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Education

Pembrokeshire County Council Failings lead to set up of Education Recovery Board

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huw-lewis-265017737-2512757Concerned parents and guardians of our County’s children will be disappointed with the decision by the Welsh Assembly to appoint a Welsh Recovery Board to oversee improvements, once again, in Pembrokeshire County Council’s education service. This comes after nearly two years of our Council attempting to resolve this worrying situation, without, it would appear, satisfactory success.

In 2011, a report by Children Commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler, led to a team being sent by the Assembly with the purpose of overseeing change in Pembrokeshire County Council’s policies and systems for safeguarding children and young people. These were judged to be ‘unfit for purpose’ by ESTYN who had produced a report at that time.

Council leader at the time, John Davies, assured voters and County constituents that Pembrokeshire County Council were not hiding from the matters raised, and he promised improvements and change in order to meet the requirements of both ESTYN and the Welsh Assembly.

It will come as grim news, therefore, that now Ministers from the Welsh Government have stated that changes in how our Pembrokeshire County Council safeguards children are not happening fast enough. As a result of this dissatisfaction, Huw Lewis, the Assembly Education Minister, along with Local Government Minister, Lesley Griffiths, have decided to set up a Recovery Board to oversee these required improvements in Pembrokeshire’s Education Services.

Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, Jamie Adams, is quoted as saying he welcomes the board, having already had productive meetings with them.

Reading from a local newspaper’s message board, and in response to this developing story, it was clear from the comments attached to the story, that parents are angered and dismayed by the seeming inability of Pembrokeshire County Council to resolve issues and problems directed at them from some two years ago, despite Assembly assistance.

In April of this year, the Pembrokeshire Ministerial Board was wound up after more than a year and a half advising the local authority on changes to its policies and operation for safeguarding children.

In a Welsh Government written statement, Huw Edwards, Minister for Education, commented on an ESTYN report published in December 2012 that had said of Pembrokeshire, ‘The Authority’s education services were found to be unsatisfactory’, and it further went on to say that they had, ‘judged Pembrokeshire’s prospects for improvement as unsatisfactory’. As well as that, it stated that, ‘corporate leaders and senior elected members have been too slow to recognise key issues in safeguarding’. Of Pembrokeshire County Council, Mr Lewis continued by adding that, ‘arrangements lack rigour and do not identify, accurately, areas in need of further improvement and the Authority has made limited progress in addressing recommendations from previous inspections’.

In support of those who provide the day to day education in our County, Angela Davies, Shadow Minister for Education and local AM, said that,

“Education services in Pembrokeshire have gone through a torrid time over the past few years but parents and pupils must hold fast to the fact that the majority of the teaching profession are totally committed to providing an excellent education for Pembrokeshire children”.

She was, however, quite clear as to where the blame should lie for the failings of the County Council education services and said,

“The ongoing problems stemmed from inadequate management practices within education services and a poor attitude to the proper safeguarding of children. Like all parents I know that I expect my children to be treated well and kept safe at school. Their well being and safety is of equal importance as the education they receive, and it was with a great sense of shock that we learnt of the adverse, and, at times, damning reports from Estyn and CSSIW which were the reasons for the initial Pembrokeshire Ministerial Board and for education services to be put into special measures.

The key issues appear to be inadequate oversight of key services, a lack of action when things went wrong, inadequate management, weak representation and an overly strong officer culture resistant to change. Since then a number of agencies have examined aspects of education and safeguarding in Pembrokeshire and there appears to be a sense that improvements are ongoing but are happening too slowly.

The fact that the Welsh Government have felt able to replace the Ministerial Board with a Recovery Board is good news and I am sure that Pembrokeshire’s appointment of a new Head of Education Services will usher in a more dynamic and constructive era.”

She also went on to make further comment on the Assembly’s role in education for Wales,

“I am concerned that there are so many local authority education services in special measures throughout Wales and I have called on the Welsh Government to explain why this is so.

It is also concerning to note that the General Teaching Council for Wales is not being inundated with lots of disciplinary cases arising from all these special measures and I would have thought that if education is so very bad in Wales, given the six Authorities in special measures, then the GTC would be flat out.

I am aware that the Government has an agenda for change and there are recommendations that there should be fewer local education authorities, ultimately, perhaps, leading to fewer county councils. However, I do not want to see education services, teachers and, above all, our children’s present and future being used to crowbar change. So I challenge the Government to ensure their actions are crystal clear and their motives pure.”

It is to be hoped that for the sake of our County’s children and for the peace of mind of parents and guardians alike that this Recovery Board is able, finally, to steer our County Council’s education services in the right direction, and resolve the safeguarding issues that remain of grave concern to all those who work in those areas where children are involved. As one local teacher put it, “No one wants to see a repeat of what happened at the Pupil Referral Unit in Neyland or read again about twenty-five cases of alleged professional abuse, as happened between 2007 and 2011”.

Education

Are you eligible for help with further education costs?

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APPLICATIONS for the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the 2025-26 academic year are now open.

EMA in Wales provides eligible learners aged 16 to 18 with £40 per week to help cover education-related costs such as transport, meals, and learning materials. In comparison, EMA is available at a lower rate of £30 in Scotland and Northern Ireland and was discontinued in England in 2011.

More learners are now eligible as income thresholds have been raised:

  • Households with one dependent child: income of £23,400 or less
  • Households with two or more dependent children: income of £25,974 or less

Raonaq, a learner at Fitzalan High School, said: “EMA has helped me to focus a lot more on school. Without it, I would have had to get a part-time job, which would have made it harder to study and revise for exams. It has helped me cover the cost of stationery, transport to and from school, and entering writing competitions. I don’t think I would have been able to afford these without EMA.”

