Agenda and minutes
Venue: GwE Offices, Bryn Eirias, Abergele Road, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8BF
Contact: Sioned Williams 01286 679729
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillors
Garffild Lloyd Jones (Denbighshire County Council), Rita Price, Arwyn Williams (Anglesey County
Council), Dr Lowri Brown (Conwy County
Borough Council), Dr Gwynn
Jones (Anglesey County Council),
Steve Vincent (Welsh Government), Haf Williams (Primary Schools representative), Arwyn Thomas (GwE Managing
Director), Karen Evans (Denbighshire
County 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 86 KB Minutes: The Chair signed the
minutes of the meeting held on 4 July
2018 as correct.
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THE JOINT COMMITTEE'S FINAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018 AND RELEVANT AUDIT PDF 66 KB Presented
by Dafydd L Edwards Additional documents:
Minutes: DECISION To accept, note and approve the information
and authorise the Chair to endorse the letter.
DISCUSSION The report was presented, and it was noted
that the accounts were presented in the previous meeting on 4 July 2018. It was
added during this meeting that Deloitte would undertake an audit of the
accounts. It was stated that the Auditor General for Wales has presented the
‘ISA260’ report, detailing the main findings of Deloitte. An unconditional audit report on the
financial statements will be published as soon as the Joint Committee has
provided a Representation Letter. The Auditor confirmed that the accounts were
correct. It was added there were no misstatements that had not been corrected,
and no corrected misstatements. It was
noted that no changes are necessary and that recommendations have been noted in
the report. The Host Authority Head of
Finance stated there are recommendations for information technology systems,
but it was confirmed that these are not for GwE but for Cyngor Gwynedd
systems. Staff were thanked for their good work. |
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GwE BUDGET 2017/18 - QUARTER 1 REVIEW PDF 129 KB Presented
by Dafydd L Edwards Additional documents: Minutes: DECISION To accept the report DISCUSSION The report was presented and it was noted
that the report is for the first quarter of the year. Attention was drawn to the financial
variances evident in the budget. It was noted that a Secondment for an
Assistant Director from 1 June has led to a one-off underspend, financing
savings yet to be seen. But it was
emphasised that this will only be temporary.
It was added there was nothing extraordinary in the budget and that an
update on the budget will be presented in the next meeting. Comments arising from the discussion - A member asked about GwE's budget for next
year; will contributions to GwE be reduced with so many financial cuts facing
Local Authorities? The fate of GwE depends on the Draft Settlement for Local
Authorities, which will be announced by Welsh Government at the beginning of
October. It was stated there may be flexibility, but there has been discussion
with the GwE Managing Director on the impact of a 1%, 2% or 3% reduction in the
budget. |
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2018-19 RISK REGISTER - QUARTER 1 REVIEW PDF 91 KB Presented
by Arwyn Thomas Additional documents: Minutes: DECISION To accept the report DISCUSSION The report was presented and it was noted
that it is a regular report which identifies risks and follow-up mitigating
actions. It was added there had been discussion during the last meeting in July
and that not many changes have been made during the summer months. Attention was drawn to updates for 3 risks -
numbers 5, 11 and 17. It was added that all three risks have now been
mitigated, but there is need for further discussion on English GCSE
results. It was stated there will be
more changes to the risk register and further discussion during the next Joint
Committee meeting. Comments arising from the discussion -
With
so many changes afoot for schools, it was asked whether GwE and schools are
ready. Concern was noted regarding the risks to schools, particularly small
schools and secondary schools. It was stated that work is being done. It was added that GwE has held workshops to
assist schools with the changes. |
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2018-19 BUSINESS PLAN - QUARTER 1 MONITORING PDF 67 KB Presented
by Arwyn Thomas Additional documents: Minutes: DECISION To accept the report DISCUSSION The report was presented for the first
quarter of the year. It was noted that
the report was produced before the summer results - there is need for further
discussion on the results in the next Joint Committee meeting in November. It was added that monitoring quarter two is
being undertaken during the next fortnight.
It was confirmed that the report shows the
Level 1 Business Plan to be on track. Comments arising from the discussion -
It
was noted that teachers' pay rise was announced immediately after schools
closed for the summer and that this was very poor timing. It was confirmed that this had been a worry
for Headteachers over the summer in terms of budgets and financing this pay
rise. It was emphasised that
Headteachers' wellbeing needs to be taken into account. |
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INITIAL REPORT ON THE REGION'S PERFORMANCE PDF 67 KB Presented
by Arwyn Thomas Additional documents: Minutes: DECISION To accept the report and to place trust in
the Chair to write a letter to Qualifications Wales on behalf of the Joint
Committee. DISCUSSION The report was presented, noting there had
been discussion in the Management Board on the region's performance, but it was
confirmed there is need for further discussion following publication of KS4
results during October. It was added
there is need for further discussion on the region's performance in the Joint
Committee meeting in November. It was added that KS2 and KS3 performance is
strong, and there is priority for the Foundation Phase. It was added that KS4 data is raw at present,
and a fall was noted in English. It was
noted that this is seen on a national level, and that GwE has written to
Qualifications Wales asking for an investigation into why the results of
schools that did not enter pupils early seem lower than those schools that used
early entry examinations in June and November 2017. It was stated that the results of the
investigation are due today. It was
noted that the main problem is that WJEC grade boundaries had risen by 20
marks. It was stated there is a need for
justification as to why this has occurred, as the performance of schools that
have historically performed close to targets is lower than usual this
year. Gareth Thomas was asked to write officially
to Qualifications Wales on behalf of the education portfolio holders to ask for
an explanation. |
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SHIRLEY CLARKE PROJECT Presentation
by Stella Gruffydd Minutes: Stella Gruffydd delivered
a presentation on the work undertaken in the Shirley Clarke Project, which
focuses on Assessment for Learning and improving the quality of teaching and learning. It was stated that Tier
1 of the project is drawing to an
end and that Tier 2 will commence
in November. Attention was drawn to GwE's
commitment to the project and that
Bangor University will evaluate and measure its impact. During
the recent inspection of
Ysgol Cefn Coch, Penrhyndeudraeth it was noted that the work of the project is successful. It was added that the project will run for
three years, and thanks were expressed
to staff and teachers for their work. |