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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 Pat Davies be duly elected as Vice-Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.
RESOLVED That the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the continuing collaboration between Schools, the Local Authority and Pembrokeshire College under the Memorandum of Understanding, prior to review by Council.
RESOLVED That the Committee endorsed the 202-22 Section 175 annual report as evidence of safeguarding in Pembrokeshire schools with the knowledge that an action plan will be formulated by the safeguarding team to address all actions in the audit.
RESOLVED That the Committee considered and noted the information provided within the report.
RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the content of the report and recommends that Cabinet approve the WESP for the period September 2022 – August 2031.
RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the information and endorsed the priorities outlined. [Councillors Anji Tinely and John Davies left the meeting at this juncture]
RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the update provided on the development of Partneriaeth and did not identify any specific additional data required at this stage.
RESOLVED That a workshop be arranged for all Committee Members, including co-opted members, to agree a process and methodology for further developing the work programme.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That Councillor Pat Davies be duly elected as Vice-Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.
The Chairman sought nominations for the role of Vice-Chair. Councillor John Davies Moved that Councillor Pat Davies be duly elected; Seconded by Councillor David Howlett. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Pat Davies be duly elected as Vice-Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.
The Following declarations of interest were made in relation to educational matters: · Councillor Huw Murphy declared a personal interest, by virtue of being a Governor at Ysgol y Preseli and Ysgol Bro Ingli. · Councillor Mike Stoddart declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item No. 6 – Annual review of the Memorandum of Understanding for the delivery of Post-16 Education in Pembrokeshire, by virtue of his Daughter being employed at Pembrokeshire College and advised that he would leave the meeting during that item of business as he had not yet obtained a dispensation from the Standards Committee. · Councillor John Davies declared a personal interest in Agenda Item No. 9 - Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, by virtue of being a Governor at Ysgol y Preseli and Ysgol Cilgerran, appointed by the Authority. · Mrs Alison Kavanagh, Parent Governor Representative, declared a personal interest in Agenda Item No. 9 - Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, by virtue of being a Parent Governor at Golden Grove School. · Councillor Aled Thomas declared a personal interest in Agenda Item No. 9 - Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, by virtue of being a Community Governor at Ysgol Caer Elen.
Moved by Councillor John Davies; Seconded by Councillor Pat Davies The vote, by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 March 2022 be approved as a correct record.
There were no public submissions or items of correspondence received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the continuing collaboration between Schools, the Local Authority and Pembrokeshire College under the Memorandum of Understanding, prior to review by Council.
[Having previously declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this item of business, Councillor Mike Stoddart withdrew from the meeting] The Committee considered a report by the Director for Education on the Annual review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the delivery of Post-16 Education in Pembrokeshire. The Chairman welcomed the 14-19 School Advisor and the Principal of Pembrokeshire College to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions raised by Members. The Committee considered the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · A number of questions were raised by Councillors Alistair Cameron, Aled Thomas and John Davies, regarding the lack of specific and comparable data within the report. The 14-19 School Advisor advised that Welsh Government had paused the exchange of outcome data but advised that additional data would be included in the next review regarding outcomes, capacity and engagement of pupils in sixth form and comparisons between Welsh and English medium schools. · Councillor Aled Thomas highlighted a spelling error within the MoU which the Director for Education noted and stated that a number of minor amendments would be made to the document before it’s submission to Council, of which a copy of the updated document would be circulated to Committee Members. · Councillor John Davies sought further information regarding the level of intake into post-16 education in comparison to previous years. The Principal outlined the number of learners undertaking A-Levels and vocational provision programmes at the College currently, and the 14-19 School Advisor followed up by advising Members that since 2015, figures of year 11 leavers going on to study A-levels had fallen, although in recent years the numbers seemed to have stabilised. · The Principal of Pembrokeshire College informed Members that the College present all A-Level outcomes to the A-Level Committee, which the Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language sits on, and advised that previously the Chairman of Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also attended, which if the new Chairman would be interested, the invite was still open. The Principal highlighted an issue which may arise regarding viable group sizes, stating that Welsh Government had deemed the demographic funding model to not be sustainable going forward. · Following a query raised by Councillor Maureen Bowen, the 14-19 School Advisor outlined the difference between a traineeship and an apprenticeship and the differentiation of allowances and pay for each. The Principal of Pembrokeshire College advised that the College were one of 10 contract holders for delivering apprenticeships in Wales and were currently delivering to the Colleges’ maximum capacity (500 currently) and ensured Members that transferable skills were soundly embedded into the apprenticeship framework along with a range of other essential skills. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor John Davies The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the continuing collaboration between Schools, the Local Authority and Pembrokeshire College under the Memorandum of Understanding, prior to review by Council.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee endorsed the 202-22 Section 175 annual report as evidence of safeguarding in Pembrokeshire schools with the knowledge that an action plan will be formulated by the safeguarding team to address all actions in the audit.
