tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post1614300113316589642..comments2023-05-08T10:46:34.371+01:00Comments on Y Cneifiwr: Education in Carmarthenshire: a tale of two reportsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-62515009502082873052012-07-18T10:31:30.574+01:002012-07-18T10:31:30.574+01:00My spies at last night's Ysgol Emlyn parents m...My spies at last night's Ysgol Emlyn parents meeting tell me that the outgoing Head claims the Estyn team arrived at the wrong time, didn't get a true picture of their excellent school, saw the wrong things, etc.<br /><br />The blitz team from CCC sought to assure everybody that all was in order, no need for concern, etc.<br /><br />Then the Q&As came: the parents, it seems, didn't believe it for a moment. They have a long road to travel, I fear.Emlyn Uwch Cychhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03384157218244458970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-51730216905903680812012-07-11T16:36:49.062+01:002012-07-11T16:36:49.062+01:00DiolchDiolchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-29732392435226238992012-07-11T12:46:36.130+01:002012-07-11T12:46:36.130+01:00Grey, but not raining (yet). Small smidges of blue...Grey, but not raining (yet). Small smidges of blue between the clouds.<br /><br />As for who calls the shots, we now have a 10 member Executive Board which is theoretically where the decisions are made. The other 64 councillors hardly register.<br /><br />In practice most of the Executive Board members would struggle to find their way out of a paper bag, so the officers are firmly in charge.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-29796503159893423012012-07-11T11:53:27.847+01:002012-07-11T11:53:27.847+01:00Cneifiwr,
If very few of the councillors get any ...Cneifiwr,<br /><br />If very few of the councillors get any say in anything.....then who has the power over making the decisions? <br /><br />How is the weather in CNE today? I'm the other side of the world at the moment?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-31153865325943613852012-07-09T20:51:44.121+01:002012-07-09T20:51:44.121+01:00Fortunately for the people of Carmarthenshire I am...Fortunately for the people of Carmarthenshire I am gainfully employed. I've also come to realise that very few of the councillors actually get any say in anything.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-64494777652809221302012-07-09T20:15:31.565+01:002012-07-09T20:15:31.565+01:00I read your blog with intrest...I feel that instea...I read your blog with intrest...I feel that instead of hiding behind this blog you should run for council and see if you can do a better job! However I do fear that you are in fact a disgruntled back bencher in disguise!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-36092786754773126942012-07-09T20:13:50.745+01:002012-07-09T20:13:50.745+01:00Thank you again for that really useful insight. Th...Thank you again for that really useful insight. The Carmarthenshire website shows how the figures are broken down by school (Section 52 statements), which can be found here:<br /><br />http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/english/education/schools/budgets/pages/home.aspx<br /><br />(see Planned Statements 2012/13 Part 3)Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-33271421429184815262012-07-09T20:04:37.971+01:002012-07-09T20:04:37.971+01:00Usually there is a very complex formula for delega...Usually there is a very complex formula for delegated school budgets. As I have said Welsh Medium Supplement can make a difference. A small school in Cardiff will get £25,000 a year for being WM even when it has less than 10 pupils. Both WM secondary schools get £100,000 each each year for being WM to buy two extra teachers. My personal belief is that a school that has pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds needs extra teachers but a very middle class Secondary school in Cardiff with less than 8% of its pupils on Free school Meals can manage very nicely without a massive handout every year.<br /><br />The reason why delegated school budgets vary so much is linked to Free school meals, Size of School, and occupancy rates. If you have a school designed for 1000 pupils and you have 500 pupils in it then you still pay rates for a large school, heating for a large school, cleaning bills, grounds upkeep etc etc. Often class sizes vary so that a teacher on £40,000 a year is teaching 10 kids instead of 15. The result is that all costs are divided by 500 instead of 1000 and so delegated budget per pupil goes sky high.<br /><br />Half empty schools are wasting money that could fund teachers. Splitting schools up into Welsh Medium or English medium (whether you think it good practice or not) is extremely expensive since you can end up with two schools that are under occupied side by side without any chance of amalgamating them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-67814030188189093802012-07-09T14:23:33.451+01:002012-07-09T14:23:33.451+01:00Thank you for that. You are right, of course, and ...Thank you for that. You are right, of course, and it stands to reason that offering a bilingual education will always cost more. Money very well spent, too!