Powys School Modernisation (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

Powys School Modernisation

February 1, 2010 12:00 AM
By Mick Bates

The most crucial element of any modernisation strategy proposed for Powys is to ensure full consultation with all stakeholders, primarily parents and professionals, so that the key principles of any strategy are agreed long before the specific details are laid out. Leaked documents and sensationalist outcries will not allow for a rational, well considered proposal and I believe we must scrap the current process that has caused such alarm and begin afresh.

Educational standards in Powys are exceptional and many families move here from across Wales and England due to the excellent reputation that we hold, with high quality education and schools that reflect the society of an area. However, it is clear that the current model is not sustainable and reform is needed to adapt to the changing curriculum requirements and an increasingly ageing population. Welsh medium education is split sparsely across the county with schools struggling to sustain provision as children get older, often learning a subject through Key Stage 3 in Welsh, then having to revert to English for Key Stage 4.

The principal step in my mind for developing 'Option 5' is to establish what people value about the education system in Powys, whether it be bilingual provision, better addressing the needs of disaffected pupils, offering a wider subject choice through collaboration between schools, area schools which cater for a wide age range or separating age ranges between campuses to reflect the split in curriculum teaching. In such a rural county no single solution will fit all, but whatever route is chosen it is unlikely that school closures will help to reduce costs when set against the higher costs of transporting pupils further and further across the county.

Understanding what parents and pupils feel works best must be the first step towards the development of a new proposal for modernisation. Whatever option is decided must be combined with a more holistic approach that also looks at addressing the falling pupil numbers, for example through a more integrated planning system that allows families to build homes on their farms more easily and with more support for rural services, to provide homes and jobs that retain young families in the area.