The Committee considered the Section 175 Safeguarding Audit report for 2021-22 by the Director for Education. The Chairman welcomed the Safeguarding in Education Manager and the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Social Care and Safeguarding to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions raised by Members. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Social Care and Safeguarding reiterated that she was the lead member for safeguarding as part of her Cabinet Role and highlighted that currently the Members safeguarding champion role was vacant and encouraged any Member who may be interested in the role to put their name forward. Reference was made to the Whole Authority Safeguarding Group and the important role that Governors play regarding safeguarding in schools was highlighted. It was noted that the Authority were currently putting together a schedule of seminars for Elected Members which would include safeguarding. The Committee considered the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Councillor Alistair Cameron raised concerns with not all schools having an electronic recording system to which the Safeguarding in Education Manager advised that all schools were encouraged to invest in the electronic model although budget restraints may be a reason for some as to why they have not yet done so. · Following a question raised by Councillor Alistair Cameron regarding the protocols that are in place to ensure agency teaching staff are fully briefed on the schools safeguarding policies, the Safeguarding in Education Manager advised that a briefing sheet had been created for each school, which was provided to agency staff on their arrival, outlining the key information they need to be aware of to conduct their safeguarding duties within that school. · Councillor Marc Tierney requested further information as to how the actions would be monitored and what the timescales would be. The Safeguarding in Education Manager advised that all actions which fall under the Authority’s responsibility would be progressed and monitored via an action plan, which would be available for scrutiny if required. · Following a number of questions from Councillor Pat Davies, the Safeguarding in Education Manager provided information regarding how the safe recruitment training would be conducted going forward for schools along with other mandatory and non-mandatory training modules. · Councillor Mike Stoddart queried if any additional audit was undertaken or if the Authority relied solely on schools self-assessments for safeguarding. The Safeguarding in Education Manager outlined a number of other systems and protocols which were in place to ensure compliance and monitoring. The Director for Education added that Authority’s internal audit team also conduct checks on the safeguarding processes on an annual basis which are used to inform future action plans. It was noted that the checks undertaken for 2022 by the internal audit team were a fair match to the information provided by schools. · Councillor John Davies made reference to the prevent agenda and requested comment on the matter from the Safeguarding in Education Manager. Members were informed that workshops had been provided and that the prevent agenda was a focus for schools, although it was noted that schools had been honest about struggling to manage competing focuses including radicalisation and peer on peer sexual harassment. It was added that further spotlight articles would be provided via the education newsletter. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Maureen Bowen The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee endorsed the 202-22 Section 175 annual report as evidence of safeguarding in Pembrokeshire schools with the knowledge that an action plan will be formulated by the safeguarding team to address all actions in the audit.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee considered and noted the information provided within the report.
The Committee considered a report by the Principal Education Welfare Officer on Elective Home Education (EHE) in Pembrokeshire. The Chairman welcomed the Head of Engagement, Performance & Community and thePrincipal Education Welfare Officer to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions raised by Members. The Committee considered the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Following a number of questions raised by Councillor Mel Phillips, the Principal Education Welfare Officer provided some further information regarding the legislation under the Education Act and clarified that it was not a requirement for parents of home educated children to have a teaching qualification. A brief summary of the result of the tragic Dylan Seabridge case was provided by the Director for Education. · On receiving a number of questions from Tom Moses, Parent Governor Representative, the Principal Education Welfare Officer outlined the current capacity of team and stated that additional admin support was being sought to assist. It was stated that the current EHE advisor had a background in primary teaching but not secondary, although there was no criteria which stated that the advisor needed to have a teaching background. It was stated that further engagement sessions would be held and the suggestion of creating a group, separate to the youth service provision, for EHE learners and parents was accepted and could be considered as a future opportunity. · Councillor Alistair Cameron queried if the Authority were able to influence the level of socialisation EHE learners are subject to and raised concerns that if they wished to integrate into further education they may find it more difficult. The Principal Education Welfare Officer advised that many EHE learners were highly socialised via youth and community clubs but stated that the Authority were limited to having much influence over socialisation levels. · In response to a question raised by Councillor Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, regarding the examination process for EHE children, the Principal Education Welfare Officer advised that it was the responsibility of the parents to enter EHE children for exams, if they wished, although no standardised assessment was required. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Tom Moses, Parent Governor Representative The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee considered and noted the information provided within the report.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the content of the report and recommends that Cabinet approve the WESP for the period September 2022 – August 2031.
