Ceredigion County Council's Cabinet will be discussing tomorrow their 'School reorganisation policy.Below you will find Cymdeithas yr Iaith's response to this report:Cymdeithas yr Iaith welcomes Ceredigion's willingness to discuss withall concerned a county-wide strategy for rural schools. This is in starkcontrast with the bureaucratic attitude of Carmarthenshire CountyCouncil which drew up a hit-list of schools for closure and only entersinto consultation when required to do so by statutory processes.

Wewelcome also Ceredigion's assertion in in its policy document "Investingin our young people" that "The Authority is committed to retaining smallschools within their communities whenever possible". In order topositively involve local communities in creative discussions about thefuture of education for their area, it is important that it is notviewed as a negative school-closure exercise. The consultation must bepositive and explore all the exciting new potential for using schoolsand their assets as resources to regenerate local communities in aprocess of positive rationalisation. We point out that two major reports(*)are expected later this year from the National Assembly which couldmap out new paths for Village schools and these must be taken intoconsideration.* The Assembly Government's Education Dept will be publishing later thismonth draft guidelines (for consultation) on how small schools canco-operate to form viable educational units and the new system willcome into effect early 2009. The Assembly's Rural DevelopmentSub-committee will be publishing in the Autumn a Report into the futureof Village Schools, and the Minister will respond to this also by theend of the year.