Cabinet to consider Ysgol Bro Caereinion language consultation report

Plans are in place to potentially move a north Powys all-age school along the language continuum, with the goal of eventually transforming it into a Welsh-medium school.

The proposal, put forward by Powys County Council, aims to transition Ysgol Bro Caereinion in Llanfair Caereinion from a dual-stream school to a Welsh-medium school on a phased basis.

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According to the Council, this move would allow all learners at the school to develop their language skills and become fluent in both Welsh and English, ensuring they are fully bilingual and capable of confidently using both languages in the future. Additionally, it would provide students in this part of Powys with access to designated Welsh-medium secondary provision, a currently unavailable option in the area.

Following a seven-week consultation held between October and December 2023, the council has considered the feedback received and is recommending the proposal to change Ysgol Bro Caereinion's language category by publishing a Statutory Notice.

However, in response to concerns raised during the consultation, it is recommended that the start date for the secondary transition be amended from September 2025 to September 2026, while the primary phase transition is still recommended for September 2025.

To address worries about the impact on students currently in English-medium primary provision at the school, the council is proposing to offer free home-to-school transport to pupils in years 4 and below at Ysgol Bro Caereinion and Ysgol Rhiw Bechan when they transfer to their nearest English-medium secondary provider. Furthermore, additional support will be provided to pupils not yet in the Welsh stream through immersive Welsh language support 'Trochi', which aims to facilitate the transition from English-medium to Welsh-medium education.

Cllr Pete Roberts, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys, said:

"We would like to thank all those who took part in the consultation exercise for this proposal. After considering all the consultation responses, the recommendation that will be put forward to Cabinet is to continue with the proposal by publishing the statutory notice formally proposing the change.

"We have considered the consultations findings and have amended the proposal to address some of the concerns that have been raised.

"This proposal would see the council provide well planned provision for increasing the opportunities for a growing number of children and young people to become fully bilingual, fluent in both Welsh and English and therefore contributing to the Welsh Government's aspiration to achieve a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

"This proposal meets the aims of the Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys and implement the commitments in our Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, which will enable us to make good progress against our target of increasing the number of pupils being taught through the medium of Welsh."