Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda - Council Offices
Contact: Glynda O'Brien (01341) 424301
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors
Siân Wyn Hughes (p.m.), Linda Ann Wyn Jones (p.m.), Beth Lawton (a.m./p.m,.),
Dewi Owen (a.m./p.m.), Peter Read (a.m./p.m.), Gareth Thomas (Cabinet Member –
Education, a.m./p.m.) , Dylan Davies (Meirionnydd Governors Representative-
a.m./p.m.), Mrs Rita Price (The Catholic Church
– a.m./p.m). |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received
from any members present. |
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URGENT BUSINESS To note any items that are a
matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Additional documents: Minutes: Schools’ Savings Target This item was not included on the Agenda, however, the
Chair agreed for it to be discussed as an urgent item under Section 100B (4)(b)
Local Government Act 1972 as the matter had arisen since the last committee meeting, a
recent resolution had been made by the Schools’ Budget Forum
on 18 November 2015 and the view was that it should be scrutinized prior to implementation. The Chair explained that a request had been received
from Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd for the committee to discuss the schools’
savings target, and the member was invited to elaborate further. Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd referred to a recent
discussion at a meeting of the Schools’ Budget Forum on 18 November 2015 that
was a contentious meeting, when it was resolved to recommend to the Cabinet
that a cut of £1.3m be made in the primary sector and £680,363 in the secondary
sector. The
Member was of the view that there was tension between primary and secondary,
large, medium and small schools and the cut would entail classrooms of up to 40
children in some schools and in turn this would have an impact on the County’s
education standards. It was felt that the cut would therefore undermine the
principles and this Scrutiny Committee should have an opportunity to consider
the seriousness of the impact of the cuts on schools before the decision was
adopted by the Cabinet. The Senior Manager, Democracy
and Delivery, explained that when adopting the Financial Strategy at the full
Council in March 2015, the Council resolved to adopt the Financial Strategy
that included ‘Placing a target of £4.3m for the schools’ budget’. It was
understood that what the Schools’ Budget Forum decision did was to determine
how to achieve an element of this. Therefore, the Schools’ Budget Forum was acting on a
decision already taken by the Council. The Head of Education
explained that schools faced a target of £4.3m cuts and had found approximately
£2m in savings and there was a difference of opinion on how to achieve the
remaining £2.3m. The Committee was
reminded that the Council faced a shortfall of £50m with £9m of this being
achieved via Council tax. It was noted
that the Council funded schools very generously compared with other Welsh
authorities and it had to be borne in mind that 8 of the 15 secondary schools
were the smallest in Wales. There had been a compromise
at the Schools’ Budget Forum to share the remaining savings target of
£2,320,000 in accordance with the B option for cuts submitted to the Forum i.e.
£1,642,151 to the primary sector and £680,363 to the secondary sector, subject
to the following conditions: ·
To retain the
savings of £4.3m fixed for the next 3 years until 2018 ·
That the schools
organisation savings are recycled to the savings target of £2,320,00 to
alleviate the schools cuts in 2018/19. In response, Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd referred to a recent ESTYN report on a primary school with 28 pupils stating ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on the 22 September 2015, be signed as a true copy. Additional documents: Minutes: The
Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee that took
place on 22 September 2015. |
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PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT 2014/15 (CARE AND SOCIAL SERVICES INSPECTORATE – CSSIW) PDF 139 KB Cabinet Member: Cllr. W. Gareth Roberts To
consider a report by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate. 10.15 a.m. – 11.15 a.m. Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - a performance
evaluation report on the Social Services for the year 2014/15 by the Care and
Social Services Inspectorate. (a) Members were guided through the contents of
the report by Mr Marc Roberts, CSSIW, stating the main areas where there had
been progress and the areas that need to improve within Gwynedd Social
Services. Attention was drawn to the
following: ·
progress made in
accordance with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act ·
increased
alignment between the wider Council and departments ·
efforts to work
more cost effectively and efficiently and contributing to enabling the Council
to halve its financial shortfall with further efficiency savings to be achieved
over the next few years ·
good outcomes for
Looked After Children ·
changes in the
appointments of Cabinet Members who support Social Services and their new
responsibilities ·
changes in
practice and culture within the Adults Service The report noted: ·
that the Council
gave support to a number of people in care homes ·
that it was
necessary to encourage improvements in the corporate safeguarding systems and
these are achieved in a timely manner ·
that the
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were
challenging for the service and this was an area requiring attention. ·
that CSSIW
proposed to consult with mental health service users during the year ·
it was identified
that direct payments continued to be very low ·
the need to
support carers further was identified ·
in terms of
children and young people, it was noted that the performance was improving
annually with good educational achievements by looked after children In terms of supporting Social
Services, the challenges faced by the Adults Service were identified as well as
the capacity and professional leadership in this field. The need to ensure that sufficient time was
given to new systems was identified. (b) In response, the Corporate Director stated
that on the whole the report was positive and she was glad that Managers had
identified where improvements were required.
