A councillor has asked whether the Welsh Government’s education standards watchdog, Estyn, advised Powys County Council on the future of post-16 education in the county.

Later this autumn, the council is expected to begin its ‘engagement’ exercise on the controversial reorganisation, which could see high schools in Powys lose their sixth forms.

The need to address post-16 provision was highlighted by education watchdog Estyn in a scathing report published in March, in which it expressed “significant concern” about the council’s education department.

In May, the Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet agreed to go ahead with “engagement with key stakeholders” to explore a way forward before a decision is taken next year.

Under the current “preferred” option, a sixth form college would be established with a single board of governors and management team across two sites in Brecon and Newtown. A similar arrangement is proposed for Welsh-medium education, with a sixth form college spanning Ysgol Bro Hyddgen in Machynlleth, Bro Caereinion in Llanfair Caereinion, and potentially Builth Wells. The Welsh-medium sixth form would also be run separately.

The preferred option proposal has been met with hostility across Powys.

In the south-east, Crickhowell High School - which is one of the top-performing schools in Wales - has seen a petition launched against the potential closure of its sixth form, which has already attracted more than 2,000 signatures.

And in the north of the county, Ysgol Llanfyllin and Welshpool High School have jointly voiced concerns about the preferred option.

Cllr Claire Hall (Liberal Democrat), who represents the ward of Crickhowell with Cwmdu and Tretower, has now asked former council leader Cllr James Gibson-Watt - who is tasked with handling this thorny issue - for some clarity over what Estyn wants the county council to do.

Cllr Hall said: “Specifically, has Estyn said that there is a need to reduce the number of English-medium school-based sixth form settings? As can I find no reference to this in any of the published Estyn reports.”

Under the questions asked at any time process, Cabinet Member for Post-16 Learning and Skills Development, Cllr Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat), has 10 days to answer the question.

One of the four recommendations from Estyn says the council needs to: “Work with partners to rapidly develop and implement a model for 16-19 education that is financially viable and sustainable, and meets the needs of all learners, and considers Welsh-medium and ALN provision.”

However, the report mentions post-16 reorganisation in just one paragraph.

Estyn said: “Local authority officers have worked with school leaders and wider stakeholders across the authority to develop options for post-16 learners.

“Over the past three years, the local authority has introduced the ‘Chweched Powys Sixth model’ to provide sixth form learning on 12 school sites.

“However, these arrangements have not led to improved learner outcomes, are not financially sustainable, and do not support equal access to post-16 provision for all learners.”

“As a result, progress in addressing post-16 transformation has been too slow,” it said.

Estyn have been asked to comment.