Governors from four at risk village primary schools in Ceredigion have called on the county council to launch an independent investigation on allegations that Cabinet members were lied to by council chiefs over whether process was followed in drawing up closure plans which have done “substantial damage” to the schools.

Ceredigion County Council launched statutory consultations into plans to close Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa, Ysgol Llangwyryfon, and Ysgol Syr John Rhys in August next year.

That decision was reversed at a meeting last week following formal challenges and a row over how the process was carried out.

As reported extensively in the Cambrian News, the move caused outrage in the communities, with a heated meeting hearing allegations of lying by officers who prepared the report as well as senior staff who said the plans had the Welsh Government ‘seal of approval.’

In a damning letter sent to Cabinet members ahead of the meeting last Tuesday, the Chair of Governors of each of the four schools wrote that while they “fully support the proposed decision to treat the current consultation process as an informal rather than statutory consultation,” there were “several concerns that remain” and urged councillors to delay any further decision on shutting the doors of the schools until at least 2027.

The letter, sent by governing body Chairs Paul Anthony Davies from Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn; Carol Bainbridge from Ysgol Craig yr Wylfa; Nudd Lewis from Ysgol Llangwyryfon; and Huw Morris from Ysgol Syr John Rhys, and seen by the Cambrian News, says that the original Cabinet decisions to launch consultations “have already done substantial damage to the schools and may continue to do further damage.”

“Pupils have already left as a direct result of the decisions, and uncertainty has suppressed and may continue to repress registrations,” the governors said.

“The admission registration deadline for school places is 31 January 2025.

“Consequently, there needs to be clarity as soon as possible that the council will now engage with us in a constructive process to strengthen the future viability of the schools, in line with the presumption against closure of rural schools as part of the Welsh School Organisation code.

“As part of our consultation responses, we are making detailed and credible suggestions of alternatives to closure that need to be fully explored.

“This will be hampered by continued fear and uncertainty about the schools within our communities.

“This is why we ask you to allow the time for such conversations and collaborative actions between the schools, the communities to happen, and for us to recover from the damage done by the poorly managed process to date.

“As such, we ask that Cabinet decides to not engage further statutory consultation before the next local government elections in May 2027, following Senedd elections in May 2026.”

The governors also took aim at Chief Executive Eifion Evans and education chief Barry Rees, who were accused of lying to members by saying the plans had the backing of Welsh Government and called for the pair to be investigated and disciplined.

“We are deeply concerned that the damage done to our schools is the direct result of misrepresentations made by Barry Rees and Eifion Evans [in the meeting on 3 September],” the governors wrote to Cabinet members.

“Many of our community members wrote to you before the meeting and pointed out that the proposals clearly did not satisfy the requirements of the Welsh School Organisation Code.

“In the meetings, several of you questioned the officers whether the required process had been followed according to the law.

“Mr Rees and Mr Evans both stated that assurances had been received that this was the case, indeed stating that “a seal of approval” had been given.

“As you will be aware, according to a letter by Welsh Government Education Secretary Lynne Neagle, no such assurances were given.

“The correspondence between council and Welsh Government officers was in fact limited and informal.

“The misrepresentations made by Mr Rees and Mr Evans of these communications can be clearly identified in the recording of the meeting.

“This presents a clear violation of the Nolan principles, which requires that officers must act with integrity, honesty, impartiality and objectivity.

“Furthermore, we have very recently also learned that there was in fact no subsequent internal legal assurance given about whether the final proposals adhered to the code.

“These misrepresentations and their consequences hugely undermine our trust and the trust within our communities in the leadership of the council.

“If there are no disciplinary measures attached for those who have misled you, and us, it will also erode trust in you as those who should hold officers to account.

“We cannot emphasise enough how much distress and anguish your decision on 3 September has caused to our communities, including parents, teachers, and children.

“Your decision was the direct result of being misled by officers.”

The governor chairs called for an investigation to be launched into Mr Evans and Mr Rees to ascertain whether they misled the council, and insisted any investigation needed to be external and independent.

It would be an “important” move, governors said “in being able to rebuild the relationship necessary between us, officers, and yourselves, to develop and enact plans to secure the future of our schools.”

“Given the status of Mr Evans and Mr Rees within the council, and the close working and personal relationship between Mr Evans and the Council Leader, and other personal relationships within the Council, we do not feel that the public and our communities can have confidence in an internal investigation,” the governors said.

“Consequently, we ask you to instruct an independent, external investigation, both to unearth the role of different officers in this matter and to avoid a situation where if both officers were to blame, only one of them takes it, or a lower ranking officer is scapegoated.

“This should be led by someone who is fully independent and has no conflicts of interest.

“Those with a personal or working relationship with Mr Evans and Mr Rees cannot be considered independent.”

The governors said that “securing the future of primary school education in our communities” now “requires a period of reprieve for the schools, a clear process for rebuilding trust, and removing senior officers that lie or mislead.”

The letter from the governors was discussed by members at the Cabinet meeting.

Ceredigion County Council Chief Executive Eifion Evans told the meeting that he would not comment but said that external legal advice would be sought on the contents of the letter from the governing bodies.