Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi warns parents about addictive gameplay, unsafe chat functions and scammers

YSGOL PENRHYN DEWI in St Davids has issued a safeguarding warning to parents after concerns were raised about children’s use of the popular online gaming platform Roblox.

In a letter sent to families today (Dec 15), Assistant Headteacher Louise Gray said the school had been made aware of a series of risks linked to the platform, which is widely used by children aged 8–13 – and in some cases younger.

Roblox allows users to create and play games developed by other players. However, the school says this user-generated model can expose children to inappropriate or harmful content depending on which games they access.

Range of risks highlighted

The letter sets out several specific safeguarding concerns, including:

• Inappropriate content in user-created games
• Highly addictive gameplay, with daily quests and reward systems designed to increase screen time
• Easily changed parental controls, allowing children to adjust settings without verification
• Chat features that expose younger players to inappropriate messages
• Peer pressure from in-game ‘connections’, with children believing they know other users
• Emotional dysregulation linked to heavy use of the platform
• Scams, including fake offers of free Robux or cosmetic items

Parents are being urged to closely monitor how their children use the platform, who they interact with, and what content they can access.

Guidance available

The school has directed families to the Welsh Government’s Hwb website for further advice on parental controls and safe use of Roblox.

A Roblox spokesperson said: “Roblox is committed to providing a safe and positive experience for every member of our community, especially children and young people. We use a combination of chat filtering, human and AI-assisted moderation, parental controls and age verification tools to help protect our users from inappropriate content or behaviour.

“Younger players have more restrictive settings by default, and features such as voice chat and unfiltered text chat are limited to age-verified users. We encourage parents and carers to make use of our safety features, review their child’s settings regularly, and talk with them about staying safe online.”

“We continuously update our policies and systems in response to emerging risks, and we work closely with safety experts and regulators to help ensure Roblox remains a secure environment for creativity and play.”

Concerns raised over falling rolls and school reorganisation plans across south Pembrokeshire

A CALL for a temporary “breathing space” before any decision is taken on the future of a Pembrokeshire village school at possible risk of closure has been rejected at full council.

At Pembrokeshire County Council’s meeting on Thursday, December 12, members considered a major package of recommendations linked to education reorganisation in the south of the county. The proposals form part of a wider transformation programme responding to sharply declining pupil numbers across the Tenby, Saundersfoot and Stepaside areas.

Under the plans, councillors were asked to authorise a public consultation on establishing a new 3-19 all-through school in Tenby, initially operating across split sites. The long-term ambition is either to rebuild or significantly extend the Ysgol Greenhill site, or potentially relocate to a new site altogether. As part of this process, both Tenby Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School and Ysgol Greenhill would be discontinued.

A second set of recommendations proposed establishing a new 3-11 primary school on the Saundersfoot Community Primary School site, with both Saundersfoot and Stepaside schools discontinued.

The supporting report highlighted major surplus capacity in the area’s schools. In the Tenby cluster alone, there are 534 empty places in the primary sector and 341 in the secondary sector. Tenby Church in Wales VC School is forecast to have a surplus of 38.1 per cent in 2025, remaining above 25 per cent for at least four years. Ysgol Greenhill, with space for 1,194 pupils, has just 877 on roll this year, creating a 28.5 per cent surplus.

Saundersfoot Community Primary School, which can accommodate 280 children, had fallen to 151 pupils by 2025—a 49.2 per cent surplus. At Stepaside, enrolment is projected at 107 pupils in 2025, leaving 101 places empty—over half the school’s capacity.

For the Tenby proposals, an amendment by local member Cllr Sam Skyrme-Blackhall was accepted, ensuring the consultation explicitly recognises the value of VC schools and the importance of Welsh-medium secondary education. Members overwhelmingly backed the amended recommendation.

However, an amendment on the Stepaside proposal sparked a lengthy debate. Local member Cllr Alistair Cameron, backed by neighbouring councillor Alec Cormack, urged councillors to defer any decision relating to Stepaside, saying the school had only been officially notified of the proposals a few days earlier.

