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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
1.1 There were no apologies received.
2.1 Members of the Committee declared the following interests: · Councillor Cowles declared a personal interest as a Governor at both Abersychan School and Blaenavon Heritage VC Primary School. · Councillor Cowles declared a personal interest as his brother attends Abersychan Comprehensive School. · Mr. Cunningham declared an interest as a Governor at St. Albans Roman Catholic High School. · Victoria Horlor declared a personal interest as a Governor at Ysgol Panteg. · Councillor Jones declared a personal interest as a Governor of Blaenavon Heritage VC Primary School. · Councillor Janet Jones declared a personal interest as her Grandson attends Abersychan Comprehensive School. · Councillor Janet Jones declared a personal interest as her Niece attends Ysgol Bryn Onnen. · Councillor Keyte declared an interest as his children attended Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School and Rougemont School. · Councillor Seabourne declared a personal interest due to being a Pupil Referral Unit Management Board Member. · Councillor Seabourne declared a personal interest as her Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren attend Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw, and Coed Eva and Blenheim Road Community Primary School. · Councillor Simons declared a personal interest as his wife worked at George Street Primary School. · Councillor Thomas declared a personal interest as a Governor at Nant Celyn Primary School. · Councillor Thomas declared a personal interest as her Grandchild attends Cwmbran High School. · Councillor Watkins declared a personal interest as a Governor of Our Lady of the Angels Primary School and Cwmbran High School.
3.1 The minutes of the meeting dated 11/12/25 were confirmed as an accurate record.
4.1 The Scrutiny Officer updated Members on the action sheet. There was one action outstanding pending information from health professionals.
5.1 The Scrutiny Officer presented the report and highlighted that this was not an exercise to re-scrutinise topics, but rather to ensure that the remainder of the year’s items remained appropriate. 5.2 Following questions from members, officers confirmed the following: · The consultation on the Welsh‑medium ALN Resource Base at Ysgol Gwynllyw had commenced and was due to conclude within a month. Suitable learners had already been identified, and it was anticipated that the base would open in September 2026 subject to the outcome of the consultation. · Comparative outcome data for children looked after was not available in a form suitable for scrutiny. Progress was monitored individually through Personal Education Plans. A member seminar was recommended given the nuance and complexity. 5.3 Upon hearing this update, checking the report and the included appendices, it was agreed that the forthcoming agenda items were appropriate and aligned with current priorities and there were no additional emerging areas requiring urgent scrutiny.
6.1 The Chair formally welcomed Mr. Hall, the first public questioner, and invited him to ask his question. Following the question asked by the member of the public, the Strategic Director, Education, Children and Families, Assistant Head of Education confirmed the following: · Officers confirmed that schools provide early ALN intervention through differentiated teaching and statutory IDPs where required, with regular monitoring by the local authority; Estyn had raised no concerns about ALN or inclusion in Torfaen schools. · Parents may electively home educate, in which case the local authority undertakes annual reviews of the education provided and retains safeguarding responsibilities. · Officers advised that parents who feel unsupported can access the LA complaints process, governing body procedures, or independent advocacy through SNAP Cymru. 6.2 The Chair thanked Mr. Hall for his participation and invited him to sit in the public gallery for the remainder of the meeting. 6.3 The Chair introduced the item, it was noted that all in attendance had read the report thoroughly, therefore the Committee moved on to complete the scrutiny activity. 6.4 Following questions by the Committee, Strategic Director, Education, Children & Families, the Director of Education, Assistant Head of Education, Assistant Director EAS and Principal School Improvement Officer confirmed the following points: · It was confirmed that the transition to LACIS had not disrupted school improvement support and that headteachers had reported no reduction in the quality, frequency or continuity of the assistance provided. · Quality assurance activity had remained fully embedded, with regular reporting to senior leadership, structured briefings for the Executive Member, termly Continued Improvement Group meetings, and routine analysis of school performance data and thematic evaluation reports. · LACIS had operated as a limited company with governance provided by a Board comprising elected members, Directors of Education and a Chief Executive, supported by regional oversight via the Joint Executive Group of cabinet members and directors. · Strong relationships with headteachers had been maintained, demonstrated through active engagement in headteacher strategy groups, School Improvement Groups and regional collaborative arrangements, aligning with Welsh Government expectations for school improvement practice. · School Improvement Partners (SIP) performance had been monitored throughout the year, with SIPs undertaking mandatory professional learning and their documentation, visit notes and work programmes reviewed regularly. SIPs were supported, reassigned or removed where concerns emerged about their effectiveness or suitability. · The SIP pool had been reduced in size to ensure improved quality, consistency and better matching between SIPs and schools. · The partner school model had been reviewed during the summer term, including on‑site visits to assure quality and capacity. Provision had been adjusted where expertise had changed due to staffing movement or where quality assurance identified the need for refinement. · Professional learning providers and partner schools had only been retained where practice had met the required standards, with changes implemented promptly where concerns were raised. · Schools had raised concerns regarding administrative demands and delays in school‑to‑school payments. It was clarified that although processes had been tightened to meet grant audit requirements, no substantive procedural changes had been made. · A working group of headteachers had been established to improve clarity, ensure appropriate communication, and reduce administrative burden where possible. · Challenge within the school improvement system had been maintained, though recruitment to senior SIP posts had remained difficult across Wales. · Regional directors had been exploring succession planning options, including the potential use of temporary secondments from experienced school leaders to strengthen capacity. · The Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) had received the same level of entitlement as schools, supplemented by bespoke support from a highly experienced PRU leader from another authority. · Staff at the PRU had engaged positively with professional learning, curriculum development sessions, regional PRU networks, and improvement planning activity, contributing to strengthened provision and leadership. · Governance at the PRU had continued to embed, with the management committee undertaking increased monitoring activity, including learning visits supported by external advisers. · Governor development opportunities had remained comprehensive, with on‑demand training, cluster-based sessions and bespoke governing body support provided. · Lower attendance at optional governor sessions was considered likely to reflect availability rather than relevance, with cluster‑based training continuing to attract strong participation and to support local collaboration. · Support for governing bodies had included direct modelling of effective scrutiny practice, improved financial oversight processes, and targeted assistance where governing bodies required strengthened challenge. · The local authority had retained powers to issue pre‑warning or warning notices to governing bodies where concerns arose, and to appoint additional governors or escalate to statutory intervention where necessary. · Welsh Government had been reviewing national governance structures due to continued challenges in recruiting governors across Wales. · Engagement with Dysgu had remained in early stages while strategic and operational plans were being finalised and staff recruited, and it had therefore been too soon to evaluate impact. · Curriculum for Wales had been fully implemented in Torfaen, with primary schools demonstrating well‑established approaches and secondary schools continuing to embed practice at Key Stage 3. · Mandatory curriculum requirements had been met across all settings, with Estyn identifying strong breadth of knowledge, skills and experiences within Torfaen schools. · Partnership work with Coleg Gwent on post‑16 pathways had continued to develop, though further consistency had been required in reporting outcomes across the five Gwent authorities. · Meetings with Coleg Gwent leadership had been scheduled to agree a standardised format for outcome reporting, and a member seminar had been planned to strengthen understanding of post‑16 pathways. · The proportion of learners identified with ALN (12.4%) had reflected Torfaen’s socioeconomic context. Needs had been met through IDPs, learning resource bases and PRU provision, with schools maintaining statutory compliance. · Welsh Government had been reviewing national attainment measures to improve recognition of progress made by all learners, including those with ALN or disadvantage. · Pupil development grant formulas had been determined nationally, though differences existed in how meal subsidies were administered across local authorities; comparative information was to be provided to members. · Performance variation among higher‑attaining learners had largely reflected cohort differences and subject entry patterns. Schools had been encouraged to maintain high expectations for all groups of learners. · Comparability of the Cat9 measure had been limited due to significant variation in the proportion of GCSE and non‑GCSE qualifications used by schools. · Improved outcomes at West Monmouth School had been attributed to strong academic and pastoral work, particularly targeted support for FSM learners and strengthened attendance strategies, with practice shared through regional forums. · Gender attainment differences had remained a longstanding national issue. Schools had been implementing strengthened teaching approaches, targeted interventions and shared case studies to address identified gaps. · Although outcomes for FSM learners had improved, outcomes for non‑FSM learners had improved concurrently, resulting in the gap widening despite overall progress. · Key risks for the next academic year had included attendance, literacy and numeracy outcomes, implementation of new GCSEs, ALN‑related financial pressures, and an increase in elective home education. 6.6 The Chair thanked the Officers for their contributions to the meeting and they left the meeting. On completion of their scrutiny activity, the Committee concluded by offering the following comments and recommendations for consideration: Recommendation 1 – Members were pleased to hear that officers were keen to explore the positive work recently undertaken at West Monmouth School, particularly in relation to improving outcomes for pupils eligible for Free School Meals (eFSM). Members recommended that this best practice be actively promoted and shared, especially with schools that have similar levels of eFSM pupils and comparable levels of deprivation. Recommendation 2 – Members expressed some concern that the additional LA-delivered online training for governors in Torfaen had been poorly attended, despite governors having previously selected the various topics. Members therefore recommended that officers explore alternative formats for any future training and highlighted the success of cluster training for governors as a potential model to replicate. Recommendation 3 – Members felt assured by the partner school model and the individuals appointed as School Improvement Partners (SIPs). They were also pleased to note that the LA and LASIS had been undertaking regional work on standardised assessment. However, members raised concerns regarding the lack of consistent standardised assessment across Wales and recommended that the Executive Member for Children, Families & Education engage with Welsh Government to highlight this challenge. 6.8 Other Comments: Members thanked the Executive Member and officers for an excellent report and commended the strong collaboration between schools, the LA and LASIS in relation to school improvement. In addition to the above, members offered the following comments: • Members shared officers’ concerns around the recent challenges in relation to recruiting an additional Principal School Improvement Partner (PSIP) and the impact this could have on succession planning; however members felt assured that officers were exploring alternative models in order to resolve this. • Members recognised there was scope to further develop the relationship with Coleg Gwent, and that officers were in the preliminary stages of work being undertaken to standardise outcomes data that was reported across the region. Members looked forward to the upcoming Members Seminar on the Post-16 Partnership and future updates around the above data. • Members noted the Strategic Director’s comment that Elective Home Education (EHE) was increasing and that its impact on outcomes would continue to be monitored.
7.1 The date of the next meeting was confirmed to be 26/03/26.
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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