Under proposals revealed last summer, the existing school capacity of 140 pupils would be expanded to 210 and a 48-place nursery would be created to offer childcare and pre-school education for three-year-olds, in line with Cardiff Council policy.
The Council believes that new housing planned for north-west Cardiff will mean a greater demand for school and nursery places and it is planned that part of the cost of the scheme will be funded by contributions from developers.
On December 14 last year, the Council began canvassing the views of parents, teachers, local residents, children and a wide range of other groups, including the community council, school governors, teaching unions, Estyn and a private nursery based at Pentyrch village hall.
By the time the process had finished, on January 25, the Council had received 85 responses to an online and postal questionnaire, had held a series of public consultations and heard detailed views from professional groups.
The Council’s Cabinet will discuss the consultation at its next meeting on Thursday, March 10.
The Cabinet member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry, said she was delighted that the consultation had produced a good response. “The Cardiff Local Development Plan (LDP) means that 41,400 new dwellings are being created across the city and there are a number of sites planned in north-west Cardiff that will have a significant impact on schools in the area.
“We expect one new primary school in the area to open in September 2023 and plan to expand Pentyrch to help cope with the increased demand, so it was important that as many people and interested parties as possible made their views known.”
Estyn, which monitors the quality of education and training in Wales, took the view that the expanded school would maintain the school’s current standards but, in common with some respondents, felt there could be a likely increase in traffic in the area.
The council has pledged to continue working with all affected groups throughout the development stages of the plans.
