School plans set to get go-ahead
PLANS for new facilities for pupils with additional learning needs at Cardiff’s schools are close to being given the go-ahead.
Cardiff council is considering plans to expand and adapt facilities at a mix of special schools and mainstream schools.
The seven schemes have been put forward to meet rising demand for the facilities in addition to a £284m investment in Cardiff’s schools which begins in 2019.
No concerns were raised during both the public consultation into the seven developments and statutory notices period, the council says.
The council’s cabinet will consider whether to approve statutory notices of the plans when it meets on Thursday. This is what is being planned: Ty Gwyn Special School: Increase the number of places to 198 and adapt the former Trelai Youth Centre building to provide three extra classrooms as well as a community facility
Greenhill School: Increase the leaving age for pupils from 16 to 19, becoming a school for 11 to 19 year olds and increase the school’s capacity to provide 64 places
Meadowbank Special School: Adapt the designation of the school to: “speech language and communication needs and complex learning disabilities” – the school’s current designation is for “specific language impairments”.
Allensbank Primary School: Open an eight-place early intervention class in September 2019, for children with speech and language needs, and phase out the special resource base at the school by July 2020 at the latest
St Mary the Virgin Church in Wales School: Create a 20-place special resource base
Ysgol Pwll Coch: Open a special resource base, initially providing up to 10 places, but with the option of increasing this to 20 places in future
Ysgol Glantaf: Increase the number of places in its special resource base to 30 and extend and improve the base’s current accommodation
The £284m investment will be jointly funded by the Welsh Government and Cardiff council as art of the 21st Century Schools Programme.
Schemes include new secondary schools, new English-medium and Welsh-medium primary schools, and new special schools.
It would also involve several new special schools, including:
A new 140 place primary special school for children with severe and complex learning disabilities and children with autism spectrum conditions to address the unsuitable accommodation currently used by Riverbank School.
A new 240 place secondary special school for pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities and pupils with autism spectrum conditions to address the unsuitable accommodation currently used by Woodlands School.
A new primary special school for children with emotional health and well-being needs to address the unsuitable accommodation currently used by The Court School.
A new secondary special school, for pupils with emotional health and well-being needs to address the unsuitable accommodation currently used by Greenhill School.