23.01.20
A recommendationto develop revised proposals for the provision of education places in Adamsdown and Splott, including the plansnot to progress with the closure of St Alban's R.C. Primary School in Tremorfa, have been approved by Cabinet today.
The proposal to discontinue the school,at the request of theCatholic Archdiocese, was included in a packageofBand B 21stCentury Schools Programmeproposals for school places in Adamsdown and Splott that went to public consultation last year.
The Archdiocese request was largely based on the low number of Catholic families' pupils choosing to attend St Albans. However, the actual figures for Catholic pupils attending the school are similar to that of several other Catholic schools in Cardiff.
As a result, the Archdiocese has withdrawn the closure request and further workto develop revised reorganisation and investment proposals for the education provision in the area is underway. St Alban's R.C. Primary School will not close as part of the revised proposals, which will be brought back to Cabinet at the earliest opportunity.
The original proposals consulted on were to:
Cabinet was updated on feedback from a range of stakeholders received during the consultation period at its meeting today and heard that following the change of circumstanceson which the proposals were based,plans to increase the capacity of Baden Powell Primary School would no longer be necessary and utilising the St Alban's buildings, that would have been vacated, to allow the proposed expansion of Tremorfa Nursery School is no longer feasible.
Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry, said: "We are fully committed to investing in and improving education provision in Splott and Adamsdown, from early years through to secondary and post-16 provision, enablingaccess to the best quality learning environment for children and young people, with the wider community benefit of improved facilities in the area.
"Following the Archdiocese's request to withdraw the proposal to close of St Alban's, further work is now needed to modify proposals for school places in Splott and Adamsdown and this will give us the opportunity to further appraise some of the points raised during the consultation."