Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall, Llandrindod Wells
Contact: Stephen Boyd 01597 826374
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Apologies To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors PJ Ashton, GJ Bowker, LV Corfield, S Davies, WT Jones, DJ Mayor, S McNicholas, G Morgan, RG Thomas and SL Williams.
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda.
Minutes: County Councillor JH Brunt declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest as a member of the corporation board of Neath Port Talbot College. |
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Secondary School Reorganisation in Mid and South Powys To receive a presentation from the Chief Executive and Head of Schools and to discuss the current consultation relating to Secondary School Reorganisation in Mid and South Powys. Minutes: The Monitoring Officer advised Council that legal advice previously received that only the Cabinet could take decisions concerning school reorganisation under Section 53 of the Executive Arrangements was incorrect. The Monitoring Officer was asked who would take decisions on school reorganisation and he advised that under the terms of the current Constitution the decision would be taken by the Cabinet. County Councillors Gareth Ratcliffe and Gary Price gave notice that they would be submitting motions for consideration at the next meeting of Council.
The Chief Executive and Head of Schools set out the strategic context, case for change and proposals for secondary school modernisation in Mid and South Powys. They explained that inconsistent standards, falling pupil numbers and reducing budgets meant that the current arrangements were not sustainable in the long term.
The Portfolio Holder for Education and officers answered questions from members. Members asked whether the Cabinet had considered alternative proposals to those that were being consulted on. It was confirmed that a series of options had been considered and appraised by the School Organisation Review Panel who had then made recommendations to the Cabinet.
The Leader and Cabinet members confirmed that they were amenable to considering other proposals that might come forward in the consultation and it was confirmed that there would be still time to consult on alternative proposals and access Welsh Government 21st Century Schools funding.
A Member asked whether any schools other than Llanfyllin High school had confirmed that that they had used delegated budgets to transfer pupils from outside their catchment and was advised that one other school had. Officers provided details of projected school numbers. Officers confirmed that details of proposed housing developments would be incorporated into the report when it came back to Cabinet.
Members asked for clarification on whether the figure of 150 pupils for a viable sixth form was set by the Council or Welsh Government. Officers advised that this figure was partly based on funding and partly based on the number of subjects the Welsh Government wished to see provided. The Head of Schools agreed to let Councillors have details of the evidence base for this. A Member asked why the proposal for Brecon had changed from the original proposal for a bilingual 11-16 school with a dedicated 6th Form and was advised that Welsh Government did not support this option as it was not transformational.
A number of Members questioned the proposal that 6th form education in Brecon and Gwernyfed be delivered by Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC). Members were advised that NPTC were committed to delivering 20 academic subjects and 5 vocational subjects on the Brecon campus. Members asked about the standards achieved by NPTC and were advised that they were comparable to Powys averages across the secondary sector. The Portfolio Holder for Education was asked about the payment for attendance at focus groups and he advised that no payments had been made. Members asked about impact assessments and it was confirmed that equality ... view the full minutes text for item CC63- 2016 |