Venue: GwE Offices, Bryn Eirias, Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8BF
Contact: Einir Rhian Davies 01286 679868
No. | Item |
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ELECT CHAIR To elect a Chairman for 2017-18 Minutes: Meirion Jones motioned Councillor Gareth Thomas as Chairperson, which
was seconded by Huw Hilditch-Roberts. |
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ELECT VICE-CHAIR To elect a Vice-chairman for 2017-18 Minutes: Huw Hilditch-Roberts motioned,
and Meirion Jones seconded, Councillor Phil Wynn as Vice-Chair. |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Coun. Gareth Jones (Conwy County Borough Council),
Mrs K Evans (Denbighshire Council), Alison Fisher (Governors' Representative),
Dr Gwynne Jones (Anglesey County
Council), Rita Price (Wrexham Diocese), Diane Chrisholm (Primary Schools'
Representative), Mair Herbert (Secondary Schools' Representative), Martyn Gray
(Welsh Government), Delyth Molyneux (Anglesey Council), Councillor Garffild
Lewis (Conwy Council). |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declaration of personal
interest was received by any member present.
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Minutes: There were no urgent
matters. |
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING PDF 129 KB (copy enclosed) Minutes: The minutes of this committee held on 8 March, 2017 were accepted as being a true record. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The report was presented by Arwyn Thomas
who noted that the content had not changed since being discussed in March
2017. AT guided the Sub-group through
the report, noting the following: §
The report had been updated since the draft
report presented in March. §
The report identifies areas in which performance
needs to be improved, and which will be prioritised in GwE's Business Plan -
this plan will form the detail of the local authorities' specific plans. §
There is a need to focus on the next steps,
including restructuring the service, focusing on key stage 4, and streamlining
the governance model. §
Members will need to embed GwE's rules and team
ethos in schools to ensure that everybody is supporting the same service, at a
school, authority and regional level. §
Local authorities will need to look at their
individual issues, and work in partnership with GwE on a regional scale to
resolve these. Councillor Ian Roberts noted that
Flintshire's Interim Director was unhappy with the authority’s performance and
that they need to take urgent action to improve this. There were concerns
regarding underspend when Flintshire's performance is deteriorating. He suggested that this money should be spent
to improve the performance of underperforming schools. Dafydd Edwards noted
that the underspend was misleading. He explained that the Challenge Advisers,
against which there had been an underspend in the local authorities, had been
going about their usual business, and that the Government grants relating to
work outside of their usual remit had been late arriving. Arwyn Thomas noted that GwE works in
partnership with the authorities and schools to raise standards. RESOLVED: Huw Hilditch-Roberts motioned, and Meirion Jones
seconded, to accept and approve the Annual Report. |
|
Additional documents: Minutes: Arwyn Thomas presented the Risk
Register. Arwyn Thomas guided the
Sub-group through the report, noting the following: §
The list, which includes risks across the
region, will be discussed again in light of the summer results for September,
and some issues are likely to be removed from the register. RESOLVED: Phil Wynn
motioned, and Meirion Jones seconded, to accept and approve the Risk Register
as it stands. Add the Risk Register to the agenda in
September in order for the Sub-group to air its contents. |
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IMPROVEMENTS AGAINST ESTYN RECOMMENDATIONS PDF 349 KB Additional documents: Minutes: AT presented the report and noted
the following: Good progress is being made against the
recommendations of the report, however; this will need to be re-evaluated as
regards the impact made in light of the summer results. A brief report was had from Alwyn Jones,
where KS4 was discussed following the new specifications in Welsh, Mathematics
and English. Alwyn Jones noted the
importance of comparing results with other Authorities' figures, and not with
the results of previous years. It was
agreed that a baseline needs to be established in summer 2017. Meirion Jones noted the difficulty of the
Authority not being informed of the results until the actual morning of the
results. Arwyn Thomas confirmed that
the issue had been raised with Qualifications Wales, and that there should be
