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
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 receive them? It was ensured that schools targeted pupils
in order for families to get what was due to them and in addition it was an
indicator for school funding and a measure that was compared with other
schools. It was further explained that
Gwynedd had lost out on a substantial sum of money compared to schools in South
Wales that were part of the Government’s Challenge Wales programme where they
invest to retain education standards. The Head of Education gave an assurance
that he would follow-up the cross-departmental arrangements to target pupils
who are entitled to free school meals.
(vi)
Did it continue
to be difficult to appoint Governors and in which areas? It was recognised that this varied from area
to area and the mandatory courses referred to in the action plan were for new
governors, Chairs and Clerks. It was
further noted that a new programme was in place that offered training at the
end of the afternoon and in the evening in order to facilitate those governors
who work to attend as well as regional courses.
Regarding completion of training on the web, it was felt that face to
face training was more beneficial but of course it was possible to complete
some modules on the web.
(vii)
That the problem
of recruiting governors was an issue in several authorities, especially in
rural areas.
Resolved: To
accept and note the contents of the action plan and to note that the Scrutiny
Committee would challenge the follow-up and the result of this work when
looking at the Annual Report of the Education Service to be presented to this
Scrutiny Committee in March 2016.
Supporting documents: