Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

Councillor Roberts introduced the report which provided an overview of the full inspection by Estyn that had been undertaken in June 2019, with the report being published on the Estyn website on 9^th August.

            He was delighted to present the report which celebrated the positive inspection of the Council’s education services in Flintshire.  It was a comprehensive review with a team of 12 inspectors interviewing senior managers, front line officers, headteachers and wider stakeholders.

            Estyn found that, overall, pupils in local schools, including those entitled to free school meals and those with special educational needs, made sound progress during their time in statutory education.  Primary education in the County was particularly strong with the proportion of primary schools achieving excellent judgements for standards well above the Wales average.  The effective working relationship between the Council and GwE was highlighted as a strength with appropriate support for schools leading to improvements in standards achieved by pupils.

            The performance of vulnerable groups had improved over the last three years with the number of Year 11 leavers known not to be in education, training or employment remaining low and provision for learners Educated Other than at School identified as good.

            The report highlighted that most pupil’s wellbeing was good across all phases of education and noted that the Council had strategies to improve their mental and emotional health in schools.  The leadership and management of education services in Flintshire was noted as a strength with senior officers and elected Members sharing a clear vision for educational provision which was well reflected in corporate strategies.

            A small number of recommendations were made in the report for ongoing improvement with which the Council agreed, and had already been identified in business plans by the Portfolio Team.  They included continuing to improve the standards achieved by learners by the end of Key Stage 4, improving pupil attendance levels, and reducing the number of fixed term and permanent exclusions.  The report also recommended that the Council work with schools to keep deficit budgets under control.

All Members thanked everybody involved and welcomed the positive Estyn report, noting that the Council had also been asked to write up a case study on its particularly effective practices in supporting the early language development of children, which would be published on the Estyn website to positively impact the work of other local authorities.

RESOLVED:

That the Estyn report on education services in Flintshire be received and the findings acknowledged.