PROPOSALS to close a learning support centre in a Neath Port Talbot school have gone out for consultation this month.
The plans could see the closure of the learning support centre for pupils with visual impairment at Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School in Neath if given the go-ahead by council bosses.
The move, which would take effect from September 2025, is part of a council review that is being carried out to assess “whether or not best use is being made of resources and facilities”.
Data highlighted how the numbers of pupils at the site had “reduced significantly” in recent years with no students attending the learning support centre in the 2024-25 academic year, and no teachers or support staff currently employed.
The consultation read: “On transition to secondary provision, parents have opted for local mainstream secondary provision instead of the Cefn Saeson LSC, which has enabled continued access to peer friendships and greater ease of access to extra-curricular activities and community events.
“Many visual impairments present in teenage years, when pupils have made firm relationships within their catchment secondary school. No pupils have opted to move to the LSC in Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School. Maintaining a provision with no pupils is not considered to be best use of council resources, and as such it is proposed that the LSC provision for VI should close.”
The public consultation over the plans will now be open for responses until December 16, 2024, with further reports expected to be given to the council before any final decisions are made.
