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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 Councillor Gina Maddison be appointed as Vice Chair of the Committee.
RESOLVED: That the minutes be deferred to the next meeting of the Committee.
RESOLVED: (a) That the Forward Work Programme be approved, as amended; (b) That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and (c) That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.
RESOLVED: (a) That the Committee note the attendance and exclusion data for Flintshire schools and the actions undertaken by officers to support increased engagement to promote the safety and wellbeing of our children and young people. (b) That the committee request a future report outlining how resource levels, curriculum breadth and school funding affects attendance and exclusions. What preventative strategies including investment in teaching and learning were required to reduce disengagement. (c) That Cabinet be asked to consider and report a risk management strategy of the long term financial consequences of underfunding schools including the rising cost associated with EOTAS, exclusion and youth disengagement
The Facilitator advised that, at the Annual Meeting, Council had determined that the Labour Group would chair this Committee. The Committee was advised that Councillor Teresa Carberry was the Chair of the Committee for the municipal year. RESOLVED: That the appointment of Councillor Teresa Carberry as Chair of the Committee be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That Councillor Gina Maddison be appointed as Vice Chair of the Committee.
Councillor Andrew Parkhurst nominated Councillor Carolyn Preece. This nominations was seconded by Councillor Dave Mackie. Councillor Ryan McKeown nominated Councillor Gina Maddison. This nomination was seconded by Councillor Jason Shallcross. RESOLVED: That Councillor Gina Maddison be appointed as Vice Chair of the Committee.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes be deferred to the next meeting of the Committee.
The Minutes (agenda item 5) of the meeting held on 7 May 2025 were presented for approval. Following comments made by Councillor Parkhurst, the Facilitator suggested that she review the recording of the meeting held on 7th May to ensure no actions had been excluded from the minutes. The Facilitator gave an assurance that if any actions had been missed, they would be added to the action tracking document and actioned ahead of the next Committee meeting. In view of the above, the Committee agreed that the approval of the draft minutes be deferred to the next Committee meeting. RESOLVED: That the minutes be deferred to the next meeting of the Committee.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: (a) That the Forward Work Programme be approved, as amended; (b) That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and (c) That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.
The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the Forward Work Programme (agenda item 6) to consider the Committee’s current Forward Work Programme and progress with actions. Councillor Carolyn Preece suggested that the School Meal Portion Size report would need to be moved back from the June meeting as Welsh Government (WG) had recently launched the Healthy Eating in Schools Consultation which was not due to end until the end of July. The Facilitator agreed to liaise with the Managing Director of NEWydd to see when best for the report to be submitted to the Committee. Councillor Preece also asked if a copy of the Policy and Procedure for Direct Award Contracts could be circulated to the Committee for information. The Facilitator confirmed that she would seek advice on whether this could be shared following the meeting. Councillor Parkhurst suggested that a report on the implications of the new Welsh Language in Education Bill be added to the FWP to be presented at a future meeting. Councillor Parkhurst referred to his earlier comments around the actions he believed to have been missed from the 7th May meeting in relation to the School Modernisation item and the assurance given that they would be included in the action tracking document if they had been missed. Councillor Parkhurst also raised concerns on the recent comments made by Cabinet around the transfer from Aura to Gwella and asked that the Chair write to all Gwella staff thanking them for their efforts during the transfer. The recommendations, as shown in the report, were supported. RESOLVED: (a) That the Forward Work Programme be approved, as amended; (b) That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and (c) That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: (a) That the Committee note the attendance and exclusion data for Flintshire schools and the actions undertaken by officers to support increased engagement to promote the safety and wellbeing of our children and young people. (b) That the committee request a future report outlining how resource levels, curriculum breadth and school funding affects attendance and exclusions. What preventative strategies including investment in teaching and learning were required to reduce disengagement. (c) That Cabinet be asked to consider and report a risk management strategy of the long term financial consequences of underfunding schools including the rising cost associated with EOTAS, exclusion and youth disengagement
The Chief Officer (Education & Youth), Senior Manager (Inclusion and Progress) and Senior Learning Advisor for Engagement jointly presented a report (agenda item 7) which provided an overview of the school attendance and exclusions levels for the academic year 2023/24 and included information on the increased levels of attendance and reasons for absences. An outline of the support provided by the portfolio’s support services, the Education Welfare Service and Health Services was also given. Councillor Fran Lister proposed the following two additional recommendations to those listed in the report, which were seconded by Councillor Carolyn Preece and supported by the Committee:- • That a future report outlining how resource levels, curriculum breadth, and school funding affect attendance and exclusions—and what preventative strategies, including investment in teaching and learning, are needed to reduce disengagement be added to the FWP; and • That Cabinet be asked to consider and report a risk management strategy of the long-term financial consequences of underfunding schools, including the rising costs associated with EOTAS, exclusion, and youth disengagement. Following a question from Councillor Parkhurst on fixed term exclusions and what happened to those children who were permanently excluded, the Chair suggested that this topic be added to the Committee’s Forward Work Programme in order for the Committee to understand the process around exclusions. RESOLVED: (a) That the Committee note the attendance and exclusion data for Flintshire schools and the actions undertaken by officers to support increased engagement to promote the safety and wellbeing of our children and young people. (b) That the committee request a future report outlining how resource levels, curriculum breadth and school funding affects attendance and exclusions. What preventative strategies including investment in teaching and learning were required to reduce disengagement. (c) That Cabinet be asked to consider and report a risk management strategy of the long term financial consequences of underfunding schools including the rising cost associated with EOTAS, exclusion and youth disengagement
RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded for the remainder of the meeting for the following items by virtue of exempt information under paragraph(s) 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
There were three members of the public in attendance. (The meeting started at 2pm and ended at 4.58pm) ………………………………………………… Chair
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