SCHOOL USED AS POLITICAL FOOTBALL - AM CLAIMS

BRIAN WALTERS - POLITICAL EDITOR - 16 July 2005

Swansea's controversial schools shake-up is being used as a political football, according to one city Assembly member. Labour AM Andrew Davies has criticised Assembly colleagues for using the issue to score political points.

It comes after praise for a Swansea school's approach to the special educational needs of some of its pupils.Leading an Assembly debate recently, Conservative AM Alun Cairns spoke highly of the first-class facilities and support structures that were in place in Cockett's Dylan Thomas Community School.

Mr Cairns said he found it alarming that Swansea Council was consulting on whether the school should close, with pupils being transferred to Bishop Gore in Sketty.

Labour AMs have now accused him of cheap opportunism and called on him to come clean.

"Does he support his Tory colleagues on the council who are advocating the school's closure at the expense of many children who rely on the excellent SEN facilities offered at Dylan Thomas?" said Swansea West AM Andrew Davies.

"He has absolutely failed to mention that a combination of Liberal Democrat and Tory councillors is proposing to close this much-loved community school in Swansea.

"I am angry that Dylan Thomas school is being used as a political football by both the Conservative and the Liberal Democrat parties.

"They praise the school's special needs provision when it suits them but are willing to close a vital community school that excels at providing the care they currently espouse. Pupils must come before profit.

"Swansea East AM Val Lloyd said she had always supported the pupils, staff and governors of Dylan Thomas school to ensure the school's vital SEN resources were protected from the threat of closure.

She said: "The Lib Dems, the Conservatives and the Independents who advocate closing down the school have not thought of the potential consequences to pupils who rely on the specialist facilities at Dylan Thomas that allow many of the pupils to remain in a mainstream school.

"For a Conservative AM publicly to criticise the policy of his party within the council is astonishing and I look forward to hearing the response from the council to Alun Cairns's comments.

"Mr Cairns said his strongly held views followed a visit he made to the school.

"The whole future of Dylan Thomas school has been the subject of a consultation that has just finished," he said.

"My comments concerned just one feature of the school and I'm sorry these two Labour AMs don't acknowledge my support for the culture which enables SEN pupils to develop to their full potential.

"Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black, who chairs the Assembly's education committee, described the Labour AMs' attack as churlish and cynical.

"No decision has been taken to close Dylan Thomas school," he stressed.

"There has been a consultation exercise and Alun Cairns' observations in terms of the school's excellent SEN record are perfectly valid."