Minutes:
The Committee
scrutinised the following matters:
Cabinet
Board Proposals
6.1 Neath Port Talbot Local Authority Education Services for
Children and Young people Self Evaluation
The Committee received information of the self-evaluation work
undertaken by Education Services in regard to the Local Authority Education
Services for Children and Young People (LAESCYP), as detailed in the circulated
report.
Members were provided with an overview of the key services
provided by Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning Services and how it aligns
with guidance issued by Estyn and the future
development of those services. Members
were presented with the background and key information in the report, which
focused on the main strengths and areas of development for Neath Port Talbot.
It was highlighted that Neath Port Talbot had high levels of Free School Meals
pupils, the second highest levels of deprivation in Wales and above average of
Special Education Needs pupils. Despite this, Neath Port Talbot currently
performed well at Key Stage 4 and were ranked 11th in Wales, which
was an outstanding feature of the performance of the Service. It was noted that
Key Stage 4 was the end product of the whole school career of pupils. Neath
Port Talbot Free School Meal pupils outperform the national average by 3%. It
was highlighted that there had been an improvement in attendance, particularly
at primary school level.
It was highlighted that one area that Estyn would consider during inspections was resource management
and value for money and the level of investment against outcomes. Members
queried by some Local Authorities provide higher than average funding per
pupil. Officers noted that the areas that tend to do this had previously had
poor outcomes and intervention by Estyn and therefore
had to invest in those services.
Members noted that there was a large increase in the number
of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) over the last three years and if
there was any specific reason for this. Officers informed Members that there
was a range of reasons, which included improved provision for SEN pupils and some
higher level cases that previously been educated out of County now being able
to have their needs met in County.
Members highlighted that for pupils that English was an
Additional Language there were 59 first/home languages spoken which seemed a
high number and asked how this compared with other Local Authorities, such as
Cardiff and Swansea. Officers informed Members that Cardiff, Newport and Swansea
had the highest numbers of home languages spoken and Neath Port Talbot ranked
12th.
Members highlighted that under strengths on page 27of the
report noted that ‘Governors receive useful advice when recruiting senior
leaders within their schools’ and felt that it should be reworded to read
‘Governors receive useful advice from challenge advisers when recruiting senior
leaders within their schools’. Officers would make this amendment.
Members asked how long it would take for the evaluation of
the impact on school closures to be undertaken. Officers explained that the
evaluation was ongoing and every time a school closure was undertaken an impact
assessment evaluation was also undertaken. Members noted that 61% of pupils
attended named school as expected after the closure of schools and queried what
happened to the other 39% of pupils. Officers explained that those pupils would
have attended a different school of their choice. It was noted that there were
a few examples of pupils attending schools outside of the County Borough.
The Committee highlighted that there was provision to
replace Dyffryn School and queried if both the Upper
and Lower Schools were going to be replaced, especially as Dyffryn
Upper school was only 52 years old. Officers confirmed
that both the Lower and Upper Dyffryn School would be
replaced by the new Ysgol Newedd
Margam and the Upper School land would become the
playing fields for the new school.
Members expressed concerned over the amount of funding
delegated to schools, particularly at primary school level, and queried if
there were any plans to remedy this situation. Officers clarified that for primary
schools it was the funding per pupil that was lower. It was highlighted that
some primary schools had indicated that they did not want delegation of
funding for areas such as catering and felt that there needed to be more
concentration on improving standards. It was highlighted that delegation rates
were in line with Welsh Government expectations.
Members noted that nearly all schools buy into the
Authority’s Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and queried what was the actual
number of schools and what steps were being taken in order to make it 100%.
Officers explained that
it was 90% of schools and there were a few schools that did not
take up SLAs for ground maintenance and Music Services. Officers would be
discussing this further with those schools.
Members asked for the comparison data for the YP-CORE
levels of psychological distress pre and post interventions. Officers would
find out this information and circulate it to the Committee. It was highlighted
that Education Services and Children and Young People Services were looking at
how to develop their own mental health services as the Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was not reliable.
Members asked if incidents of bullying were
recorded and if there was a programme in place to tackle it. Officers confirmed
that there was a programme in place and the report highlighted that at
secondary school 90% of pupils felt that their school deals well with bullying
(7% higher than the national average).
Members noted the positive figures for sport involvement
and asked if there was any data regarding how they were tackling childhood
obesity. Officers would look at what information was available and bring a
report to a future meeting.
Following Scrutiny, it was agreed that
the report noted.
6.2 Neath Port Talbot Local Authority Education Development
Service Delivery Plan
The Committee received information of the Education
Delivery Plan by the Education Improvement Team giving an overview of the key
priorities provided and how it aligns with Regional ERW Business Plan, as
detailed within the circulated report.
Members were informed of the priorities for the Service and
the milestones throughout the year. It was noted that for Priority Two –
Teaching and Learning - leadership was a key element and there were a high
percentage of good leaders in Neath Port Talbot schools. The Service was now
considering how to best develop middle leadership. Members noted that there had
been a misconception that Estyn did not like the ERW
set up. Officers explained that it took some time to bring six Local
Authorities together and the region was now working well and the Neath Port
Talbot and Swansea Hub performance was strong.
For Priority One, Members queried how the Service
was developing an integrated approach to ensure consistently high quality
teaching and learning within Welsh, English and Mathematic lessons across all
key stages. Officers informed the Committee that part of it was to ensure consistency
of training across the region and sharing practices across the region. Where possible schools with similar issues
were paired up to best support each other.
The Committee noted that there seemed to be a link missing
with Governors and queried how Governors could be further involved. It was
noted that Governors should receive relevant information from their headteachers. In addition the Service was considering how
to develop online training. It was highlighted Scrutiny Members in City and
County of Swansea had undertaken a piece of work into school governors and the
report would be circulated to the Committee for information.
Following Scrutiny, it was agreed that the report noted.