Development of Community Schools in Merthyr Tydfil
01 February 2004
This project examined the development of community schools in Merthyr Tydfil, focusing on the developments which were taking place in one secondary school’s catchment area. It involved discussions with representatives of the secondary school concerned, its partner primary schools, and also with a range of other stakeholders in the County Borough including adult learning practitioners and health professionals.
The research found that there was considerable support for the notion of extending the use of all school facilities in the area and that schools were widely perceived as important engines promoting the economic, social, health and cultural wellbeing of the locality in which they were located.
However, it was also noted that financial resources were already stretched and that existing staff could not be expected to take on additional duties related to the community dimension. This meant that policy makers needed to make a genuine commitment to providing the financial and human resources to enable the ambitions expressed by respondents to be realised.