THE PENARTH Learning Community project has been hailed a blueprint for the future design of schools across Wales after the announcement of a £500million investment into the 21st Century Schools Programme.

The £48million project, which includes St Cyres School and the Ysgol y Deri special education needs (SEN) school, officially opened earlier this month.

After being given a tour of both schools earlier this week Finance and Government Business Minister Jane Hutt announced £500 million of innovative new investment for the next phase of the 21st Century Schools Programme, starting in 2019,

The 21st Century School Programme is designed to deliver the Welsh Government’s vision of providing a first-class education in world class settings to all learners in Wales.

On Monday, November 17, Finance Minister Jane Hutt and Education Minister Huw Lewis visited Penarth Learning Community, which has received £33.3m of Welsh Government funding.

Jane Hutt said: “This is a significant investment which demonstrates how as a Government we are committed to providing the best learning environment for our young people. Our 21st Century Schools Programme is delivering state of the art, modern centres of learning and I was particularly pleased to visit the impressive Penarth Learning Community to see how they have benefitted from capital investment.”

During her visit to PLC she said the project was an example to the rest of Wales, and would inspire future developments

Speaking during a plenary debate on the Draft Budget 2015-16, Vale AM Jane Hutt confirmed the £500m investment would be made using the Non-profit Distributing (NPD) investment model, adding to an NPD pipeline in Wales that already includes redevelopment of the Velindre cancer centre, and dualling of sections 5 and 6 of the A465.

The next phase of the 21st Century Schools Programme – Band B - will begin following the completion of Band A in 2018-19.

This new investment in the 21st Century Schools Programme is in addition to the £170m of innovative funding through the Local Government Borrowing Initiative, which is already accelerating the delivery of Band A of the Programme by two years.

Jane Hutt added: “The next phase of the 21st Century Schools programme will commence from 2019 and work will now begin to plan and prepare this second phase of investment, which will see half a billion pounds raised using the NPD model. We will continue to work with Local Authorities and the WLGA to ensure that we achieve the outcomes we all want – to continue to improve the quality of learning environments while achieving greater economy from the use of our assets.”

Education Minister Huw Lewis, who lives in Penarth, praised the facilities at the Penarth Learning Community during his visit.

“The Penarth Learning Community is a real stand out example in terms of quality of the building and facilities. It really is quite breathtaking looking at the learning environment children can benefit from.”

He added: “Our 21st Century Schools programme is already delivering real benefits for learners right across Wales and this additional £500m will enable us to do even more to improve the school experience.

“Such a significant investment in the current challenging financial climate, demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing the right environments and the best possible standard of education for our learners and to putting their welfare right at the heart of our decision making.”

Penarth and Cardiff South Assembly Member Vaughan Gething, who also enjoyed a tour of both schools, praised the facilities and said they would benefit schoolchildren and the wider community.