The Committee considered a report by the Director for Education on the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP). The Chairman welcomed the Resources and Governance Manager to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions raised by Members. The Committee considered the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Following an update request from Alison Kavanagh, Parent Governor Representative, regarding the capital programme project for Ysgol Bro Penfro, the Resources and Governance Manager advised that discussions were ongoing with Welsh Government regarding funding and the current timescale on the implementation of the school was unlikely to be before September 2024. · Councillor John Davies expressed the importance of consultation to ascertain where welsh medium schools were required to ensure sustainable provision. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Education and Welsh Language responded to advise Members that Cabinet had agreed to a review of catchment areas which would be undertaken imminently although the Authority had to work to Welsh Government timelines. · Further information was provided regarding the WESP, which stated that the plan would be broken down into two sets of five years and would be reviewed annually as a working document. · Councillor John Davies drew attention to a number of specific issues relating to transport provision around the borders of Pembrokeshire. The Resources and Governance Manager advised that such matters would not be dealt with as part of the catchment area review, but would be looked at as part of a future review of the school transport policy. · Councillor Maureen Bowen expressed a view that in her ward, many residents were not of the opinion that the provision of Welsh medium education was a priority and felt that allocation of money could be better utilised, this opinion was not one shared by all Committee Members. · Councillors Aled Thomas and David Howlett expressed their support of the Welsh language and stated that being proactive in the promotion of choice was important. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Pat Davies The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried, with a vote against the motion being recorded for Councillor Maureen Bowen. RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the content of the report and recommends that Cabinet approve the WESP for the period September 2022 – August 2031.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the information and endorsed the priorities outlined. [Councillors Anji Tinely and John Davies left the meeting at this juncture]
The Committee considered a report by the Director for Education on the Education Improvement Priorities and Directorate Plan Updates. The Chairman welcomed the Director and the Head of Education Improvement and Commissioning to the meeting to partake in the discussion and answer questions raised by Members. The Committee considered the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Councillor John Davies made reference to the Estyn Action Plan, which the Authority had been progressing with, and requested further information as to how that plan would now be scrutinised. The Director advised that the it would be the roll of the Committee to scrutinse updates in relation to the plan, which would also form part of the Directorate plan and added that another Estyn visit had been scheduled for the Autumn term. · Councillor Marc Tierney drew the Directors attention to the health and well-being of learner’s priority and requested that social matters such as the effects child poverty and the cost of living crisis have on learners be included. The Director provided assurance that social matters would be embedded into the end state descriptors. Following a request by Councillor Pat Davies, the Director agreed ‘for all learners to be given the opportunity to play a role in the future prosperity of Pembrokeshire’ would also be captured within the vision end state descriptors. · Following a request by Tom Moses, Parent Governor Representative, the Director provided further information regarding the green school agenda. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor John Davies The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the information and endorsed the priorities outlined. [Councillors Anji Tinely and John Davies left the meeting at this juncture]
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the update provided on the development of Partneriaeth and did not identify any specific additional data required at this stage.
The Committee considered a report by the Director for Education regarding Partneriaeth. The Committee considered the contents of the report and following a question raised by Councillor Alistair Cameron, the Director informed Members that the partnership was currently made up of the three Local Authority’s outlined and not four, as Neath Port Talbot Council had opted out of joining the partnership. It was noted that the partnership was enabling the Authority to maintain it’s statutory function in regards to Education along with providing opportunities to draw on the expertise of others, of which a number of examples were provided. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Pat Davies The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee reviewed the update provided on the development of Partneriaeth and did not identify any specific additional data required at this stage.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That a workshop be arranged for all Committee Members, including co-opted members, to agree a process and methodology for further developing the work programme.
The Chairman drew the Members attention to the forward work programme included within the agenda pack, and asked them to consider whether they would be interested in a work planning session, to consider current and future items for the programme, to which it was concluded that a session would be beneficial. Tom Moses, Parent Governor Representative, highlighted the importance of Co-opted Members being invited to the work planning session, if the Committee resolve to hold one, to which the Chairman provided assurance that they would be. Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Maureen Bowen The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That a workshop be arranged for all Committee Members, including co-opted members, to agree a process and methodology for further developing the work programme.
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.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.