Cllr Cormack said it was accepted that the current position was unsustainable, with pupil numbers falling “both due to second homes and retirees moving into the area”. He stressed that both Saundersfoot and Stepaside were well-run schools, but “just too small for the buildings we have them in,” and suggested that reducing the size of the sites could eliminate surplus space.

“Today’s proposal is to close the Kilgetty site to save money and then spend money bussing pupils to the Saundersfoot site,” he said. “It’s only natural justice to give the school communities the chance of a fair hearing. There’s no reason to rush this decision today.”

Cllr Aled Thomas, chair of the schools working group, dismissed the call for a delay as “a consultation to have a consultation,” saying the proposals had been “in the public domain for well over 12 months”.

“Members, of course, are going to fight for their communities but this is just a tactic pushing it further down the line,” he added.

Cllr Cormack responded that the school itself had heard about the recommendation only on Monday. “The very people who are expert at delivering education have had no warning of this. I don’t understand why there is a need to press ahead so quickly. The communities deserve to be given more than three days’ notice.”

Cabinet Member for Education Cllr Guy Woodham told members there was no intention to hold any consultation before September 2026, stressing there would be “a lot of time for alternative proposals”.

Cllr Cameron’s amendment to defer the Stepaside decision was defeated by 37 votes to 12, with one abstention later clarified as an accidental mis-vote intending to oppose the delay. The substantive recommendation was then approved by 42 votes to seven.

Union calls for transparency after First Minister declines to detail how additional money has been spent

SCHOOL leaders have demanded greater transparency from the Welsh Government over how hundreds of millions of pounds in additional education funding has been spent, after the First Minister declined to give detailed answers during Senedd scrutiny.

The call comes after NAHT Cymru, which represents school leaders, said £339m flowed to the Welsh Government as a result of increased education spending in England for the 2026/27 draft budget. Of that total, only £39m has so far been allocated directly to core school budgets.

This week, a further £112.8m was allocated to local government following a budget agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, with ministers indicating that some of that funding will reach schools. However, education leaders have warned that the scale of the pressures facing schools means the additional money is unlikely to close existing gaps.

The Welsh Local Government Association has predicted a £137m shortfall in school budgets across Wales in the next financial year. At the same time, councils are facing an estimated £200m deficit in social care funding, placing further strain on local authority finances and limiting how far additional funding can stretch.

Appearing before the Senedd’s scrutiny committee, the First Minister was questioned by Labour MS Jenny Rathbone, Plaid Cymru MS Cefin Campbell and Conservative MS Mark Isherwood about how education consequentials had been allocated. She declined to give a breakdown of where the additional funding had gone, instead arguing that, under devolution, consequentials are not automatically passed on to specific services.

The First Minister repeatedly pointed to figures showing that Wales spends around seven per cent more per pupil than England. However, education leaders argue that headline per-pupil figures do not reflect the reality faced by schools.

NAHT Cymru’s national secretary, Laura Doel, said the union remained deeply concerned following the evidence session.

She said: “Despite repeated attempts by members from all parties to get a clear answer on consequential funding, the First Minister refused to give one. Instead, she focused on per-pupil spending comparisons with England, but that is not the same as the amount of money that actually reaches schools.

“Local authorities have to retain funding to run essential support services, so to imply that schools are receiving significantly more money is misleading.

“School leaders are crying out for clarity. While we recognise that the Welsh Government and local authorities have autonomy over spending decisions, this question cannot simply be avoided. If funding has been allocated elsewhere, ministers should be open about where it has gone and why.”

Ms Doel added that, regardless of how the figures are presented, schools are struggling to meet rising costs.

“Whatever spin is put on this, schools do not have enough money to meet the needs of learners. Additional funding came to Wales as a result of UK Government decisions, and school leaders are entitled to know how that money has been used.”

The Welsh Government has previously said it must balance competing pressures across public services and that local authorities play a key role in determining how education funding is distributed at a local level.