THE head of a Mid Wales school for children with special needs has blasted Welsh Assembly budget cuts as despicable.
Last week the Welsh Assembly Government announced it would be cutting funding for post 16 student with special needs.
WAG used to fully fund such students but has now indicated it will fund only 95 per cent of their costs this year and 69 per cent the following year.
It says it is looking at other ways to find funding.
Peter Tudor, headteacher at Ysgol Cedewain in Newtown, said: “It is an utter disaster for us really, the worst thing that has ever happened to us. It is probably the most serious threat to education on offer from Cedewain.
“The bottom line for all this is that we cannot offer education to our post 16 pupils and take a 31 per cent cut in funding. We couldn’t maintain our grade one standard of academic delivery and to reduce our care/supervision/physical support by 31 per cent would only lead to misery and probable danger to pupils.”
Mr Tudor also questioned the legality of the funding cut and said it amounts to discrimination: “I believe that WAG are doing this illegally – our pupils have statements of special educational needs which protects their statutory rights to appropriate education.
“Also as these cuts are only directed at special schools and not mainstream they can only be described as discrimination. I never want sympathy for our pupils – they don’t need it – I simply want fairness.
"They have exactly the same rights as pupils without special needs and WAG’s discrimination against this group of children is the most despicable thing they have ever done – we need to question the morals and beliefs of all our AMs as they have allowed this to happen – we all know where unchecked discrimination can lead.
“I would ask all voters to contact their AMs and hold them accountable.”