She added that there was a good relationship between the Health Board
and Social Services and the appointment of Ffion Johnstone as Locality Director
had certainly been of assistance to take steps forward. It was confirmed that it was proposed to
submit a work programme stemming from the recommendations of CSSIW to the
preparatory meeting of this Scrutiny Committee on 15 December and to ensure
that this interweaves with other action plans already in place. Members were given an opportunity
to scrutinise the report and they highlighted the following points: (i)
Concern was
expressed regarding the backlog in processing Deprivation
of Liberty Safeguards Arrangements assessments.
In response, whilst accepting
the comment, it was explained that a bid for a temporary resource had been
submitted to try to reduce and deal with the backlog. It was further noted that only workers with a
specific qualification could deal with this work. It
was emphasised that it was not the Council’s practice that had caused the
increase, but changes stemming from legal cases in other areas. (ii) In response to ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE STRATEGIC SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS PANEL PDF 66 KB Cabinet Member: Cllr. Mair Rowlands To
consider a report by the Cabinet Member Children and Young People on the above.
11.15 a.m. – 12.00 Additional documents:
Minutes: A report was submitted by the
Cabinet Member for Children and Young people outlining what had been achieved
by the Panel between April 2014 and March 2015, in addition to external
inspections received during the period and future proposals. It was noted that the report
focused on the corporate arrangements of safeguarding rather than specific
cases in the field. It was stressed that
other statutory regional arrangements existed for children and vulnerable
adults. The above Panel sought to ensure
that the arrangements were robust and the real success was to prove that the
service made a difference to individuals.
Members were afforded an
opportunity to scrutinize the report and the Cabinet Member for Children and
Young People and the officers responded appropriately as follows: (i)
In terms of how
many cases of whistleblowing there had been, the Corporate Director gave an
undertaking to send the figures to Scrutiny Committee Members. (ii)
Councillor Annwen
Daniels had been appointed as champion for Children and Young People – Corporate
Parenting (iii)
a promise was
given that the assessments of persons with disability when leaving College
would be discussed with a Member and would not be referred to day care service (iv)
cyber-bullying
issues would be added to the relevant policies and an assurance was given that
this was not a huge problem in Gwynedd. (v)
that schools were
key to safeguarding arrangements for children and young people and the
importance of communication was stressed.
It was confirmed that a high number of referrals were submitted from
schools and they received an invitation to a meeting that took place once a
referral had been received. It was
further recognised that schools were vital to contribute to the discussions Whilst accepting that school staff found it
difficult to attend meetings, it was assured that they received the written
reports and there was no concern regarding working together. (vi)
In terms of how
children could gain confidence to whistle blow, it was explained that
whistleblowing and encouraging confidence were two different things. Only a few
children self-refer, referrals were submitted via other relevant agencies. In the context of pre-school arrangements, it
was noted that midwives were vitally important.
