Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1/2 - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions

Contact: Charlotte Davies 01639 763745 Email: c.l.davies2@npt.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

To receive any Declarations of Interest from Members.

2.

To receive the Minutes of the Education, Skills and Culture Scrutiny Committee held on 14th June. pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Minutes:

Members referred to section 3.1 of the minutes in relation to the Welsh Government Feminine Hygiene Grant, and queried whether representations had been made by Officers and the Committee to Assembly Member Julie James regarding the terms of the grant. Officers explained that all schools had been engaged in order to gain an understanding of the practices currently in place before formulating a response to Welsh Government (WG), and that the process was now complete. Officers informed the Committee that a letter had been sent to WG acknowledging receipt of the grant and that money would be distributed to the schools in September. Officers added that they did not envisage that the terms of the grant would place restrictions on how the money would be spent on feminine hygiene products.

 

The Committee noted the minutes.

3.

Craffu ar faterion gwybodaeth a monitro a adroddir gan:

3a

Strategic School Improvement Programme - A report on a new 21st century school build pdf icon PDF 286 KB

Minutes:

The Committee received the Strategic School Improvement Programme – A Report On A New 21st Century School Build as contained within the circulated report.

Members referred to point 19 on page 17 of the report which stated that 27% of pupils had additional learning needs, and queried whether these learning needs were considered minimal, moderate or significant, or if there was a mix. Officers informed Members that there was a mix.

Members questioned how the Key Stage Four results at the new school compared to the Key Stage Four results at the previous schools. Officers explained that it was difficult to compare as they were different cohorts and there was a higher number of pupils in the previous schools with learning needs which made it difficult to compare. Officers stated that the results in the new school were higher than expected and exceeded the targets that had been set.

Members queried whether absences for the old cohorts had been recorded at the new school. Members added that when the previous schools were in existence it was anticipated that attendance figures for the following tern were due to decline. Officers explained that the information was no longer recorded for the old cohorts. Officers stated that attendance at Ysgol Bae Baglan was generally of a good standard. Officers informed Members that the Education and Welfare Officers had reported no real issues under the new school arrangements. Members stated that it was important to track issues regarding absences from the old schools through to new schools in order to establish whether the issues had been addressed under the new school arrangements, so that lessons could be learnt for the future. Officers explained that 40% of the children who were in the previous schools had not moved to the new school and there was a risk that any data and analysis could be inconclusive. Officers stated that work would be undertaken with the school to identify pupils from the old cohorts in order to compare absence rates under the previous and current schools. 

Members requested for the Mike Tate from Ysgol Bae Baglan to be invited to a future meeting to give a presentation on their experiences and the lessons learnt.  Officers stated that they would invite the relevant officer to a future meeting.

Members referred to point four on page 14 regarding the review with key focus groups and questioned the format of the review. Officers explained that focus groups were preferred to surveys, and were held over a day and a half. Officers added that other reviews such as the Safeguarding review was also taken into consideration. Members queried whether parents had been included in the review. Officers stated that parents had not been included in the review due to time constraints, but it was anticipated that governors would have raised similar issues.

Members complimented officers on the seamless transition from the previous schools to Ysgol Bae Baglan, and on the good work carried out to date.

Following scrutiny, it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

4.

Minority Ethnic Achievement Service and the Traveller Education Service Report pdf icon PDF 407 KB

Minutes:

The Committee received the update on the issues of funding the Minority Ethnic Achievement Service and the Traveller Education Service as contained within the circulated report.

Members commented that it was important for the Authority to receive an equal share of the funding. Officers reassured Members that every effort would be made to maximise the amount of funding received by the Authority.

Members queried whether other agencies would receive a percentage of the money to administer the funding. Officers stated that there had been no clarity from WG yet, but further information would be brought back to the Committee as it became available.

Following scrutiny, it was agreed that the report be noted.

 

 

 

5.

Home to School Transport 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 346 KB

Minutes:

The Committee received information on the Home to School Transport 2017/18 as contained within the circulated report.

Members referred to point 12 on page 41, and queried what the reasons were behind the five appeals. Officers stated that the applications in question did not meet the criteria and were focused on convenience for parents instead of the needs of the children. Officers added that the cost of the service was expensive and had to be strictly managed.

Members commented that they welcomed the inclusion of the Voluntary Aided Pupils following previous discussions.

Following scrutiny, it was agreed that the report be noted.

 

6.

To receive the Scrutiny Forward Work Programme 2018/19. pdf icon PDF 152 KB

Minutes:

Following discussions with officers during Item 4 - Strategic Schools for 21st Century – A Report On A New 21st Century School Build, it was agreed that figures regarding pupil attendance and absences for the old cohorts would be brought to the meeting on the 17th January 2018.

Members requested for the verified Key Stage Four results to be placed on the Forward Work Programme for the meeting in December. Officers stated that unverified Key Stage Four results would be circulated via e-mail and that the verified results would be available in December or January and would also be circulated via e-mail. Officers added that Members would also have the opportunity to scrutinise the results when the quarterly performance monitoring data was reported to the Committee.  

Following discussion with officers during Item 6 – Home to School Transport 2017/18, Members requested a copy of the Home to School Appeals Panel Process and Policy. Officers stated that this would be circulated to Members via e-mail, and if there was a requirement for further information this could be raised at the next meeting.

Officers referred to the item programmed in on the Forward Work Planner for the 18th October titled Statemented Children – Update, and queried what information was required by the Committee. Members requested an explanation on how the process worked in practice.

Members questioned whether it was possible to programme in updates on how new schools such as Ysgol Cwm Brombil, Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Dur, Ysgol Carreg Hir and Ysgol Mynydd Newydd were performing once they had become fully operational. Members queried whether it was possible for this information to be reported to the Committee in May 2019. Officers stated that no meaningful feedback or data would be available regarding the new schools until Autumn 2019. The Committee agreed for the updates to be brought back at this time. 

The Committee congratulated the Chair on his achievement of being called to the bar.  

The Committee noted the Forward Work Programme.

 

7.

Any urgent items (whether public or exempt) at the discretion of the Chairman pursuant to Statutory Instrument 2001 No 2290 (as amended).

8.

To select appropriate items from the Cabinet Board Agenda for pre-scrutiny (Cabinet Board reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members).

9.

Access to Meetings to resolve to exclude the public for the following item(s) pursuant to Section 100A(4) and (5) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the relevant exempt paragraphs of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the above Act.

9a

To scrutinise information and monitoring issues being reported by:

10.

School Reserves Report (Exempt under Paragraph 14)

Minutes:

The Committee received information in relation to School Reserves as contained within the circulated report.

Officers stated that various factors could affect school reserves. Officers informed Members that schools could build up reserves over a period of years in order to fund a particular project. Members queried whether recently amalgamated schools that had not spent their allocation due to time constraints would be at risk of having their reserves partially clawed back. Officers stated that each case is considered on its own merits. 

Following scrutiny, it was agreed that the report be noted.

 

11.

To select appropriate private items from the Cabinet Board Agenda for pre-scrutiny (Cabinet Board Reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members).