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Senior councillors in Caerphilly have backed major changes to schools across the county borough.
A new secondary school, a bilingual primary campus, a merger, and a closure have all moved a step closer under new plans approved by the council’s cabinet members on Wednesday April 3.
What is Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet?
A council’s cabinet is made up of councillors in charge of different policy areas – such as education, environment, local economy, etc – and a leader.
It is separate to the council’s corporate management structure, which is headed up by its chief executive and various directors. Cabinet is made up of councillors, who are elected and have the ultimate say.
Typically, cabinet members are councillors from the party with the most elected council members.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet is made up of:
- Cllr Sean Morgan (Nelson) – Leader
- Cllr Jamie Pritchard (Morgan Jones) – Deputy Leader; Prosperity, Regeneration and Climate Change
- Cllr Nigel George (Risca East) – Corporate Services and Property
- Cllr Eluned Stenner (New Tredegar) – Finance and Performance
- Cllr Carol Andrews (Gilfach) – Education and Communities
- Cllr Shayne Cook (Morgan Jones) – Housing
- Cllr Elaine Forehead (Van) – Social Care
- Cllr Philippa Leonard (Risca East) – Planning and Public Protection
- Cllr Chris Morgan (Machen and Rudry) – Waste, Leisure and Green Spaces
Corporate management is made up of unelected employees of the council and has responsibility for day-to-day management of services, such as making sure the bins are collected. Corporate directors work with cabinet members to come up with policy which is then agreed upon by the cabinet.
Last updated October 13, 2023
In the Pengam area, parents and pupils will soon have their say on plans to merge Lewis Girls School and Lewis School Pengam – reportedly the last remaining single-sex schools in Wales.
At the meeting, cabinet members agreed to launch a public consultation after hearing the proposals had won the support of local headteachers.
A council report showed the heads of the two Lewis schools, as well as their colleagues in charge at Heolddu Comprehensive and Idris Davies School, backed the plan, saying families could be “brought together and reunited”.
The merger of the girls’ and boys’ schools would “avoid the division that some experience when, due to the current arrangement of schools, children from the same family are split apart at age 11”, the headteachers said.
Plans for the area suggest Lewis Girls School will eventually close down after a transition period, and could also mean a new secondary school is built on land opposite the current Heolddu Comprehensive site.
Cabinet members also agreed to move to the planning application stage for a new bilingual campus for Ysgol Y Lawnt and Upper Rhymney Primary School, in Rhymney.
A recent consultation had prompted just two objections to the plans, which will involve the two schools moving into a single £17 million campus but continuing to be run separately.
Carol Andrews, the cabinet member for education, said the new campus would be home to “sustainable school buildings with shared facilities”.
Jamie Pritchard, the council’s deputy leader, said the move to “invest in education” was “something we care passionately about”.
Finally, there was a more sombre mood as the cabinet agreed to finalise the closure of Cwm Glas Infants School, in Llanbradach, where falling pupil numbers mean it is a “significant challenge” to maintain a balanced budget.
The cabinet members’ decision means Cwm Glas will close its doors for the final time on July 20.
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