It was ensured that there were effective systems in Gwynedd and a good
relationship at grassroots level. (vii)
That only a very
few referrals were received from parents regarding bullying and the process
they could follow was explained by telephoning Galw
Gwynedd, designated telephone numbers for the Team based in Pwllheli
and also a telephone number for outside working hours. (viii)
Children spent a
great deal of their time in school and part of the Panel’s work was to ensure
that every Department, including elected Members played a role in the
arrangements. (ix)
Regarding
inspecting how schools deal with bullying, it was explained that the Corporate
Director had met recently with the Head of Education and assurance was given
that arrangements were in place to: ·
Appoint a
safeguarding children officer · Look at the policies and procedures including the ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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REPORT ON ENABLEMENT WITHIN NEW WORKING ARRANGEMENTS PDF 213 KB Cabinet Member: Cllr. W. Gareth Roberts To
consider a report by the Cabinet Member of Adults and Health on the above. 12.00
– 12.45 p.m. Additional documents: Minutes: The report of the Cabinet
Member for Adults and Health was submitted outlining the new enablement
arrangements. The Cabinet Member for Adults
and Health set the context by stating that the enablement scheme was a way of
providing intense response to an individual's problems for a short period, in
order to recover the individual's living skills as soon as possible and to
avoid creating dependency. Evidence
indicated that too many individuals received intervention when they did not
really need it. Therefore it was
resolved to review the arrangements by using the ‘Ffordd
Gwynedd’ principles and to totally change the culture and thinking and offer
opportunities to be person focused. A presentation was received
from Manon Williams (Area Manager) and Alwena Leadbitter (Senior Practitioner,
Adults, Health and Well-being Department) outlining the work of the Alltwen team and how the work incorporated the enablement
schemes more naturally and more specifically for the individual. In accordance with the new system,
arrangements were made with the person at the correct time and place. Members were asked to take
part in an exercise and they noted the following observations: ·
That some persons
required more care from therapists etc. ·
It was important
that the plan lightened the load on families ·
If the service
users feel better then they should be able to tell the carers ·
That the scheme
needed to be targeted to the persons in real need of it ·
The scheme was
welcomed, however, it was vitally important that there were specific measures
to gauge what difference the scheme made to individuals ·
They had to be
clear regarding when individuals reached the objectives ·
The need to
extend the scheme to the areas of Meirionnydd/Dwyfor and to be available 7 days
a week as they were concerned about some persons discharged from hospital over
the weekend with no arrangements in place for them ·
That it was
necessary to immerse staff such as nurses on the wards to work jointly on the
principles in order to place the needs of the person first In response to some of the
above comments, the Head of Adults, Health and Well-being explained that the
relationship with the Health Board was vital in order to roll-out the Alltwen scheme to other locations. In addition, it was noted that the workforce’s
role including Social Workers, Therapists, Nurses etc. was key. However, there was a great deal of work to be
undertaken again as it was a significant change for the staff, members and
service users and it was trusted that gradually the new arrangements could be
expanded across the County. The Cabinet Member for Adults
and Health supported the above and added that this was a pilot scheme but it
was trusted that there would be joint working between the Health Board and
Social Services and this was central to the work and it was agreed that the
scheme needed to be extended out to other locations and areas. During the ensuing discussion the following points were highlighted by individual Members: ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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PROGRESS REPORT - EDUCATION QUALITY PROJECT PDF 75 KB Cabinet Member: Cllr. Gareth Thomas To
consider a report by the Education Cabinet
Member on the above. 1.15 p.m. – 2.00 p.m Additional documents: Minutes: (a) An action plan was submitted by the Cabinet
Member for Education stating the progress and what had been achieved stemming
from the recommendations of the Education Quality Investigation in the
following subjects:
(b) The Head of Education and the Education
Quality Improvement Officer responded to the comments made by individual
Members, as follows: (i)
That the ‘Moelwyn Scheme’ was a pioneering pilot scheme where the
Heads of the catchment area were invited to meet regularly to share expertise
across the primary and secondary sectors.
