LYNNE Neagle has said she hopes a pioneering project at a Pontypool school could help lessen the burden on specialist care facilities.

The Torfaen AM visited the Sanctuary – the former caretaker’s house at St Alban’s RC High School, which is currently being transformed into a well-being suite.

The building will afford the school more space on site, while providing a specialist area to deal with supporting pupils who may be facing a number of challenges.

Ms Neagle, chairwoman of the Welsh Government’s children, young people and education committee, said that pending the success of the project, she hopes it could be used as a ‘best practice’ model for other schools in Wales.

We have talked about this in the children’s committee that the role that schools play in supporting young people, making sure that they are resilient in facing the challenges that they’ve got,” she said.

“I am really keen to look at any models like this, to see if we can show what some schools are doing to help combat these issues.

“Schools have moved away from just being about educating on children and giving them qualifications.

“There is a much bigger role behind that and it is absolutely crucial that students feel comfortable in their school years.”

The project is due for completion in early 2017, and once established, it will also open for the use by the wider community.

“It’s a great initiative and it is great to see this idea brought into the school environment which could see students not having to be referred to a specialist care provider,” added Ms Neagle.

“It will help the students to have somewhere out of their classroom areas to have a chance to find a moment of sanctuary where they can hopefully tackle some of these issues.

“It will benefit the community, too, as I believe that this will be extended to the use of for those living around here, once it has become established.

“Kids have a lot more challenges these days and we see a lot more young people being referred to specialist care facilities who are not always able to deal with them.

Dan Foster, St Alban’s deputy head teacher, emphasised the role the Sanctuary would play in helping students, and, later, residents.

“A big part of this plan is around well-being and the pastoral care of our students,” he said.

“The needs that we and students face in terms of school and all that comes with it, you need space to offer. We have excellent support staff and this increases the area in which they can work in their roles.

“We had great support from within and outside of the school, as a number of local businesses were keen to back the idea.

“We are sure the pupils will benefit from this,” added Mr Foster.

Coleg Gwent students are among those to have assisted with the build, from plumbing to carpentry.