Saltney/Broughton Area
More than 1,500 people have had their say on the future of education in Broughton and Saltney.
Flintshire County Council carried out an early engagement exercise over the summer term to gauge the views of the community and shape the future of educational provision in the area.
The survey, which was widely circulated in the community, ran from Tuesday, June 6, 2023 until Monday, July 3, 2023, and gathered 1,503 public responses. There was also a high level of engagement from pupils who were consulted on the plans.
Respondents were presented with a number of potential options:
- Do nothing – schools in Broughton and Saltney to remain as they are.
- Do the minimum to remove a backlog of maintenance issues.
- Refurbish and extend existing facilities (where possible).
- Build a 3 -16 campus to accommodate St David’s High School and a merged Saltney Ferry CP and Saltney Wood Memorial School.
- Build a 3 -16 all-through school.
- Build a new 11-16 Secondary School St David’s High School on the Bretton site and build new 3-11 Primary School on the old site of St David’s High School.
- Close St David’s High School.
The majority (443) of people strongly disagreed with option 1 to do nothing and for schools to remain as they are. Option 6 is the most favoured in terms of the number of ‘strongly agree’ responses (383), however, 205 people also strongly disagree.
Option 3 is the most favoured in overall terms with 332 responders strongly agreeing and 235 agreeing. Meanwhile, option 7 was overwhelmingly the least favoured proposal with 717 strongly disagree responses and only 52 strongly agreeing.
Building conditions and standards of facilities were perceived to be the largest issue when asked what the biggest concern about their school is.
Cabinet member for Education, Councillor Mared Eastwood, said: “Thank you to everyone who took part in the early engagement survey. The overall response has been positive but there is a general consensus in the community that there needs to be change and that investment is desired.
“Flintshire County Council is committed to providing high-quality teaching and opportunities for students. We are working towards a plan that delivers a new strategy for education in the area which is sustainable and affordable.”
The outcome of the survey will go to Cabinet to be discussed by members in the coming months.
Early Engagement of Education Provision in the Saltney and Broughton Area
Why are we seeking your views?
Flintshire County Council regularly reviews its provision for education across the county and has a firm commitment to constantly developing and enhancing its schools for the benefit of Flintshire learners.
However, the Council must work within its financial resources, and in the current economic climate there are significant challenges in delivering programmes of change, particularly where rising inflation is impacting budgets and building project costs are significantly higher.
It is vital that we, as the Council, work closely with you as the communities in Saltney and Broughton to develop a plan that delivers a new strategy for education in the area.
The first step is for us to engage with you early in a process to seek your views. The purpose of this early engagement is to:
- Share the Council’s current thinking about the possible future shape of educational provision in the area with key stakeholders.
- Have an open conversation about the various challenges in delivering a new model of provision.
- Understand the views of the local communities and seek their commitment to work in constructive partnership with the Council, to achieve a new delivery model that results in the best facilities to support positive outcomes for learners within the financial resources available.
How you can have your say
The early engagement documents have been produced to explain why the Council is reviewing education provision in the area. There is also a document for Children with a child friendly questionnaire.
Large print, Braille, alternative language and hard copy versions of these documents are available on request from the School Modernisation Team. The Team can be contacted by:
- writing to School Modernisation Team, Ty Dewi Sant, St David’s Park, Ewloe, Flintshire, CH5 3TX;
- emailing 21stcenturyschools@flintshire.gov.uk; or
- telephoning 01352 704018 or 01352 702188.
Early Engagement Questionnaire
Based on the information available above please let us know what you think by:
The Early Engagement questionnaire will be open between 6 June 2023 to midnight 3 July 2023.
What will happen next?
All responses from this informal survey will be compiled into a report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Cabinet will review the responses from the community and will shape what happens.
Any questions can be submitted by e-mail to 21stcenturyschools@flintshire.gov.uk Council Officers will provide a response within 7 days.