Agenda item

CAB 29/18 

Welsh in Education Strategic Plan

Options Considered/Reasons for Decision

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills presented the report, asking Cabinet to approve updates to the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP). 

The School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 requires local authorities to prepare a WESP.  WESPs are intended to set out the Authority’s vision for how Welsh medium and Welsh language education is planned and developed locally.

In December 2017, Cabinet considered and approved an amended WESP for Newport which was duly submitted to Welsh Government. This revised plan included

·         commitments to expand existing schools under future 21^st Century Schools programmes;

·         increasing primary school targets to account for additional “late comer” children;

·         increasing the number of early years and nursery places;

·         a commitment to scope the language medium of all new developer schools.

In March 2018, the Authority was made aware of a new Welsh Government fund established to specifically support the development of Welsh Medium education. The £30m Welsh-wide fund provides 100% finance for approved projects.  A successful bid to this fund could enable the Authority to build a new Welsh Medium school, further strengthen the WESP 2017-20 and achieve the objectives within its 21st Century Band B programme.   

A further revision to Newport’s WESP was now being proposed which included the Council’s intention, subject to funding from Welsh Government, to establish a Welsh-medium seedling primary school from September 2019 on a temporary site with a permanent location to be determined.  This would increase by 50% the number of places available in Welsh Medium education.

If funding was approved, the school would be established under a seedling model, for nursery and reception pupils only in the first year, and grow incrementally over a seven-year period before reaching full capacity. The bid proposed that the school was a two-form entry provision, with eventual capacity for 420 mainstream pupils of statutory school age. There would also be a nursery class able to take up to 48 pupils over either a morning or afternoon session and a 10-place Learning Resource Base.

Officers commented that the opportunity to develop the plan in this way was welcomed, and without the funding offer from Welsh Government this would not be possible.  It was noted that the funding offer would cover capital costs, and developing a new school would also have revenue cost implications. 

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposal, noting that the authority was committed to developing Welsh Medium Education in the city and continuing the momentum of progress on the WESP to date.

Decision:

To approve the revised WESP 2017-20 as set out in the report.

Consultation

The Consultation process for WESPs is set out in Section 82 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013. As such the following were consulted on previous versions:

·         Neighbouring local authorities

·         The head teacher of each school maintained by it 

·         The governing body of each school maintained by it

·         Each institution within the further education sector in its area

·         Other prescribed persons eg. the Welsh Language Commissioner, the Early Years Development and Childcare partnership, Her majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training , such organisations providing services to children and young people as the local authority considers appropriate, such persons or bodies as appear to the local authority to be appropriate.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills has been consulted on this report and is fully supportive

Implemented By: Chief Education Officer

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills presented the report, asking Cabinet to approve updates to the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP). 

The School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 requires local authorities to prepare a WESP.  WESPs are intended to set out the Authority’s vision for how Welsh medium and Welsh language education is planned and developed locally.

In December 2017, Cabinet considered and approved an amended WESP for Newport which was duly submitted to Welsh Government. This revised plan included

·         commitments to expand existing schools under future 21^st Century Schools programmes;

·         increasing primary school targets to account for additional “late comer” children;

·         increasing the number of early years and nursery places;

·         a commitment to scope the language medium of all new developer schools.

In March 2018, the Authority was made aware of a new Welsh Government fund established to specifically support the development of Welsh Medium education. The £30m Welsh-wide fund provides 100% finance for approved projects.  A successful bid to this fund could enable the Authority to build a new Welsh Medium school, further strengthen the WESP 2017-20 and achieve the objectives within its 21st Century Band B programme.   

A further revision to Newport’s WESP was now being proposed which included the Council’s intention, subject to funding from Welsh Government, to establish a Welsh-medium seedling primary school from September 2019 on a temporary site with a permanent location to be determined.  This would increase by 50% the number of places available in Welsh Medium education.

If funding was approved, the school would be established under a seedling model, for nursery and reception pupils only in the first year, and grow incrementally over a seven-year period before reaching full capacity. The bid proposed that the school was a two-form entry provision, with eventual capacity for 420 mainstream pupils of statutory school age. There would also be a nursery class able to take up to 48 pupils over either a morning or afternoon session and a 10-place Learning Resource Base.

Officers commented that the opportunity to develop the plan in this way was welcomed, and without the funding offer from Welsh Government this would not be possible.  It was noted that the funding offer would cover capital costs, and developing a new school would also have revenue cost implications. 

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposal, noting that the authority was committed to developing Welsh Medium Education in the city and continuing the momentum of progress on the WESP to date.

Decision:

To approve the revised WESP 2017-20 as set out in the report.