South Wales Evening Post, 11 November 2008
Swansea Council has revealed its plans for the future of education in the county could include closures and mergers of up to 15 schools.
As the local education authority, Swansea Council has been drawing up a plan to transform education in Swansea.
The Quality in Education programme, dubbed QEd 2020, has been looking to improve Swansea's schools and tackle the problem of surplus places.
Now they have told the Evening Post the schools which could be closed, merged or replaced as part of its "emerging strategy".
They also plan to find around £10 million for urgent repairs such as fixing electrical wiring that doesn't meet legal safety standards.
Options included in phase one of the new strategy are plans to establish single primary schools to replace the following existing schools: Manselton and Cwmbwrla primary schools, Cwm primary and Cwm Glas primary, Llanmorlais and Penclawdd primaries.
Phase two includes options to create single schools in place of Brynhyfryd infants and juniors and Plasmarl primary, Gorseinon nursery, infants and juniors.
Phase three includes creating a single school in place of Graig nursery, infants and juniors.
In some cases, the new school could be a new-build, but in others it may mean an existing school incorporating a closing school.
Last year, the extent of the work needed to bring the city's schools up to scratch was revealed as being £147 million. The shocking news prompted the launch of QEd 2020.
Since then, the council has made no secret of the fact some schools could be facing closure or merger.
Now, after weeks of rumours spreading throughout Swansea, the city's education boss has revealed the schools which could be affected by the programme.
Cabinet member of education Mike Day also revealed a programme to make inroads into a £146 million school structural maintenance backlog in the city by investing £10 million in 27 schools in the next three years and a further £12.7 million in the next eight years to target maintenance issues.
Councillor Day said: "We are currently investing £23 million in our schools over the coming years to improve facilities and address immediate maintenance issues.
"In addition to this investment, our aspiration is to continue to build new school facilities that are fit for the 21st Century, replacing ageing buildings in order to make a significant and long- lasting difference to our schools.
"Everyone accepts that something has to be done — doing nothing is not an option."
However, councillor Day was keen to stress that no plans for school closures have been confirmed. If the options are confirmed by the council's cabinet on November 18, they will go out to consultation with teachers, parents and governors.
He said: "We are asking people to come forward with their views. Do they think this is viable.
"This isn't formal consultation. These are the things we would like to do.
"How quickly will depend on the outcome of consultation and the availability of funds."
While funding for the upgrade programme will come from council budgets, the authority does not have the money to take forward the three phase strategy if the plans are approved — and will be asking the Assembly for the funding.
Education Minister Jane Hutt is due to meet with council representatives on Thursday, November 20, when the issue of funding will be discussed.
Councillor Day said: "The council does not have the funds to do this on its own so we are looking at a range of options for attracting external funding.
"We have a clear strategy in place which presents a strong case for additional funding from the Assembly Government.
"We will discuss our needs with ministers and officials during the coming months in order to gain support for our aims."
Councillor Day added: "We would like to assure parents that there will be no knee-jerk reactions.
"This is our strategy.
"It is what we think is the best for the children involved."
