs on the site of the current Sir Thomas Picton School.

Remove the sixth forms of Ysgol Bro Gwaun and Ysgol Dewi Sant with a view to redesignating the schools as 11-16 schools.

Post 16 provision for the above schools to be provided in a new integrated sixth form centre as part of a formal collaboration between the County Council and Pembrokeshire College.

Remodel and enhance Ysgol Bro Gwaun to add a bilingual Additional Learning Needs provision for pupils with complex learning needs.

Close Ysgol Glan Cleddau and establish a new 3-16 Welsh medium/bilingual school on the site of the current Tasker Milward VC school. Post 16 provision to be provided by Ysgol Y Preseli.

New English Medium Secondary School

• Situated on site of

current STP School• Provision for 11-16

year olds• Additional Learning Needs

provision for pupils with

complex needs

New Bilingual School

• Closure of Ysgol Gymraeg

Glan Cleddau• Remodelling of Tasker

Milward Upper School Site• Provision for 3- 16 year olds

Ysgol Bro Gwaun / Ysgol Dewi Sant

• Age range of both schools changed to 11-16•Changes to Ysgol Bro Gwaun:

• Extensive remodelling and addition of Bilingual SEN provision

• STEM specialist facilities

Pembrokeshire College

• Spaces freed up by

relocating some

facilities to Pembroke

Learning Campus• Options for integrated 6th form• Co-locating academic and

vocational post 16 provision

Synergistic approach

Mid and North West

Education Provision

Pembroke Learning Campus(11-19)

English Medium Secondary School (11-16)

Welsh Medium / Bilingual School (3-16)Ysgol Bro

Gwaun / Ysgol Dewi Sant (11-16)

Pembrokeshire College

(Post 16)

Discontinue:Sir Thomas Picton

SchoolTasker Milward

School Ysgol Glan

Cleddau

Directional assessment: Colour CodeProposed Governance Structure for Post 16

SEARCH COMMITTEE

AUDIT COMMITTEE

CURRICULUM & STANDARDS

COMMITTEE A LEVEL

COMMITTEETo include:

• Headteachers• Chair of Governors•Advisors•Head of Education

CORPORATION BOARD

Next Steps...Date Process

9th March 2015 Commencement of meetings with schools and public information sessions

23rd March 2015 Statutory Consultation Document published

5th May 2015 Closing Date for receipt of observations on the proposals

July 2015 Consultation Report presented to Full CouncilPublication of Consultation Report

September 2015 Publish Statutory Notice

28 days after date of Statutory Notice

Closing date for receipt of objections to proposal

35 days after the end of the objection period

Objections and Objection Report to be submitted to Welsh Ministers

2016 ? Publication of Welsh Ministers Decision

2017-2019 Implementation of proposal

Directional assessment: Colour CodeHow to Respond......

SEARCH COMITTEE

Consultation period starts on 23rd March 2015 and ends on Tuesday 5th May 2015

You can express your views by writing to the Director for Children and Schools using any of the following methods:

Letter to: Mrs Katharine Evan-HughesDirector for Children and SchoolsCounty Hall HaverfordwestSA61 1TP

Response form: Included in section 9 of the Public Consultation Document

Online: www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/haveyoursay

RESPONSES RECEIVED DURING THE CONSULTATION PERIOD WILL NOT BE TREATED AS STATUTORY OBJECTIONS. IF YOU WISH TO OBJECT, YOU WILL NEED

TO DO SO IN WRITING FOLLOWING THE PUBLICATION OF THE STATUTORY NOTICE