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Agenda and draft minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

To receive any apologies for absence.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from  Councillors Linda Ann Wyn Jones, Peter Read and Gareth A. Roberts, Ann Williams, W. Gareth Roberts (Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being).  

2.

DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Gareth James, Member Support and Scrutiny Manager stated an interest in Item 5 - the Education Service's Annual Report, because his daughter was a Foundation Phase teacher at Ysgol Bethel, Caernarfon.

 

The officer was of the opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and he withdrew from the Chamber during the discussion on the item in question.

 

3.

URGENT BUSINESS

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no urgent matters arising.

4.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 338 KB

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on the 26 January 2017, be signed as a true copy.

 

(Copy enclosed)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman signed the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 26 January 2017 as a true record subject to the following amendments:

 

(a)  Item 2 (a) - Statement from the Chair 

 

Councillor Alwyn Griffith stated that the minutes should specifically refer to the fact that the Head of Education had been appointed to manage GwE on a temporary part-time basis, in addition to referring to the work of investigating GwE's organisation.       

 

(b) Item 6 - Welsh-Medium Education Scrutiny Investigation - Progress Report

 

Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd expressed:

 

(i)            his wish to include the fact that he had noted in the previous meeting, when discussing references and different observations in the report by Mr Alun Charles, an external Consultant, deriving from his investigation into the Council's language policy, "that it was ridiculous that Welsh-medium education was available from the Foundation Phase up to a degree in Cardiff but that this was not the case in Gwynedd."

 

(ii)        his dissatisfaction with using the word "approve" in the decision and the report being "accepted" would be most appropriate because the above investigation had not extended the argument at all but, rather, justified the "status quo". 

 

In response, the Senior Corporate Support Manager noted that his understanding was that the Committee had expressed gratitude for the report and had approved the recommendations apart from one recommendation, namely 9.1, regarding defining Gwynedd secondary schools by the language of the education under one category, namely bilingual schools - and that further work was needed in this field. This had been tested with the Scrutiny Committee on the day and the report's content had been approved. 

 

An opportunity was given to the Chair and Scrutiny Committee Members to respond to the above observations and, if different proposals were not submitted, the previous meeting's decision on this matter was accurate and in accordance with the Scrutiny Committee's decision on that day. 

 

Following a further discussion, the Scrutiny Committee confirmed that the record was correct. 

 

(c)        Item 6 (ii) point (i)

 

To remove the words "It was felt that Popdy - Bangor Language Centre ......." and to change the wording of the comment made to explain it to read as:

 

"That the role of Popdy - Bangor Language Centre, was to develop a community language initiative to address the language in all types of contexts. It was noted that the purpose of the discussion was that an Immersion Centre involved with education was needed in Bangor." 

 

 

5.

EDUCATION SERVICE'S ANNUAL REPORT pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Cabinet Member:   Councillor Gareth Thomas

 

To consider the Education Cabinet Member’s report on the above.

 

(Copy enclosed)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Submitted - the Education Service's annual report by the Education Cabinet Member, drawing attention to the following main points:

 

 

                (i) Performance

·         Significant increase in the TL2+ indicator

·         Improvement in the performance of Free School Meals pupils and the gap had reduced between pupils receiving FSM / not receiving FSM

·         The performance of learners at the end of key stage 3, especially in the core subject indicator

·         Increase in learner attendance in secondary and primary

 

In terms of performance development, it was noted that it was necessary to:

·         Give immediate attention to the Foundation Phase

·         Improve performance in the Welsh language at every key stage

·         Improve performance of Free School Meals learners

·         Improve performance of post-16 learners in specific courses

 

(i)            Education Provision

·         Promote the well-being and safety of pupils

·         Support leaders and managers

·         Leadership models that would offer conditions to remove the enormous pressure placed on Headteachers

·         Profile of surveys had highlighted an improvement with no schools in a statutory category

·         Submit a Modernising Education programme at good pace

·         The County's Language Policy - ensure resources to extend the Language Charter into the secondary sector

·         Further improve ICT infrastructure

·         Performance Data - tracking was all important in identifying pupils who were falling behind

·         Support governors to be effective

 

The recommendations regarding ensuring the highest possible standards at every key stage were referred to, and attention was drawn to what GwE was required to do on behalf of the education authority with regard to the education provision, additional learning needs and inclusion strategy and school leadership and management.

During the ensuing discussion, the following points were made by individual Members:

 

(i)            From recent experience by Elected Members shadowing GwE Challenge Advisers, evidence was seen that schools received much assistance and support from GwE. It was further noted that the experiences had been very beneficial to Members and in maximising their understanding of the work and arrangements of GwE

(ii)           By avoiding using the word "challenge", it was seen that schools were willing to collaborate and the importance of continuing to improve the relationship between GwE and the schools was noted

(iii)          That the county's teachers were to be congratulated for the high standards.

 

Clarification was requested for on some of the points below, which also needed further attention, and the Head of Education responded to them:

 

(iv)         The comprehensive report was welcomed and the progress made was praised, but there was concern that some schools were in the red category and an enquiry was made about the steps taken to support these schools.

 

 

·                     That the report's culture identified strengths and also identified room for improvement in terms of the process, so that the development work could address these matters that need improvement. Findings were seen here that would form the specification for a business plan between the authority and GwE for the coming year

 

·                     That the report identified the Service's strengths and set a firm foundation to work as a team and in partnership. It was further noted that Members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

GWE REVIEW pdf icon PDF 242 KB

Cabinet Member:    Councillor Gareth Thomas

 

To consider a report on the above.

 

(Copy enclosed)

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Submitted – a report on the review of the findings commissioned on GwE's operational procedures.

 

The Head of Education explained that the departure of GwE's previous Managing Director had offered an opportunity to revise the effectiveness and consistency of the current procedure in terms of improving the region's schools and also to investigate into how fit for purpose the leadership and governance procedures were. 

           

From the evidence, it was seen that there was:

 

·         Uncertainty in terms of GwE's strategic direction

·         Uncertainty in terms of the current accountability on officer level

·         Inconsistency in the performance of individual authorities

·         A change was needed to the current model for the secondary sector to focus on KS4

·         Inconsistency in teacher assessments across local schools and authorities

·         A clear strategy was needed for working with the sector of Special Schools and Pupil Referral Units

 

In response to enquiries from individual Members, the Head of Education noted as follows:

 

·         That some processes in terms of the recommendations were easy to achieve and the bulk of the work was in addressing the inconsistencies

·         The importance of sharing good practice between authorities was noted 

·         In terms of the capacity of GwE, consideration needed to be given to what would be needed to support schools, and the local authority must secure a team of individuals who could deliver priorities.

·         With regards to the long term, creating one service across the six authorities was not anticipated

 

 

Resolved:       To accept and thank the officers for the report, and to wish the Head of Education well for the future in his new post as the Managing Director of GwE.

 

 

7.

SCRUTINY INVESTIGATION INTO CARERS' PROVISION pdf icon PDF 114 KB

Cabinet Members      Councillor W. Gareth Roberts

                                    Councillor Mair Rowlands

 

To receive the final report of the Scrutiny Investigation into CarersProvision. 

 

(Copy enclosed)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Submitted - the final report of the Scrutiny Investigation into carers' provision, and the Chair of the Investigation, Councillor R.H. Wyn Williams, took the opportunity to thank the following members and officers for their contribution to the comprehensive report:

 

Cllr E. Selwyn Griffiths

Cllr Siân Wyn Hughes

Cllr Linda Ann Wyn Jones

Cllr Eryl Jones-Williams

Cllr Ann Williams

Cllr Eirwyn Williams

 

Gareth James - Member Support and Scrutiny Manager

Bethan Adams - Member Support Officer

 

The Member Support and Scrutiny Manager elaborated that the work that had been undertaken by the Investigation was concise but, nevertheless, contained much useful information. Attention was drawn to the fact that 227 individuals had responded to the detailed questionnaire and that this helped give credibility to the findings of the Investigation. It was noted that the contribution of approximately 20 individuals who were interviewed had been very valuable and that the Investigation welcomed the opportunity to work with the Executive in terms of developing a policy that would contribute towards improving the provision for carers in the County.

 

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People thanked the officers for the work that was achieved by the Investigation and she noted the following main points:

 

(i)            It was not completely clear whether all recommendations referred to two Cabinet Members, namely the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being.

 

(ii)           With regards to recommendation 1, whilst agreeing that there was much work to be achieved, she noted that work was being carried out in an attempt to identify hidden carers.                

 

(iii)          In the context of recommendation 4, it was noted that a comment was needed in terms of the wider picture, it was questioned whether commissioning the work would achieve this. It was trusted that information could be shared / promoted more effectively and that, through this, we would have better arrangements for identifying the carers.

 

(iv)         In terms of engaging with everyone, especially the parents of disabled children, it was noted that more work needed to be done on this. 

 

The additional points below were highlighted by individual Members:

 

·         Although the investigation had been completed in a short period, more investigations of the same type were welcomed for the future.

·         There was concern for the cuts to the vehicle service to transport individuals to respite care, and an example was noted, namely Plas Pengwaith Residential Home, Llanberis.

·         Ensure that the service was bilingual, and it was possibly appropriate for the Council's Language Committee to carry out a further investigation to this end.

·         The Department was thanked for the expenditure for the extension at Llys Cadfan, Tywyn for day care and respite service. 

·         Local colleges should be collaborated with closely to promote careers in the field of care.

·         Early intervention was vital and agencies / authorities should be worked with in partnership so that arguments could be presented jointly to the Government to ensure that sufficient resources were available to respond to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.