Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Delyn Committee Room, County Hall, Mold CH7 6NA

Contact: Maureen Potter 01352 702322  Email: maureen.potter@flintshire.gov.uk

Note: Moved from 25/02/16 

Items
No. Item

61.

Declarations of Interest (Including Whipping Declarations)

Purpose: To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest. 

62.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 57 KB

Purpose: To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 15 December 2015, 6 January, 19 January and 5 February, 2016.

Additional documents:

Decision:

That subject to the above amendments the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

Minutes:

(i)         The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 15 December

2015 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

 

Matters arising

 

Mrs. Rebecca Stark referred to page 6 of the agenda and said that the school music transport had not been considered by the school transport Task & Finish Group.  She asked if this was because the final budget reduction in this service had been reduced.  The Chief Officer agreed to pick this up after the meeting and provide an explanation to the Committee.

 

(ii)        The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 6 January  

2016 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

 

Accuracy

 

Page 9: Councillor Paul Cunningham advised that he was a School Governor at Ysgol Gwynedd but was not the Chair of the Governing Body and asked that the minutes be amended to correct this.

 

(iii)       The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 6 January  

2016 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

 

Accuracy

 

Councillor Chris Bithell referred to page 18 of the agenda and said that the word ‘depravation’ should be amended to ‘deprivation’.  It was agreed that the minutes be amended to reflect this.

 

Councillor Nancy Matthews referred to page 22 of the minutes and said that the reference to ‘Mold Alyn School’ should read ‘The Alun School Mold’.  It was agreed that the minutes be amended to correct this.

 

(iv)       The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 January  

2016 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

 

Accuracy

 

Mrs. Janine Beggan said that she had declared a personal interest as family members accessed the school music service.  It was agreed that the minutes be amended to reflect this.

 

(v)        The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 5 February  

2016 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

 

            RESOLVED:

 

            That subject to the above amendments the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

63.

Welsh in Education Strategic Plan pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Decision:

(a)       That the Committee supports the effective, multi-agency, partnership working within the Welsh in Education Strategic Forum which creates and monitors the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan; and

 

(b)       That the Local Authority be encouraged to offer the same courses made available to officers, to Members of the Council wishing to learn Welsh.

 

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Education and Youth) introduced a report to inform the Committee of the requirements on local authorities to produce a Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) to demonstrate how they will meet the Welsh Government’s outcomes and targets outlined in the Welsh Medium Education Strategy (WMES).

 

The Chief Officer advised that the report provided specific details about Flintshire’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, how the Council meets its obligations in promoting Welsh-medium education, assesses the demand for Welsh-medium education, increases the number of pupils accessing their education through the medium of Welsh and improves standards of pupil attainment in both Welsh first and second language.  The Chief Officer provided background information and referred to the value and quality of the effective multi-agency partnership working within the Welsh in Education Strategic Forum which creates and monitors the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan.    The Chief Officer invited the Senior Manager School Improvement to report on the key successes and challenges in meeting the targets in the Plan for 2015/16 as detailed in the report.  She commented on the effective and proactive work of the Welsh in Education Strategic Forum in delivering and monitoring the WESP. 

 

            Councillor Chris Bithell commented that the Authority had actively promoted the welsh language with its partner agencies, however, it was a matter of parental choice as to whether or not parents decided to take up the offer of welsh education in Flintshire for their children. 

 

Councillor Nancy Matthews asked for information on whether the welsh primary schools in Flintshire had been categorised as red, amber or green.  The Senior Manager School Improvement said she could provide this information following the meeting, but that it was available on the My Local School Wales website.         In response to a further concern expressed by Councillor Matthews the Senior Manager School Improvement explained that whilst  recruitment into welsh medium schools was a challenge, headteachers had not expressed any concerns that they had been unable to fill vacancies.

 

            David Hytch commented on the positive benefits of a welsh medium education and said the performance of pupils in English at welsh medium schools was amongst the highest in Wales.  The Senior Manager School Improvement referred to the Opinion Research Services (ORS) survey undertaken in 2013 where the data confirmed demand in Shotton/Deeside for more local provision of Welsh Medium education.  She advised that it was planned to repeat the ORS survey in 2016 to reassess demand to inform future planning for Welsh medium places.   The Chief Officer referred to the work undertaken with early years groups to create funding type arrangements around welsh medium schools to encourage families across the threshold to become involved in activities and part of the welsh communities.  Mrs. Rebecca Stark commented on the need to provide support for parents to enable them to engage with and assist their children through welsh medium education.   The Senior Manager School Improvement explained that schools provided additional support for parents which was promoted within their local communities.  During discussion Officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

64.

