Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
Contact: Charlotte Davies 01639 763745 Email: c.l.davies2@npt.gov.uk
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Minutes of Previous Meetings PDF 71 KB Additional documents: Minutes: That
the minutes of the 16 June and the 4 July 2019 be approved. Providing
Healthy Meals and Physical Activities during School Summer Holidays The
committee received an update from the Chair of Education, Skills and Culture
Scrutiny Committee that the letter identifying the Committees views on the
scheme would be circulated to Members prior to being sent to the Minister of
Education. |
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Additional Learning Needs Reform PDF 78 KB Report
of the Head of Transformation Additional documents: Minutes: The
Committee received information in relation to new legislation and statutory
guidance for learners with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and the progress
regarding the ALN Transformation Programme as detailed in the circulated
report. Discussion
took place on the need for the teacher training syllabus to include information
on dealing with children with additional learning needs. Local Authorities had raised this need with
the Welsh Government and it was hoped that this would be included in the new
curriculum being released next year. In
addition, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council has arranged with University
of Wales Trinity St David to provide some post graduate training to support
children with additional learning needs.
Nineteen places had been secured this year, with further training being
provided next year. Members
asked if there would be cost implications to the Council with the
implementation of the Additional Learning Needs Reform. It was explained that Neath Port Talbot has
put an additional £700,000 funding into next year’s budget to try to address
the increasing demand. Funding was made
available from Welsh Government but this would not continue post 2020. No monies were made available for the
implementation of the reform. Further
discussion took place on the concern being expressed by some teachers in the
quality of the Individual Development Plans being completed, due to the numbers
and the complexity of the forms.
Officers explained that there was no criteria contained within the code
but no changes were anticipated. Pilots
had taken place with positive feedback received but training identifying what
needs to be considered was ongoing. Clarification
was sought on the remit of Council relating to children whose parents elect to
educate them at home. It was explained
that the Council had no legal access to these children as its parental
choice. In addition, these numbers of
children were increasing across Wales.
There was a number of reasons for parents electing to educate their
children at home eg: attendance issues, mental
health, school phobia.
Additional Learning Needs Reform would not impact on these figures as
the children were not in a school setting to benefit. Social Services, Health and Housing, Swansea
Bay University Health Board and Education all worked together if there were any
issues identified with a particular child. Arrangements
would be made for an Awareness Raising Session for Members on the Additional
Learning Needs Reform. Following
scrutiny, it was agreed that the report be noted. |
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Pre-Decision Scrutiny Minutes: Quarterly
Performance Management Data 2019- 2020 – Quarter 1 Performance (1 April 2019 –
30 June 2019) Members
received information on the Quarterly Performance Management Data 2019-2020 as
detailed in the circulated report. Members
queried the following: ·
Why was the percentage of 11 – 19 years olds in contact with the Youth
Service not meeting its target? It was
explained that this was due to sickness and vacancies within the team which
impacted on the number of contacts made.
Confirmation was given that this had now been addressed. ·
Was the demand for full-time childcare places being monitored. Confirmation was received that monitoring
does take place and as a result more places had been made available in more
areas. Also, a media campaign had taken
place to ensure that all families entitled to are aware of the offer. ·
It was queried why was Neath Port Talbot 20th in the All
Wales Data for school attendance at primary stage. An explanation was given that there were
links between non- attendance and areas of deprivation. Neath Port Talbot was
one of the highest areas of deprivation.
Educational Welfare Officers were proactive in working with families especially persistent absenteeism. The focus of all schools was the importance
of school attendance. One issue was the
unauthorised absenteeism, this was when parents took children out of school for
holidays. Work was continuing with
financial penalties for unauthorised absenteeism but considering the economic
climate, parents were still taking children out of school for holidays. ·
What is a Capped 9 score? This indicator was one of the changes introduced by
the Welsh Government. Data was currently
being collected and would be available for the January 2020 meeting. ·
Why were the visits to leisure centres highlighted as red? This was discussed in the Leisure and Culture
Scrutiny Sub Committee where it was explained that the issue was what data was
collected and the inconsistencies between all local authorities. The explanation given to the Sub Committee
would be circulated to the Committee. SSIP – Proposal to
Establish Specialist Provision for Secondary Age Pupils with Autistic Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) The Committee received an
overview on the proposal to consult on the establishment of specialist
provision for secondary age pupils with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) at Dwr y Felin Comprehensive School
as detailed in the circulated report. The following were raised
by Members: ·
How many schools applied to host the new Autistic Spectrum Disorder
(ASD)? Two schools expressed an interest, one withdrew. In addition, the provision already exists in
many schools. ·
Concern was expressed as to whether we were meeting the demand? It was explained that the number of pupils
had increased by 47% across all school ages.
As a result, additional capacity had to be put into schools to address
this increase. Following
Scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposal to be considered by the
Cabinet Board. Pupil
Attendance Update Information and data was received in relation to Neath Port Talbot pupil attendance as detailed in the circulated report. ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |