A SPECIALIST resource base (SRB) for pupils with additional speech and language needs is set to be permanently moved out of Penarth.

The SRB has been housed at Llandough Primary School since 2002 for pupils aged four to 11 with speech, language and communication needs.

Currently, 14 pupils attend the resource base, although it has capacity for 20 children.

The pupils spend three days a week in the resource base and two days in their home school, allowing them to get targeted and specific support, while also allowing the children to feel included in their own school.

During the Covid pandemic, it was moved temporarily to Ysgol Y Ddraig in Llantwit Major, which caters for children aged three to 11.

“The space at Llandough was considered to be too small for social distancing with insufficient ventilation to prevent the spread of the disease,” read a Vale of Glamorgan Council report.

“The agreed arrangement was temporary and reviewed regularly, with the intention that the base would return to Llandough Primary School when Covid restrictions eased.”

However, now restrictions have eased, it has been deemed that the space at Llandough Primary School was “no longer fit for purpose and is not comparable to that available at Ysgol Y Ddraig”.

A council report states that an “extensive remodelling” of the ground floor section would be needed at Llandough, and this would cost a minimum of £50,000.

A consultation was launched in July over a proposal to permanently relocate the resource base to Llantwit Major.

“During the consultation period, the council received four responses by the closing date of September 22,” the council report read.

“Out of the four responses received, all respondents supported the proposal.”

The report set out that transport costs for the resource base at Ysgol Y Ddraig were estimated to be at £44,000, compared to £48,000 at Llandough, although it did state that transport costs can fluctuate depending on the pupils who attend and no saving or increase could accurately be predicted.

Vale cabinet members voted in favour of permanently rehousing the resource base at Ysgol Y Ddraig from January 2023.