Schools, school places and buildings, additional learning needs and Welsh-medium education.
What councils do
Councils run community schools, fund every state school, provide school transport and support pupils with additional learning needs. They plan school places, including Welsh-medium places under a ten-year plan.
Who decides
The Cabinet decides on school changes, such as opening, closing or merging schools, after a formal consultation. Head teachers and governing bodies run each school day to day.
Having a say
Proposals to change a school must be consulted on, and anyone can respond. Parents can also become school governors.
In numbers
Welsh councils plan to spend £1,307 per person on this in 2026-27.
It ranges from £1,099 in Monmouthshire to £1,475 in Merthyr Tydfil.
Year 1 pupils taught in Welsh: 25% across Wales (2025-26).
RESOLVED: Council AGREED:
1.
To approve the new appointments of Local Authority governors to the school governing bodies as set out in Appendix 1, each for a term of 4 years from the date of the appointment, in accordance with the recommendations of the Local Authority Governor Panel.
Swansea, Armed Forces Community Covenant Signatories Panel,
RESOLVED: that
(i) officers be authorised to consult on proposals to federate The Saints Federation and St Mellons CW Primary School to secure long term leadership arrangements as recommended by Estyn, His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, ensuring the improvement plans put in place prior to the inspection and acknowledged by Estyn are sustained with continuity.
(ii) responsibility be delegated to the Director of Education and Lifelong Learning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education to determine, following consultation, whether to proceed with the proposals, with or without modification and implement them or withdraw them in accordance with The Federation of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2014.
RESOLVED – That the Council be recommended to approve the recommendations of the Panel to appoint the following persons to current Local Authority Governing Body vacancies as follows:
School Name
Ward
Start of Vacancy
Applicant
Allensbank Primary School
Gabalfa
21/09/2024
Baden Powell Primary School
Splott
03/02/2025
21/02/2025
Cllr Anny Anderson
Birchgrove Primary School
Heath
01/02/2025
Patricia Hoffer
Bryn Deri Primary School
Radyr &
Morganstown
01/10/2024
Cardiff High School
Cyncoed
01/05/2025
Lakshmi Narani
Cardiff West Community
High School
Caerau
31/12/2024
30/11/2024
Justine Swainson
Corpus Christi R.C High School
Lisvane &Thornhill
01/05/2025
Dhruv Parikh
Ely and Caerau Childrens Centre
Ely
25/10/2024
Becky Matyus
Kitchener Primary School
Riverside
31/01/2025
Lydia Stirling
Lakeside Primary School
Cyncoed
01/09/2021
Llandaff City C.I.W.
Primary School
Llandaff
03/03/2025
Gareth Davies
Llanishen Fach Primary School
Rhiwbina
29/01/2025
Sarah Hobson
Meadowlane Primary School
Trowbridge
11/02/2025
Millbank Primary School
Caerau
27/11/2024
Rachel Morgan
Pentyrch Primary School
Pentyrch & St
Fagans
12/09/2023
23/10/2024
Rumney Primary School
Rumney
01/05/2025
Severn Primary School
Riverside
26/10/2024
Pippa Vernon-Fulbrook
Springwood Primary School
Pentwyn
16/05/2025
St Francis RC Primary School
Ely
23/02/2025
Stacey Primary School
Adamsdown
26/02/2025
Trelai Primary School
Caerau
24/03/2025
Andrew Williams
Whitchurch Primary School
Whitchurch & Tongwynlais
01/05/2025
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern
Penylan
01/05/2025
01/05/2025
Meilir Tomas
Dylan Owen
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf
Llandaff North
18/09/2024
27/01/2025
Sarah Rawnsley
Cllr J Burke
Ysgol Gymraeg Pwll Coch
Canton
11/03/2025
Ysgol Gynradd Groes-Wen Primary School
Pentyrch &
St Fagans
31/01/2025
Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Hamadryad
Butetown
01/05/2025
Ysgol Pencae
Llandaff
12/09/2024
The Committee received and considered applications to future vacancies against criteria, matching skills to vacancies. RESOLVED – That the Council be recommended to approve the recommendations of the Panel to appoint the following:
School Name
Ward
Start of Vacancy
Re-appointment
New Application
Birchgrove Primary School
Heath
29/09/2025
Cllr Ash-Edwards
Hywel Dda Primary School
Ely
30/06/2025
Llanishen Fach Primary School
Rhiwbina
28/06/2025
David Greaves
Peter Lea Primary School
Fairwater
01/10/2025
Deferred
Rhiwbeina Primary School
Rhiwbina
29/09/2025
Tom Gallard
Rhydypenau Primary School
Cyncoed
01/10/2025
Richard Norton
St Mellons C.I.W Primary School
Llanrumney
25/06/2025
Clyde Darrell
The Hollies School
Pentwyn
26/09/2025
Lisa Gerson
Trelai Primary School
Caerau
29/09/2025
Leslie Maxim
Willows High School
Splott
29/09/2025
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern
Penylan
01/10/2025
Sioned Davies
