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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED that the verbal update be received.
AGREED that the verbal update be received.
AGREED that the verbal update be received.
AGREED, that the next meeting be held at 2:00pm on Thursday, 19th November 2026.
As neither the Chair or Vice-Chair were in attendance, the Committee nominated and AGREED that Councillor B.W. Jones act as Chair for the meeting. Apologies for absence were received from D. Williams, G. Richards, A. Howells and N. Neave, Headteacher Representatives and P. White, Roman Catholic Church Representative. The Forum also expressed its condolences to Gethin Richards, whose father had recently passed away.
AGREED that the minutes of the meeting of the Forum held on 20 November 2025 be signed as a correct record.
There were no matters arising from the minutes.
Decision as recorded
AGREED that the verbal update be received.
The Schools Transformation & Change Manager provided the Forum with a verbal update on the Modernising Education Programme (MEP), updating members on a number of projects. - The Community Hub at Queen Elizabeth High School was due to open in the next few weeks – the facility will provide for family engagement on issues such as attendance. - The new rugby changing rooms at Dyffryn Aman were almost ready to be handed over to the school. - A grant offer of £3.5m had just been received for a Welsh Language Immersion Centre at Ysgol Strade and work will begin imminently. - The plan to build a new school for Ysgol Heol Goffa, adjacent to Ysgol Pen Rhos, with a capacity of 150 pupils. A report on this will go to Cabinet immediately after the upcoming Senedd election. - There were several schools in the process to change their age range to 3-11. A report on these will go to Cabinet on 1st June 2026 and County Council on 10th June 2026. - The closure of Ysgol Llansteffan had been agreed at the meeting of County Council on 4th March 2026 and the Forum was informed that spaces had been allocated for pupils at Ysgol Llangain, but that parents still had the option of sending their children to other schools. - The closure of Ysgol Meidrim and Ysgol Y Fro had been through consultation, and the Forum was informed that the objection report was in progress and was due to be presented to Cabinet on 1st June 2026, with the final decision expected to be made by County Council in October 2026. The Forum had the following questions or comments: - In response to a question on issues with the roof repair at Ysgol Penygroes, the Schools Transformation & Change Manager noted that the authority was aware of this and working with the school and the company that had done the work to get it fixed. - A question was asked about the possibility of there being no pupils at Ysgol Y Fro for the next academic year, given the consultation about closure. The Forum was advised that some pupils have been making enquiries with alternative schools, but pupils had a right to be there until if and when the school was closed. - A question was asked about additional Welsh Language schooling provision in Llanelli, given the overcrowding of Ysgol Strade, and the Forum was advised that there were no firm plans for this at the moment, but discussions had been ongoing about what could be done. AGREED that the verbal update be received.
Decision as recorded
AGREED that the verbal update be received.
The Forum was provided with an update on the School Admissions Policy and Consultation 2027-28. The School Organisation & Admissions Manager provided an update on the admissions policy consultation and advised that following the previous meeting the policy had been reviewed and simplified in advance of the consultation. All Councillors had been sent a copy of the draft Policy, along with all schools, neighbouring authorities, and church representatives. The Consultation ran from 19th January 2026 to 27th February 2026. Following a response from Ysgol Brynsaron advising that they could accommodate more pupils, their capacity was recalculated to 62 pupils with an Admission Number for each year of 7 pupils. The Forum was also advised that officers were meeting with Welsh Government next week to discuss the sign off on this policy. Welsh Government requires that this is signed off as final and put on the Council’s website by 15th April 2026, but due to the pre-election period, officers will be asking if this can be delayed until after the election. The Senior School Admissions Officer provided an update on the catchment area review, and advised that there were over 800 responses received, mostly from the north of the county, with a lot also relating to school transport. The report was in the process of being finalised, once any decisions were made about catchment area changes these would be published alongside the policy, and implemented for the 2027/28 academic year. The Schools Transformation & Change Manager noted the extensive work this consultation had taken, putting additional pressure on the larger school organisation and Admissions team and wanted to acknowledge the work the Senior School Admissions Officer and Senior School Organisation Officer have undertaken over the last nine months and that it would form an integral part of the admissions policy. Feedback on the Transport consultation is being considered separately by colleagues in Transport. The Forum had the following questions or comments: - A question was asked regarding pupils in the north of the county having a choice between going to a school in Ceredigion, or Bro Dinefwr – where they would not receive transport. The Forum was advised that a lot of pupils in the area went to the nearest school but that parents had the right to choose their child’s school, independent of whether they had the right to free transport to that school. - It was noted that while Carmarthenshire Council provides school transport for pupils living in the county to schools in Ceredigion if they are eligible, pupils in Ceredigion do not get school transport to schools in Carmarthenshire. The Forum noted that this needed review. AGREED that the verbal update be received.
Decision as recorded
AGREED that the verbal update be received.
The Senior School Admissions Officer provided an update on the 2026 Secondary Admissions Round. The Forum was advised that national offer day for secondary pupils was 1st March 2026 and that out of over 1900 applications only 14 pupils were refused their first-choice school. Those pupils will have a right to appeal. An update was also given on Primary Admissions, national offer day will be 16th April 2026 and there are currently 27 pupils due to be refused their first-choice school 8 oversubscribed schools. It was noted that there will likely be a lot of late applications and that this situation was similar most years. In response to a question the Forum was advised that Strade and Bryngwyn were originally oversubscribed, but after some offers were turned down, only Bryngwyn remained oversubscribed. AGREED that the verbal update be received.
It was noted that from September Mr Gethin Richards will be taking up a new headship in Ysgol Y Dderwen, so would like the Forum membership updated to reflect this. The Forum and officers also thanked Mr Dave Williams for his support to the Forum and wish him all the best for his impending retirement at the end of this school year. It was noted that the School Organisation & Admissions Manager would contact headteachers in September to seek a replacement.
Decision as recorded
AGREED, that the next meeting be held at 2:00pm on Thursday, 19th November 2026.
AGREED, that the next meeting be held at 2:00pm on Thursday, 19th November 2026.
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