Powys County Council plan to close the following primary schools in Powys;

Cradoc CP School

Mount Street Juniors & Infants Schools

Llanfihangel Rhydithon CP School

Llanbedr C.I.W School

 

The council has agreed that petitions with 500 or more signatures can be presented to Full Council, Cabinet and Scrutiny Committees and, that senior council officers can be called upon to provide evidence.

 

We the undersigned, fully disagree with the proposals to close the above schools and have serious concerns about the procedures that have been carried out to prepare these proposals, the level of scrutiny the authority has given throughout the process, the accuracy of information and data within the consultation documentation and the poor responses given by Powys County Council during the consultation and objection periods.

Therefore, this petition insists proposals to close the above schools are reconsidered through three separate stages by Powys County Council.

 

Stage One.

Following the May County Council elections (5th May 2022), all proposals to close the above schools should be brought back to the new Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee to be reconsidered, paying particular attention to;

Do these school closure proposals fully comply with the Welsh Governments School Organisation Code presumption against the closure of rural schools?

Should a rural school be considered within the same proposal as two urban schools, taking into account the rules laid out in the School Organisation Code, demanding special arrangements be made, and a more detailed set of procedures and requirements be prepared, when closing rural schools, compared to urban schools?

Has Powys County Council followed its own constitution - 13.2.4 (principles of decision making); All decisions of the council will be made in accordance with the following principle: The consideration of any alternative options? During the consultation process, other unexplored options have been presented to the authority which have been ignored!

Has Powys County Council adequately assessed and measured the impact these proposals will have on climate change, particularly around the number of extra vehicle movements and traffic congestion due to parents taking children longer distances to schools?

Are the stated school pupil capacity statistics accurate? Evidence has been presented to the authority indicating the figures they have presented are not correct!

If the above school closures go ahead, will enough school places be available for local children elsewhere, taking into account the number of new houses being built, which will bring more children to the surrounding areas?

Powys County Council claim small schools will either struggle, or not be able, to deliver the new curriculum. Welsh Government insist small schools can deliver the curriculum. We insist the council comes to a very clear agreement with Welsh Government over the suitability of the new curriculum and determine, without question, whether or not our schools can deliver it. If not, we demand the council works with Welsh Government to design a curriculum suitable for small schools in Powys and that the Learning & Skills Scrutiny committee re-evaluate their assessment of the schools' above ability to deliver the curriculum, based upon any changes made to it.

Powys County Council claim the closure of the above schools will offer 'enhanced opportunities for pupils from attending new, larger, schools'. The Learning & Skills Scrutiny Committee must demand evidence to back up this claim from senior council officers and evaluate the accuracy of this claim.

The Learning & Skills Scrutiny committee must determine whether they think the consultation process for each school has been carried out in a meaningful manner, or not, considering the number of responses from consultees and members of the public, and the fact that so few changes have been made to the original proposals.

The Learning & Skills Scrutiny committee must consider the responses given by Powys County Council, to submissions made by consultees and the public during the consultation and objection periods, raising any points of inaccuracy, contradiction, or unevidenced claims.

 

Stage Two.

The new Learning & Skills Scrutiny committee should then present their findings to a new Full Council meeting, post May elections, where the opportunity should be given to all County Councillors to express their views about each school closure by way of a public vote, either in approval or against, each proposal, using the findings of the Learning & Skills Scrutiny committee to come to a conclusion.

Stage Three.

The will of the council (the results of each vote), should then be taken to new Cabinet members for consideration. If the voting results of Full Council indicate a different view over the closure of any of the five schools above, then Cabinet members should carry out a further vote to indicate if they prefer to carry out that will of the council, or proceed with the current school closure plans for each school.

 

This petition will end at midnight on the 4th May 2022 and handed to Powys County Council within the following seven days.

This petition is only open to Powys Residents. Please only sign it if you live in Powys! Thank you.

Cllr Iain McIntosh.