Agenda item
The resilience of schools in managing a significant number of changes
To receive a verbal update to provide assurance to the Committee on the highlighted recovery objective considered at a recent meeting of the Recovery Committee.
Decision:
(a) That the verbal update be noted; and
(b) That the Committee remained concerned on the pressure being put on Officers and Schools but supported and appreciated that the Chief Officer Team were doing everything in their power to manage the risk.
Minutes:
The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) provided a verbal update on the resilience of schools in managing a significant number of changes i.e. the new curriculum, Additional Learning Needs transformation and the introduction of Estyn school inspections.
The Chief Officer reported that this risk was a long term issue. Schools were being supported by the Education Portfolio and by the Regional School Improvement Service (GwE) to help them balance the demands of these significant changes, but feedback from Head Teachers was that balancing all the priorities whilst dealing with Covid cases and staff absences was hugely challenging. The reality of life in schools during the term had been regularly fed back at regional and national meetings and Headteachers had also recently shared their issues directly with the Minister for Education at a national conference. This risk remained high.
Councillor Dave Mackie spoke in support of the comments made by the Chief Officer. Whilst he felt that there were areas of concern which needed to be brought to the attention of Welsh Government (WG) given the current pressure being placed on schools with the Additional Learning Needs Act and the new Curriculum for Wales.
Councillor Paul Cunningham spoke in support of the comments made by Councillor Dave Mackie and commended the work of the officers on behalf of students to support them through their education. The Chief Officer thanked Councillors Dave Mackie and Paul Cunningham for their comments and said that it was a team effort together with the support of the improvement advisors in GwE who provided excellent support to schools and head teachers. She explained that she wrote to all head teachers at the end of each term to thank them for their efforts and said that she would include for the end of this coming term the comments of the Committee.
The Chairman thanked the Chief Officer and said that the comments of the Committee being included in the end of term email would be appropriate. He said that, apart from the challenges with Covid, the new Curriculum and Additional Learning Needs Act, they have had to deal with technological changes. How all staff had coped with all of the changes was greatly appreciated.
The Facilitator reported that feedback on consideration of the risks identified for the Committee would be provided to the next meeting of the Recovery Committee. She asked the Committee if they were assured following the verbal update from the Chief Officer that the risk was being managed.
Councillor Dave Mackie suggested that the feedback to the Recovery Committee be that “the Committee remained concerned on the pressure being put on Officers and Schools but supported and appreciated that the Chief Officer Team were doing everything in their power to manage the risk”.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the verbal update be noted; and
(b) That the Committee remained concerned on the pressure being put on Officers and Schools but supported and appreciated that the Chief Officer Team were doing everything in their power to manage the risk.