It was noted that the scheme was successful and had led to intentional
joint working with every school in the catchment area benefiting from sharing
expertise in terms of leadership and the curriculum. In terms of extending the scheme to other
schools in the County, it was noted that the scheme had worked extremely well
in the Moelwyn catchment area and the challenge was
to offer a model for each area especially considering the reduction in budgets
and it would be necessary to consider different ways of working. (ii)
That there was an
increase in the attainment of vulnerable learners this year compared to last
year, but it was stressed that it was difficult to measure and the pupils were
different from one year to the next.
Members were reminded that the Government funded schools for pupils who
entitled to free school meals and it had to be ensured that they had
opportunities to do their best at school. (iii)
Concern regarding
Mathematics – it was noted that a regional advertisement for a Mathematics
Challenge Adviser had been released by GwE with the closing date at the end of
last week and it was recognised that Departmental Heads required specific
leadership. (iv)
In terms of
teachers having to be more flexible to teach different subjects, it was asked
if this was reflected in the Colleges to prepare students for the field of
work. It was explained that in terms of
secondary schools teachers usually chose a specialist subject to teach and at
primary they taught a range of subjects.
It was noted that it was a requirement for the Education Service to
consider an alternative format with teachers teaching across subjects up to 14
years old and teachers with expertise in a subject teaching the older ages and
this was a challenge due to the number of pupils and the reduction in the
budget. It appeared that ESTYN had been
very critical recently of what was seen in Mid and North Wales when preparing
prospective teachers for the world of work.
Perhaps it was necessary to have a discussion on what is offered by the
Colleges and if this was suitable for market needs. (v) What arrangements had been made by the Service across-departments to ensure that pupils who are eligible to receive free school meals ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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CHANGES TO THE ADDITIONAL LEARNING NEEDS AND INCLUSION SERVICE PDF 651 KB Cabinet Member: Cllr. Gareth Thomas To
consider a report by the Cabinet Member for Education on the above. 2.00 p.m. – 2.45 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: (a)
The
report of the Cabinet Member for Education was submitted outlining the draft
strategy for changes to the additional learning needs and inclusion service. (b)
It
was reported on a letter received from the Isle of Anglesey County Council
expressing disappointment and discontent that there had not been sufficient
consultation and discussion with Anglesey officers and they had not been
convinced of the need to decommission the Additional Learning Needs Joint
Committee structure in order to achieve the proposed outcomes within the
revised ALN strategy. (c)
In
response, the Head of Education stressed that there was no intention not to
collaborate with Anglesey and it was proposed to consult fully with Anglesey
Council once the Council’s formal opinion had been scrutinized and the Cabinet
had come to a conclusion on this. It
was explained that the project had initially focused on the needs of the
Gwynedd residents. The Senior Manager for Additional Learning Needs and
Inclusion explained that discussions had taken place with approximately 400
stakeholders during September/October.
It was recognised that the shortcomings with the existing arrangements
that came to light were not a shock for the officers, namely: ·
Inconsistency
within the system ·
Traditional and
complicated system ·
Quality of
performance ·
Relationship with
other services ·
Growth in
specific needs ·
Lack of
communication (c) Attention
was drawn to the clear aim of the strategy namely “Ensure that children and
young people (aged between 0 – 25) with additional learning needs take
advantage of the opportunities and gain experiences that are effectively planed
for them, to enable them to progress according to their ability”. (ch) Members
were guided through the action plan that would achieve the following outcomes:
clarity regarding appropriate
provision for every disorder
combining the
central workforce. The saving would be
based on the new provision but also a change in the working pattern of the
workforce and offer permanent opportunities but for a fewer number of
individuals. (d) Members were given an opportunity
to scrutinize the draft strategy before them and the following observations
were highlighted by individual Members: (i) It was asked if the attainments of
additional learning needs pupils contributed to the performance targets of
secondary schools or would different indicators be presented. In response, it was explained that every pupil should be part of the ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |