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AGREED to note the report for information. 5 Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin's Chief Executive The Chair welcomed to the meeting Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Chief Executive from Mudiad Meithrin to provide a presentation on their work as follows:- · Mudiad Meithrin’s Background -Why? When? What? How? Who? · Mudiad Meithrin – the national picture: data and trends, their work and vision · Mudiad Meithrin – Challenges – demography (fewer children, brain drain / depopulation, workforce planning, volunteering, perceptions about childcare, rural and urban...) · Mudiad Meithrin – why is this of interest to you? - Why is this of interest to Ceredigion County Council's Education Scrutiny Committee? o Policy context: Cymraeg 2050, Welsh and Education Bill, economy, expansion of Flying Start, ARWAP, Arfor, the Commission on Welsh-speaking Communities o Practical context: Childcare provision, Early Years influence on statutory education, Cymraeg 2050, working with parents · Mudiad Meithrin – who’s who in Ceredigion? · Mudiad Meithrin – our members’ provisions in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – key statistics about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Dewi a Doti - Welsh language YouTube channel for young children since March 2024.Over 130 videos including storytime, songs, yoga, introducing Sign Language and much more. The team had visited over 30 early learning settings to film content for the channel Over 1500 subscribers, 145,400 views and total watch time of 3,000 hours · Mudiad Meithrin – key additional information about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – what’s on the cards for us in the near future Following questions from the floor on the work of Mudiad Meithrin, the Chair thanked Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies for her informative presentation and attending the meeting.
AGREED that 2 of these services/teams budgets would be considered at each forthcoming meeting. It was agreed that catering and the Museum would be the first to be considered.
Councillor Euros Davies and Gareth Lewis apologised for their inability to attend the meeting.
Councillor Amanda Edwards, Chris James, Gareth Lloyd, Ann Bowen Morgan and Caryl Roberts declared a personal interest in item 5.
Councillor Wyn Thomas congratulated the following:- • The seven schools that had taken part at Talwrn y Beirdd which was held recently in Cardigan Castle; and to the winners Aberaeron Comprehensive School. Also, to Erin Tomos who won the Young People’s trophy. • All Year 6 pupils and instrumentalists that had performed in the recent Ceredigion Primary Schools prom held at the Arts Centre’s Great Hall in Aberystwyth .He also reported that Ceredigion Music Service would be holding their Proms in Cardigan Castle on Sunday evening. • Lleucu Nest, a Ysgol Penweddig pupil who represented Ceredigion in the UK Youth Parliament as Ceredigion’s Member of Youth Parliament (MYP), Kiani Francis, Ysgol Penglais pupil who represented Ceredigion in the Wales Youth Parliament and Bronwen Tuson, also a pupil at Ysgol Penglais and Chair of Ceredigion Youth Council, travelled to London to meet with Ceredigion Member of Parliament, Ben Lake. A ‘Pawb a’i Farn’ session would be held in the Chamber the following day by the Ceredigion Youth Forum • To all pupils that had been successful on obtaining awards in the Ceredigion Sports event • The pupils that had written two new novels which had been published following collaborative work by pupils from primary schools in Ceredigion and the National Library of Wales He also wished the Headteacher of Aberporth and Craig yr Wylfa / Talybont well on their retirement. Mr Trystan Phillips on his appointment as Head Teacher of Cardigan Secondary School from his current position at Penparc Primary School. To Gareth Lewis, Head of PRU unit and Dr Gareth Langan, Challenge Advisor, School Improvement on their new posts outside the authority and to Mrs Menna Sweeny, Challenge Advisor on her retirement.
