Mums join fight against plan for school's closure
ANGRY mums have joined forces to try to stop education chiefs from closing their village school.
Duffryn Afan Primary School, in the Afan Valley, has been earmarked for closure in the council's strategic school improvement plan.
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Kathryn Fell, Thomas Fell, aged two, and Lynda Hughes with Elliot James Hughes, aged nine months, are protesting about the proposed school closure. GM270110A-001
But villagers in Dyffryn Rhondda, where the school is located, and neighbouring Cynonville, argue it is not just a school and doubles as a community centre in an area with no other facilities.
Neath Port Talbot has put it on the list of potential school closures on the grounds of concern over educational standards, falling rolls and because around £230,000 is needed for repairs and maintenance. If it did close, its pupils would have to transfer to Cymer Afan Primary School, in Cymmer.
But placard-carrying members of Duffryn Afan's parents association staged a protest outside Port Talbot Civic Centre yesterday.
Parent governor Suzanne Hopkins said: "The school is our only facility. There used to be children's parks in Dyffryn Rhondda and Cynonville but they were taken away. Everything focuses around the school and now they want to take that away too.
"There are groups like the mums and toddlers and senior citizens meeting there, and there is a breakfast club and after- school activities. Our children will not be able to attend those at another school because of transport issues."
Parents have contested the council's claims that standards are a concern, citing a "very positive" inspection report.
Check the inspection report for your child's school
"It is a small school and expensive to run but we feel it is value for money, because it offers more than education," said Suzanne.
The school improvement plan went out for consultation last autumn.
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Head of support services and commissioning development Andrew Thomas said: "A report is due to go to cabinet in February.
"We are grateful for all the comments received and the involvement from stakeholders.
"It would be inappropriate to comment further as councillors have yet to consider the report."
paul.lewis@swwmedia.co.uk
11 Comments
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by Diao, Duffryn
Sunday, October 17 2010, 7:46PM
“If the council is not going to back down over this, one solution to this problem that would let the existing pupils remain would be as follows. The council has targets for the promotion of welsh language education although no welsh-medium school exists in the upper afan valley. A welsh school could be created in the following way: as each age group passes up a year, change the year below starting at nursery level to welsh language. Obviously one of the teaching staff would need to be replaced each year but there would be no disruption to current pupils education. This way the local authority will providing welsh-medium education to the whole area (not just duffryn and cynon) increasing role numbers and maybe the standard of teaching, and the village won't lose its school. Job done.”
by Bobbie Evans, Duffryn Rhondda
Sunday, January 31 2010, 10:21AM
“I would just like to say I agree with all the points made so far regarding the closure of Duffryn Afan Primary School.
I was at the protest in Port Talbot and was surprised by the level of support that we received. Over 650 signatures were collected on the petition!!
It will be a tragedy if the school closes as it is the heart of our two communities (Duffryn and Cynonville).
There are no facilities for the children of the two villages, no play area of any kind and there is no longer a community centre.
I urge the powers that be to have a serious re-think on this, once again, the valley is possibly losing another very valuable facility - Or do they want to see the valley as an empty wasteland covered with wind turbines?”
by ceri, Duffryn
Friday, January 29 2010, 6:54PM
“¿ Federation: With the new housing development won¿t more pupils be living nearer to pontrhydyfen. With both schools presently having an acting Head teacher wouldn¿t it make sense to appoint a Head teacher for our school and theirs?
¿ Attendance could suffer due to bus timetables and Low income families cannot afford to be catching buses once sometimes twice week because of illness or sleeping late bus fares are not cheap and now it¿s a five minute walk down the road at no cost. There is only so much you can do with a low income.”
by ceri, Duffryn
Friday, January 29 2010, 6:53PM
“this ratio.
¿ If the School closes, will an empty/unused building attract vandalism and so affect local businesses, families and cost to the emergency services.
¿ All teaching and non teaching staff will be made redundant which will not only affect both their families and themselves but also national unemployment figures.
¿ Closing the school will go against Neath/Port Talbot valley¿s strategy of ensuring that schools remain the heart of communities.
¿ Local businesses will suffer due to the lack of families wanting to move to the village without a school.
¿ Proposed new property development could suffer with families not wanting to move into a village without a school.
¿ Parents will have to put their young children some as young as 5 on a bus every morning to school at least two miles away will the bus be fitted with seat belts.
¿ When a child is ill in school how do we get to them without transport and buses running every hour.”
by ceri, Duffryn
Friday, January 29 2010, 6:50PM
“¿ The school is the heart and focal point for both Duffryn and Cynonville. It act as not only a excellent community school but a meeting place for the both the young and the elderly e.g. Senior Citizen Group, After School Club, Breakfast Club, Mother and Toddlers, Parents Coffee Morning/Meeting place, Remembrance Day Service, Voting etc
¿ Children could miss out on a Nursery education if parents don¿t have their own transport and there is no safe way to walk to the proposed school not that a child at the age of 3 could walk 2 miles twice a day. Bus services run 10 passed the hour in the proposed school direction so the child will be on the 12:10 bus, to then hang around for 50 minutes ( in cold weather this is unacceptable) or arrive late due to the next bus time 1:10.
¿ When asked if the child will have to move school again due to numbers dropping we was told that they hope this would not happen but cannot rule it out. There by causing concern for children¿s further disruption in future Education.
¿ Duffryn¿s Staff/Pupil ratio is now 1 to 16 and at times 1 to 8 moving to a larger class situation could adversely affect this ratio.”