Parents brought to tears as Council deliberate on Ysgol Heol Goffa’s future

Following the demonstration held by members of the Heol Goffa community in May, a second demonstration, organised by the newly formed action committee for Ysgol Heol Goffa, is due to take place on the 10th of July, outside county hall in Carmarthen.

The demonstration will take place at the same time that the Council are set to debate petitions to reconsider the decision to shelve the new school building. In total there were three petitions; A written petition with over 4,000 signatures, a change.org petition with over 5,000 signatures and a third, online petition, with over 300 signatures.

Demonstrators will call on the council to change their decision and reinstate plans to build a new school facility for Ysgol Heol Goffa to provide much needed relief to the pupils and staff facing uncertainty as the council deliberate on what the next steps will be.

The action committee has now issued letters to the children’s commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, in a desperate plea for help and advice to address the controversial decision made by the council to abandon the new school plans with no prior warning or consultation.

In one of the letters, the action committee highlights the importance of ensuring that the ALN Code is upheld as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which the ALN Code is protected by. Therefore the committee argue that it is the duty of local authorities to respect the rights of children with additional learning needs and to ensure children with disabilities have the right to a full and decent life with access to education at a high level of priority.

As for the community itself, parents, pupils and staff are still shaken by the decision the county council took, with parents reduced to desperate tears as they plead for the decision to be reconsidered.

The MS for Llanelli Lee Waters has said that the Council need to think again.

“Heol Goffa is a widely admired centre of excellence that nurtures young people who are in greatest need of help.

‘The pupils have complex needs that require highly specialist provision.

‘I was shocked that the Director of Education has not even visited the School to see for himself the deeply impressive work that they do.

“He needs to respect the staff and go there for himself to see what they do and then think again about helping them rather than undoing their achievements.”

The upcoming demonstration on July 10th, organised by the action committee for Ysgol Heol Goffa, is a crucial step in demanding the council reconsider their decision to abandon the new school building plans.

With over 9,000 signatures on petitions and letters sent to the children’s commissioner, the community is united in their plea to respect the rights of children with additional learning needs and ensure access to high-quality education.

The fate of Ysgol Heol Goffa’s future hangs in the balance, and this demonstration serves as a powerful call to action for the council to prioritise the needs of the school’s pupils and staff.