RDC(3) RRSWA11

Rural Development Sub-Committee

Inquiry into Reorganisation of Schools in Rural Wales

Response from Gwynedd Council

We would like to thank the Rural Development Sub-committee for the opportunity to respond to its inquiry into the reorganisation of schools in rural Wales. The inquiry’s terms of reference set clear questions and we aim to structure our response around those headings.

1.  The educational context of rural schools

Population

i)  Over the last century, rural areas have experienced significant changes. Whilst the Welsh population has grown by +85% between 1881 and 2001 (+163% in the cities and +101% in the Valleys), the growth experienced in rural areas is only 25%. Locally, there has been a 16% decrease in the population of Gwynedd over the same period.

ii)  The child population in rural areas has decreased even more. Whilst the number of children 0-14 years in Wales has increased by +6% between 1881 and 2001, and +33% in the cities, the number of children of this age in rural areas has decreased -37%. Again, the situation is even more striking in Gwynedd, with a decrease of -57%.

iii)  There has been a significant decrease in the number of primary school children in Gwynedd over the last 30 years. There are over 2,000 fewer 5-11 year old pupils in the county’s primary schools today compared to 1975 (a 21% decrease). The impact varies within the county - in the Arfon area in the north of the county, there has been a 15% decrease, whilst in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd the decrease has been even more apparent (-27% and -28%). Some catchment areas have experienced a decrease of over 35% in pupil numbers over the same period.

iv)  There were 118 primary schools in Gwynedd in 1975. There are 106 schools in the county today.

v)  There are over 2,400 unfilled places in the county’s primary schools. The Audit Commission’s recognised formula - a formula which has since been approved by the Wales Audit Office - suggests that, on average, each surplus place costs a minimum of about £350 a head. On the basis of this formula, it is calculated that the annual cost of the surplus places to Gwynedd is £835,000.

vi)  There has been a decrease of over 9% in the number of primary schools in the county between 1996-2005, and forecasts predict a similar decrease between 2005-2016.

The condition of buildings

i)  The existing education regime - and the network of school buildings - was created to service the communities of the period. Over half the school buildings in Gwynedd are at least a hundred years old. The location, nature, size and facilities of those buildings were suitable for the needs of communities a century ago, but the extent to which they still provide the best possible service must be questioned.

ii)  The Council’s draft Asset Management Scheme suggests that £32m of expenditure is needed to repair and maintain the county’s primary school buildings and ensure they are suitable for the needs of the existing curriculum and developments in the near future.

Staffing issues

i)  In order to sustain a high number of schools, a higher number of headteachers is needed. There are 512 full-time teachers in Gwynedd, and 106 headteacher posts. This means that a high percentage of the county’s teaching staff are also responsible for the leadership of a school.

ii)  There is significant pressure on school headteachers in rural counties. A high percentage of Gwynedd’s primary school headteachers must teach classes regularly. Feedback from teachers suggest that the pressure of having to fulfil two full-time roles to all intents and purposes means that few people are interested in becoming a school headteacher.

iii)  The impact of the above is extensive, and it is not limited to the county’s rural areas. An increasing number of headteachers in the county’s medium and larger schools are having to take responsibility for a class because of staffing and financial constraints.

iv) The development of the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) works against rural counties. As the process of choosing candidates for the training is a national process, and because the process places a significant emphasis on formal management experiences within a school, not enough rural candidates are gaining a place on the course.

v)  Half of Gwynedd’s headteachers will be eligible to retire within the next 5 years. It is very unlikely that enough teachers will have been given the opportunity to gain an NPQH qualification in time to fill those vacancies.  

vi)  Sixteen of the county’s schools (out of 106) are already run by a part-time headteacher. Those schools which have succeeded in appointing a headteacher over the last few years have often received only one or two applications. The concern in Gwynedd is that the situation will only get worse.

Class sizes

i)  On average, primary school classes in Gwynedd consist of 21.6 pupils, the third lowest in Wales. Nonetheless, class sizes vary considerably across the country, ranging from less than 8 in some schools to 30 in other schools.

ii)  There is significant concern that classes of 30 place an unacceptable pressure on the teacher, which means that pupils in such classes cannot receive adequate attention.

iii)  The problem is especially apparent in the county’s disadvantaged areas. Twenty-three per cent of the county’s primary school age children attend the 17 schools in disadvantaged wards (wards which have been recognised as Communities First wards). Classes in a number of those schools - especially in urban wards - are significantly larger than the county average.

The credit crunch

i)  Gwynedd has received one of the worst settlements seen in Wales over the last 4 years, and the Assembly Government’s three year funding schemes and Treasury forecasts suggest that this situation will continue over the next few years.

i)  The credit crunch on the Council is therefore increasing, meaning that every service - including schools - are having to make savings and face cuts.

iii)  Maintaining a high number of ageing schools on decreasing budgets is becoming increasingly difficult.

The Welsh language in education and in the community

i)  Gwynedd Council’s language policy regarding the county’s schools has certainly contributed significantly to protecting the future of the language as an education language and a community language. Nonetheless, the challenge continues. The situation in Gwynedd is varied. There is a clear perception that the presence of a school which promotes the Welsh language can contribute substantially to sustaining the language within the community, whether a small rural community or an urban community. In other parts of the county, it appears that the presence of the school has not succeeded in sustaining the language as a community language in the true sense of the word.

ii)  In order to prove these theories and perceptions, Gwynedd Council has commissioned Bangor University to undertake a Language Impact Survey. Whilst the work deals to an extent with the county’s consultation scheme for school organisation, it also includes valuable work on the role of the school within the community from a language perspective. The Survey considers the success of Gwynedd schools in using the Welsh language as a teaching medium between teachers and children; it also identifies the use of Welsh among children and their peers as a key criterion for sustaining and stimulating the community language.

iii)  The work of the Survey has presented broader questions, specifically the contribution the government - locally and nationally - can make regarding sustaining and promoting the Welsh language. We are keen to see the Assembly Government take the lead and give appropriate coverage to the role of schools in nurturing new Welsh speakers among children from backgrounds where Welsh is not used in the home, especially in those areas where the percentage of the population who can speak Welsh shows a decline between the last two Censuses. There are two aspects to the influence of schools in this context: firstly, success in the context of using Welsh as an educational medium, specifically, the use of language between teachers and children, and pupils’ educational achievements; secondly, the role of schools in nurturing and sustaining the use of the Welsh language between children eg on the yard. The second function is presumed to be significant in some areas in Gwynedd in safeguarding the use of Welsh as a community medium.

