Few would disagree that children have suffered badly as a result of the pandemic.

But Powys County Council is saying surprisingly little about how its ‘ambitious’ educational policy might help to address this.

The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act was passed by the Welsh Government in 2015. Its aim is to encourage politicians and other public bodies from taking a narrow, short-term approach, thinking only of saving money or the next election.

The first three primary schools targeted for closure are in Castle Caereinion, Churchstoke and Llansilin. They head a long list of rural schools in Powys deemed too small and therefore uneconomic and/or inefficient.

The council has issued a notice that Castle Caereinion should close in August 2022 (formal objections must be submitted by October 7, 2021).

The school is at the centre of the village, close to the church, attached to the community centre. Village fetes take place on adjoining land. Encounters at the school gates are an integral part of village life. Construction of a new housing estate across the road from the school is underway.

The school buildings are owned by the Powys Estate and must be used for educational purposes. Taxpayers recently paid for improvements. The school uses the community centre for its assemblies and gym lessons, which helps pay for maintenance of the building.

There are no plans for the school buildings. After all the long months of pandemic, the council is ditching resources without even considering how they could be used to help recovery of the village or surrounding communities.

Local people fear they will become derelict, along with the community centre. Will young families move into the new houses if there is no local school for their children? Is the village destined to become an isolated retirement community? Will enough younger people live there to support them?

What about the community of the children who currently live in the village, their friendships, the familiar adults keeping an eye out? Walking to school will become a thing of the past. School runs, pressure, traffic, the sheer waste of time spent commuting.

The Future Generations Act was intended to guard against exactly this kind of approach.

Councils and other public bodies must now consider sense of community, safety, feeling involved, people being satisfied with where they live. Who knows, mental wellbeing and healthy lifestyle, instead of just targets for exam success, might even help. Parents seem to think so.

Education policy should be strengthening communities for the future, not decimating them.

If the council thinks about this when it studies its balance sheet, it might realise how much rural schools deliver in sheer value for money. With support and a stable future, they would be able to offer even more. Would the Future Generations Commissioner agree, I wonder? Might she consider that a review would be in order?

R Foggitt

Castle Caereinion