Leader of the Conservatives on Powys County Council Comments on Schools Decision.
Commenting on Powys County Council plans to modernize secondary education, Aled Davies, Leader of the Powys County Council Conservative group welcomed the commitment to maintain 6th Forms in Powys schools, but warned of real concerns regarding the role of the new Central Commissioning Body that will manage 6th Form education. Speaking after the announcement, Cllr Davies said:
“It appears that the Head and Governors of the local high school will have almost no role, and very limited influence, on what happens in the 6th form in their school.
“This Central Commissioning Body may suddenly decide that it can no longer justify running post 16 courses in some schools. The 6th form would then disappear and there would be nothing that the school could do about it.
“The Council plans will also see funds for post 16 education fall by half a million pounds. The funding will no longer follow the student, but now, individual courses will be funded. Sixth forms that have exceptional performance and attract or retain high levels of students will not be rewarded with increase in funding, the incentive will have gone.”
As a result of more limited options to study at the local school through the medium of English and Welsh there will be a large increase in travel times for children and costs for the council. This does not chime well with the mission statement of Powys County Council to be ‘the green heart of Wales”
There are also grave worries regarding Welsh medium education, Cllr Davies foresees that this would be ‘the beginning of the end for bilingual schools in Powys‘.
“How can the Lib Dem/Independent coalition Cabinet member claim that his plan will give ‘equality of opportunity’? Will there be equality between a child born in Llanidloes, travelling a long journey, sometimes impossible in winter, in order to receive his or her education through the medium of Welsh; and a Machynlleth born child who will have Welsh medium education on his doorstep? The Llanidloes child will not make that 60 mile journey every day and will be denied an education in their mother tongue. Where is the equality in that?
“Every child in Powys should have the right to study in Welsh at their local school. Anything less is disgraceful. The Cabinet member described his plans as ‘transformational’, as is demanded by the Welsh Government. But depriving Powys children of the ability to study in the language of country is certainly not the transformation that was called for. The Welsh language and culture is under severe pressure especially along the Welsh/English border and they will be damaged further by these plans.”
