School buildings crumbling under Labour, says Plaid

Plaid Cymru Investigation finds schools maintenance backlog of over half a billion pounds in Wales.

 A series of FOI requests from Plaid Cymru has revealed that the total maintenance backlog of Welsh schools is at least £543,249,362.54. A total of 17 local authorities which held the relevant data responded to the requests, meaning an average backlog of £31,955,844.90 per local authority.

Following comments from the Cabinet Secretary for Education, in which she revealed that the Welsh Government does not collect the data on maintenance backlogs within schools, Plaid Cymru launched a series of FOI requests to ascertain the severity of the issue in Wales. The requests coincide with a NASUWT survey showed that 48% of teachers in Wales believed that the condition of their school buildings has ‘deteriorated or greatly deteriorated’ over the last three years.

Plaid Cymru’s investigation also revealed at least 320 schools, almost a quarter of schools in Wales, have a total urgent maintenance backlog of £93,886,111.71. In the Cabinet Secretary for Educations’ constituency of Torfaen, 31 of 32 schools in the local authority require urgent maintenance totalling £3,710,995.

Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru’s Education spokesperson, has accused the Welsh Government of failing pupils and teachers across Wales by not providing them with a safe environment to learn. He continues by saying that falling standards and crumbling school buildings is Labour’s legacy after 25 years of failing our learners, teachers, and parents in Wales.

Plaid Cymru now call for a full and detailed national survey to properly assess the condition of school buildings in Wales to get to the root of the issue facing school buildings in Wales.

Plaid Cymru’s education spokesperson, Cefin Campbell, said:

“Half a billion pounds. That is the bill faced by our schools and local authorities after 25 years of Labour negligence.

“The dire condition of our school estates in Wales encapsulates Labour’s record on education after 25 years. A record of neglect, of apathy and of letting our young people down.

“School buildings are a crucial part of our education system; they are buildings that should provide an environment that is safe for teachers and learners. A safe place to learn is the bare minimum a government should be offering our future generation, and Labour are failing at this and are letting our students down.

“It seems that Labour are determined to abandon our education sector in as many ways as possible. Recently we have seen them waving the white flag in the face of a funding crisis in our universities, we have seen an Estyn report highlighting the inherent problems with their recruitment strategies, and now we find out that they have been allowing our schools to fall to pieces – literally.

“The fact that all bar one of the schools in the Cabinet Secretary’s own constituency need urgent maintenance is frankly incredulous. It truly represents the scale of Labour’s negligence when it comes to providing a learning environment where our learners and teachers can thrive.

“It is worrying that this figure of over half a billion is only the bare minimum of the total repair bill faced by Welsh schools. The actual bill is likely to be much higher as some local authorities, unbelievably, do not even have this data.

“This is why we need a full and detailed national survey of this issue, to get a clear picture of the crisis that our schools face. It’s clear that Labour cannot be trusted running our education system. It’s time to give our schools a fresh start – with a Plaid Cymru Government.”

Adeiladau ysgolion yn adfeilio o dan Lafur, medd Plaid

Ymchwiliad Plaid Cymru yn canfod ôl-groniad cynnal a chadw ysgolion o dros hanner biliwn o bunnoedd yng Nghymru.

Mae cyfres o geisiadau Rhyddid Gwybodaeth gan Blaid Cymru wedi datgelu bod cyfanswm ôl-groniad cynnal a chadw ysgolion Cymru o leiaf £543,249,362.54. Ymatebodd cyfanswm o 17 awdurdod lleol a oedd yn dal y data perthnasol i’r ceisiadau, sy’n golygu ôl-groniad cyfartalog o £31,955,844.90 fesul awdurdod lleol.

Yn dilyn sylwadau gan yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet dros Addysg, lle datgelodd nad yw Llywodraeth Cymru yn casglu’r data ar ôl-groniadau cynnal a chadw mewn ysgolion, lansiodd Plaid Cymru gyfres o geisiadau Rhyddid Gwybodaeth i ganfod difrifoldeb y mater yng Nghymru. Roedd y ceisiadau yn cyd-fynd ag arolwg NASUWT fod 48% o athrawon yng Nghymru yn credu bod cyflwr adeiladau ysgolion wedi ‘dirywio neu ddirywio’n fawr’ dros y tair blynedd diwethaf.

