NEW specialist facilities at Portfield School in Haverfordwest have officially opened as part of a major £28.8m redevelopment aimed at transforming education for pupils with additional learning needs in Pembrokeshire.

Representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council, Portfield School and contractors gathered to mark the completion of the first main phase of the project, which will eventually deliver a fully modernised specialist education campus.

The redevelopment, supported through the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme and Pembrokeshire County Council, has created a carbon net zero in operation school building designed to meet the growing demand for specialist education provision.

The new facilities include therapy rooms, sensory spaces, treatment rooms and a main hall equipped with a retractable trampoline. Outdoor improvements include a new multi-use games area and redesigned spaces intended to support pupils’ wellbeing and development.

A former bus lay-by has also been converted into a car park with more than 100 spaces, including ten accessible bays.

The first phase of the scheme involved refurbishing the existing school building to create a more joined-up, campus-style environment for pupils and staff.

The building has been designed to achieve net zero carbon in operation through the installation of solar panels, air source heat pumps, improved insulation and energy-efficient lighting.

Construction firm Morgan Sindall, which delivered the works through the South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework alongside engineering consultants AtkinsRéalis, said it had also exceeded its carbon reduction target during the build process.

The contractor said 95 per cent of the supply chain budget was spent locally, while 86 per cent of subcontractors used were based in the local area. Two graduates and two Pembrokeshire College work placement students were also involved in the project.

Cllr Jon Harvey, Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, described completion of the first phase as an important milestone for both the school and the wider community.

Headteacher Sarah Hartley said: “We are delighted with the new provision for our pupils at Portfield School.

“It represents a significant step forward in ensuring every pupil has access to an inclusive, supportive and inspiring learning environment where they can thrive.

“As Headteacher, I am incredibly proud of how well the pupils have transitioned into the new site and adapted so quickly to their new learning environment.”

Morgan Sindall’s Area Director for Wales, Robert Williams, said the facilities would make “a lasting difference” to children, staff and families needing specialist education support.

The second phase of works is expected to be completed in early 2027 and will include the demolition and replacement of the respite block as well as remodelling of the SEN Sixth Form facilities.

The project follows previous collaboration between Pembrokeshire County Council and Morgan Sindall on Haverfordwest High VC School and Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro.

Force says policy under review pending national guidance after referral to equality watchdog

SOUTH WALES POLICE has confirmed to The Herald it is pausing controversial guidance relating to the recording of anti-Muslim hostility following criticism from Conservative MP Claire Coutinho.

The force issued the statement after Ms Coutinho, Shadow Minister for Equalities, formally referred South Wales Police to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), claiming the guidance risked creating a “de-facto blasphemy law” around discussion of Islam.

In a statement to The Pembrokeshire Herald, South Wales Police said: “We are pausing the aligning with this definition in order to consider whether to maintain or amend the adoption, pending guidance from NPCC. The force remains committed to ensuring the public safety of all of our communities.”

The response appears to indicate the force is reconsidering whether to continue using the definition in question while awaiting guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

Ms Coutinho had accused the force of instructing officers to record comments deemed to go beyond “legitimate” discussion of Islam, arguing that no equivalent standard applied to other faiths.

In a letter to the EHRC chair, she wrote that the policy risked creating “a more restrictive category of speech that applies only in the context of one religion”.

The controversy centres on concerns about how non-crime incidents are recorded and whether lawful speech could be logged by police, potentially affecting public confidence in free expression and equal treatment under the law.

South Wales Police has not said whether the guidance will ultimately be scrapped, amended or reinstated following the review.

RELATIVES SAY LATEST COURT BID HAS REOPENED PAIN AFTER FOUR DEATHS ON WESTERN CLEDDAU

THE FAMILIES of victims of the Haverfordwest paddleboarding tragedy have spoken of their anger after the woman jailed over four deaths failed in a bid to challenge her sentence.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 41, from Port Talbot, was jailed for 10 years and six months after admitting gross negligence manslaughter following the deaths of Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley.

The four died after a paddleboarding trip on the Western Cleddau in Haverfordwest went disastrously wrong on October 30, 2021.

Three Court of Appeal judges rejected arguments that Lloyd’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”.

The failed appeal has now prompted fresh criticism from grieving families, who say they have been forced to relive the tragedy again.

Morgan Rogers’ mother, Teresa Hall, said Lloyd should “leave the families in peace”, adding that those who lost loved ones were serving “life sentences” of their own.

Nicola Wheatley’s husband, Darren, said he broke down when the appeal was rejected, describing the decision as a moment of relief after another agonising legal hearing.

The tragedy happened during a commercial paddleboarding tour from Haverfordwest towards Burton Ferry. The group encountered the town weir in dangerous river conditions, with several participants becoming trapped in the powerful hydraulic towback.

A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report later found the deaths were “tragic and avoidable”, highlighting failures in planning, risk assessment, safety briefings, equipment and awareness of the danger posed by the weir.

At sentencing, the court heard Lloyd had failed to produce a written risk assessment for the trip and that the group had not been properly warned about the weir.

The case remains one of Pembrokeshire’s most devastating modern tragedies, with the deaths sending shockwaves through Haverfordwest and across Wales.

Lloyd remains in custody following the failed appeal bid.