Agenda item

To provide the Committee with an update on how Flintshire schools are supporting service children.

(a)     That the Committee note and commend the progress of the work of the Education and Youth Portfolio in supporting schools to meet the needs of Service children in Education;

(b)     That the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, write to Mr. Peter Hawley and Connah’s Quay High School to thank him for his presentation and for the work being undertaken to support Service children In Education; and

(c)     That the Chairman of the Council be asked to write to Mr. Peter Hawley and Connah’s Quay High School to thank him for his presentation and for the work being undertaken to support Service children In Education, on behalf of the Council.

Prior to the introduction of the report, the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) welcomed Mr. Peter Hawley from Connah’s Quay High School to the meeting who had been invited to provide information on his role in supporting Service children at the School.          

The Senior Manager for School Improvement introduced a report to provide the Committee with an overview of how the Education and Youth Portfolio was supporting schools who had pupils who identified as Service children.  The report also outlined how funding for Council had been allocated across Flintshire Schools and work carried out alongside Supporting Service Children in Education (SSCE) Cymru to collect data on the number and location of Service children in Wales.

The Senior Manager explained that since the commencement of the programme in 2014 the SSCE Cymru had worked as part of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to support and provide a resource base for all Local Authorities and independent schools in Wales.  Talking to Service children to gain an understanding of their experiences had enabled better support to be provided to help them and the Senior Manager confirmed that that she sat on the Flintshire Armed Forces Forum and outlined areas where Flintshire was represented which enabled the best support and guidance to be provided to schools moving forward.

            Councillor Dave Mackie thanked the Senior Manager for the report.  He referred to the SSCE Cymru website and asked if Flintshire was involved with the Armed Forces Friendly Schools programme.  In response, the Senior Manager explained that there were many organisations and committed professionals trying to move this forward and that being recognised for best practice was something Schools were aiming for.  She suggested that a further report to outline the priority actions of Schools following an audit be presented to the Committee in the spring 2022.  

            Councillor Tudor Jones commented on the way ALN funding was allocated and distributed to individual schools and suggested that funding would be required in the case of an increase in ALN pupil numbers or an individual with greater needs in one school while requirements in another school declined. The Senior Manager agreed to feedback this suggestion to SSCE Cymru following the meeting.

            The Chairman invited Mr. Peter Hawley to address the Committee.  Mr. Hawley provided an overview of his military service as a Sergeant Major with the Yorkshire Regiment retiring after 25 years in 2012.  He had toured all over the world with Iraq and Afghanistan his most recent tours.  He explained that during his time in the military he had 60 men under his command and he had worked to ensure that their lives ran as smoothly as possible as many had young families at home whilst they were away in combat.  He spoke about the impact on his own family whilst he was in the military and the impact on his children whilst being taught about wars in School.  Mr. Hawley also spoke of his time at Connah’s Quay High School explaining that he had worked as a technician within the Engineering Department.  He explained that during his time supporting Service children, he had spoken often with the children and had encouraged their parents to contact him.  He had organised breakfast clubs where soldiers had been invited to speak to the children about their similar experiences.  He also commented on his volunteering work within the community for homeless Soldiers and raising money for the charity Minds at War.

            The Chief Officer thanked Mr. Hawley for his attendance and presentation and said that you could not fail to be moved by his experiences, especially the impacts his military service had had on his family.  She said that this demonstrated why the work in Schools was important to ensure the necessary skills were available to support Service children.  She was grateful to Mr. Hawley for the support he was providing to the children at Connah’s Quay.

            The Leader of the Council said that it was a great pleasure to welcome Mr. Hawley to the meeting and commented that he had met Mr. Hawley during a visit to the School Holiday Enrichment Programme at Connah’s Quay High School.  He commented on the important work being carried out by Mr. Hawley and thanked him for his courtesy and time during the visit to the School.

            A number of Members echoed the comments made by the Chief Officer and Leader of the Council and thanked Mr. Hawley for the support he was providing.  The Chairman welcomed the opportunity to consider the topic, which had not been presented to the Committee previously and praised the Education and Youth Portfolio officers for presenting the report and raising the profile of support for Service children.

            The Leader of the Council suggested, if permitted, that the Committee visit the School Holiday Enrichment Programme as he had learnt a great deal about the support provided to Service children whilst visiting the Programme.  The Facilitator suggested that this be added to the Forward Work Programme with a note to say that, if allowed, next year that some Members of the Committee attend the School Holiday Enrichment Programme.

            It was suggested that the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, write to Mr. Peter Hawley and Connah’s Quay High School to thank him for his presentation and for the work being undertaken to support Service children In Education and also that the Chairman of the Council also be asked to write to Mr. Peter Hawley and Connah’s Quay High School to thank him for his presentation.  This suggestion was supported by the Committee.

The Chairman thanked Mr. Peter Hawley for his attendance.

The recommendation, as outlined within the report, including the additional recommendation to write to Mr. Peter Hawley, were moved and seconded by Councillor Janet Axworthy and Councillor Joe Johnson.  

RESOLVED:

(a)     That the Committee note and commend the progress of the work of the Education and Youth Portfolio in supporting schools to meet the needs of Service children in Education;

(b)     That the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, write to Mr. Peter Hawley and Connah’s Quay High School to thank him for his presentation and for the work being undertaken to support Service children In Education; and

(c)     That the Chairman of the Council be asked to write to Mr. Peter Hawley and Connah’s Quay High School to thank him for his presentation and for the work being undertaken to support Service children In Education, on behalf of the Council.