Cardiff's Big Investment in children and young people- Let's Get Educated! 🎓
Children's rights are a top priority in #Cardiff and last year we made history by becoming the UK's first UNICEF Child Friendly City.
We even got a thank you from Hollywood star, Olivia Colman to prove it!
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says every child deserves an education. But we want to go further than just ‘an education' - our mission is to make sure every child in #Cardiff gets a great education.
Our goal? Ensuring every child and young person in #Cardiff gets top-notch teaching, in a safe, inclusive, and stimulating environment. No matter where they come from, every child deserves the chance to shine. 🌟
And we're putting our money where our mouth is - in the last 10 years we've spent more than £460 million on our schools, so that children in #Cardiff have the best possible opportunities to learn and grow. 💰
What does that kind of investment get you? How about 3 brand new secondary schools and 7 new primary schools! Plus, we've given a makeover to many other schools. Talk about a glow-up!
We've also taken care of the schools which were beyond repair and rated category D or end of life. We've replaced most of them, and we're working on the rest 👷♀️
In fact, in excess of £65m alone has been spent as part of our asset renewal programme, investing in our existing school buildings so they are fit for purpose like Moorland Primary School which has just opened a new early years and SRB provision as well new roofs like this one at Stacey Primary School.
And we've boosted the number of places for kids with Additional Learning Needs (ALN). We've increased the number of spots in Welsh and English-medium schools because every child deserves a seat at the table.
We've even got developers building new schools as part of requirements laid down in our Local Development Plan. Using the LDP in this way has seen St Mellons CiW Primary School and Ysgol Gynradd Groes-wen Primary School open. And there's plenty more school building to come!
The bottom line? We're working hard to ensure every Cardiff school is a good school. And @EstynHMI (the school inspectorate) agrees - more #Cardiff schools are hitting the mark than ever before 💯
Our schools are smashing it on the A-Levels and GCSEs. The results speak for themselves 👏
How are we doing it? With a dream team of governors, head teachers, teachers, teaching support staff, and, of course, our amazing students. It's a team effort, and the results are fantastic. 🙌
But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. We're facing fresh challenges, like the need for even more ALN spaces and projected falls in pupil numbers which could impact on school funding.
And let's not forget budget cuts. Local government budgets are tightening, which means we need to get creative to keep the good work going.
That's why we're rolling out a new education strategy. We're charting a course for the next nine years to make sure #Cardiff has the best educational opportunities, no matter what challenges come our way.
Our goal is simple: every child in #Cardiff gets the best possible start in life. And we're going to keep working hard to make that happen. Because our children are the future and when they win, we all win. 🏆
How? Well the strategy prioritises inclusive education, shaped by Cardiff's proud history of diversity, including our children and young people. We want high-quality learning for all our students.
What else? Through innovative school design and a great curriculum (Curriculum for Wales), we can empower education, giving our students the skills they need to head into the world of work.
What else? Creating outward-facing schools, to make sure the investment we're making not only benefits the children and young people, but also the communities our schools serve
What else? Focussing our investment in new and existing school buildings, while supporting vulnerable children from early years through higher education and into the workforce.
We've loads more to say about what we're doing, but we've kept you long enough. Education is everybody's business though, so if you want to know more we've put this article together New education investment strategy for Cardiff schools revealed (cardiffnewsroom.co.uk)
and if you want a deeper dive here's the strategy itself
CARDIFF COUNCIL (moderngov.co.uk)