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AGREED to note the report for information. 5 Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin's Chief Executive The Chair welcomed to the meeting Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Chief Executive from Mudiad Meithrin to provide a presentation on their work as follows:- · Mudiad Meithrin’s Background -Why? When? What? How? Who? · Mudiad Meithrin – the national picture: data and trends, their work and vision · Mudiad Meithrin – Challenges – demography (fewer children, brain drain / depopulation, workforce planning, volunteering, perceptions about childcare, rural and urban...) · Mudiad Meithrin – why is this of interest to you? - Why is this of interest to Ceredigion County Council's Education Scrutiny Committee? o Policy context: Cymraeg 2050, Welsh and Education Bill, economy, expansion of Flying Start, ARWAP, Arfor, the Commission on Welsh-speaking Communities o Practical context: Childcare provision, Early Years influence on statutory education, Cymraeg 2050, working with parents · Mudiad Meithrin – who’s who in Ceredigion? · Mudiad Meithrin – our members’ provisions in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – key statistics about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Dewi a Doti - Welsh language YouTube channel for young children since March 2024.Over 130 videos including storytime, songs, yoga, introducing Sign Language and much more. The team had visited over 30 early learning settings to film content for the channel Over 1500 subscribers, 145,400 views and total watch time of 3,000 hours · Mudiad Meithrin – key additional information about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – what’s on the cards for us in the near future Following questions from the floor on the work of Mudiad Meithrin, the Chair thanked Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies for her informative presentation and attending the meeting.
Councillor Wyn Thomas, Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills firstly provided a summary of the background to the Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) 2022-2027 Year 3 Progress Report (2024-2025). It was reported currently during Year 3 the number of registered childcare places rose by 69 places to 1497 places during the year, in contrast to an annual decline since March 2020. However, registered places were still lower than March 2020. There was also a slight increase in the number of live births according to Ceredigion postcodes with a total of 528 births, (up by 21 from the previous year). It was reported that the key achievements in Year 3 was as follows: 1. Ceredigion’s work on the recruitment and retention of Childminders was recognised as good practise by WG who requested a case study to be included in a ministerial report and shared with other Local Authorities. 2. 20 of Ceredigion Childminders were inspected by CIW and had their inspection reports published during the last year. 3. A promotional campaign called ‘Childminding and Me’ during Childminding Week 2024, was successful in increasing enquiries about becoming a Childminder. 4. Mudiad Meithrin applied for Shared Prosperity Funding to pilot administrative support to volunteer committees. A Business Officer was appointed for 15 hours per week to provide administrative support to four of the Cylchoedd. 5. 407, 3- to 4-year-olds benefitted from the Childcare Offer. This is the highest since it was introduced in Ceredigion in 2018. 6. 93% of children accessed the four core Flying Start services. With 16% of children receiving additional support for complex needs. 7. 64 children benefitted from the phase 2 expansion, with 12.5% receiving additional support for complex needs. 8. A new Cylch Meithrin opened in Lampeter at Ysgol Bro Pedr - Cylch Meithrin Pont Pedr offering 18 registered childcare places. 9. It was a busy year in terms of mandatory training, 125 staff undertook Paediatric First Aid training, 105 Group B Safeguarding and 75 Group C Safeguarding training. 10. £58,132.00 was awarded in sustainability grants/start-up grants to 67 providers. 11. Ysgol Dyffryn Aeron opened in January 2025 which included childcare provision by Cylch Meithrin Dyffryn Aeron and a private provider who runs an after-schoolclub and holiday club – Clwb y Dyffryn. A total of 56 registered childcare places available. 12. 43 providers received small capital grants totalling £374,208.00. 13. 17 practitioners undertook CAMAU training to develop their Welsh language skills. 14. 81% of providers can provide a Welsh medium or Welsh medium and English medium service to families. 15. Through strong working partnership between all relevant council services, we have been able to maintain the fine balance between providing Welsh language education in line with WESP requirements and ensure the future and sustainability of childcare provision in 2 settings. 