Education Secretary ends rural school policy uncertainty

Education Secretary puts an end to rural school policy uncertainty

In a meeting with Cymdeithas yr Iaith on Wednesday, 25 September, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, put an end to any uncertainty regarding the implementation of the Welsh Government's School Organisation Code.

The secretary said during the meeting with the movement that in any consultation process all other options “must” be considered before closing a rural school that is on the Government's list in the Code, and that this was not a "box ticking exercise".

A top education department official added that the "presumption against closure means what it says - presumption against closure."

The announcement comes a day before Ceredigion Council's Learning Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee discuss the recent decision of Ceredigion Council’s cabinet to continue with a consultation on the closure of four rural schools in the county.

Ffred Ffransis from Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Education Group said:

"There is a belief among a number of Local Authorities that they can start planning from the beginning to close rural Welsh schools, and that they only have to go through the process of identifying some alternative options and consider the impact of closure on the community and on the language in a tokenistic manner.

"However, we are pleased to announce that Lynne Neagle was completely clear in her response to us that local authorities must start with a presumption against closing rural schools that are on the official list of schools to be protected.

"We will draw the attention of Local Authorities to this clear instruction."