This week, the council’s cabinet agreed significant funding to extend a flagship special school in Ystrad Mynach.

The ambitious scheme will see the construction of a colourful new two storey extension within the footprint of the existing Trinity Fields school site to accommodate an additional 80 places, plus extra facilities.

As promised, this solution delivers benefits for all concerned - the school will get a much-needed extension to accommodate increasing demand and the community gets to keep a valuable green space in the heart of the village.

The scheme is being delivered as part of Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme (Band B).

Also this week, the council agreed to terminate a longstanding contract which involves private companies providing support services at two key schools within the area.

Lewis School Pengam and the Gelihaf Site of Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni were originally built as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) back in 2001. This type of PFI contract enables projects to be delivered via a partnership arrangement between a local authority and private investors.

Although there are still nine years left to run on the original PFI contract, we have identified that key benefits will be gained by terminating the contract early. The budget savings for the council could be up to £2 million per annum.

The decision relates to the provision of building maintenance, cleaning, catering and grounds maintenance services at the schools - all other aspects of teaching and learning will remain unaffected.