Hello and welcome back to The Valleys Lead.
As of today, most schools in the south Wales valleys are back, up and running after six weeks of summer holidays. And to mark this, we are giving you an education-based edition. The Valleys Lead spoke with Kadie Phillips about her advocacy for ALN children in Merthyr Tydfil, and her proposal to create an alternative autism provision at a school building which will be empty in about three years’ time.
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The Valleys Briefing
(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys. Anytime you have something you’d like to share, no matter how big or small, email laurencrosbymedlicott@gmail.com):
There are five people standing in a local by-election to represent Llantwit Fardre in Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. The by-election will take place on Thursday, September 3. It was triggered after Conservative Sam Trask decided to stand down having relocated from the community. The five candidates are Jonathan Bishop (Independent), Danny Lyn Crudge (Plaid Cymru), Lyndon Evans (Reform UK), Joel James (Welsh Conservative Party) and Lloyd Watkins (Welsh Labour).
Currently RCT Council is made up of 57 Labour members, eight Plaid Cymru members, seven independents, one Green Party member and one Conservative member.
The Independent Group Councillors in Merthyr Tydfil are calling for Cyfarthfa Park to stay open longer in the autumn months. From September, the park closes at 7:15pm and in October, is open until 6:30pm. “For many people who work during the day, that can mean they no longer have the opportunity to go for a walk, exercise or simply enjoy the park after work even when there is still daylight,” Councillor Lisa Mytton wrote on Facebook. “We know how important access to green space is for our mental health and wellbeing. As the evenings get darker, having somewhere safe and accessible to walk, get some fresh air, exercise or meet others can make a real difference and help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. We have previously been told that changes couldn’t be made through the Trust. Now that the Council is back in charge of Cyfarthfa Park, we are asking officers to urgently reconsider the opening hours and look at whether they can be aligned more closely with daylight and sunset 8pm in September, 7pm in October.”
And now just a plug for the charity Keep Wales Tidy. Our journalist writing for The Valleys Lead, Lauren Medlicott, was told how Keep Wales Tidy provides everything you need to pick up litter local to you. She took her children to litter-pick through the Taf Fechan Nature Reserve, and now wants everyone to know just how easy the process is. Simply visit the Keep Wales Tidy website to find where your litter picking hub is, schedule to collect litter pickers, hoops, bin bags, and gloves, and get to cleaning up our valleys. It is as easy as that. Not only was it a way to give back, but was a fun two hours out in the wild. We’d love to hear your litter picking stories and see photos! Email laurencrosbymedlicott@gmail.com.
Litter picking with Keep Wales Tidy
Merthyr Tydfil parents call for a new autism provision amid ALN crisis
In February, hundreds of Merthyr Tydfil residents gathered outside the civic centre, where the Council offices are located, calling for more transparency and support from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council for children with additional learning needs (ALN).
Leading the protest was Kadie Phillips, a mother of two ALN children in Merthyr Tydfil.
“There is a crisis across our town,” she told The Valleys Lead. “Parents aren’t being heard and children aren’t being supported.”
In a Facebook support group Kadie runs with over 200 members, she’s heard from dozens of families with ALN children who feel powerless about how to get the right help for their children.
“Our town has limited resources and a limited number of alternative provisions for children,” she said.
Throughout the borough, there are 14 Learning Resource Bases (LRBs), specialist units or dedicated classrooms within a mainstream school, as of February 2026, all of which Kadie said are overstretched, and one specialist provision at Greenfield School.
“You’ve got to have a very severe complex profile to fall into the criteria to get into Greenfield School,” she said.
Kadie said that Greenfield School was originally designed to hold about 145 children, but as of March 2026, there were 220 pupils on roll. The Council said in a March 2026 Scrutiny Committee Report that, as a result of the high numbers, they have provided additional on-site capacity at Greenfield School and expanded onto the former Ty Homfray site to enable post-16 pupils to be located on this second site.
To meet the increasing need for specialist provision, plans for a new multi-million-pound building for Greenfield School were backed by the Council in March 2023.
