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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – (i) To reintroduce the annual report on Education Standards. (ii) That Councillor RobertIan Williams submit a Scrutiny Topic Selection Form to consider the use of Supply Teachers and costs.
AGREED – (i) To acknowledge the difficult budget situation being faced by schools and to thank Officers involved, schools and Governing Bodies for their hard work in managing the budget cuts. (ii) That representatives from schools continue to be invited to attend meetings of the Committee when school budgets are considered. (iii) That an All Member Workshop be held in September to consider the education placements both within and out of county. (iv) That the Budget report scheduled for the October Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee meeting include the following – · Licenced deficits and changes to the licenced deficit scheme · Redundancies (comparisons with previous years, costs and funding arrangements) · Impact on class sizes · Any changes in school admission numbers · Plans to meet the increase in demand for ALN provision · Any remodelling proposals for ALN provision being considered under the Change Programme
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Dr Emily Clarke-Jones and Councillors Beryl Blackmore, Alison Tynan and Ross Shepherd.
AGREED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 June 2024 be signed as a correct record.
Members were reminded of their responsibility, under Paragraph 11 of the Members’ Code of Conduct, to declare any interests in relation to any of the business to be transacted at this meeting. The following declarations were made: Agenda Item 5 Personal and Prejudicial – Councillors Dana Davies, Carrie Harper, Frank Hemmings, Tina Mannering, Stella Matthews and Robert Ian Williams, and co-opted members Alison Fisher and Brendan McDonald all declared a personal and prejudicial interest (as an LEA appointed school governors). They all remained in the meeting and claimed an exemption under Paragraph 12(2) of the Members’ Code of Conduct taking part in the discussion and voting thereon. Personal and Prejudicial – Councillor Becca Martin declared both a personal and a prejudicial interest (as an LEA appointed school governor (prejudicial) and parent of a child at attending a Wrexham school (personal)). The Councillor claimed an exemption under Paragraph 12(2) of the Members’ Code of Conduct remaining in the meeting taking part in the discussion and voting thereon. Personal – Councillor Debbie Wallice declared a personal interest (as a supply worker at a Wrexham school). The Councillor remained in the meeting taking part in the discussion and voting thereon.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) To reintroduce the annual report on Education Standards. (ii) That Councillor RobertIan Williams submit a Scrutiny Topic Selection Form to consider the use of Supply Teachers and costs.
The Chief Officer Governance & Customer submitted a report (COGC/61/24s) to consider the work programme of the Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee. Members considered the report and during debate made reference to: · The use of supply teaching and associated costs. · Request to include Education standards and progression reports on the work programme. AGREED – (i) To reintroduce the annual report on Education Standards. (ii) That Councillor RobertIan Williams submit a Scrutiny Topic Selection Form to consider the use of Supply Teachers and costs.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) To acknowledge the difficult budget situation being faced by schools and to thank Officers involved, schools and Governing Bodies for their hard work in managing the budget cuts. (ii) That representatives from schools continue to be invited to attend meetings of the Committee when school budgets are considered. (iii) That an All Member Workshop be held in September to consider the education placements both within and out of county. (iv) That the Budget report scheduled for the October Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee meeting include the following – · Licenced deficits and changes to the licenced deficit scheme · Redundancies (comparisons with previous years, costs and funding arrangements) · Impact on class sizes · Any changes in school admission numbers · Plans to meet the increase in demand for ALN provision · Any remodelling proposals for ALN provision being considered under the Change Programme
The Lead Member for Education submitted a report (COEEI/11/24s) to consider the impact regarding schools going into a licenced deficit budget and likely to be experiencing staff redundancies/redeployment from September onwards, including any impact on ALN provision. The Chair welcomed to the meeting Tim Newbould, Chair of Primary Heads Federation and NAHT representative. Presenting the report the Lead Member referred to the challenging economic forecast for councils over the next three years, changes to the Grant Funding Streams which impacted on the way grants were delegated to schools, school licensed deficits and balances and the support provided by the LA to schools to identify different options to mitigate potential budget pressures. The Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention (COEEI) assured the committee that officers had worked incredibly hard to support schools to manage their budgets and that the impacts of the cuts would become clearer as schools move through the academic year. Addressing the committee Tim Newbould referred to societal changes, reductions in pupil numbers, the increase in number of pupils with more complex needs and behaviour issues post pandemic which required additional resources, changes to grant funding which whilst simplified had resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of money available to schools and the redundancy/redeployment process. He paid tribute to the work of the LA’s finance team in supporting schools with their budget preparation. Members considered the report and asked questions. During debate the following matters in particular were highlighted: · Noted that within the school delegated budget £200k had been centrally held to meet any redundancy costs and that any draw down in excess would need to be met from school budgets. It was estimated that this could be in the region of circa £250k. · The increase in demand and complexity of pupils with additional learning needs. The Lead Member reported that the Education service were looking to provide additional ALN support in county as soon as possible and a piece of work was being undertaken in respect of out of county placements. The COEEI reminded Members that there was no additional funding available in respect of ongoing costs to meet the requirements of the ALN Bill and this remained a significant challenge for the local authority and schools. Barriers to education in some cases were not always solely education related and so the service was dependent upon other agencies such as social services and health. Tim Newbould advised that specialist support for mental heatlh issues was currently insufficient. · Licensed deficit balance requests and diminishing school surplus balances. An increase in the numbers of schools forecasting a budget deficit position was anticipated. Noted that the licensed deficit scheme for schools in financial difficulty was currently 3 years but would be reviewed on a case by case basis. · Suggested that consideration be given to auto-registration for free school meals. · Assurances sought regarding safe staffing numbers in schools as a result of staff redundancies and redeployment. Noted that as officers worked with schools on their budget plans discussions also included matters such as class sizes, teachers and level of ALN need. · Members acknowledged the important specialist provision for children with ALN provided at the new Noddfa assessment and early intervention centre. Some Members of the Committee had visited the centre earlier in the month. · The COEEI referred to the importance of communication with schools so that the authority could respond dynamically should a need arise. She paid tribute to school staff who were working very hard in extremely difficult circumstances commenting that teachers were specialists in education but were also absorbing pressures from other areas. · Committee recognised the enormous effort by schools and their staff to maintain educational provision in such circumstances. · Concern at the longer term impact as it was anticipated that the budget position would likely get worse in the next few years. This could result in more schools applying for a licensed deficit. · Request to the Lead Member that the Executive Board School Transport Task and Finish group include a member of this committee on its membership given the significant work that this committee had already undertaken in this area. The Lead Member agreed to take forward this request. · Further information was provided in respect of the grant funding process. It was noted that there had been a reduction in grant funding available for schools from Welsh Government. AGREED – (i) To acknowledge the difficult budget situation being faced by schools and to thank Officers involved, schools and Governing Bodies for their hard work in managing the budget cuts. (ii) That representatives from schools continue to be invited to attend meetings of the Committee when school budgets are considered. (iii) That an All Member Workshop be held in September to consider the education placements both within and out of county. (iv) That the Budget report scheduled for the October Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee meeting include the following – · Licenced deficits and changes to the licenced deficit scheme · Redundancies (comparisons with previous years, costs and funding arrangements) · Impact on class sizes · Any changes in school admission numbers · Plans to meet the increase in demand for ALN provision · Any remodelling proposals for ALN provision being considered under the Change 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.
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