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Welsh councils this month made decisions on school closures and openings, special school space, and school repairs, while budgets and additional learning needs (ALN) funding remained pressure points. Carmarthenshire, Powys, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea took some of the main decisions.[7][8][4][2][5]
Written in November 2026 from council records since 20 September 2026, open consultations and official sources. Written automatically, then checked: every point names its sources and every figure appears in them. Follow the links to check anything before relying on it.
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.
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.
Proposals to change a school must be consulted on, and anyone can respond. Parents can also become school governors.
| Council | Items | With a decision |
|---|---|---|
| Powys | 93 | 65 |
| Carmarthenshire | 91 | 71 |
| Pembrokeshire | 69 | 60 |
| Flintshire | 65 | 50 |
| Swansea | 65 | 42 |
| Cardiff | 53 | 50 |
| Caerphilly | 53 | 0 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 52 | 46 |
| Monmouthshire | 48 | 11 |
| Ceredigion | 44 | 38 |
| Gwynedd | 43 | 38 |
| Newport | 43 | 22 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 42 | 28 |
| Conwy | 40 | 36 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 39 | 28 |
| Wrexham | 36 | 32 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 29 | 24 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 27 | 23 |
| Denbighshire | 22 | 17 |
| Bridgend | 18 | 0 |
| Torfaen | 10 | 7 |
Decided: The Committee recommended, as a priority, that the Executive Member for Education keep lobbying Welsh Government to protect and strengthen ALN funding. It also recommended that the Council review and improve the ALN information on its website, including guidance on the Individual Development Plan (IDP), the written plan for each pupil's support. Members asked for an all-member seminar in the new year.
Decided: The Council unanimously agreed to accept the report as an update on progress in education services.
Decided: Cabinet agreed to publish the statutory notices, the formal public notices that start the next stage. It also agreed that if no objections are received, the Executive Member for Children, Families and Education will decide the proposal under delegated authority (power given to a councillor to decide without a full meeting). If objections come in, Cabinet will receive a further report.
Decided: The Committee made five recommendations. It asked officers to wait for the Welsh Government review of the school funding formula before reviewing free school meal funding in Torfaen. It asked that support on the new Healthy Eating in Schools Regulations be offered to all schools, and that clear messages on portion sizes go to parents and pupils. It also asked for better information on free school meal entitlement, and for the Executive Member to ask Estyn about checking meal quality in inspections.
Decided: Members agreed, by 7 votes to 2, to approve the application, subject to the conditions in the report. Conditions are the rules attached to a planning permission.
Decided: Members recommended that schools and clusters strengthen data alignment where appropriate, so they can show the impact of cluster working on learner progression. Members further recommended that officers explore all available funding to support NEET work, and the Chair strongly recommended that governing bodies consider the best practice shown by the Abersychan cluster.
Decided: The committee made three recommendations for consideration. It asked officers to promote the practice at West Monmouth School on pupils eligible for free school meals (eFSM) and to explore other formats for governor training.
Decided: The Committee put forward five recommendations to officers and the Executive Member. They covered funding for the Community Psychiatric Nurse, transport to counselling, educational psychologist recruitment, privately commissioned therapy and trauma-informed practice in schools.
Decided: The committee offered six recommendations and comments for consideration. They cover engagement with schools and early years settings, the wording and questions used in engagement, sharing event dates with members, and how the Deal is governed and measured.
Decided: Council unanimously agreed to approve the proposed amendments to the Contract Procedure Rules, and to give the Monitoring Officer delegated authority to add the amended rules to the Constitution. Delegated authority means an officer can act without a further council vote.
Decided: The Committee agreed to remove four items from its monitoring list: the Eas Business Plan progress update, the Schools Capital Maintenance Programme, Torfaen School Improvement Services, and Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Transformation. It agreed to keep Recommendation 8 of Sustainable Communities for Learning (21st Century Schools) for further monitoring.
Decided: Estyn is the body that inspects education in Wales.
Decided: The Committee made six recommendations for consideration. It asked that parents and learners be consulted on any future review of the Attendance Strategy. It agreed that the Educated Other Than At School (EOTAS) Forum should also cover exclusions, and that primary schools should be represented on any forum discussing exclusions. It asked for a full evaluation of the Improving Behaviour in Schools (IBIS) project to be shared with Members once available. It asked officers to explore locating the assessment function in the north of the borough, with a mobile provision if a permanent one is not possible. It asked for clearer information on Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs, fines for unauthorised school absence) in nursery, and for the number of Elective Home Educated (EHE) pupils and their effect on staff workload to be monitored.
Decided: Council unanimously agreed to accept the report as an update on progress in education services.
Decided: The Committee made eight recommendations to officers. Members asked officers to keep the planned 2025 changes to open access provision, meaning youth clubs open to all, while protecting targeted and in-school work. They asked officers to review the service delivery targets so they are appropriate and aspirational, and to reflect recruitment risks in the new five-year strategy. They also asked officers to work more closely with the Play Service, and to increase joint work with Blaenau Gwent's youth service, particularly on Welsh-language provision. Officers were asked to improve communication about financial support for young people, to improve how young people with specific concerns are directed to support, and to extend tracking of young people's progress to the Youth Service. The Committee welcomed offers of mapping information on young people and provision, and of information on other councils' youth budgets.
Decided: Cabinet agreed to develop a revised school improvement model in line with Option 2. It agreed to keep commissioning school improvement services from the Southeast Wales Education Achievement Service (EAS). It asked senior officers to explore changes to EAS governance and to change how the EAS delivers services, reflecting stakeholder feedback and national guidance.
Decided: Members made four recommendations for officers to consider. They asked for specialist provision reviews to consider geography, wider use of the Edukey system, close review of admission numbers at Crownbridge School, and a bigger role for pupil voice in the ALN Strategy. Members also welcomed officers' offers to share the number of schools receiving Trauma Informed Schools support and details of the furthest out-of-county placements.
Decided: The committee made six recommendations. It recommended formalising a link between the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) forums for childcare providers and for schools, and more messages and information for parents and carers about the support available. It also recommended continuing celebration events and promoting careers in childcare, asking officers to review how performance data is recorded and presented, building on data sharing between the Children & Families and Education directorates, and asking the Executive Member to make representation to Welsh Government for a regional hourly rate for childcare. It requested that partner representatives, such as the health board, attend future meetings where their work is significant, and suggested the item be considered at a Members Seminar, a informal briefing for councillors.
Decided: The committee made six recommendations. It recommended that littering be included under anti-social behaviour, with education for primary and secondary pupils. It recommended that Safer Torfaen work with the Youth Service and Sports Development to find ways of running youth activity in problem areas, and that a licensing representative be considered as an associate member to help tackle illegal vape sales with Trading Standards. It also recommended that officers work with education staff to record and track violence in schools more thoroughly, that systems across services such as the YOS (youth offending service) be linked as a priority, and that positive case studies be publicised more widely.
Decided: Council unanimously agreed to approve the investment priorities in the draft Strategic Outline Programme.