Agenda item

(a) That the Committee acknowledges the strong partnership working between Flintshire Schools and GwE which has established successful approaches to blended learning for the benefit of learners during the pandemic;

(b) That the Committee is assured of the quality of blended learning in Flintshire Schools to date and notes the positive impact on the professional development of the schools’ workforce to meet this new approach to teaching and learning and commends members of the workforce in meeting the challenges;

(c) That the Committee welcomes the significant investment by Welsh Government in schools’ digital infrastructure but acknowledges this is an area of ever increasing demand to ensure the effective delivery of blended learning moving forward; and

(d) That the Chairman writes to schools’ on behalf of the Committee to thank them for their work and dedication throughout the emergency situation to the benefit of learners.

            The Chair welcomed Jane Borthwick to the meeting, who had recently been seconded to the Education portfolio to provide additional support undertaking the role of Primary Learning Advisor.  He also welcomed David Edwards and Martyn Froggett from GwE to the meeting.

            The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) introduced the blended learning report, advising that the Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated the introduction of a blended learning approach in Flintshire schools.  The report provided an overview on how blended learning was progressing and the appendices to the report outlined the good practices undertaken across Flintshire schools.

            The Chief Officer greatly appreciated of the support provided by the Regional School Improvement Service (GwE) to staff and learners which had enabled staff at schools to improve their digital skills, their knowledge of different ways learning could be delivered and the variety of learning platforms available.  The report provided an overview of how this approach had been developed since March, 2020 and what had been achieved. The Chief Officer referred to the significant £50m investment by Welsh Government (WG) through the Hwb Programme and the support provided to learners who did not have electronic devices or broadband via the Hwb and the Council to enable them to access the online offer.

            David Edwards and Martyn Froggett provided a detailed presentation which covered the following areas:-     

·         Blended Learning

·         Why was Blended Learning being focused on now?

·         What does Blended Learning look like?

·         The four principles

·         What does Blended Learning look like in practice

·         Next Steps

·         Blended Learning in High Schools

·         Planning for Blended Learning

·         Progress so far

            It was agreed that a copy of the presentation slides be circulated to the Committee following the meeting. 

            The Chair and Leader of the Council thanked David Edwards and Martyn Froggett for the work they had undertaken in supporting schools during the emergency situation and congratulated all school staff for their hard work in meeting the challenge.

            Councillor Dave Mackie thanked the officers for the presentation and report.  He commented on the Estyn review of how schools and local authorities had been supporting learners during the emergency situation and asked that the feedback from Estyn be shared with the Committee.  He also commented on the concern around children who did not have access to broadband or digital devices and the negative impact this would have on their education.  The Chief Officer confirmed that the formal feedback letter on blended learning from Estyn would be presented to the Committee in the new year.

            In response to the concerns around learners accessing education services, the Primary Learner Advisor advised that work was being undertaken to carry out an assessment to identify the levels of access to devices and broadband for learners across Flintshire.  The outcome of this assessment could be presented to the Committee, at a later date, as part of the update report on the Hwb Digital Programme for Wales.  The Chief Officer confirmed that a large number of devices had been provided to schools to distribute to learners who did not have access to digital devices at home.  She referred to the resources available through the Hwb Digital Programme for Wales and the supply of 200 recycled Council laptops which had been distributed to schools. 

            Mr David Hytch commended the effort of all school staff during the emergency situation and also thanked GwE for their leadership and support during the implementation of on-line learning.  He commented on the functionality of broadband and asked if schools on adjacent sites were able to deliver on-line classes at the same time and asked if further investment in technology would assist in improving broadband at schools.  He also commented on pupils being grouped into ‘bubbles’ at school and commented on the difficulties of pupils remaining in a classroom and a teacher coming to them if it was a subject where specialist equipment was needed.  Also it was difficult to group pupils into ‘bubbles’ on their ability as they did not remain in their sets in a school setting but would be taught in their set classroom online which could cause some confusion. 

