To scrutinise the draft report of the Portfolio Holder for Education and Property and to make recommendations / observations to the Cabinet for consideration.
Minutes:
Documents Considered:
· Draft Report of the Portfolio Holder for Education and Property.
Issues Discussed:
· Questions:
Question |
Response |
The proposal is welcomed, and the methodology in reaching this stage is impressive. It has been good that headteachers have been involved in the whole process and it is hoped that this will continue in future. Strategic Management Board – as the overarching body, will there be role for scrutiny in overseeing the work of this group and when would scrutiny be involved. There is also no councillor involvement in this group – should the Portfolio Holder for Education represent the Council on the group. |
The initial advice to officers was not to include officers and Members on the Board. However, this is now the intention, and the Service is awaiting clearance from the Legal Service before including the Portfolio Holder on the Board. The Strategic Management Board will be able to be scrutinised.
ACTION – include in the Scrutiny comment that a scrutiny process needs to be built into the final process and that the Portfolio Holder should be a member of the Board. |
Welsh Language and ALN are mentioned in document. The document also refers to 14-16 age groups. Will the proposal regarding ALN include individuals up to 25 years old. |
The proposal has been developed in consultation with the ALN team. With ALN it is pupils in the 16 to19 age range which are the focus of this proposal. ALN specialists will look at the 19 to 25 age group. |
The proposals have been thought through in detail which is impressive. This could be great for pupils but there is concern about teacher development. Will post 16 teaching impact on less numbers of teachers in future. Will this impact on staff development and the turnover of staff. Will the Strategic Management Board commission schools or teachers. |
The proposal is to develop post 16 teaching in Powys and to increase the offer. The development of teachers to work differently will be critical, and they have learnt to do this over the past year due to the pandemic. Learning in new ways and styles could be exciting for teachers and support and development will be available for teachers. The Operational Management Boards will be asked to consider the local offer to be provided. There are too many courses with small numbers at present, or courses being taught which are available on e-sgol. These recommendations will go to the Strategic Management Board for approval. The development of Boards is being considered currently. |
Is there a Welsh Government Grant for Welsh Medium for 16 to 19 pupils. |
There is an uplift grant from Welsh Government which includes Welsh Medium. Post 16 has been funded on what was provided previously - this needs to grow. The Welsh Medium grant level is not large but we could make better use of this and grow the use of Welsh Medium provision. |
There should be savings with the development of courses. Other courses will need funding - will these be funded from current funding or will additional funding be sought. |
From the consultation it is clear that students wanted more opportunities to be developed. A high profile will need to be given to this and if we need additional funding then this will need to be considered. |
This is the best solution we could have come up with for Council provided Post 16 education. However, there are other providers and there is no input from those other providers at present in the proposal. The proposal gives an opportunity to work with colleges, as well as being able to undertake joint procurement and offers. What engagement has there been with colleges. What about vocational courses. How will the colleges fit into the proposal. Should colleges be represented on the Strategic Management Board. |
This is a recommendation for Powys schools only at present. There was a suggestion for a broader approach but the decision was to look at the Council element first as there are enough challenges there. Discussions have been ongoing with colleges and there is ongoing work with NPTC college. The Strategic Management Board's work is to develop courses in Powys and also establish strategic partnerships with colleges and other partners. Powys will not be able to sort all of the issues itself and strategic partnerships will be needed to assist. The proposal is to deal with the Powys element first and then progress from there.
ACTION – the Integration with others e.g. Colleges and other providers may be something scrutiny might want to look at in future. |
In respect of ALN an important part is the provision of vocational training such as that provided by Derwen College in North Wales. A specific offer for ALN pupils would be needed as well |
This is supported and is being discussed with the ALN team for inclusion in future ALN proposals. |
For colleges such as Derwen College, Wales only funds ALN pupils for 2 years whilst England fund pupils for 3 years. Is this included within Powys' funding |
The funding for specific placements in such colleges is separate from the funding Powys receives for the 16 to 19 age group. |
3 new bodies are being created and the documents are currently in English only and not in Welsh |
The papers can be translated. |
With regard to home bases that students are expected to attend, those bases will need to be of a standard which meets a design specification. How many of the current bases meet the specification and what plans are there to bring others up to the specification. Why is there no provision for working for home part of the time in the proposal. |
The proposals does not prohibit students from working from home when appropriate. There is no capital programme attached to this proposal. If the proposal is agreed there would be a need to discuss the review of the home base provision with the capital team and a review undertaken and capital programme drawn up. |
What timescale would be needed for capital works if funding was available |
Some work is already happening in schools. Funding for post 16 is not included in Welsh Government's Band B 21st Century funding. The Council would need to consider whether this could be included in future. It is unlikely the Council will be able to undertake much significant work before September 2022. This is likely to be a 5 year rolling programme and linked into 21st Century schools programme.
ACTION – that a review of facilities be undertaken and a capital programme developed as soon as possible. |
Is there any concern that that the Council could deliver the technology required. |
All year 12 pupils have to be given laptops and this is currently funded. Improved internet links to schools have also already been developed and installed. |
How many home bases will there be, as it may not be feasible to have a home base in all secondary schools. Working from home may also simpler for some pupils. |
The reason that pupils would be working from a home base is that the school can monitor pupils mental health, and it provides opportunities for them to mix with others and have access to other facilities. However, a blended approach is the best option. All current centres will have a home base but does not mean that they will deliver all the services available. |
Where there are subjects where there is a practical element, has there been consideration of using technical assistants to assist teachers in delivering courses. |
This has not been considered as yet but it is expected that schools will use their staff to make the best of their abilities to deliver courses |
With regard to bringing schools together to discuss topics – can English Medium and Welsh Medium discussions be held on different days to allow opportunities for pupils to attend more sessions |
Yes, this should be happening already to provide more opportunities for pupils to interact with others. |
Scrutiny make the following observations to the Cabinet:
· The Committee welcomed the proposal and congratulated the Transformation Team on the methodology used and the involvement of headteachers in designing the final proposal.
· The Committee also welcomed the collaborative and cohesive approach across the Service and Schools towards developing this proposal.
· The Committee suggested that:
· the Portfolio Holder for Education should be a member of the Strategic Management Board, and received confirmation that this was being pursued.
· There was a role for scrutiny in reviewing the progress of the project and that should be built into the finalised proposal.
· The Committee welcomed that the proposal sought to resolve the issue of Post 16 education in Powys first, but would also look to developing strategic partnerships with colleges and other partners.
· The Committee noted that a review of home based facilities at Powys schools and an improvement programme drawn up would need to be undertaken and that it was anticipated that improvements would be likely to take up to 5 years to complete. As there was concern about the affordability of the Council's current capital programme, the Committee suggested that the review be undertaken at the earliest opportunity so that costs could be identified and included in the capital programme.
Scrutiny’sRecommendation
1. That the Portfolio Holder for Education should be a member of the Strategic Management Board
2. That a role for scrutiny be built into the finalised proposal.
3. That the review of facilities and an improvement programme for home based facilities be undertaken at the earliest opportunity.
Supporting documents: