Venue: By Teams. View directions
Contact: Wyn Richards, Scrutiny Manager and Head of Democratic Services
Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Apologies
To receive apologies for absence.
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from the
Chair, County Councillor P Roberts, County Councillor E Roderick
(on other Council business) and from the Chief Executive Dr C
Turner.
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2. |
Declarations of interest
To receive declarations of interest from
Members.
Minutes:
There were no disclosures of interest from
Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda.
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3. |
Declarations of Party Whip
To
receive disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member has
been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with Section
78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011.
(NB: Members are reminded that under Section 78 Members having
been given a prohibited party whip cannot vote on a matter before
the Committee.)
Minutes:
The
Committee did not receive any disclosures of prohibited party whips
which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in
accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure
2011.
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4. |
Free School Meals Update PDF 382 KB
To receive and consider the attached briefing
report.
Minutes:
The Committee received the report of the
Professional Lead, Catering and Cleaning.
Issues
Discussed:
·
Feedback from parents was positive and that the
voucher scheme is working well and simple to use.
·
Questions:
Is people's preference to
receive vouchers or cash through BACS payments
|
This is decided on a case by
case basis and whatever suits people best.
|
Is the Council preference to
use vouchers
|
Yes
|
How are parents who do not have
a bank account able to access cash or vouchers
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The Council works with each
individual. There have been no issues to date.
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Was the cost of providing
vouchers looked at, before the scheme started
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The Council looked at the
numbers of pupils entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) to make sure
that they received support. These types of systems are
expensive.
|
Are all children entitled to
have some provision for food.
|
Yes
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There must be a greater
administration cost for the scheme. Is Welsh Government providing
additional funding.
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The Council will be applying to
Welsh Government for funding support in the future.
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Are there any outstanding areas
of concern
|
No the Council is as far
forward as it can be and it is further ahead than some other
Councils in providing this scheme.
|
If the need for the scheme
continues beyond the school term, is there an idea of the cost and
where the funding will come from.
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These scheme may have to
operate into the summer. The funding for this has been discussed
with Welsh Government.
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How can the Council make sure
that everyone entitled to is accessing the scheme
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The Council has a register of
those entitled to FSM and all of those have been contacted. Others
are being added to the register as time progresses and the
education service is working with other services to identify other
who should be added to the register.
|
Are Councillors able to assist
by checking if people are accessing the scheme in their
area
|
It is not possible to provide
this personal data to Councillors and parents might not want others
to know that they are using the scheme.
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Outcome:
·
Noted.
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5. |
Edtech Programme update PDF 692 KB
To receive and consider the report of the
Portfolio Holders for Corporate Governance and Engagement and
Education and Property.
Minutes:
The
Committee received the report of the Portfolio Holders for
Corporate Governance and Engagement and Education and
Property.
Issues
Discussed:
·
The grant is for the provision of equipment and
installation.
·
Laptops for the Edtech programme were ordered but
have not been received. The Council therefore used laptops not
being used in schools which would be replaced.
·
Some learners were still excluded due to a lack of
broadband and therefore wifi dongles were funded from the Edtech
programme which reduces the grant available to the
Council.
·
Caerphilly Council acted as the brokers for Welsh
Government in the scheme and managed to obtain very good prices
from suppliers for the purchase of equipment.
·
Questions:
The Council identified a need
for 800 laptops and only had 400
|
The Council obtained laptops
from the schools and then worked with schools to apportion devices
to pupils.
|
Have all schools got access to
Microsoft teams
|
Yes schools have Teams and also
governors as well
|
For youngsters and schools
having access to technology, what is the starting age to this
access
|
As soon as a pupil starts
school they have their own HWB account and email. This is available
to all learners.
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There are longer term
opportunities arising from remote access to excluded youngsters,
and we need to make sure that equipment is not recovered too
soon
|
There are opportunities for
both Continuity of Learning but also blended learning and the
equipment gives the opportunity for these types of learning. It
also gives the opportunity to access learning and teaching, and for
pupils who might otherwise have difficulties being in a school
setting.
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Would this provide benefits for
home schooled children by providing a greater structure for their
learning
|
Yes
|
With capital being spent
throughout schools is any thought being given to school
modernisation
|
Yes this is taken into account
whilst all learners in all settings are treated equally
|
Would it have been beneficial
to use Caerphilly Council's installation contractors or have HOWPS
procured contractors that are offering the same or better prices
for Powys
|
The procurement power for
Caerphilly Council was in buying the equipment on behalf of all
Councils in Wales. The installation of the equipment is for local
contractors and providers. The Council used HOWPS under a framework
contract and HOWPS utilise local contractors.
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Why is there an additional cost
if the arrangement continues more than 12 months
|
Welsh Government worked with
digital providers and the agreement was for a 12 month period. If
the agreement goes over the 12 month period that is when there
would be additional costs.
|
Can this programme be sustained
after the initial stages and what funding is there for this to
happen
|
As part of the Council's plan a
sustainability plan had to be included. ICT and Education have said
that they would sustain this after the project i.e. updating the
cabling. There is also agreement in principle with schools to make
sure the programme is sustained.
|
Does this funding come from
school budgets
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The cost of the ...
view the full minutes text for item 5.
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6. |
Work Programme
The
next meeting of the Committee will be on:
8th June 2020
|
1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m.
|
The
items for scrutiny will be:
·
School Transport Policy
Further meetings will be held on:
22
June 2020
|
1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.
|
6
July 2020
|
1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.
|
20
July 2020
|
1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.
|
Minutes:
The Committee noted that the next meeting
would be on 5th June 2020 – 13.00 to 14.00 and
would be considering the Schools Transport Policy.
Further meetings will be held on:
22
June 2020 -
1.00 p.m. – 2.00
p.m.
6
July 2020 -
1.00 p.m. – 2.00
p.m.
20 July 2020 - 1.00 p.m.
– 2.00 p.m.
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