Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llyn y Forwyn Wins Recognition for Outstanding Design and Safety
Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llyn y Forwyn school in Ferndale, has won the Educational Development Award at ATLAS, the Secured by Design Awards, which recognises excellence in designing out crime.
Inspector Andrew Gibbons presented the award to Ms Petra Davies, Headteacher at YGG Llyn y Forwen and Dr Marium Haque, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Director of Education and Inclusion Services at a ceremony at the school on 17th July. Also in attendance were Andrew Llewellyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Head of School Improvement, Laura Thomas from the council’s 21st Century schools team, Joy Nicholls and Julie Odgers, specialist Police Designing out Crime Officers.
Funded by Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, the new school has been constructed on the former Chubb factory industrial estate. The new Welsh-medium primary school replaces an older primary school in the area that had outgrown its site. The new state-of-the-art school can accommodate up to 240 school age pupils and incorporates a 30-place Welsh-medium childcare setting, Cylch Meithrin, which promotes the education and development of pre-school children from the age of two, offering a smooth transition into Welsh-medium education.
The school includes modern classrooms and facilities, a multi-use games area, sports pitch and a range of external play areas. Cycle storage and clear access points have been designed to promote Active Travel, which encourages safe walking and cycling to school, alongside a dedicated drop-off/pick-up car park for parents who drive.
From the outset DOCO (Designing Out Crime Officer) Julie Odgers from South Wales Police and Joy Nicholls, who came onboard a little later, played an instrumental role in ensuring the school was designed with crime prevention measures from the start.
Applying the SBD and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles such as access control, natural surveillance, boundary reinforcement, maintenance and management and sense of place, the DOCOs worked closely with all stakeholders throughout the project. Effective communication and collaboration were central to this process, with partners including RCT 21st Century Schools Team, Wynne Construction, Arcadis Architects, Counter Terrorism Wales, and South Wales Police Traffic Management.
The design of the school and external landscape presented complex challenges requiring a series of meeting and site visits to ensure Secured by Design standards were met. For example, the school wanted the hall to be available for community use, to achieve this without compromising the security of the main school, the DOCOs recommended a separate access route.
One of the main challenges was the topography of the site, as the school sits in a steep valley. With an emphasis on encouraging walking and cycling, careful consideration was given to the design of safe pedestrian routes and flow of movement, while maintaining clear vehicle access to help manage traffic in the surrounding area.
The lighting design was also reviewed in the development. Proposals for bollard lighting on a ZIG-ZAG pedestrian path to the school were revised following discussions around visibility and safety, resulting in the installation of street lighting installed to British Standards.
Joy Nicholls, who carried out the final school visit in March 2025 to confirm the school met the Secured by Design standards said:
This is a really good example of how SBD can be incorporated into a development, making the school a safe and secure space for pupils, staff and visitors.
Julie Odgers who worked on the project from the start added:
It was a pleasure to work with our partners on this exciting project, and after lots of meetings it is very satisfying to be able to see Llyn y Forwyn school has met Secured by Design standards.
Councillor Sharon Rees, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Young People, added:
Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llyn y Forwyn continues to be an invaluable addition to Ferndale and its surrounding areas, providing first-class Welsh Medium facilities in a safe environment. Ensuring this is a secure site for pupils and staff was a key priority in the development’s design – keeping this clearly in mind as we also provide on-site facilities for the wider community. I’d like to thank South Wales Police and contractor Wynne Construction for their dedication in this area of the school’s design, and I’m pleased this aspect of the project has been recognised for its excellence.
Pupils and staff moved into the new school in January 2025. Since opening, there have been no reported crimes on the school site, highlighting how effective design and partnership working can contribute to safer educational environments. The school has also had positive impact on the wider community and plays an important role in promoting bilingual learning and supporting Welsh heritage.
Richard Wynne, Director of Wynne Construction said,
Wynne Construction adopted a proactive and fully collaborative approach with South Wales Police to ensure that Ysgol Llyn y Forwyn was designed to the highest standards of safety, ultimately achieving Secured by Design accreditation. From the outset, we recognised that creating a safe and secure learning environment was fundamental to the school’s long-term success, particularly given its role as a key community asset.
Working in close partnership with the Design Out Crime Officer (DOCO), Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, the project architect, and landscape architect, we facilitated a series of regular, structured design workshops. These sessions enabled all parties to review developing proposals in detail, ensuring that security considerations were embedded into the design rather than retrospectively applied. Through this process, we carefully balanced robust security measures with the need to maintain an open, welcoming and inclusive environment for pupils, staff and visitors.
“Key aspects of the design were rigorously tested, including natural surveillance, access control, boundary treatments, lighting strategies and external landscaping. Importantly, each element was assessed not only for its effectiveness in reducing opportunities for crime and anti-social behaviour, but also for its practicality, buildability and long-term maintenance implications. This ensured that the final solutions were both effective and deliverable within the project constraints.
Our collaborative “one team” approach, enabled informed decision-making and early resolution of potential challenges. Integrating security expertise alongside architectural and construction input, the project team was able to design out risk at source, enhancing the overall quality and resilience of the school environment.
This integrated methodology was instrumental in successfully achieving Secured by Design accreditation, while also supporting the project’s wider sustainability objectives, including the attainment of BREEAM ‘Excellent’. The result is a high-performing educational facility that not only meets stringent environmental standards but also provides a safe, secure and supportive setting for its users and the wider community.
Find out more about Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s 21st Century Schools programme on the Transforming RCT web page here.
Posted on 23/06/2026