Datgelodd ymchwiliad Plaid Cymru hefyd fod gan o leiaf 320 o ysgolion, bron i chwarter ysgolion yng Nghymru, gyfanswm ôl-groniad cynnal a chadw brys o £93,886,111.71. Yn etholaeth yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet dros Addysg, Torfaen, mae ôl-groniad cynnal a chadw brys gwerth £3,710,995 ar 31 o 32 ysgolion yn yr awdurdod lleol.

Mae Cefin Campbell, llefarydd Plaid Cymru dros Addysg, wedi cyhuddo Llywodraeth Cymru o fethu disgyblion ac athrawon ar draws Cymru drwy beidio â rhoi amgylchedd diogel iddynt ddysgu. Mae’n parhau drwy ddweud mai record Llafur ar addysg ar ôl 25 mlynedd yw safonau sy’n gostwng ac adeiladau ysgolion sy’n dadfeilio wrth iddynt adael dysgwyr, hathrawon a rhieni i lawr yng Nghymru.

Mae Plaid Cymru nawr yn galw am arolwg cenedlaethol llawn a manwl i asesu gwir gyflwr adeiladau ysgolion yng Nghymru er mwyn mynd at wraidd y sialens sy’n wynebu ysgolion yng Nghymru.

Dywedodd llefarydd Plaid Cymru dros addysg, Cefin Campbell:

“Hanner biliwn o bunnoedd. Dyna’r bil sy’n wynebu ein hysgolion a’n hawdurdodau lleol ar ôl 25 mlynedd o esgeulustod Llafur.

“Mae cyflwr enbyd ein hysgolion yng Nghymru yn crynhoi record Llafur ar addysg ar ôl 25 mlynedd. Record o esgeulustod, o ddifaterwch ac o adael ein pobl ifanc i lawr.

“Mae adeiladau ysgol yn rhan hanfodol o’n system addysg, maent yn adeiladau a ddylai ddarparu amgylchedd sy’n ddiogel i athrawon a dysgwyr. Lle diogel i ddysgu yw’r lleiaf y dylai llywodraeth fod yn cynnig i’n cenhedlaeth ifanc, ac mae Llafur yn methu cynnig hyn ac yn siomi ein myfyrwyr.

“Mae’n ymddangos bod Llafur yn benderfynol o gefnu ar ein sector addysg mewn cymaint o ffyrdd â phosib. Yn ddiweddar rydym wedi eu gweld yn chwifio’r faner wen yn wyneb argyfyngau ariannol yn ein prifysgolion, rydym wedi gweld adroddiad Estyn yn tynnu sylw at broblemau cynhenid yn eu strategaethau recriwtio, a nawr rydym yn darganfod eu bod wedi bod yn caniatáu i’n hysgolion ddisgyn i ddarnau – yn llythrennol.

“Mae’r ffaith bod angen cynnal a chadw brys ar bob un ond un o’r ysgolion yn etholaeth yr Ysgrifennydd Cabinet dros Addysg yn grediniol a dweud y gwir. Mae wir yn cynrychioli graddfa esgeulustod Llafur o ran darparu amgylchedd dysgu lle gall ein dysgwyr a’n hathrawon ffynnu.

“Mae’n destun pryder mai dim ond isafswm y gwir bil atgyweirio a wynebir gan ysgolion Cymru yw’r ffigur hwn o dros hanner biliwn. Mae’r bil gwirioneddol yn debygol o fod yn llawer uwch gan nad oes gan rai awdurdodau lleol y data yma hyd yn oed.

“Dyma pam mae angen arolwg cenedlaethol llawn a manwl o’r mater hwn, er mwyn cael darlun clir o’r argyfwng sy’n wynebu ein hysgolion. Mae’n amlwg na ellir ymddiried yn Llafur i redeg ein system addysg. Mae’n bryd rhoi llechen lân i’n hysgolion – gyda Llywodraeth Plaid Cymru.”