Ysgol Gymraeg Pwll Coch
Canton
25/06/2025
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr
Fairwater
01/10/2025
Arwyn Jones
Ysgol Y Wern
Llanishen
01/08/2025
Cardiff, Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee,
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Cardiff, Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee,
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: Pursuant to this Committee’s delegated powers the following development management applications be determined in accordance with the recommendation set out in the reports of the Director of Planning, Transport and Environment, subject to any further amendments as detailed below and notification be given of the decisions in accordance with Section 70 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or Section 74 of the Planning (Listed Building & Conservation) Act 1990.
APPLICATIONS GRANTED
24/01635/FUL - BUTETOWN
Land at The Wharf, Schooner Way
Erection of building (up to 10-storeys including upper and lower ground floors) for mixed use purposes including commercial space (for A1/A3) uses on upper ground floor level and living accommodation for students (sui generis) with associated accommodation and works.
(Cllr Gunter left her seat as a member of the Committee during this item in order to speak as a Ward Councillor.)
RESOLVED:
That delegated authority is given to the Head of Planning &/Or Operational Manager: Strategic Development & Placemaking, to make changes to the conditions and/or Heads of Terms of the required legal agreement, subject to consultation with the Chair of Planning, up to the point where the legal agreement is signed and planning permission issued.
APPLICATIONS GRANTED SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS
25/00854/FUL – CANTON
Former Fitzalan High School, Lawrenny Avenue
Erection of 8no temporary single storey modular school buildings, central canopy, cycle stands, bin store, play area, fencing and gates, barrier control measures, car parking and associated works to facilitate the temporary relocation of Lansdowne Primary School for a period of five years.
The application was granted subject to conditions.
25/00645/PRAP – CATHAYS
Cardiff Central Railway Station, Central Square, Cathays, Cardiff
Construction of New Building at Platform 0, External Modifications to West Wing, New Southern Entrance and Two HV Substations.
The application was granted subject to conditions.
25/00630/LBC – CATHAYS
Cardiff Central Railway Station, Central Square, Cathays, Cardiff
Alterations to Cardiff Central Station comprising of internal alterations to the Northern booking hall, improved access to Platform 0 including new platform building, alterations to existing platform buildings, subways and West Wing.
The application was granted subject to conditions.
24/01306/FUL – CANTON
312 Cowbridge Road East
Demolition of ground floor class A1 commercial unit, three storey side extension in place of the existing commercial unit, rear dormer loft conversion and external alterations to the existing domestic dwelling, new class A1 commercial unit and 2 self-contained 1 bed apartments above.
The application was granted subject to conditions.
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T following consideration by Governance and Audit Committee, and
Cabinet the revised versions of the Planning Protocol, Scheme of Delegation and
Terms of Reference as contained within the agenda be approved and included within
the Council’s Constitution.
(2) T H A T the protocol be updated should there be changes to the Vale of
Glamorgan Constitution, such as those related to public speaking, site visits or
mandatory training where required.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) Having regard to the contents of the references, discussions at the meeting
and to update the Council’s Constitution.
RESHAPING SCRUTINY (REF)
The Leader presented the report to look at implementing a series of changes to
reform the Council’s existing Scrutiny arrangements to support the monitoring of the
outcomes of the Corporate Plan. They shared that these changes had been in
development since October and had consulted with a significant number of Members
through various Committees such as Democratic Services Committee, Governance
and Audit Committee and Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny
Committee. The Leader stated it was their hope that all 54 Members should be able
to contribute effectively to the decisions being made by the Council. They also
shared reasons for changing in that there needed to be increased opportunities for
the public to participate, as 60% did not feel able to contribute in the Council’s
decision making, and that the Council needed to respond to recommendations from
Audit Wales and the Performance Panel Assessment.
