Cabinet Members have agreed the details of a £4.765 million maintenance and repair programme across the Council’s school estate, to be carried out over the year ahead. These general works will ensure our school buildings remain safe, watertight and warm every day, for pupils and school staff. The Education and Inclusion Services Capital Programme was considered by Cabinet on Wednesday, March 18. Funding has recently been earmarked to ensure school buildings are suitably maintained in 2026/27, and the now-agreed programme makes specific allocations to individual projects. Much of the work will be carried out over the summer holiday to ensure that learning is not disrupted.
Following Cabinet’s agreement, the programme will now be delivered in the financial year starting April 1, 2026. Key details are summarised below.
£4.765 million Education and Inclusion Services Capital Programme, 2026/27
Kitchen refurbishments (£130,000) – the earmarked funding will be used to deliver a new kitchen and serving area at Cwmlai Primary School.
Window and door replacements (£100,000) – to be completed at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School and Penywaun Primary School.
Essential works (£270,000) – to be delivered at Gwauncelyn Primary (resurfacing works), Llanharan Primary School (ceiling replacement), Llantrisant Primary (land drainage works), YGG Abercynon (stone and brickwork repairs to older building), YGG Evan James (coping works to external wall) and YGG Llwyncelyn, (external improvements and fencing).
Toilet refurbishments (£100,000) – these works will be undertaken at Cwmdâr Primary School and Coedylan Primary School.
Compliance work (£155,000) – funding for Tonysguboriau Primary (external improvements around ramped access) and Trealaw Primary (creation of a sensory room), while various adaptations will be made across other sites.
Boiler replacements (£900,000) – installations at Cwmbach Primary, Cwm Clydach Primary, Darran Park Primary, Ferndale Community School, Maes y Coed Primary, Porth Community School and Treorchy Comprehensive School, while fan heaters will be replaced across various sites.
Roof renewals (£1.98 million) – phases of roof replacement work will take place at Darrenlas Primary, Ffynnon Taf Primary, Llwynypia Primary, Penrhiwceiber Primary, Porth Community School, Trehopcyn Primary and Treorchy Primary, while work to skylights will be undertaken at Ferndale Community School and Penpych Community Primary School.
Electric rewiring (£130,000) will take place at Treorchy Comprehensive School and Ysgol Nantgwyn – while fire alarm upgrades (£65,000) will be completed at Mountain Ash Comprehensive and Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun.
Other funding areas include Education and Inclusion Condition Surveys and IT hardware/software licences. A full list of the funding allocations has been included in an Appendix to Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting report. This can be found here.
Councillor Rhys Lewis, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, said:
Each year the Council brings forward an important capital works programme, ensuring our school buildings remain safe and suitable for learners and staff. This funding is aimed at improving the fabric of our buildings – for example, renewing windows, doors, roofs and boilers, along with key upgrades to facilities like kitchen areas and toilets. The latest programme represents a £4.7 million investment across our schools in the 2026/27 financial year, which has now been agreed by Cabinet Members.
Bringing forward Council capital funding of this nature is a proactive approach, to reduce the risk of issues arising at our school buildings that could be costly to rectify and also cause disruption to pupils’ learning. To this effect, much of the programme can also be planned during the school summer holiday. Another key aspect of the programme is to use the local supply chain and construction industry to deliver the works, showing support for locally-based businesses.
This £4.7 million funding complements our modernisation and investment programmes for our schools, much of which is jointly delivered with Welsh Government. Having delivered major projects in Greater Pontypridd, Church Village, Pontyclun, Llantrisant and Ferndale in 2024/25, we’re now focusing on the next wave of investment. This will include nine projects delivered via a £414 million commitment, plus a new ultra-sustainable school for Glyn-coch, Ysgol Gynradd Glyn-coch. The first of the nine projects – a new Additional Learning Needs school in Clydach Vale – is on course for completion in the months ahead.
Posted on 20/03/2026