Estyn's Response

Estyn’s response to the proposal by Caerphilly Borough County Council to close Lewis Girls School and make a regulated alteration to Lewis School Pengam to change from single sex to co-education with effect from September 2025.

Introduction

This report has been prepared by His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and Training in Wales.

Under the terms of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 and its associated Code, proposers are required to send consultation documents to Estyn. However, Estyn is not a body which is required to act in accordance with the Code and the Act places no statutory requirements on Estyn in respect of school organisation matters. Therefore, as a body being consulted, Estyn will provide their opinion only on the overall merits of school organisation proposals.

Estyn has considered the educational aspects of the proposal and has produced the following response to the information provided by the proposer.

Summary/Conclusion

Overall, the proposals are likely to maintain the standard of education provision in the area. This is because the current arrangements are inefficient, with more than 900 surplus places between the two schools and combining the two schools could allow the local authority to target resources more effectively. However, the consultation document does not contain sufficient detail about a number of important aspects of the proposal.

Description and benefits

The local authority gives a clear and detailed rationale for the proposal to close Lewis Girls School and make Lewis School Pengam co-educational so that the pupils from both schools can be accommodated there. The timetable for the changes is clear and allows an interim period of two years, from September 2025-September 2027 for transitional arrangements to be implemented.

The local authority sets out the main advantages and disadvantages of the proposal. However, it does not consider or address the possible negative impacts on pupils starting at Lewis Girls School in September 2025 and September 2026, who will have to change schools twice in a short period.

Three main risks are identified as low or medium and relevant mitigations stated. However, there is no discussion in the consultation document about the possible benefits or disbenefits of single sex education, which are likely to be of concern to some parents. The document does not present any suitable alternatives to the proposal, such decreasing surplus places by reducing the size and capacity of both schools.

The local authority considers the impact on learner travel arrangements. There will be pupils who have to travel further than they do now or would have to in the future if they live closer to Lewis Girls School than Lewis School Pengham. However, there is

likely to be a similar number who will have to travel a shorter distance. In addition, Lewis School Pengam is in better condition than Lewis Girls School and is more accessible for pupils with mobility difficulties.

The most important reason for the proposal is the overall reduction in surplus places. Currently, there are more than 900 surplus places across the two schools, and these will be eliminated entirely by the proposal, which could lead to greater efficiency in the use of the local authority’s resources. However, Lewis School Pengham currently only has capacity for 1,140 pupils and during the period from September 2027 to 2029 the capacity will be exceeded, even without including the sixth form. If you include the sixth form, the numbers exceed capacity until 2031. The consultation document states that the total number of pupils can be accommodated at Lewis School Pengam if the classrooms are reconfigured. However, the document does not explain what that means in practice, what disruption there may be to pupils, the costs that will be incurred, or what arrangements will be made for other facilities, such as toilets and canteen space.

There local authority considers that there will be no impact on Welsh medium provision from combining the two schools. It considers the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 and Welsh Language Standards in its integrated impact assessment.

The consultation document gives very little information about the financial implications of the proposal. There could be efficiency savings, although these have not been estimated. In the interim period while the transition is taking place, there may be increased costs, but again these have not been estimated.

The local authority has not included a community impact assessment as part of the proposal. It is unclear what will happen to the leisure centre at Lewis Girls School which is used by the community outside of school hours. The document states that no impact ‘is anticipated’ even though the major user of the facilities will no longer be there from September 2027.

Educational aspects of the proposal

The local authority has considered the likely impact of the proposal on the quality and standards in education. For example, it is aware that there may be some disruption to learning and well-being in bringing the two schools together and will take steps to mitigate this risk. The local authority has also considered recent Estyn inspection reports and notes that Lewis School Pengam was removed from Estyn monitoring in November 2019.

There are likely to be benefits to the curriculum in having a single larger school. This may provide scope for providing a wider range of courses, particularly for 14–19- year-old pupils. The consultation document identifies that the process is a closure of Lewis Girls School with steps taken to employ staff there at Lewis School Pengam, where possible, and to seek to redeploy staff elsewhere in the county if not. This will be unsettling for the staff at Lewis Girls School and there is a risk that some of the teachers and other staff may be lost to the school and the county as a result.

The proposal considers the needs of vulnerable pupils and seeks to minimise the overall disruption to learners. It is particularly helpful that there is a full academic year following the consultation process before the interim period begins as this should provide the time needed to ensure that the changes take place as smoothly as possible.