            The Chief Officer that the Hwb Digital Programme for Wales sought to improve the digital network of all schools and that the outcome of the assessment to establish the levels of access to devices and broadband for learners across Flintshire would assist in identifying the improvements needed.  The assessment would also provide evidence to WG of the demand needed in Wales so that appropriate resources could be distributed.  Martyn Froggett commented on the challenges for schools to ensure the health and safety of pupils and reported that this had resulted in arrangements for setting arrangements to be amended with pupils being taught in mixed ability classes. 

            In response to a question from Councillor Paul Cunningham around the communication with Trade Unions, the Chief Officer reported that there had been national engagement with WG and that there had been no challenges on a local level.  David Edwards advised that one of the significant considerations of implementing blended learning was around the well-being of school staff and one of the benefits of its implementation had been around improved communication, and he therefore did not envisage blended learning disappearing once the emergency situation had ended.

            Councillor Gladys Healey also thanked GwE, all school staff and Council officers for their hard work during the emergency situation.  She asked what support was in place for children who required additional support if English was not their first language, they had dyslexia or were not confident using digital devices.  The Chief Officer reported on the additional support provided by the Inclusion Team and explained that the way in which lessons were planned provided support for children who required it.  The Primary Learning Advisor confirmed that pupils who were identified as requiring additional learning needs had an individual plan or would form part of a larger plan within the schools. These pupils would be split into teams and allocated different work with the support of teaching assistants and support staff.

            In response to a question from Mrs. Lynn Bartlett around anxiety, the Chief Officer advised that the Inclusion Team were providing advice and guidance to schools in dealing with increased anxiety due to the emergency situation.  She also outlined the work of the School Counselling Team who worked across all schools to provide support where incidents had been identified.    

            Mrs Bartlett had a question on the well-being of pupils and that currently we are constantly teaching children about hygiene and had concerns about some children becoming hypervigilant about hygiene issues and asked if this was being considered moving forward and whether schools were being given advice for when this becomes an anxiety.   In response the Chief Officer said the way we were living with all the stresses we were having to work through was going to manifest in some ways but she was not aware of this.  The Inclusion Team provided advice and guidance to schools and felt Head Teachers would ask the Team if they had concerns on this but agreed to refer this to the School Counselling Team who work across all schools to ensure Head Teachers were able to identify these issues and could call on the Team for support.

In response to a question from Cllr Ian Smith about how the £50m funding through the Hwb Digital Programme was shared between local authorities and how much it amounted to per pupil, the Chief Officer agreed to provide the Committee with an overview from the IT team who were leading on this.

Mrs. Rebecca Stark thanked officers for the report.  She commented on the support provided to children with additional learning needs and praised the way in which schools had adapted and engaged with the children.  She raised concern around the transition of year 6 pupils into year 7 and also difficulties in engaging with lower ability groups with a disparity between disadvantaged learners, and asked if it was possible to monitor these children to ensure that they did not fall behind in their learning and assess the impact the emergency situation had had on pupils. She suggested that this could be reported back to the Committee in the future.  The Chief Officer advised that ensuring children did not fall behind had been acknowledged by WG who had allocated a significant amount of funding, delegated to schools to enable them to recruit additional support staff and to provide recovery programmes for learners.  Colleagues from GwE would be overseeing the recovery plans.          

Mr Hytch suggested that the thanks of the Committee be passed to all Headteachers and School Support staff for their hard work and dedication during the emergency situation to the benefit of learners.  This suggestion was supported by the Committee. 

The recommendations outlined within the report were moved by Councillor Paul Cunningham and seconded by Councillor Bob Connah

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Committee acknowledges the strong partnership working between Flintshire Schools and GwE which has established successful approaches to blended learning for the benefit of learners during the pandemic;

(b) That the Committee is assured of the quality of blended learning in Flintshire Schools to date and notes the positive impact on the professional development of the schools’ workforce to meet this new approach to teaching and learning and commends members of the workforce in meeting the challenges;

(c) That the Committee welcomes the significant investment by Welsh Government in schools’ digital infrastructure but acknowledges this is an area of ever increasing demand to ensure the effective delivery of blended learning moving forward; and

(d) That the Chairman writes to schools’ on behalf of the Committee to thank them for their work and dedication throughout the emergency situation to the benefit of learners.