16. Awareness of the Tax-free Childcare scheme is increasing as we have seen a 4% increase in the take-up during 2024-2025. In relation to areas of concern, it was reported that the areas of progress report follows the seven themes identified in the CSA as the priority areas of work which included the themes listed below. Many of the concerns identified in the report were national concerns which were often out of their control. However, they continued to raise awareness of these with WG. It was reported that the Sustaining / Enhancing Provision was as follows:- • Child poverty rates continue to increase with Ceredigion the third highest in Wales. • Flying Start childcare for 2-year-olds remains to be postcode based. Further expansion areas were introduced in April 2025. However, this was still not county wide. • Some childcare settings were reporting that they were full and were unable to take on additional children, this will impact the Flying Start expansion, in particular areas such as Cregyn Aeron (Aberaeron) and Cylch Meithrin Llewod Bach. • The number of registered Out of School Clubs continues to decline. Parents were unable to access financial support when using unregistered provision. There was no regulation in place to ensure staff in unregistered clubs had a DBS and relevant training in first aid and safeguarding. • Most of our Cylchoedd Meithrin, Playgroups and Out of School provision were run by Voluntary managed committees. However, in recent years it was becoming more apparent how fragile this model was in managing childcare provision. Settings unable to maintain a committee would be forced to close, resulting in loss of childcare from those communities. In relation to Recruitment , the following information was provided:- • Recruitment issues continue to affect the sector as staff move within settings, with little new staff coming through, finding and recruiting Welsh speaking staff was becoming even more challenging. • Finding bank staff was also a challenge. As a result, providers were having to ask staff to attend training during the evenings or weekends as they are unable to bring bank staff in during the daytime. This had a financial implication for settings as they must pay additional hours for staff to attend the training ‘out of normal working hours’. • The requirement for staff to have a Play work qualification in the Out of School Club settings was making it more difficult to recruit staff. Two clubs have had to suspend their CIW registration due to being unable to recruit qualified staff. The number of learners undertaking a Level 3 Childcare, Play, Learning and Development practitioner training through the medium of Welsh (Cam wrth Gam) with Mudiad Meithrin or Coleg Ceredigion was low in Ceredigion. • There remained concerned that due to the Safeguarding Children CPD additional requirements (6 hours per year), renewal periods, and high turnover of Committee Members who must now all carry out Safeguarding training, the demand for training would be high when due for renewal. WG Training and Support Grant would be required annually to ensure training can be offered to all staff. In relation to Economy / Sustainability, it was report that:- • Since the creation of the Children and Communities grant formerly known as Community Focused Schools Grant in 2011, they had seen no increase in the budget for the Childcare and Play element, despite rising staff costs and therefore they were having to reduce service delivery as they continued to receive a standstill budget. • Demand for sustainability grants were increasing yet the funding available was decreasing. • Following storm Darragh in December 2024, Cylch Meithrin Cei Newydd had to move to the Community Hall on a temporary basis. This had resulted in the decrease of places they could offer from 19 down to 15. Work was in progress to submit a business justification case for capital funding for a new cabin for the Cylch. • The opening of Cylch Meithrin Pont Pedr had been a success in Lampeter. However, ideally, purpose-built premises was required with additional outdoor space and resources. If school numbers increase in Ysgol Bro Pedr they would require the classroom back. • Work was underway to ensure lease arrangements through the Estates Department were in place. There was a need to ensure that all childcare settings had a legal lease in place securing the tenure of that provision on council or school property, particularly when grant funding had been obtained for the development of childcare facilities. In relation to housing, it was reported that they continued to monitor housing developments that would help plan for expected increase in demand for childcare places. With Additional Learning Needs (ALN), the following was reported:- • Settings were reporting difficulties in recruiting staff to support children on the Cynllun Cyfeirio scheme. • There was no financial assistance available for settings to support additional staff costs for children with complex needs under the age of 2. • Children with complex needs can only receive 10- or 12.5-hours additional support per week, unless they were eligible for additional hours through the Childcare Offer. • A reduction in the number of registered After School Clubs (due to being unable to recruit qualified Playwork staff) had an impact on the number of children accessing the Ymuno scheme. With the fragile nature of After School provision, they were concerns about future access to mainstream childcare for children with additional needs. • 4% increase in children requiring additional support for complex needs (Flying Start - section 1). In relation to the Welsh Language, it was reported that:- • The population of Ceredigion residents aged 3 or older who could speak Welsh continued to decline. • Staff recruitment was still proving difficult, finding and recruiting Welsh speaking staff was becoming even more challenging. • The low take-up of individuals undertaking childcare qualifications through the medium of Welsh was of a concern. It was reported that with Sharing Information, that:- • They continued to promote the financial support available with childcare costs to ensure families were aware. However, as highlighted in the recruitment section, finding qualified staff was an issue which is impacting providers to continue as registered settings, particularly in the Out of School Sector where the Playwork qualification was an issue. This means families