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 | 102 | 75 |
| Carmarthenshire | 93 | 74 |
| Pembrokeshire | 67 | 60 |
| Swansea | 64 | 41 |
| Flintshire | 63 | 48 |
| Cardiff | 53 | 50 |
| Caerphilly | 53 | 0 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 52 | 46 |
| Monmouthshire | 48 | 12 |
| 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 | 25 |
| Denbighshire | 22 | 17 |
| Bridgend | 18 | 0 |
| Torfaen | 10 | 7 |
Decided: Councillor Steve Alderman was appointed to the vacant seat as an Unaffiliated Member and then as Chair of the Democratic Services Committee. Councillor Michelle Bateman's resignation from that committee was noted and she was appointed as a reserve member.
Decided: The committee deferred the application so that members could visit the site.
RESOLVED 1. To approve the Full Business Case for the Albert Gubay Business School. 2. To approve an additional £143,000 from the Cost Inflation Reserve to deliver the project. 3. To authorise the Portfolio Director, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-chair, Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer to agree and enter into a funding agreement with Bangor University for the delivery of the project, on condition that Bangor University satisfactorily addresses the outstanding issues, including the increase in procurement costs. 4. It was confirmed that the Sub-committee's approval is valid for a period of six months and should the project not proceed to a signed funding agreement during this time, it will be required to return and re-present the business case to the Sub-committee for approval. REASONS FOR THE DECISION To seek the Sub-committee's approval of the Full Business Case for the Albert Gubay Business School. DISCUSSION The Report was discussed.
Decided: The Committee acknowledged the improvements made so far in attendance, behaviour and well-being in the county's schools. It noted the ongoing work to improve these areas and thanked education and school staff for their work. The Committee made this subject to the information requested during the discussion being provided.
Decided: The Council unanimously approved the revised Model Teachers' Pay Policy 2025/26 and commended it to school governing bodies for adoption. It also approved the revised Unattached Teachers' Pay Policy 2025/26 for centrally employed teachers.
Decided: Nine other roles were kept.
Decided: The committee agreed its Forward Work Programme for 2026/27, with four items added: Procurement savings from Schools (September 2026), Corporate Landlord Progress Update (November 2026), People Strategy update (March 2027) and Customer Relations update (March 2027). It also agreed that the programme be published on the Council's website, and that its next Task and Finish review should look at improvements to resident contact and the C1V service.
Decided: The committee agreed that School Inclusion and Vocational Learning & Opportunities will form the focus of its work plan for 2026/27.
Decided: The Council resolved to adopt the Cabinet's recommendation. It agreed to implement the proposal to discontinue Ammanford Nursery School and extend the age range of Ysgol Bro Banw and Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydaman to 3-11, after considering the responses to the statutory notice.
Decided: The Council resolved to adopt the Cabinet's recommendation. It agreed to implement the proposal to change the age range from 4-11 to 3-11 at Cwrt Henri, Llanybydder, Tumble and Y Ddwylan, after considering the responses received.
Decided: Cabinet approved loans of £136,774 to Ysgol Bro Gwydir, £293,394 to Ysgol John Bright and £156,000 to Ysgol Pen y Bryn, the last subject to the school fully engaging with the Council's Finance SLA.
Decided: Members agreed the size of the statutory groups, and the size and political balance of the sub-committees and non-statutory groups. They agreed to appoint members to the seats, as the political groups wished, and to appoint a new member to Wrexham SACRE until May 2027. Group leaders and non-aligned members must send their nominations to the Chief Officer Governance and Customer within seven days.
Decided: Members authorised the Chief Officer Housing and Assets to agree terms for a sale of the former Groves School site to Coleg Cambria.
Decided: The Cabinet gave final confirmation to the proposal to close Ysgol Y Garreg on 31 August 2026 and to denote Ysgol Cefn Coch as the alternative school from 1 September 2026.
Decided: The Cabinet accepted and adopted the Gwynedd Education Language Policy as a Model Education Language Policy for schools to consider adopting and implementing.
Decided: The minute sets out the Committee's recommendations to Cabinet on the EOTAS report, including a dataset and baseline by March 2027, and a progress report within 12 months. It also asks for a KPI (key performance indicator, or measure of success) framework by the start of the 2026/27 financial year, a preventative model with schools and partners by September 2027, structured parental support by March 2027, Member briefings by early 2027 and clearer outcome measures.
Decided: Cabinet agreed that £1,481,198 be included in the capital programme for 2026/27 to support learners with additional learning needs (ALN).
Decided: Cabinet approved the Food in Schools Statement and the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between schools and the catering service. The MOU is a written agreement that sets out each party's responsibilities.
Decided: Cabinet agreed that £1,481,198 be included in the capital programme for 2026/27 to support Community Focused Schools projects.
Decided: The meeting approved the appointment of school governors, as set out in the agenda pack.