The Leader stated that Cabinet was delayed allowing extra time for the final iteration
to be presented, and that they wanted to change from 5 to 4 Scrutiny Committees to
allow for a focus upon outcomes and not service areas. They also shared around the
history of Task and Finish within the Council, including positive work on period
poverty and school places.
They finally shared that point 22.1 of the report needed further clarity, as the
Committee sizes would be 12 Members on the Start Well Scrutiny Committee and
Live Well Scrutiny Committee, with 13 Members on the Place Scrutiny Committee
and Resources Scrutiny Committee, due to their potentially increased workload, and
that political balance calculations would be circulated to Group Leaders.
Councillor Dr. Johnson stated that considerable consultation had taken place around
the topic, and they had been involved through Group Leaders Meetings and the
Scrutiny Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group, but that there was no point in
consulting if not listening in reducing from 5 to 4 Scrutiny Committees, as there was
no evidence merging Committees would help address problems. They shared that
they felt there were too many changes at the same time, which would leave limited
space to evaluate the impact of any changes, and expressed a concern Members
may be unable to see the big picture. They concluded that this was not an attractive
proposition to opposition Members, despite recognising this was a response to the
Panel Performance Assessment.
Councillor Carroll shared that they felt the Cabinet record was unacceptable, and the
Council had an Executive Cabinet system which required opposition and backbench
Members to hold them to account through full and proper scrutiny. He felt that
proposals would lead to a reduction in Scrutiny and increase the workload of
Committees and that he felt the role of Scrutiny drilled into issues in depth, and the
new arrangements would reduce this. Councillor Carroll indicated that his Group
would be unable to support these changes, as he felt they avoid accountability, would
not work, lead to less Scrutiny and performance would deteriorate as a result, whilst
accepting that there were failings in the existing arrangements, such as the long
presentations. He warned the Administration that they would be accountable at the
ballot box in 2 years’ time.
Councillor Godfrey agreed around the need to re-evaluate and improve Scrutiny but
did not see the justification to change from 5 Scrutiny Committees to 4 Scrutiny
Committees.
Councillor Goodjohn noted that the role of presentations was to be undertaken during
Member briefings as part of the future arrangements, and there would be an
opportunity to dig deep into external topics through Task and Finish Scrutiny, which
also presented the opportunity to involve external partners and members of the
public. They indicated that they were satisfied surrounding Committee workloads,
and felt the new arrangements would allow backbench Members to do their job and
shape the Council’s direction, and felt the approach could be increasingly effective as
it encouraged an integrated approach to more meaningful work, with the opportunity
for more people to get involved.
Councillor Hodges shared their experience of Task and Finish Group on school
places, which took a huge amount of time and resources to complete and delivered a
series of recommendations, which the Cabinet at the time refused to look at, so they
were cynical of Cabinet listening to Task and Finish recommendations. However,
nearly all recommendations had been acted upon since. They indicated that this
Task and Finish required a huge amount of input from staff, schools and wider
stakeholders, with a lot depending upon officer time and availability. Councillor
Hodges further stated that he felt Task and Finish should be in person, and that
debate would be better this way rather than virtually. They concluded that they
welcomed the emphasis upon Task and Finish, could provide a potential list of topics,
but did not agree with the reduction in Scrutiny Committees.
Councillor Wilson shared that he had previously chaired 2 Task and Finish groups,
including surrounding the impact of the bedroom tax (2012), which met of multiple
occasions, had significant outside influence and led to changes in the Discretionary
Housing Payment Policy. They recognised that Task and Finish would be an
opportunity to take politics out of situation and focus upon residents. Councillor
Wilson also welcomed the move to introduce pre-Cabinet Scrutiny and believed the
move to 4 Committees supported the Council’s new Corporate Plan.
Councillor Birch expressed that they felt opposition Members would oppose any
changes, and that Task and Finish work could be very useful, sharing examples of
how Schools’ Governing Bodies still use resources from a previous piece of work.