I would be pleased to share the Survey’s report with the Rural Development Sub-committee if it so desires.

2.  Whether there are any wider social and educational issues associated with rural school reorganisation, such as the impact on rural communities, families and children and how this is taken into consideration as part of the decision-making process

When discussing Gwynedd’s consultation document, Reorganisation of Primary Schools in gwynedd for the Educational Benefits of all our Children, it became apparent that the school has a very broad significance with regard to communities’ perception of their future viability.  

The nature of communities has changed over the last century, and the general population now depends on services outside its traditional communities. As shops, pubs and chapels close, the meaning of "community” has expanded and changed.

In an area such as Gwynedd, which continues to sustain a number of communities where Welsh is the main language, the school has a contribution to make in terms of protecting and promoting the use of the Welsh language.

In considering possible changes to the organisation of rural county schools, there is a need to identify a solution which ensures improved facilities and a suitable and fair managerial structure whilst also safeguarding the future of communities and the Welsh language. The challenge for local authorities is to find the middle ground which meets all of these requirements.

3.  Examples of reorganisation in rural Wales and elsewhere to understand the experiences and learn from any innovative approaches

Welsh counties have responded to the factors listed above in a number of ways:

i)  No change

The meaning of this is obvious. Each individual school continues as a completely independent entity with its own headteacher, governing body and finance.

ii)  Informal collaboration

Some schools in Gwynedd have been part of a "cluster” arrangement, which means that two schools continue as separate entities but share a headteacher. This is a short-term solution which can safeguard education standards and the existence of schools. Nevertheless, Gwynedd’s experience suggests that this can only be a short-term solution. Some of the clusters established in Gwynedd have failed. The reasons for this vary, but one constant factor is the significant additional pressure that comes from asking an individual to take responsibility for two schools, running both schools as separate entities in terms of management, leadership, finance and administration.

Those which have continued have done so as a result of the headteacher’s absolute commitment. Feedback from those headteachers suggests that the workload of managing two schools is unreasonable.

iii)  Formal collaboration

Formal collaboration - or federalisation - was a core part of Gwynedd’s consultation document. This model would have meant closing a number of schools as separate entities, reopening them immediately as sites within one new school and appointing one headteacher, one governing body and one budget to manage all the sites. The Assembly Government is currently working on new regulations which could possibly allow all the advantages of the federal model without having to close individual schools - that is, there would still be a need to go through the statutory process in order to close a site within a federal school.  

iv)  Closing schools

This means closing a school and moving the pupils to a new site. This could be a school which already exists and which has the capacity to accept more schools or a brand new building. It is difficult to justify building new schools to service a small number of pupils, therefore new buildings usually service a wider area.

4.  Existing and proposed Welsh Assembly Government policy and guidance and whether they adequately deal with the wider issues that may be associated with the reorganisation of rural schools

The Assembly Government’s funding formula penalises rural counties. The emphasis on using the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation as the basis for distributing funds means that not enough consideration is given to the needs of dispersed communities. Also, there is not enough consideration of salary levels in rural areas in determining the needs of those communities.

There is confusion regarding the Assembly Government’s opinion on the ideal size of a school. The Audit Commission has suggested that there should be at least 90 pupils in a school, whilst grants - for example RAISE - suggest a minimum of 50 pupils. Yet, occasional statements by civil servants suggest that about 180 pupils and six classes are needed to ensure a quality, viable school. The message from the government is confusing.

There is a concern that the change of emphasis regarding SBIG grants will disadvantage rural areas. If the suggestion that counties will dispose of empty spaces and develop a detailed county scheme to do so is realized, there is a risk that dispersed areas could be penalised.

5.  The role of ESTYN in reporting on schools and LEAs

ESTYN’s inspections of individual schools and education authorities are inconsistent. Gwynedd Council was heavily criticised by ESTYN in its inspection of Access and School Organisation in December 2006 for not acting to reduce surplus places. There was also concern about the condition of a number of school buildings in the county. The clear message was that ESTYN believed that Gwynedd Council was not succeeding in obtaining full value for its investment in education.

At the same time, individual school inspections almost always note that schools of all sizes are giving value for money. This is in complete contrast to the message reaching the authority, which leads to significant confusion. The point has been made by a number of people responding to Gwynedd’s county scheme - ESTYN reports that small schools give value for money, therefore why does the Council believe the number of schools needs to be rationalised? There is a need for clarity.

6.  Conclusion

This report contains preliminary comments. The Council has collected significant evidence over the last few years whilst considering the organisation of the county’s primary schools. Much of this evidence, as well as a number of relevant reports, can be found on the Council’s website at www.gwynedd.gov.uk <http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk>

I would be pleased to present additional evidence if the Committee so desires.

The above evidence was submitted in the name of:
Cllr. Liz Saville Roberts (Schools’ Portfolio Holder)
Iwan Trefor Jones (Strategic Director of Development)