Self-Evaluation of Education Services pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(a)       That the report be noted; and

 

(b)       That Mr. Alex Thomas, Headteacher of the Post 16 Education Centre be invited to the next meeting of the Committee on 28 April, 2016 to provide a presentation on the courses available at the Centre.

 

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Education and Youth) introduced the report and advised that the Council undertakes an annual self-evaluation against the framework for local authority education services established by Estyn. A draft copy of the current self-evaluation 2015/16 was appended to the report which outlined the views and finding of officers and partners regarding the education services operating within Flintshire.

 

                        The Chief Officer provided background information and an explanation of the self-evaluation process.  He advised that the self-evaluation document outlined the perceived strengths, key issues and challenges and that the resource implications of these would be identified through the development planning process which builds on the self-evaluation.  The Chief Officer reported on current performance and the positive improvement in outcomes and areas of risk to be addressed. 

 

                        Councillor David Healey expressed congratulations to the Chief Officer and his team on the achievements gained.  He commented on the positive work undertaken to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs), and to prevent exclusions and promote good attendance.   

 

                        Mr. David Hytch raised a concern around the range of languages being offered in schools and the Post 16 Education Centre.  Following the further concerns raised by Members the Chair suggested that Mr. Alex Thomas, recently appointed Headteacher at the Post 16 Education Centre, be invited to attend the next meeting of the Committee. 

 

RESOLVED

 

(a)       That the report be noted; and

 

(b)       That Mr. Alex Thomas, Headteacher of the Post 16 Education Centre be invited to the next meeting of the Committee on 28 April, 2016 to provide a presentation on the courses available at the Centre.

 

65.

Early Entitlement - Changes to Delivery of Teacher Support to Approved Settings pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Decision:

That the Committee support the new mixed model of delivery i.e. a small central core team of expert Early Entitlement teachers and appropriately identified Foundation Phase teachers in schools.

 

Minutes:

The Senior Manager School Improvement explained that the report had been provided in response to an earlier request by the Committee for a detailed update about the change to the model of service delivery which was run as a pilot during 2014/15.  She reported that the change had proven to be successful so has been expanded to include more settings for 2015/16.  She advised that it was the view of the service manager that this mixed model of delivery was the way forward to ensure the quality of the service and achieve financial efficiency.   

 

            The Senior Manager School Improvement gave an overview of the early entitlement delivery model as detailed in the report and responded to the questions raised by Members around engagement with play group settings.  The Senior Manager School Improvement commented that the quality of work and contribution provided through non maintained settings such as play groups was recognised, highly valued, and built on effectively.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Committee support the new mixed model of delivery i.e. a small central core team of expert Early Entitlement teachers and appropriately identified Foundation Phase teachers in schools.

 

66.

Forward Work Programme pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the Forward Work Programme, as amended at the meeting, be approved.

 

Minutes:

The Education and Youth Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report to consider the Forward Work Programme for the Committee.  She advised that next meeting of the Committee to be held on 24 March 2016, would be a joint meeting with the Social & Heath Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee. 

 

 The Facilitator advised that following a suggestion from the Chair during the meeting Mr. Alex Thomas, Headteacher of the Post 16 Education Centre, would be invited to the meeting of the Committee to be held on 28 April, 2016 to provide a presentation on the courses available at the Centre.  She explained that a report detailing the recommendations of the School Transport Task & Finish Group would also be provided to the meeting for consideration prior to being submitted to Cabinet.   

 

Councillor Dave Mackie suggested that the Committee consider a report on the shortage of skilled welsh medium teachers and in response the Chairman suggested that the following item be included on the Forward Work Programme-

 

·         Skilled Education Workforce Shortage

 

Councillor Nancy Matthews referred to previous comments made by Mrs. Rebecca Stark regarding the shortage of language skills and suggested that Ian Budd liaise with Mrs. Stark on the concerns from the Deeside Enterprise Zone.  Mrs. Rebecca Stark also suggested that this be included within the Skills Shortage report due to be considered by the Committee on 9 June 2016.

 

The Committee also agreed to invite Huw Foster-Evans to the meeting on 9 June to discuss the update on progress with the development of GwE. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Forward Work Programme, as amended at the meeting, be approved.

 

67.

Attendance by Members of the Press and Public

Minutes:

There were no members of the public and one member of the press in attendance