Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

There were no declarations of interest. 

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2019.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 20 May 2019 were submitted.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider the Forward Work Programme of the Education & Youth Overview & Scrutiny Committee and to inform the Committee of progress against actions from previous meetings.

(a)         That the Forward Work Programme as amended, be approved;

(b)         That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)       That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.

The Facilitator presented the Forward Work Programme which had been updated following the last meeting and was attached as Appendix 1 for Members’ consideration.  She reminded Members that the next meeting of the Committee, to be held on 25 July 2019, would be a joint meeting with the Social & Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Facilitator referred to the actions arising from the previous meeting of the Committee and reported on the outcomes as detailed in appendix 2 of the report.   She advised that information had also been included on the Cabinet decision regarding consideration of the Discretionary Transport Policy Review – Outcome of Consultation report at its meeting on 18 June, and  consideration of  the Notice of Motion, submitted by Councillor David Healey to the meeting of the County Council on 18June, 2019.

RESOLVED:

(a)         That the Forward Work Programme as amended, be approved;

(b)         That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)       That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.

(a)       That the Annual Report from GwE be accepted; and

(b)       That the positive impact of the regional service on the standards of education being achieved in Flintshire schools be noted.

The Chair welcomed Mr. Arwyn Thomas, GwE Managing Director, and Mr. Marc Berw Hughes, to the meeting.

          The Chief Officer (Education and Youth) introduced a report to receive an update on progress with the development of the regional school effectiveness and improvement service and how the new model was being received and embedded.  She provided background information and advised that the GwE Annual Report for 2018-19 provided a detailed overview for members of the work of the Regional School Improvement Service over the last year across the North Wales region.  It covered a range of areas including standards, provision, the contribution of the service to the national transformation agenda, partnership working, and business matters. The appendices to the report provided some specific information related to learner outcomes and standards of education in Flintshire.  They also provided an analysis of responses from Flintshire school leaders on their views of the effectiveness of the Regional School Improvement Service which were recently collected through a questionnaire. The main areas for development, identified from the self-evaluation processes undertaken within GwE, are priorities in the Business Plan for 2019-2020.

The Chief Officer advised that the Annual Report should also be read in conjunction with the Authority’s own self-evaluation report which was presented to members at the last meeting of the Committee. She explained that officers from GwE had worked very closely with the Local Authority on the development of that report which provided a comprehensive view of the quality of education services in Flintshire and demonstrated the effective partnership working being undertaken to support all the Authority’s schools on their improvement journey to secure the best outcomes for Flintshire learners.

The Chief Officer referred to the recent Estyn Inspection of the local authority education services and said that the outcome of the Inspection would be publicised on 9 August 2019.  She expressed her thanks for the significant contribution made by GwE to the Inspection process and commented on the close working relationship between officers from GwE and the Authority.  The Chief Officer invited Arwyn Thomas to present the GwE Annual Report 2018-19.

Mr. Thomas advised that, as stated in the GwE Inter Authority Agreement, GwE would report annually on the performance of the Service in delivering the Service functions and key aims.  He reported that the GwE annual report provided an overview of the following areas:  background and context, standards, provision, the reform journey, partnership working, business, and business plan priorities for 2019-20.  Also included in the report were several appendices which referred specifically to the support work that had been undertaken in Flintshire schools.

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Education commented on the work between the Authority and GwE to improve schools if assistance was needed and address relationship and model management.  He also commented on the close work undertaken with Cabinet members across North Wales and Chief Officers following the concerns raised around the GCSE English exam results.  Councillor Roberts thanked Mr. Thomas for his detailed presentation.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

There were no members of the press or public in attendance.