They reflected Members’ preparedness for meetings, and felt it was evident people
had not read papers, meaning presentations were useful in allowing space to gain
further understanding. They also recognised the value in hybrid arrangements and
stated that policy needed a range of Members to contribute, and that the changes
were trying to adjust ways of working to be increasingly effective and efficient, whilst
involving as many people as possible.
Councillor John shared that they were elected during the changes from a Committee
to Executive system and shared around how Members used to take part in Scrutiny
previously. He stated that he felt the “Call-In” process was there to be used by
Members and was currently underutilised. He concluded that all Members should
give the changes a go, that everyone needed to get involved, there had previously
been 4 instead of 5 Scrutiny Committees, and that there should be consideration if in
person or virtually.
Councillor Haines proposed that all Scrutiny Chairs should be from opposition
groups, to which they were advised that this was not possible due to the statutory
requirements as part of the Local Government Measure.
Councillor Ernest shared that they were a Member during the Committee system and
reflected that Task and Finish could be equivalent to Parliamentary Select
Committees, where it could question people deeply and encourage changes.
However, they expressed concern around the capacity for Democratic Services
Officers to support this work.
Councillor Burnett concluded and asked Members to focus upon what was possible,
rather than focusing upon why it would not work and shared that the changes were
being made as only 20% of items were currently leading to robust scrutiny,
presentation / information items should be considered using the briefing process, and
that noting items needed to stop, recognising that Cabinet should not be doing this as
both Cabinet and Scrutiny were being unnecessarily clogged. They finally shared
that co-option was being explored as it was necessary to understanding lived
experiences and the Council needed residents to feel they had an impact.
A Recorded Vote took place as follows:
Members For Against Abstain
Anne Asbrey √
Julie Aviet √
√
Gareth Ball
√
Rhiannon Birch
Bronwen Brooks √
Gillian Bruce √
Ian Buckley √
Lis Burnett √
Samantha Campbell √
George Carroll √
Christine Cave √
Charles Champion √
Janice Charles √
Millie Collins √
Pamela Drake √
Anthony Ernest √
Russell Godfrey √
Emma Goodjohn √
Ewan Goodjohn √
Stephen Haines √
Howard Hamilton √
Sally Hanks √
William Hennessy √
Nic Hodges √
Mark Hooper √
Catherine Iannucci-Williams √
Gwyn John √
Dr. Ian Johnson √
Susan Lloyd-Selby √
Belinda Loveluck-Edwards √
Julie Lynch-Wilson √
Kevin Mahoney √
Michael Morgan √
Naomi Marshallsea √
Helen Payne √
Elliot Penn √
Sandra Perkes √
Ian Perry √
Joanna Protheroe √
Ruba Sivagnanam √
Carys Stallard √
Neil Thomas √
Rhys Thomas √
Steffan Wiliam √
Margaret Wilkinson √
Eddie Williams √
Mark Wilson √
Nicholas Wood √
TOTAL 29 18 1
Following the Recorded Vote it was subsequently
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T the proposed changes to Scrutiny arrangements be approved
(2) T H A T the policies identified (Appendix D to the report) be agreed and
updated to reflect any changes in Scrutiny arrangements which complied with
legislation and statutory guidance.
(3) T H A T the calendar of meetings (Appendix E) be updated to give effect to
changes in Scrutiny arrangements.
(4) T H A T a commitment to review the implementation of any proposed
arrangements after approximately 12 months of implementation to ensure the desired
outcomes of Reshaping Scrutiny were being achieved and to consider any
amendments which may be required be endorsed.
Reason for decisions
(1-4) Having regard to the contents of the reference and discussions at the meeting.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED:
1.
To approve the new appointments of Local Authority governors to the school governing bodies as set out in Appendix 1, each for a term of 4 years from the date of the appointment, in accordance with the recommendations of the Local Authority Governor Panel.
RESOLVED – That:
(1) the report be noted;
(2) the Chairperson agreed to consult directly with the Director of Education to discuss remaining areas of Committee interest / concern following exchange of recent letters.
RESOLVED: that the attached Council’s draft School Admission Arrangements 2026/2027 as set out in the Admission Policy 2026/2027 attached at Appendix 1 to this report be determined.