Here is your Friday update, covering:
- New café opportunity for Parc Cefn Onn
- Babies Remembrance Service 2025
- School swimming pilot a success
- Proposals for school federation to strengthen education in East Cardiff
New café opportunity for Parc Cefn Onn
An opportunity to develop a new café to serve the tens of thousands of people who visit the historic Grade II listed Parc Cefn Onn every year has been announced.
The Green Flag Award winning park in North Cardiff is home to tumbling streams, winding paths, a magnificent collection of native and exotic trees, as well as areas of semi-natural woodland. Now, Cardiff Council are advertising the chance to convert the former caretaker's bungalow into a café, so that visitors can also enjoy a cup of tea or coffee at the park.
The two-bedroom bungalow can be found close to the main park entrance. The space includes a small outdoor area which could be used for seating.
The 66.6 hectare country park is open 7 days a week, benefits from free car parking and is close to Lisvane train station.
Babies Remembrance Service 2025
A Babies Remembrance Service will be held at 11.30am on Sunday June 29th at the Wenallt Chapel, Thornhill Crematorium.
The memorial service is supported by the Stillbirth and Neonatal Deaths Society (Sands) and will be led by members of the University Hospital of Wales Chaplaincy team. Everyone is welcome to attend, and members of the Cardiff branch of Sands will be available at the service.
During the service a memory card will be written and afterwards there will be an opportunity for families to place a memory pebble in the memory bowl in the Ilex Garden.
School swimming pilot a success as numbers of children swimming on the rise
From September 2024, Cardiff launched the Cardiff School Swimming Pilot - Nofio Ysgol Caerdydd, to address the low number of children taking part in school swimming lessons.
Already school engagement figures are up to 74% from 57% and it is expected that more than 2,250 children will have accessed swimming lessons at local pools through the pilot, before the end of the academic year.
The new delivery model has been designed to increase the number of schools delivering swim provision, ensuring every child in Cardiff receives high-quality curriculum-based swimming instruction whilst promoting water safety.
Delivered by the Council's Cardiff Commitment Curriculum Team, in partnership with Swim Wales, Cardiff Met Sport, GLL, Legacy Leisure, Urdd Gobaith Cymru and Public Health Wales, the pilot addressed challenges such as inconsistent access, school participation and adhered to a clear School Swimming Charter. By establishing a cluster-based local delivery plan, 'AquaClusters' has also helped to alleviate logistical barriers such as transport costs.
Proposals for school federation to strengthen education in East Cardiff
Proposals to federate St Mellons Church in Wales Primary School with The Saints Federation have been revealed, a move aimed at securing long-term leadership, improving educational outcomes, and accelerating school improvement in East Cardiff.
The Saints Federation, comprising All Saints' Church in Wales Primary School and St David's Church in Wales Primary School, has demonstrated strong leadership and collaborative success since its formation in February 2024. The proposed federation would formalise the existing partnership between The Saints Federation and St Mellons CW Primary School, which has already seen positive impacts through shared leadership arrangements.
In February 2025, Estyn placed St Mellons CW Primary School in Special Measures, citing the need for stable and effective leadership. The proposed federation directly addresses this recommendation by securing the current leadership structure and enhancing leadership capacity across all levels.