were unable to access financial support when provision was unregistered. • Further work was required to increase awareness of the FIS amongst families and professionals by council services. • Further training was required for Clic staff to ensure that they could respond or signpost any FIS enquiries appropriately. • Engaging with some childcare providers could be challenging as not all wish to receive the support they offered. However, they would continue to offer support and advice in order that they could improve the quality of their service. It was reported that the Next Steps for the service were as follows as they entered Year 4, their priorities would focus on: • Promoting Phase 3 of the Flying Start expansion to ensure families eligible for the funded childcare were taking advantage of it. • Encourage more staff to take up the play work training qualification. • Promote the benefits of undertaking a childcare qualification through the medium of Welsh by working with Coleg Ceredigion and Mudiad Meithrin. • Continue to offer appropriate training to staff to ensure they meet the needs of all children within their setting. • Increase the range of CPD training opportunities available. • Prepare and submit a business justification case for capital funding to build a purpose-built childcare facility in Lampeter. • Await a decision on the Business Justification Case (BJC) for Cei Newydd, if unsuccessful alternative options would be considered. • Try to increase the number of registered out of school childcare clubs. More registered clubs would provide more choice for parents of children with additional needs. This could lead to more demand for Ymuno support. • Ensure children with additional needs had the appropriate support and equipment required to attend a childcare setting. • Contribute to the work of the Dyfodol Dwyieithog strategy and WESP to raise awareness of the value of the Welsh language amongst the childcare sectors. Following questions from the floor, it was AGREED to note the report for information. 5 Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin's Chief Executive The Chair welcomed to the meeting Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Chief Executive from Mudiad Meithrin to provide a presentation on their work as follows:- · Mudiad Meithrin’s Background -Why? When? What? How? Who? · Mudiad Meithrin – the national picture: data and trends, their work and vision · Mudiad Meithrin – Challenges – demography (fewer children, brain drain / depopulation, workforce planning, volunteering, perceptions about childcare, rural and urban...) · Mudiad Meithrin – why is this of interest to you? - Why is this of interest to Ceredigion County Council's Education Scrutiny Committee? o Policy context: Cymraeg 2050, Welsh and Education Bill, economy, expansion of Flying Start, ARWAP, Arfor, the Commission on Welsh-speaking Communities o Practical context: Childcare provision, Early Years influence on statutory education, Cymraeg 2050, working with parents · Mudiad Meithrin – who’s who in Ceredigion? · Mudiad Meithrin – our members’ provisions in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – key statistics about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Dewi a Doti - Welsh language YouTube channel for young children since March 2024.Over 130 videos including storytime, songs, yoga, introducing Sign Language and much more. The team had visited over 30 early learning settings to film content for the channel Over 1500 subscribers, 145,400 views and total watch time of 3,000 hours · Mudiad Meithrin – key additional information about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – what’s on the cards for us in the near future Following questions from the floor on the work of Mudiad Meithrin, the Chair thanked Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies for her informative presentation and attending the meeting.
The Chair welcomed to the meeting Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Chief Executive from Mudiad Meithrin to provide a presentation on their work as follows:- · Mudiad Meithrin’s Background -Why? When? What? How? Who? · Mudiad Meithrin – the national picture: data and trends, their work and vision · Mudiad Meithrin – Challenges – demography (fewer children, brain drain / depopulation, workforce planning, volunteering, perceptions about childcare, rural and urban...) · Mudiad Meithrin – why is this of interest to you? - Why is this of interest to Ceredigion County Council's Education Scrutiny Committee? o Policy context: Cymraeg 2050, Welsh and Education Bill, economy, expansion of Flying Start, ARWAP, Arfor, the Commission on Welsh-speaking Communities o Practical context: Childcare provision, Early Years influence on statutory education, Cymraeg 2050, working with parents · Mudiad Meithrin – who’s who in Ceredigion? · Mudiad Meithrin – our members’ provisions in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – key statistics about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Dewi a Doti - Welsh language YouTube channel for young children since March 2024.Over 130 videos including storytime, songs, yoga, introducing Sign Language and much more. The team had visited over 30 early learning settings to film content for the channel Over 1500 subscribers, 145,400 views and total watch time of 3,000 hours · Mudiad Meithrin – key additional information about Mudiad in Ceredigion · Mudiad Meithrin – what’s on the cards for us in the near future Following questions from the floor on the work of Mudiad Meithrin, the Chair thanked Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies for her informative presentation and attending the meeting.