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells, said: “EMA is a vital support system that helps young people continue their education without financial barriers. Learners have told me about the positive impact EMA has had on their educational journey by helping them with everyday costs.

“I was delighted to announce the extension of the eligibility range earlier this year, ensuring that more students have access to this support. I strongly encourage all 16 to 18-year-olds and their families to check if they are eligible, even if they weren’t previously.”

New and continuing learners can check their eligibility and apply online [here] or speak to their school or college for help with applications.

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Education

Tenby school in need of £500,000 of urgent repairs

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A CONTRACT of more than £0.5m has been awarded for urgent repairs to a Pembrokeshire seaside school where more than 700 building defects were found.

A special individual Cabinet member meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council saw leader Cllr Jon Harvey award a contract to Trident Engineering GBR Ltd to carry out urgent Concrete Repair and Protection works at Ysgol Greenhill, Tenby.

A survey report by Trident identified 750 faults at the school following a survey in July 2024, with further inspections this February.

A total of 750 defects were recorded, including spalled concrete, cracks (horizontal and vertical) in concrete slabs, beams, columns and soffits, failed repairs, failed coatings, honeycombing to concrete, damage / cracks in panels, cracking to brickwork, with an increase in defective areas across the structure since the July survey.

“We have observed an alarming acceleration in corrosion-related degradation due to the saline environment, leading to further concrete fracture, spalling, and delamination,” the report said.

It added: “This deterioration poses a significant risk, as sizeable debris has been witnessed falling from the structure, endangering pedestrians and potentially damaging vehicles and surrounding infrastructure.

“Our recent revisit surveys indicate that the cracks are expanding monthly, and the overall degradation is expected to worsen as thermal movement increases in response to climatic changes.

“We recommend undertaking the necessary remedial works with immediate effect. If we delay initiating the works, we will incur additional surveillance costs, which could have been avoided. Moreover, it is of utmost importance to note that some columns have lost enough structural mass to bring their integrity into question.

“Trident cannot endorse the continued use of the structure unless emergency repairs are initiated promptly. We strongly advise that these works be categorised as urgent and immediately necessary to restore safety and suitability for use.

“Should this critical advice not be followed, Trident will not accept liability for any subsequent developments.”

The value of the contract, at £555,946.17, includes the provision of a 15-year manufacturer’s warranty for the works undertaken.

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Education

Call for release of ‘sex choking’ lesson slides as council insists claims misleading

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Bridgend Council says pupils were never taught it was okay to choke during sex

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVE have intensified pressure on Bridgend County Borough Council over reports that pupils were taught about “sexual choking” during PSHE lessons—despite the council’s insistence that the claims are based on outdated and inaccurate materials.

Shadow Education Cabinet Secretary Natasha Asghar MS has now written to the leader of the council requesting copies of both the original and updated versions of a PowerPoint presentation developed by domestic abuse charity ASSIA, which was used during a single session in one Bridgend school in 2024.

Ms Asghar said: “I remain appalled that anyone involved in educating our children would consider including references to such a dangerous and risky act in educational materials.

“There appears to have been no attempt to explain the risks associated with choking, but merely a focus on ensuring the act is consensual. The leadership of Bridgend Council claims they requested that this presentation be altered before being shown to pupils. However, this does not disguise the fact that those responsible for creating the content initially deemed it appropriate.

“I am requesting both versions of the presentation be made available to me, and I am calling on Bridgend Council to reconsider their relationship with ASSIA. It is clear that by even considering the inclusion of such shocking content, their values do not align with what most decent people would reasonably expect to be taught in our schools.”

Council: Claims based on misinformation

Bridgend County Borough Council has pushed back strongly against what it calls “a classic example of how misinformation can generate headlines.” It insists that pupils were not taught to accept dangerous or illegal sexual behaviour.

The council says the slide that referenced choking with consent was part of a draft presentation that was never shown in schools. That content, they say, was deleted or corrected prior to delivery, and the final version made it clear that non-fatal strangulation is a criminal offence under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Developed in response to real questions from older pupils, the presentation was intended to support teachers navigating complex topics around consent and harmful behaviour. The final version was vetted before being offered to schools as part of a pastoral programme. Only one school accepted the offer, and the material was delivered to an audience of 15–17 year olds in October 2024.

Councillor Martyn Jones, Cabinet Member for Education and Youth Services, said: “The suggestion that older pupils have been taught to consent to damaging sexual behaviour is simply not true. All pastoral advice used by local schools is carefully designed to be age-appropriate, and to encourage teenagers who are maturing into young adults to develop healthy, respectful relationships where there is no abuse of any kind.”

Cllr Jones added that the original draft may have been shared with the media by someone acting in good faith but who misunderstood the situation.

“It appears that inaccurate information from a draft version of a presentation was shared with the media by individuals who had the best of intentions as they thought it had already been used in classrooms. However, the truth of the matter is that the slides in question had been deleted and updated long before the final version of the presentation was ever delivered,” he said.

The council reiterated its commitment to safeguarding and said it monitors all educational materials used with children and young people to ensure they remain appropriate and compliant with legislation.

Next steps

Ms Asghar has also written to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, calling for a broader review into how topics such as pornography and violent sexual behaviours are addressed in schools across Wales.

Bridgend Council has yet to confirm whether it will release the full versions of the presentation as requested.

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