North Wales MS takes Saltney Catholic school fight to Welsh Parliament
The proposed closure of St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Saltney has been raised in the Senedd, as a dispute between the school’s governors and a diocesan official over a key letter remained unresolved.
Sam Rowlands MS (Conservative, North Wales region) told the Senedd on Wednesday that Flintshire County Council’s plans would leave parents facing a choice between sending their children to England or travelling 14 miles to Flint for Catholic primary education.
Mr Rowlands said: “Flintshire County Council are telling parents and children that they should either go to England for their Catholic education, or travel 14 miles to Flint for their Catholic education.”
He asked the Deputy First Minister whether she agreed that was appropriate, and whether she would meet him to discuss what solutions might be available.
Sioned Williams, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality, said she would be “amenable to meet” Mr Rowlands, and referred him to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language.
St Anthony’s is one of four Catholic schools proposed for closure under plans drawn up by Flintshire County Council and the Diocese of Wrexham. The other schools are St David’s in Mold, St Mary’s in Flint, and St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School. The proposal involves building a new £55 million, 3-18 through-school in Flint to replace all four.
The Senedd question comes as a dispute over the status of a governors’ letter has cast doubt on the evidence presented to Flintshire County Council’s Education, Youth and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The Chair of Governors at St Anthony’s, Alex Durcan-Smith, wrote to parents stating that the Governing Body supports keeping the school open and does not accept the closure proposal. The letter said:
“The Governing Body of St Anthony’s stands fully behind the school and is doing everything within its power to support its continued operation.”
It added:
“The aspirations expressed by FCC and the Diocese to close the school and move towards a ‘super-school’ model do not reflect the views or wishes of the Governing Body.”
At a recent meeting of the education scrutiny committee, Wendy White, Director of Education for the Diocese of Wrexham, told councillors the letter contained inaccuracies and had been recalled for correction.
Ms White said: “Decisions about Catholic education are made by the Bishop in discussion with the trustees. The Governing Body comment that they were against the proposal was incorrect and the recent letter that went out is incorrect and has been recalled to be corrected.”
The Governing Body subsequently confirmed the letter had not been withdrawn or corrected, and that it continues to stand by its position.
Flintshire’s Liberal Democrat group leader, Cllr Andrew Parkhurst, raised the discrepancy at a full council meeting, asking Cabinet Member for Education Cllr Mared Eastwood to confirm which account was accurate. Cllr Eastwood said she would respond in writing.
Cllr Parkhurst has called for the consultation process to be paused until the factual dispute is resolved.
He said: “The issue is that a scrutiny committee was told that a governing body’s letter had been recalled, yet the governing body itself says that it has not. That matters because the committee was being asked to decide whether the consultation process should restart. If there is a dispute about the facts, the sensible course of action is to establish the truth before pressing ahead.”
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