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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting at this point during consideration of this item as the Committee discussed exempt information of the description contained in Appendices 1, 4, 5 & 6. The public may be excluded from the meeting by resolution of the Committee pursuant to Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 during discussion of this item. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Scrutiny Officer writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Apologies were received from Cllr Boes and Cllr Ahmed. The Chair noted that Cllr Callum Davies and Emily Gao had now left the committee, as well as Celeste Lewis, who was a parent governor co-optee, and thanked them for their contributions over the years. The Chair welcomed Elisabeth Hagen (new parent governor co-optee) and Ashika Pennadam (Youth Council representative).
The following declarations of interest were received in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct: Name Agenda item Nature of interest Reason for interest Carol Cobert 5 Personal. Governor of Holy Family Roman Catholic School. Presentation – Coed Y Gof School.
The minutes of the previous meeting on 1st July were approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting at this point during consideration of this item as the Committee discussed exempt information of the description contained in Appendices 1, 4, 5 & 6. The public may be excluded from the meeting by resolution of the Committee pursuant to Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 during discussion of this item. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this agenda item provided them with the opportunity to carry out pre-decision scrutiny of the proposals, prior to their consideration by Cabinet on 18th September. The Chair reminded Members that as Appendices 1, 4, 5 and 6 were confidential, any discussion of their content would have to take place in exempt session. The Chair welcomed: Cllr Sarah Merry Cabinet Member for Education Melanie Godfrey Director of Education and Lifelong Learning Richard Portas Programme Director, School Organisation Programme Brett Andrewartha Planning Manager, School Organisation Programme The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which she reminded members about the background to the plans as part of the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme and the original contractor (ISG) going into administration in September 2024. Due to swift action by the Council, disruption was kept to a minimum and the plan is still for full occupation by the start of the 2026/2027 academic year. The report is to update on progress and the procurement process and recommends continuing with current arrangements to minimise disruption. The cabinet member recognised the work of officers on the programme to keep this on track in difficult circumstances Officers delivered a presentation on the Open part of the report and Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members commented on how good things looked, especially under such difficult circumstances, and asked if there was lift access, which was confirmed as being in place. Members asked about accessibility to apprenticeship places by members of the local community and how this is monitored, and it was confirmed that this is in the plan, and Social Value is monitored on a set formula set by Welsh Government across the whole programme. It was also confirmed that a Joint Management Committee is in place to make decisions on site on behalf of the campus, and Western Learning Federation is represented on this, so the interests of Cantonian and the Western Learning Federation are considered. The Western Learning Federation have access to the campus from September 2026. Members also asked about the challenges to the traffic infrastructure having 3 schools on one site, and it was confirmed that there had been a lot of discussion on this point, involving transport colleagues, staff members and residents, with consideration being given to school opening times, travel arrangements, ‘Active Travel’, including the availability for cycle storage and train timetables being made available. The new contractors also managed to create a staff car park for their staff on site, to avoid congestion in the local area, while the work is ongoing. Members raised a query regarding the Equality Impact Assessment and the negative impact included in that for those with learning disabilities and neurodivergence, and it was confirmed that that was a typo, and the overall impact is beneficial. This will be checked by Officers. RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting at this point during consideration of this item as the Committee discussed exempt information of the description contained in Appendices 1, 4, 5 & 6. The public may be excluded from the meeting by resolution of the Committee pursuant to Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 during discussion of this item. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this agenda item provided details of the output of the consultation exercise on extending the age range of pupils at Ysgol Gymraeg Coed-Y-Gof, prior to its consideration by Cabinet on 18th September. The Chair welcomed: Cllr Sarah Merry Cabinet Member for Education Melanie Godfrey Director of Education and Lifelong Learning Richard Portas Brett Andrewartha Programme Director, School Organisation Programme Planning Manager, School Organisation Programme The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which she explained this provided feedback on the consultation exercise to include a nursery at the school, which has largely been positive and supports the ambition for Welsh medium education and sustainability of the school. If this were to be agreed by Cabinet, the next stage would be to issue statutory notices. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members asked about plans to take account of additional traffic with an additional age group and it was confirmed that some minor changes have been made to accommodate taxis dropping off and buses and are including the Active Travel offer, especially as it is a local provision. They are not expecting any issues as they expect the provision to grow over time. Members raised the issue of current parking and traffic in the area at school drop off/pick up times in the area with 3 schools in close proximity and officers will discuss this with transport colleagues. Members asked what was planned for the low take up of Welsh medium places, especially amongst ethnic minority groups, and officers confirmed that this is part of the Welsh Education Strategic Plan to promote Welsh medium education and will be reported on in the annual review in the next few months. They acknowledged that there may be movement of children from other Welsh medium schools to this school, and there is a working group in place to promote Welsh medium education through a marketing programme, specifically