Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:39 pm on 3 March 2021.
Yes, diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank all those who've contributed to this debate? But, as always, the arguments put forward by my colleague Caroline Jones are largely ignored. The Welsh Government says it is committed to a zero-carbon economy in Wales and that active travel is to play a significant role in achieving their goals, but a policy of school centralisation will, as Caroline Jones pointed out, almost undoubtedly negate the ability of our schoolchildren to engage in either walking or cycling to school. Not only are we centralising our schools, we are centralising parts of schools, with the introduction of sixth-form colleges—a policy vehemently opposed by many of the teaching community. Amongst other things, it removes the vital element of role modelling that sixth-form pupils often bring to the school environment. Again, it's totally against the environmental principles of Government policy. In my own constituency of Torfaen, we have seen the establishment of a sixth-form college in Cwmbran, which will be attended by pupils from towns such Blaenavon, some 10 miles away in the north of the borough. There is the added uncertainty that winter months could see considerable disruption to school attendance with adverse weather conditions. Blaenavon in the north of the county experiences much more snow than does the south of Torfaen.
Yes, it is true to say that the Welsh Government has spent a great deal of money on improving many of the schools right throughout Wales. However, we will question whether that money has been spent wisely. As Caroline has intimated, the move to large occupant—very large—teaching institutions means that our schoolchildren are totally losing out on the personal interaction with their teachers, and even with their fellow pupils. Schools of 1,200 pupils or more are nothing less than battery-learning institutions, where teachers do not know each other, let alone their pupils. Almost every large school in Torfaen is failing by Estyn standards, with most being in special measures. Bullying is a serious problem in these schools, causing misery to thousands of our schoolchildren. It is time to halt this shift to these mega schools and concentrate on smaller, more intimate units where pupil-teacher relationships can build trust as well as imparting knowledge. Thank you. Diolch, Llywydd.