Review into educational provision in St Davids approved by cabinet

A report outlining options and recommendations will be presented to cabinet on November 11.

A programme to support secondary school improvement was also approved by cabinet members.

The school organisation matrix measures how secondary schools meet the principles of school organisation and will be used to agree future reviews on school organisation.

A three-stage process for devevoping proposals for school re-organisation has also been developed.

Each of the principles within the matrix operates on a points system and has been given a weighting using a Welsh Government code. They include the sustainability of educational provision (29%),the accessibility of school places (30%), the standard of school buildings (29%) and value for money (12%).

The total points score for Ysgol Dewi Sant was 65 out of a possible 192, with 41 points, 10 points, nine points and five points awarded for each respective principle.

The result has sparked the need for the review of education provision in St Davids, according to a report by the director for children and schools.

Among the options that could be considered are maintaining the status quo, a merger or multi site school and closure, the report stated.

The report stated that the review will consider standards, the supply and demand of pupil places, value for money, community impact, parental preferences, Welsh language and SEN and 14-19 provision, transport implications and the condition of the building.

Cabinet will be asked to considerer options before any preliminary consultation takes place.

Cabinet member for education Councillor Kenneth Rowlands said: “I should emphasise that this is a review and not a formal consultation at this time.”

Leader Cllr Jamie Adams said: “This is about understanding the situation, about gathering information.

“It’s not about conclusions, it’s not even about options at this stage.”

Cllr Adams called the review an “objective not emotive process”.