Agenda and draft minutes

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.

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.

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.

4.

Free School Meals Update pdf icon 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

The Council works with each individual. There have been no issues to date.

Was the cost of providing vouchers looked at, before the scheme started

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

There must be a greater administration cost for the scheme. Is Welsh Government providing additional funding.

The Council will be applying to Welsh Government for funding support in the future.

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.

These scheme may have to operate into the summer. The funding for this has been discussed with Welsh Government.

How can the Council make sure that everyone entitled to is accessing the scheme

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.

 

Outcome:

·                 Noted.

 

5.

Edtech Programme update pdf icon 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.

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.

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.

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

The cost of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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.