Ysgol Robert Owen

14 January 2025

Claims that redundancies at a special school in north Powys would create an unsafe environment for learners and staff have been rejected by the county council.

Powys County Council has moved to reassure parents whose children attend Ysgol Robert Owen in Newtown that a safe learning environment will always be maintained at the school.

Some schools in the county, including Ysgol Robert Owen, have begun management of change processes in response to the financial pressures that they are facing.

Any management of change follows a formal process with clear stages and Ysgol Robert Owen is at the staff consultation phase, which is at an early stage of the process.

When developing any staffing structure and curriculum plan, the school would consider the needs of individual and groups of learners and any changes would not jeopardise the safety of learners or staff.

Cllr Pete Roberts, Cabinet Member for a Learning Powys, said: "Schools across Wales, like councils, are facing significant financial pressures which need to be managed.

"Although we are proposing to add an additional £7.3m to the schools' delegated budgets as part of the council's 2025/26 budget proposal to meet pay and spending pressures, there may be specific challenges for individual school budgets.

"Due to this, we are asking our school leaders to consider how they manage their financial pressures to ensure they don't go into a budget deficit.

"Maintaining a safe learning environment for learners and staff and as well as delivering the Curriculum for Wales will always be the priority for schools across the county. The council would not accept any changes at a school that would jeopardise this.

"The council support schools through any management of change process to ensure that they are able deliver the curriculum and maintain a safe learning environment within their resources."