Councillor Wyn Thomas, Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills provide Members with an update on the Relational Practice Vision for schools and Local Authority. Following the collaborative work of the Behaviour and Wellbeing Forum to achieve the subsequent objectives, the School Improvement Service along with the Attainment and Engagement had invested in the work of Paul Dix – When The Adults Change to implement the Vision of Relational Practice within our schools. • Establish a consistent, Ceredigion-wide approach to deal with behaviour and to promote the positive wellbeing of children and young people. • Consider workforce development across Ceredigion to ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to undertake their role and at times deal with difficult/challenging situations. • Develop consistent monitoring and reviewing processes for supporting children and young people. Stakeholders heard from Maureen Mckenna former Director of Education for Glasgow who successfully implemented the vision of relational practice with the aim of making Glasgow a Nurturing City. Glasgow saw an improvement in attainment and a reduction in exclusion rates. Mrs Mckenna was currently commissioned by London’s Serious Violence Reduction Unit to reduce serious violence through a relational approach along with working with Paul Dix -WTAC. Following this research and agreement with the forum, Ceredigion had decided to invest in a Relational approach vision to promote positive behaviour in our schools and across services. Currently, the Local Authority, supported by the School Improvement Service, had committed funding to a universal professional learning programme based on “When the Adults Change”, a relational practice model. The programme was officially launched this year to a wide audience including senior council members, headteachers, service managers, youth service staff, educational psychologists, and school-based counsellors. Another Relational Practice launch would be delivered to a wider audience i.e all school staff, wider LA services, Lynne Neagle Education Minister for Wales and Estyn representative on the 1st and 2nd of September at Aberystwyth Great Hall and Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan. Schools had now been given a two-year window to fully engage with the programme, recognising that deep culture change takes time and support. The Next Steps for 2026–2027 was as follows: • Support schools in embedding relational practice through ongoing training, coaching, and network support. • Share emerging practice and success stories across the region to promote consistency and peer learning. Methods of Working and Meetings All schools will receive a Relational Practice Health Check by WTACto to support them with Relational Practice priorities. Attainment and Engagement team and School Improvement team would support schools with the implementation of priorities. Governance and Accountability • The School Improvement Team and Attainment and Engagement team would support schools with the delivery of Relational Practice. • Each partner representative was responsible for sharing the work of the group within each school / service area. Discussion evolved on the use of mobile phones in schools and their impact on the behaviour of pupils. It was noted that work was ongoing to address this issue with pupils and parents to cease the use of mobile phones during the school day, however, it was also noted that mobile phones did have positive uses and apps on them were used by the pupils e.g. pupils require their phones to check for their timetable. One school had decided to revert to the schoolcontact book for this purpose. It was agreed to note the report for information.
Mr Duncan Hall, Corporate Lead Officer Finance & Procurement provided Members with an Oversight of in year Financial Matters. He reported the latest quarterly financial position, which was the Q4 final outturn position for 24/25 as reported to Cabinet on 01/07/25 (which included the latest BRAG status position on the 24/25 Budget Reductions). This included both Revenue and Capital Financial Monitoring reports. Provisional high-level information was also provided in relation to the national position on Delegated School Balances as at 31st March 2025. This information enabled the Committee to scrutinise the financial matters pertinent to the areas of Service falling within its remit. At any point during the year, the Committee may choose to explore any area of the Budget within its remit via the Forward Work programme.
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AGREED that 2 of these services/teams budgets would be considered at each forthcoming meeting. It was agreed that catering and the Museum would be the first to be considered.
It was agreed to note the content of the Forward Work Programme. It was noted that there were seven services/teams within the Education service, therefore it was AGREED that 2 of these services/teams budgets would be considered at each forthcoming meeting. It was agreed that catering and the Museum would be the first to be considered.
It was AGREED to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the previous meeting held on the 29 April 2025 and 08 May 2025. Matters arising Councillor Marc Davies requested an update if a response had been received from the Welsh Government. It was reported that clarification would be sought if a response had been received as the officer that had sent the letter was no longer in post. A copy of the letter sent, and the response would be recirculated to Members.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
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