in this area, and will work to identify and address barriers. Members were pleased to see aspirations for a 4th Welsh Medium Secondary school and asked whether this would be in another part of Cardiff as the current schools are based in the North of the City. It was accepted that there needs to be a better geographical balance, but there are a lot of variables to consider. There is a spike year expected, but generally birth rates continue to decline, so capacity is stable, so this is not a current short-medium term aspiration. If there was a need identified, a more equal geographic spread would be considered. Members asked about the expected impact of extending this provision, when in 2028/2029, there is expected to be a 36% surplus of Welsh medium places in Cardiff, and officers explained that the marketing campaign (mentioned previously) would focus on the West of Cardiff and that Ysgol Coed-Y-Gof had previously been fully subscribed. There were also plans to look at specialist provision in the Welsh medium sector. Members also asked about plans for including nursery provision in other primary schools that currently have none, and officers explained that they need to balance birth rates and spaces in established nursery provision, and there are currently enough spaces, but consider demand on a case-by-case basis. Members asked about the provision for wrap around care to service the school and the nursey classes at Code Y Gof, and officers confirmed that there is a Cylch Meithrin on site that offers wrap around care and there is a Cylch Ti a Fi which operates during the day and would be run through the school and not part of this plan. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this agenda item sought to provide background information on School Improvement Services in Cardiff. The Chair welcomed: Cllr Sarah Merry Cabinet Member for Education Melanie Godfrey Director of Education and Lifelong Learning Helen Williams Assistant Director of Education and Lifelong Learning The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which she explained that there would be a presentation which would provide an update. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members commented on how positive it was that 100% of schools had signed up to be involved, but asked whether Governors, Governing bodies and Estyn has been included, and officers confirmed that Governors have been part of this and there is the first annual conference planned for Governors on 24th September, which had come out of this work, but there is still work to be done. Welsh Government have been involved, and Estyn will be too. Officers also confirmed that the presentations would be made available and the conference could be recorded for those not able to attend in person. Members asked whether the National Education Improvement Team was another tier, in addition to the Local Authority and Estyn, and what their role is, and officers explained that the intention for the role at a national level is strategic, with the school improvement team operating at a local level, without duplication. There is recognition at Welsh Government level that this is needed. Members asked for clarification on previous queries raised on finances, especially now there have been a number of changes. Members asked for flavour of the membership of the Bwrdd Dysgu Caerdydd and officers will share the Bwrdd Dysgu Caerdydd brochure which shows all the CLIPS, priorities, how these have been decided and membership, and confirmed there is membership from primary, secondary and special schools. Members asked what the plans were after Year 1 to encourage CLIPS to work with other schools that they may not have chosen, and officers confirmed that the plans are to support and link schools together, through the School Improvement Team, and there are unlimited opportunities to share practice between English Medium, Welsh Medium, Primary, Secondary, Faith and Special schools, as they move forwards. Members asked about the lack of diversity amongst Head Teachers and how this is being addressed on the Bwrdd Dysgu Caerdydd at strategic level and officers confirmed that they will be looking at school workforce to address this, to involve all members of staff and support career development. It was confirmed that there would be a diverse participant on the board. Members asked about the availability of pupil progress and attainment data and officers agreed that was not currently available and were working on a plan to attain this. They are waiting on a steer from Welsh Government on this topic. Members asked about plans for children who are home schooled and how they are involved, and officers confirmed that they are working on a strategy for home schooled children, but that the Pupil Referral Units and EOTAS are now linked to secondary schools currently supported by Fitzalan school are now part of the secondary approach, so these children’s voices are heard and this is part of work being done with Secondary Head Teachers. One of the main strengths of this model is that schools are supporting each other. The focus of School Improvement is currently on grant-maintained schools, so not currently on children out of County, but this is being considered, along with addressing ALN across Cardiff. Members asked about the support in place for schools where Head Teachers are on secondment to Bwrdd Dysgu Caerdydd for that post and the wider impact on the school, and officers explained that this is being considered as the first year progresses and they will look at feedback provided and hope to be clearer on what is needed at end of Year 1. Members also asked about the outcomes for learners and how this is monitored and improvements measured and suggested that some ‘real life’ examples are provided to the committee. Officers explained pupil attainment data work is under way, and have GCSE, AS and A level outcomes that are monitored. Officers suggested some of the Head Teachers provide some ‘real life’ examples. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Scrutiny Officer writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this agenda item enabled them to agree an approved Work Programme for 2025/26. The Principal Scrutiny Officer explained the work that had been done over the Summer to pull together a suggested calendar and asked for comments and feedback from members. Child Friendly City team also consulted with Young People and have a top 5 priorities, some of which fall under other committees and are part of the items still to be timetabled. This a live document and will evolve. Members suggested adding a way to monitor NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and the impact of this on communities and it was suggested that this be included in the November meeting for questions to be asked. RESOLVED: That the Scrutiny Officer writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
There were none.
7th October at 4:30pm. The meeting terminated at 6.55 pm.
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