Powys Council responds over Llanfair schools Welsh plan

Following a proposal to move Ysgol Bro Caereinion in Llanfair Caereinion along the language continuum from a dual-stream school to a Welsh-medium school, several parents raised concerns with the initiative.

Explaining how the proposal process developed, a spokesperson for the council said: “The council held a consultation on proposals to move Ysgol Bro Caereinion along the language continuum so it eventually becomes a Welsh medium school, and Cabinet has agreed to publish a statutory notice after Easter and stakeholders can send in written objections, if they object to the proposal. 

“Cabinet will then need to consider any objections received before making a final decision to implement the proposal or not.”

READ MORE: Powys parents voice concerns over Welsh language school plan

Amid the consultation from October to December 2023 and the announcement that the report was being considered by cabinet in March, a few parents said they were left unsatisfied with the communication between the council and the community.

In response, the council said: “As required by the School Organisation Code, information about the consultation was distributed to a wide range of stakeholders, including parents, staff and governors at Ysgol Bro Caereinion, parents of pupils attending feeder schools, early years providers and community councils and a significant number of responses were received.”

The council acknowledged concerns that were raised during the consultation, such as fears over the change to school transport and worries over pupils potentially struggling due to a perceived lack of English education.

The council added: “Whilst the consultation showed that there was support for the proposal, there were also a number of concerns raised.

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"In particular, there was concern about the timescale for change in the secondary sector and also the lack of availability of home to school transport to other English-medium secondary schools, and Cabinet agreed two recommendations to mitigate these specific concerns.

“The aim of the proposal is to provide children and young people with the opportunity to benefit from two languages and become fully bilingual, and able to communicate effectively in both Welsh and English, and support would be provided for pupils with ‘Trochi’ provision, which is an immersive method of teaching Welsh which is delivered successfully across Wales.

“Changing the school’s language category to Welsh-medium would not restrict future opportunities for pupils.

"Many generations of students from Welsh-medium schools across Wales have successfully attended higher education in England and further afield, as well as universities in Wales.”