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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 minutes of the meeting of the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 December 2025 be approved.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the School Budget Forum held on 3 November 2025, and 27 November 2025 be noted.
RESOLVED: That the draft minutes of the Conwy Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education held on 11 February 2026 be noted.
RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme for the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, together with the combined forward work programme be approved.
RESOLVED: That the Progress in Schools - Academic Year 2024-2025 report be noted and that Members continue to support schools, children and young people of Conwy in their daily work.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Penny Andow, Chris Brockley and Simon Croft.
None.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 December 2025 be approved.
The minutes of the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 December 2025 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 December 2025 be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the School Budget Forum held on 3 November 2025, and 27 November 2025 be noted.
The minutes of the School Budget Forum held on 3 November 2025, and 27 November 2025 were submitted for information. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the School Budget Forum held on 3 November 2025, and 27 November 2025 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the draft minutes of the Conwy Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education held on 11 February 2026 be noted.
The draft minutes of the Conwy Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education held on 11 February 2026 were submitted for information. RESOLVED: That the draft minutes of the Conwy Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education held on 11 February 2026 be noted.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme for the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, together with the combined forward work programme be approved.
Members were presented with the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme (FWP) together with the combined FWP. Work was in progress to draft the FWP for the next municipal year, and individual planning meetings would be held for each Overview and Scrutiny Committee. RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme for the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, together with the combined forward work programme be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Progress in Schools - Academic Year 2024-2025 report be noted and that Members continue to support schools, children and young people of Conwy in their daily work.
The Cabinet Member for Education introduced a report outlining progress in schools for the 2024-2025 academic year. The Education Improvement Service Manager provided Members with a presentation, which included information on the new Estyn framework, primary schools, secondary schools, change and challenge and how support was provided. In scrutinising the report, Members discussed the following: • Lessons learnt from schools placed in special measures were considered on a case-by-case basis, reflecting each school’s context. - Whilst specific details were not discussed in open session due to schools being identifiable, it was noted that issues related primarily to teaching and learning practice, and that any anomalous policy matters were addressed promptly. • Improvement work was continuous throughout the academic year, including routine quality assurance, and termly engagement with school leaders. - It was confirmed that attendance-related recommendations were aligned with the authority’s own inspections. - Work undertaken during 2024/2025 included training for schools on attendance data, targeted support where attendance was not improving, and commissioning of a training programme on ‘Inclusive Attendance’ to ensure schools had appropriate conditions that supported regular attendance. - Attendance was reported to be improving, but not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a wider position across Wales. - Reduced attendance could impact learners’ progress by limiting access to the full educational offer. - Members were advised that the Attendance Strategy had been discussed as part of the Belonging, Engaging and Participation update, which was presented to the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee in May, 2025. • It was confirmed that financial pressures in schools could reduce leadership capacity and increase teaching commitments for headteachers. • An intensive induction programme was in place for new headteachers, followed by ongoing support once in post, including regular contact and pastoral support to ensure access to relevant service support. - Recruitment and retention were described as challenging, with workload and teaching commitment cited as significant factors. • In response to a query as to whether parents should be informed when a school was receiving ‘360’ support, it was advised that parents drew on a wide range of information when choosing schools and that, communities often remained supportive when a school entered a statutory category. - ‘360’ support could arise for a range of reasons, such as staffing capacity, financial pressures, leadership support needs, or specific areas for improvement, and did not necessarily indicate that a school would receive an adverse inspection outcome. - Support plans formed part of internal governance arrangements and local authority representation on governing bodies provided an appropriate forum for oversight. • Whilst there was no single Local Authority policy on mobile phones; some secondary schools had implemented a ‘no mobile phone’ approach during the school day, including the use of lockable pouches. - Guidance on such matters was available for both primary and secondary schools. • It was confirmed that, headteachers’ teaching commitments were increasingly influenced by the requirement to set balanced budgets, and that savings options in schools had reduced, resulting in difficult staffing and leadership structure decisions. - Leadership structures varied by school, with some smaller schools having limited senior leadership capacity. - Headteachers had highlighted risks and impacts to Members during Budget Working Groups. • The benefits of cluster working were highlighted. - For the 2025/2026 financial year, an allocation of approximately £60,000 was directed to support cluster working, with clusters invited to propose projects and funding provided to facilitate delivery. • Comparisons with other areas such as England in respect of GCSE attainment gaps was discouraged due to differing education systems and curriculum approaches. - Welsh Government guidance limited how Local Authorities may present direct comparisons in the public domain. RESOLVED: That the Progress in Schools - Academic Year 2024-2025 report be noted and that Members continue to support schools, children and young people of Conwy in their daily work.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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