<br /><br />At the risk of repeating myself, though, the league tables for Carmarthenshire school spending don't seem to show that language is a major factor in the differences in funding levels.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-14282274879973003742012-07-09T13:13:25.724+01:002012-07-09T13:13:25.724+01:00There is always a difference in funding for Welsh ...There is always a difference in funding for Welsh Medium schools, sometimes significant sometimes not. In Carmarthenshire it is as follows for Bilingual secondary schools:-<br /><br />"24.2 In the secondary sector there is additional funding, based on a set formula, for<br />bilingual education. In KS3 and KS4 an addition of 0·2 teachers is allocated per set<br />of 3 subjects taught bilingually during each school year. In the Sixth Form, an<br />additional 0·1 teacher is allocated per individual subject taught bilingually with Y12<br />and Y13 considered separately."<br /><br />That is not the end of it of course; there are separate funding streams outside of delegated school budgets that can be drawn on by WM and bi-lingual schools.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-73015554202794221502012-07-09T12:41:40.699+01:002012-07-09T12:41:40.699+01:00Thanks for that comment, which I hope was a refere...Thanks for that comment, which I hope was a reference to the first commenter's suggestion that the school should be closed.<br /><br />Although Welsh language provision does feature in Estyn's report, I think we are doing the school and ourselves a disservice if we turn this into a debate about Welsh versus English.<br /><br />The sad truth is that a generation of children (i.e. those who have passed through the school since the last report in 2006) has been let down, and not all of the blame can be pinned on one individual.<br /><br />We need to ask ourselves why Estyn can say on the one hand that the county council is doing a great job, while some of the schools it is responsible for are clearly struggling.<br /><br />And why is there such a huge discrepancy in funding between secondary schools? Having looked at the figures, I can say with confidence that language has nothing to do with it.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-87011706866255254902012-07-09T11:03:40.152+01:002012-07-09T11:03:40.152+01:00Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn is a happy (-Esyn) COMMUNITY sch...Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn is a happy (-Esyn) COMMUNITY school offering CHOICE to both pupils and their parents. The humanities can be chosen to be taught in Welsh if wished. The Teifi valley also has the CHOICE of a Welsh medium school in Llandysul. Welsh medium schools consistently receive additional funding - rate payers money. How disappointing that in 2012 such bigoted, and ill-infomed views still exist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-59377307614310358632012-07-09T07:51:12.820+01:002012-07-09T07:51:12.820+01:00Thank you for that last comment. I strongly suspec...Thank you for that last comment. I strongly suspect that the Education Department is focussed on the Modernising Education Programme, with its massive programme of school closures, reorganisations and major capital projects, to the detriment of the day-to-day running of schools.<br /><br />Some of Emlyn's problems were undoubtedly homemade, but others trace back to County Hall.<br /><br />Your insight is appreciated.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-70595198019847231082012-07-08T21:05:28.673+01:002012-07-08T21:05:28.673+01:00The 'unsatisfactory' for NE and 'good&...The 'unsatisfactory' for NE and 'good' for Carms do not seem to accord with the judgements made by the separate teams of inspectors. The Carms report seemed to take much at face value. This is a temptation because there is little time to do more than check paperwork.(I was a lay inspector for over 10 years.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-70150975714484841882012-07-08T17:06:14.619+01:002012-07-08T17:06:14.619+01:00What in favour of a Welsh Medium Only School Cul...What in favour of a Welsh Medium Only School Cultural Nazism I think !!<br />What;s the solution send the children to Cardigan and have no secondary school in NCEAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118857435900510280.post-79034894382543013872012-07-07T20:24:09.082+01:002012-07-07T20:24:09.082+01:00Dylse nhw gau Ysgol Emlyn. Ysgol Saesneg, Seisnig ...Dylse nhw gau Ysgol Emlyn. Ysgol Saesneg, Seisnig ar gyfer pobl sydd ddim yn hoff y Welsh.<br /><br />Why should tax payer's money be spent on Ysgol Emlyn which is a major anglicising force in Sir Gar an Ceredigion. Close it down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com