mutual trust with regard to confidentiality issues, however Qualifications
Wales were adamant. Arwyn Thomas confirmed the timetable for
ESTYN's visit as being the week commencing 16 October 2017, and he asked
members of the Joint-Committee to try and ensure their availability for a
discussion with Estyn Officers. Arwyn
Thomas wondered whether members would be interested in a workshop prior to the
meeting to discuss the report. Huw Hilditch-Roberts noted that
the situation of secondments from schools to GwE was quite agonising. He noted the need for a protocol for
releasing Head teachers, which would ease the tension somewhat in terms of the
needs of GwE/the individual/the school and Authority. RESOLVED: Huw Hilditch-Roberts motioned, and Phil Wynn seconded, to
accept and approve the report. It was agreed that a workshop be conducted for members in September. |
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GwE THREE YEAR AIMS Verbal presentation Minutes: Arwyn Thomas gave an update on
GwE's objectives and GwE's desired position in 2020. The following were noted: §
GwE's Business Plan 2017-18 has fixed targets
for standards of teaching and learning. §
The Plan will be formally presented to the Joint-Committee
in September. AT was eager for members to
discuss the Plan with heads in their local authorities. Any feedback would be welcomed and
comments/suggestions will be used to inform the Plan. RESOLVED: The sub-group to
amend the Plan in September by incorporating the local authorities' plans and
prioritising objectives. |
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GwE - OPERATING ARRANGEMENTS PDF 272 KB Minutes: Arwyn
Thomas presented the report. The report
was motioned by Phil Wynn, and seconded by Meirion
Jones, and accepted by the Joint-Committee. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: Dafydd Edwards presented the report and
confirmed that the Statement of Accounts element was a statutory element by
law. Dafydd Edwards highlighted: ·
Challenge Advisers' underspend at £300,000 ·
Brokerage £139,000 Phil Wynn questioned whether the reserves
could be spent on anything. It was confirmed that the main reserves are
available, apart from the reserves for IT and pension purposes. Arwyn Thomas noted
that he needed a further discussion on the use of reserves. RESOLVED: Meirion Jones
motioned, and Phil Wynn seconded, to accept and approve the report. |
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GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2016-17 PDF 237 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Arwyn
Thomas suggested that a Governance Statement, concerning the propriety of
behaviour and propriety of governance, be discussed at the next meeting. RESVOLVED: Meirion Jones motioned, and
Phil Wynn seconded, the statement which was then approved by the
Joint-Committee. |
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EDUCATION OUTCOMES FRAMEWORK PDF 261 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Arwyn
Thomas presented the report and noted the following: §
As a Consortium, we require a further discussion
with the Welsh Government regarding the budget programme over the next 2-3
years, with a request for more flexibility in the grant conditions to
accommodate local needs. §
A similar budget model is needed across the four
regions with grants focused on supporting teachers and improving children's
performance. RESOLVED: Meirion Jones motioned,
and Phil Wynn seconded, to accept the report which was then approved by the
Joint-Committee. |
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MEETINGS CALENDAR 2017-18 PDF 253 KB Minutes: Arwyn
Thomas noted that Susan Owen Jones had assigned specific dates for the Joint
Committee's meetings. Arwyn
Thomas reminded the Joint-Committee that members' attendance at these meetings
is crucial in order to ensure that they are given the opportunity to steer the
discussion. Iwan Evans noted the need to
maintain a quorum of a minimum of three members to vote. The Chairperson noted that collaboration
is fundamental to the Joint-Committee and that he was willing for additional
meetings to be held if members wanted to discuss issues further. It was resolved that the Joint-Committee,
in future, would formally start at 10:30am, and informally at 9.30 or 10.00 to
enable members to conduct an informal pre-meeting. |
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ANY OTHER MATTERS Minutes: Committee's scrutiny
arrangements: the regional scrutiny agreement is currently being
confirmed. It was resolved that a report
on the scrutiny procedure would be put on the agenda of the Joint-Committee's
next meeting. |