A PEMBROKESHIRE school at threat of closure as part of education reorganisation in the south of the county is now expected to remain open following a call from the council’s deputy leader.

Stepaside CP School was being earmarked for closure by Pembrokeshire County Council, as part of proposals to establish a new 3-11 primary school on the Saundersfoot School site, discontinuing both Saundersfoot School and Stepaside school.

The Stepaside proposal was based on surplus places for all the schools in the proposals, with Stepaside having a surplus capacity of over 50 per cent, councillors had previously heard.

An e-petition on the council’s own website, started by Angela Robinson, called upon Pembrokeshire County Council “to Save Stepaside School and work with local communities to look at alternative solutions” attracting nearly 2,000 signatures.

In March, a vote at a full meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council reaffirmed the decision of last December, that the Director for Education be authorised to commence statutory consultation to discontinue Stepaside and Saundersfoot schools and establish the new three-11 primary school.

Since then, Pembrokeshire’s deputy leader, who has recently taken on Cabinet member responsibility for education, is now recommending the school doesn’t close.

That takes the form of a notice of motion, due to go before full council meeting on July 16 which, if approved by, rescinds the earlier December 2025 decision.

Cllr Miller said: “Following a thorough review, I have decided to recommend to Council that it not proceed with the closure of Stepaside School. I believe the school is providing good educational outcomes for its local population and is sustainable in its current form.”

The statement was welcomed by Angela Robinson of Standing Together for Stepaside School, who said: “After months of challenges for our dedicated staff, students, families, and the Kilgetty community, we’re thrilled to share that Stepaside School is here to stay!

“With 1,952 signatures backing our cause, we’ve shown just how vital our school is to the community. We’ve held meetings with council members and engaged our Senedd and Parliament representatives, resulting in countless discussions, reports and late nights trying to challenge an unfair process.

“Our community has truly rallied together, building stronger relationships along the way.”

Local county councillors Alistair Cameron and Alec Cormack, who both battled to keep the school open, said they were delighted by the decision, indicating their support for the motion.

Cllr Cameron said: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mr Jones, Headteacher at Stepaside School, and all of his colleagues at the school for their continued dedication and hard work to the school children during this very unsettling time.

“Thank you also to the parents, governors and local residents for their magnificent support for our local school. I never believed it was right to consider closing Stepaside School with its modern building, stable pupil numbers of over 100 and excellent report from the school inspectors, Estyn.

“The school staff can now concentrate on what they do best, which is to provide excellent education in a caring and nurturing environment.”

Cllr Cormack welcomed the Cabinet decision: “This decision removes the cloud of reorganisation hanging over both Saundersfoot and Stepaside/Kilgetty. Now both head teachers, staff and governing bodies can continue to deliver excellent education to their local communities.”

PLAID CYMRU’S Rhun ap Iorwerth was challenged on budget decisions and the NHS in this week’s First Minister’s questions. 

Tuesday’s plenary also saw the First Minister face questions on biological sex and funding for children with additional learning needs.

There was disruption in the chamber as shouting broke out when the First Minister admitted he had met with Reform UK’s Welsh leader Dan Thomas.

In his questions to the First Minister, Mr Thomas pressed him to disclose if he had had any talks with other political parties, if there are any potential areas of compromise within the supplementary budget, and if he’d be willing to work with Reform.

The First Minister responded: “It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody that I have met all leaders of political parties in this Senedd.

“When I speak of wanting to be a co-operative government, that means having conversations with leaders of Reform, the Conservatives, Labour, and the Green Party.

“I’m sorry if that’s come as a surprise to anybody.”

Mr ap Iorwerth said his government is “determined” to put in place their programme for government and recognises that to do so it will need cross-chamber support.

Leader of the opposition Dan Thomas began his questions to the First Minister by drawing attention to the “plight” of student nurses.

He called on Mr ap Iorwerth to share if any of the £145 million allocated to the NHS in the supplementary budget will be used to “guarantee student midwives and student nurses a job when they finish their training.”

Noting that there are “some things […] that money can’t buy”, the First Minister said the current problems facing graduates are due to “over-commissioning” in 2022.

He said: “There’s a specific problem that has arisen this year, which should not have arisen, but it has arisen because training numbers for this cohort who are looking for jobs in September this year were commissioned in 2022.

“Now, we are living now with the challenges posed by the over-commissioning back then.”

Acknowledging how “unsettling” the lack of jobs must be, the First Minister confirmed his health minister has started work on improving the outcomes for graduates.

Mr ap Iorwerth said: “We will help those graduating now to get jobs. They have careers in the NHS. We need them.

“But we have a problem that we face right now, which this government is working around to quite rightly support those who are worried in a way that they shouldn’t be, when they signed up to those courses in 2022.”

Funding for children with additional learning needs was once again at the forefront of discussions in the Siambr.

Interim Labour leader Ken Skates pressed the First Minister to say how much he expects to receive from the UK Government in additional learning needs consequentials between now and 2029.

Noting the importance of the prioritisation of government money, the First Minister did not provide a specific figure in response to the Labour member.

Instead he pledged to concentrate on helping “children in education, patients in the health service and families who need support with childcare.”

Answering his own question, Mr Skates said: “The answer is more than £0.5 billion – more than £0.5 billion that will come to the Welsh Government as a result of increased spending by the UK Government on additional learning needs. That is a huge additional sum that your government will be receiving. 

He added: “Every one of the 22 local authorities in Wales is calling for this year’s consequential to be passed to councils so that they can then pass it to schools for investment in children and in the teaching profession.”

He called on the First Minister share how much additional ALN funding he is willing to allocate in the supplementary budget.

Mr ap Iorwerth responded: “Those who have been in government will know that there are two sides of the ledger when it comes to budgets. There are consequentials, yes, from time to time, there are pressures, too.

“This government has inherited significant pressures, which have to be addressed – and we have inherited those pressures from previous governments – whilst taking a long-term and sustainable approach to the whole ALN system.”

The First Minister told the Siambr that the ALN pressures will be solved through “long-term thinking in developing policy” not by a one-off payment.

Natasha Asghar, the Conservative health spokesperson, pressed the First Minister to reveal what action the Welsh Government will be taking following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the “definition of biological sex”. 

Ms Asghar told the Siambr she was recently contacted by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board staff who had received a presentation titled ‘transcending boundaries, celebrating transgender awareness week and how to be an ally’.

She said: “I’m all in favour of diversity, but I would much rather NHS staff focus on patients and delivering care, than them being distracted by training sessions that do not improve patient care and frontline services.”

Ms Asghar said the staff who contacted her said they felt extremely uncomfortable with the session, describing it as highly sexualised and inappropriate.

She added: “I can’t say I blame them when you hear some of the presentation’s content.

“Part of the presentation involved a man talking about his genitals, alongside a photo of a rocket, and he states, and I quote, ‘No Viagra needed’.

“The presentation also includes a photo of a man when he was naked as a child. The presentation also talks about transgender bathroom issues and supporting men in women’s spaces.”

Ms Asghar asked the First Minister how the Welsh Government will ensure public bodies are following the law and “protecting women’s spaces”.

Noting the Supreme Court decision was not “a victory of one side over another”, the First Minister expressed the need for political leadership.

He said: “She [Ms Asghar] mentions ‘concerned members of staff’. We hear from very concerned trans people who feel that they are being disempowered and put at risk, even, by the current debate.

“And that, I think, is where political leadership comes from. I can’t comment on the particular material that she mentioned because I’m not aware of what it is. But that Supreme Court ruling wasn’t a victory of one side over another.

“I was listening at the time when the judgment was given. What it did usher in was a new era of the need for greater understanding between people who have divergent views.

“All of us have to be aware of that in trying to cool down the temperature on what has become a heated debate but also a very painful debate for many individuals.”

The First Minister was also quizzed on his government’s position on puberty blockers for under-18s, by Reform MS Paul Marr.

Mr ap Iorwerth said: “Where clinically appropriate, puberty suppressing hormones can be prescribed for children in Wales who started treatment prior to the UK Government’s order restricting their prescribing other than through the NHS, and to children accessing NHS gender services, as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence research study when that commences.” 

The First Minister said gender identity services in Wales will continue to be “led by the evidence.”

Suggesting the Cass Review highlights “significant uncertainties” around the “long-term safety” of puberty blockers, Mr Marr pressed the First Minister on the “specific steps” his government will take to ensure that “vulnerable young people are not subject to avoidable harm”.

Mr ap Iorwerth informed the Reform MS that the author of the Cass review is supportive of that research.

Mr ap Iorwerth added: “This is a careful study, an academic study, that is about reducing harm to children and young people.

“I would have thought that that is something that, as a whole, we would eager to sign up to.”

YOUNG people from Pembrokeshire and Neath Port Talbot will gather in Carmarthen next week for a Welsh education project aimed at tackling what organisers describe as a growing crisis in youth confidence.

Cymbrogi Futures will hold its fourth annual Tomorrow’s Changemakers Hackathon at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David on Friday, July 10, bringing together five finalist teams of 12 and 13-year-olds to pitch ideas linked to tourism, hospitality and the built environment.

The event comes against a stark national backdrop. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show more than one million young people aged 16 to 24 across the UK are not in education, employment or training. In Wales, Welsh Government data shows the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds classed as NEET rose to 17.0% in the year ending December 2025.

A recent report by the Institute for Public Policy Research has also warned that many young people are losing faith in their futures, with only one in four 16 to 29-year-olds believing that people have a fair chance to succeed through talent and hard work.

Cymbrogi Futures says its programme is designed as a practical response to those concerns, giving pupils the chance to work with employers, community organisations and mentors on real-world sustainability challenges.

The Tomorrow’s Changemakers programme is rooted in the Curriculum for Wales and inspired by the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. It asks learners to act as researchers, designers, communicators and problem-solvers, rather than simply studying climate and economic issues from a distance.

This year’s programme has reached around 1,000 learners across three counties, with five teams making it through to the Carmarthen final. Since 2022, Cymbrogi says the programme has worked with thousands of learners across Wales, with further expansion planned into Swansea, Powys and Bridgend from September 2026 and Bristol in 2027.

Ian Chriswick, Director of Cymbrogi Futures, said Wales already had the foundations for a more hopeful approach to education.

He said: “Wales has a ground-breaking curriculum that asks us to truly teach the future. But at a time when we should be celebrating its successes, we hear instead of record teacher burnout and falling learner morale.

“Tomorrow’s Changemakers is a direct, practical response to that, and to the question of why so many young people are losing faith in their own futures.”

The programme is backed by a range of Welsh and UK partners, including Milford Haven Port Authority, Cwm Environmental, Morgan Sindall Construction, Tai Tarian Housing Association and Admiral Insurance.

Organisers say the aim is not only to inspire pupils, but also to connect them directly with sectors that will need new skills as Wales moves towards a lower-carbon economy.

Milford Haven Port Authority, one of the UK’s major energy hubs, is involved as Pembrokeshire looks to position itself at the centre of floating offshore wind, green hydrogen and future energy infrastructure. Other partners bring links to construction, housing, insurance, the circular economy and community resilience.

Owen Stacey, Senior Social Value Manager, said: “For any business that cares about investing in the skills of the future or demonstrating social impact in their communities, this programme delivers on both counts.

“This is our third year and it’s exactly what the industry needs.”

The event will include a welcome lunch, keynote addresses, team pitches, collaborative judging and an awards ceremony. Organisers describe the format as friendly and informal, with adult participants asked to act as “cheerleaders first, judges second.”

Representatives from the Future Generations Commission, Welsh Government, local education authorities and academic partners are also expected to attend.

The wider policy context is significant. The new Plaid Cymru-led Welsh Government has placed education, skills, climate action and the green economy at the centre of its programme. Cefin Campbell MS, who represents Sir Gaerfyrddin, is now Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, while Anna Brychan MS is Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language.

However, the scale of the challenge remains substantial. A single school programme cannot solve youth unemployment, poor mental health, transport barriers, poverty or the shortage of secure entry-level jobs. Those issues require sustained action from government, councils, colleges, employers and the voluntary sector.

There are also questions about how projects such as Tomorrow’s Changemakers can be scaled up without adding pressure to already stretched schools and teachers.

But supporters argue that the model offers something often missing from the national debate: a route from classroom learning into practical confidence, workplace awareness and civic purpose.

For west Wales, where young people often face limited transport, fewer local opportunities and pressure to leave their communities to build careers, that connection matters.

The Carmarthen hackathon will not by itself reverse the rise in young people falling out of education and work. But it offers a glimpse of a different approach, one where pupils are treated not as a problem to be solved, but as people with ideas, agency and a stake in Wales’s future.