#ysgolheolgoffa — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ysgolheolgoffa, aggregated by home.social.
-
LLANELLI: £35m new Ysgol Heol Goffa to open in 2029 after years of uncertainty — but funding question hangs over Plaid Cymru government
Plans for a long-awaited new Ysgol Heol Goffa have moved forward after Carmarthenshire Council’s education scrutiny committee unanimously recommended they should proceed — with the school now expected to open in September 2029 if all goes to plan.
The new school will be located near Ysgol Pen Rhos, almost four miles from the current oversubscribed Heol Goffa site, and will cater for 150 pupils aged three to 19 with severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties. That is 30 more places than the original 120-pupil scheme that the council scrapped in 2024 on cost grounds — a decision that sparked widespread anger and protests in Llanelli.
The £35 million price tag would be split between the Welsh Government, contributing 75%, and Carmarthenshire Council paying the remaining 25%. At Tuesday’s meeting, Labour councillor Martyn Palfreman asked for assurances that the Welsh Government’s 75% contribution would be protected given that a new administration — led by Plaid Cymru — was now being formed in Cardiff Bay.
Cabinet member for education Cllr Glynog Davies responded: “I’m confident that we will get that funding.”
Cllr Palfreman, however, said the funding question was not one to be taken lightly. Writing on social media after the meeting, he said any threat to that funding would be “unforgivable” — pointing out that pupils and parents had already suffered due to what he described as Plaid Cymru’s abandonment of its original plans and commitments on the matter in 2024.
The original plans for a new Ysgol Heol Goffa were scrapped by the council in 2024 after costs escalated, before new plans were subsequently agreed following pressure from Labour councillors and community campaigners.
The school has also faced a separate crisis over nursing provision, with calls for a watchdog investigation after concerns were raised that lives could be at risk.
The new school is currently oversubscribed — it has 132 pupils despite a capacity of just 118. Inspection body Estyn has found that several parts of the existing school are no longer fit for purpose and that facilities are outdated.
A report before the committee said the new building would “provide 21st Century facilities to meet the needs of children with more complex needs and profound additional learning needs”, including better post-16 provision for life skills and vocational learning, and improved play provision on the new site.
The new school would use the hydrotherapy pool at the nearby Pentre Awel health and leisure development — a significant benefit given the specialist needs of many of its pupils.
Cllr Davies described the preferred option as “excellent and fully costed”, adding: “It’s bigger, better, modern and future-proofed.” He acknowledged it had been a “long and very complicated process.”
Twenty sites were considered before the location near Ysgol Pen Rhos was selected as the most appropriate. Director of education Owain Lloyd said its proximity to Pentre Awel was a key factor.
Cllr Kim Broom summed up the sentiment in the chamber: “The parents, they want a new school, and the children deserve that.”
Carmarthenshire Council is also investing £4 million in a new autism unit at Ysgol Glan-y-Mor in Burry Port, due to open by September 2027.
Following the scrutiny committee’s unanimous recommendation, a decision will be taken by cabinet. The subsequent process includes a public consultation, a statutory notice, an objection report and a final decision by full council — currently scheduled for March next year.
Our Ysgol Heol Goffa coverage
New school plans for Ysgol Heol Goffa move forward after years of uncertainty
How the council agreed to press ahead after the original plans were scrapped.Council faces critical decision on future of Llanelli’s special school
The moment the original rebuild plans collapsed and the community’s reaction.‘Lives may be at risk’: Watchdog probe demanded over Llanelli special school nurse crisis
The separate staffing crisis that raised serious safety concerns at the existing school.Campaigners condemn ‘appalling scandal’ over autism provision in Llanelli
#CarmarthenshireCountyCouncil #CllrGlynogDavies #CllrKimBroom #CllrMartynPalfreman #education #HeolGoffa #Llanelli #PentreAwel #PlaidCymru #specialSchool #YsgolHeolGoffa #YsgolPenRhos
Community anger over the wider state of additional learning needs provision in the town. -
CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER STEPS IN: Rocio Cifuentes demands meeting with Hywel Dda Health Board over nursing crisis at Ysgol Heol Goffa in Llanelli. Parents warned "lives may be at risk" as teachers forced to provide complex medical care.