Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations.

The Cabinet Member for Education introduced the report on developments with school improvement services and to recommend the new national model for regional working on school improvement for adoption.  He provided background information and advised that the Model had been agreed by the Minister and the WLGA Coordinating Committee in late November 2013. 

            The Cabinet Member explained that the Model outlined a consistent approach to school improvement activities and aimed to encourage schools to take more responsibility for their own improvement.  It also sought to clarify what activities could be undertaken at local authority level and what was best addressed regionally.  He reported that the Model referred to the governance arrangements in relation to regional collaborative school improvement services and suggested that governance was best placed in a Joint Committee, and that its members be appointed by the constituent local authorities.  The Committee would be supported by an Executive Board.

            As part of the new arrangements it had been agreed that a common business plan template was required to enable consortia to clearly identify their key priorities for the year and the expected outcomes.

            The Director of Lifelong Learning commented on the pooling of resources and learning regionally and nationally to achieve good and improving outcomes for all learners and schools across the country. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the National Model for Regional Working on School Improvement be supported.

(b)       That a business plan be developed with the intention that the additional services listed in the Model be incorporated into the GwE regional model, in phases, subject to a satisfactory business case for each and a supporting transition plan to ensure service continuity and performance; and

(c)        That the Joint Committee be directed to ensure that its supporting Executive Board has a sufficiently broad membership to represent the interest of the sub-regions/counties.