Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
No. | Item |
---|---|
Minutes: The
Scrutiny Committee noted the minutes. |
|
Minutes: The
Scrutiny Committee noted the minutes. |
|
To receive the Scrutiny Forward Work Programme 2017/18. PDF 78 KB Minutes: The
Committee considered the work programme for 2017/2018 and requested that
further work be undertaken with a view to adding the following items to the
work programme. ·
Review of the Music Service following the recent changes to service
delivery; ·
Schools Budget Forum to consider any information that may be relevant to
the scrutiny committee; ·
Physical Education and the uptake across the County Borough at both
primary and secondary level; ·
Welsh Language and what the department is currently doing to assist the Council
in meeting the Welsh Government suggestion that there will be 1m welsh speakers
in Wales by 2025; ·
A report highlighting the successes of new school builds in terms of
education; ·
Report on the achievements of Looked After
Children in Further or Higher Education. It
was agreed that the scrutiny officer would liaise with the Committee and the
relevant officer to ensure the correct information was presented to the
Committee. |
|
Pre-Scrutiny Minutes: The
Committee chose to scrutinise the following Cabinet Board items: 4.1 Commissioning of Families First Funded
Services Members
considered a report that sought delegated authority for the Director of Education
and Lifelong Learning to embark on a tendering process to secure new Families
First funded services for 2018 onwards. Officers
highlighted that the aims of the programme were to ensure there was a mix of
service providers that included internal providers, third sector and private
sector. It was further stated that the negotiations would take place between
October and March and that this was a short period of time and that was the
reason behind the request for delegated authority. Members
asked was there confidence that the grant will remain in existence and it was
confirmed that there is always a risk with grants but as part of any new
contracts there would be a clause included that should the grant to the Council
be reduced then the grant to the relevant organisation would be reduced by a
similar level. Members
asked for clarity on what was meant by the statement “the most economically
advantageous tenders” and whether this would just be the lowest price tenders.
Officers confirmed that any tenders that are awarded will be on a price/quality
assessment. Following
scrutiny the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by the
Cabinet Board. 4.1 Pupil Attendance Update Members
considered a report that contained data in relation to pupil attendance during
the 2016/2017 academic year. Officers
highlighted that there had been a slight increase in primary school attendance
and a slight decrease in secondary attendance when compared against the
previous year figures. Members
noted there was still a potential issue with parents taking their children on
holiday during term time due to the costs. Officers confirmed that this was not
an issue they could address individually but Welsh Government were lobbying the tourism businesses in respect of their
prices when it is school holidays. It was noted that Head teachers in Wales do
have some discretion on allowing absences within term time for holidays. Members
stated that in today’s society the problems could exacerbated due to the make up of families and pupils could have more than one
holiday a year if they are part of an extended family with step parents for
example. Members
asked for clarity on persistent absenteeism and officers confirmed that generally
these were pupils with attendance levels below 80%. A significant number of
persistent absentees were also subject to free school meals. Following
scrutiny the report was noted. 4.3 Quarterly Performance Management Data
2017/2018 – Quarter One Performance (1st April 2017 – 30th
June 2017) Members
considered the quarterly performance monitoring report that covered the
Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning Directorate. Officers advised that a report would be brought to a future meeting as there were concerns in relation to the figures captured for two libraries as the figures were down more than could reasonably be expected and further research was ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |