Agenda and minutes

Cllr Watkins declared an interest as Governor of Tredegar Park Primary School.

The minutes of the meeting held 30^th July 2024 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

a)    Officer presentation

b)    Committee questioning and discussion

c)     Formation of comments and recommendations

Attendees:

Councillor Deborah Davies - Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years
Sarah Morgan - Head of Education
Sarah Davies - Deputy Chief Education Officer

The Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years (CM) introduced the report to the Committee.

The following was discussed:

• The Committee commended the progress made by schools, especially Pillgwenlly Primary School. The Head of Education (HOE) felt that the progress made was strong. The Deputy Chief Education Officer (DCEO) informed Committee that they have indicated to Estyn that the school was ready for a review.
• The Committee enquired whether Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed was in review because it was new and had limited year groups. The DCEO informed Committee that the school was no longer in review as it entered review in May 2022 but came out in July 2023.
• The Committee enquired about the need for fluent Welsh teachers and how they could apply. The HOE informed Committee that there was a need and further information could be provided outside of the meeting if required.
• The Committee queried whether deprived areas were compared like-for-like in Wales. The DCEO informed Committee that the framework did not consider this, and schools undertake their own evaluations. The HOE added that if a school had a high number of free school meals (FSM) and disadvantaged learners, Estyn would expect adequate provision for support. The Committee queried whether there were comparisons with England. The DCEO informed Committee that Estyn inspected in Wales only and the HOE added that inspection framework for England was different to Wales.
• The Committee enquired whether Estyn used summative gradings for schools. The HOE informed Committee they were removed to allow for broader feedback to schools and a better future focus. They added that this allowed schools to still cite good practice. The DCEO added that Estyn had created a specific report for parents which was more accessible. 
• The Committee enquired what impacts from the pandemic were still evident. The HOE informed Committee that attendance was still recovering, but data was in line with the national average and there were robust processes in place to support this. They added that babies and young children’s oracy skills were impacted and that there were delays in identification of additional learning needs (ALN) students. They added that they are working with Flying Start to have an earlier input into children’s lives. They noted that young people had missed out on social interaction but teachers were identifying individual children’s needs well.
• The Committee enquired what issues had been identified for children returning to school. The HOE informed Committee that the pandemic experience had impacted confidence in socialising and there were some difficulties reintegrating, but a project addressing emotional school-based avoidance was ongoing.
• The Committee were concerned at the extent of the impact of mental health issues on students and teachers. The HOE informed Committee that work had been undertaken to address this, including educational psychologists training teaching assistants and encouraging students to attend school-based counselling. They added that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

a)      Actions Arising (Appendix 1)

b)      Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 2)

1. Actions Arising
   
   

The Scrutiny Advisor informed the Committee that outstanding actions had been chased.

2. Forward Work Programme
   
   

The Scrutiny Advisor informed the Committee that the date of the next meetings is incorrect on the agenda, it should be the 26^th November and 10^th December but confirmed these are correct on the website and in diaries.

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