The Education Minister for Wales has confirmed that face to face learning will be prioritised in Powys.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles MS said that he had been given reassurance by Powys County Council that face-to-face learning would be prioritised in the wake of talk last month that the county could see some remote learning amid the cost of living crisis.

It was recently revealed that Powys County Council had discussed cutting the school week to four days and teaching one day online as a way to balance the county’s education budget.

Mr Miles said: “My officials wrote to the council at the time that this speculation arose in the press to clarify the importance that we all attach to making sure that face-to-face learning is what we are prioritising throughout, and we have the assurance that that is also what Powys County Council intends.”

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Mr Miles made the remarks after a question from Brecon and Radnorshire MS James Evans in the Senedd who said the council should “ditch the idea” of not giving face to face learning for the county’s pupils.

Mr Evans said: “I am glad the Minister agreed with me on the importance of face-to-face learning, and that his officials wrote to Powys Council with the same message.

“It is essential that our children are in schools, especially after Covid restrictions where children in Wales missed more days of school than any other part of the UK.

“Making children go back to online learning should never have been suggested, and I hope the idea is now quashed.”

The council has previously said that the plans were unlikely to come to pass.

Powys County Council Leader, Councillor James Gibson-Watt said: “I want to make it clear the proposal to close schools one day a week would be an absolute last resort.

“After Covid-19 the last thing any of us want to see is children missing out on more time in class and parents being forced to spend more money on heating at home.”