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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 5, Guildhall, Swansea. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services - 636824 

Items
No. Item

26.

Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests.

Minutes:

In accordance with the code of conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

 

27.

Minutes. pdf icon PDF 232 KB

To approve and sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes of the Education & Skills Policy development Committee held on 13 November 2019 be agreed as a correct record.

 

28.

Discussion with Schools.

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Mrs Bolt to the meeting.

 

Anna Bolt, Headteacher at Glyncollen Primary outlined her background and experience as a Headteacher in her current and previous schools.

 

She stated that she was currently seconded to ERW as the Head of Curriculum Reform & Innovation. She indicated she had been part of the Pioneer Schools initiative since its inception, and also sits on the Assessment Advisory Board & National Strategy Board and also is involved in the Cross Regional Project.

 

She indicated that the new curriculum should allow schools to move away from the inflexibility of the current prescribed curriculum and allow them to focus on the pedagogical principles and develop and build/expand on the areas that they are doing well.

 

She indicated that Glyncollen school had been using the pedagogical principles and the ‘Philosophy for Children’ (P4C) idea for around the last ten years. The background thinking and ideas around the development and introduction of the P4C principles were outlined.

 

These principles should allow children to think, grow and develop intensive and intelligent ways of thinking, with support from staff to develop and encourage clear and distinct methods of thought. The four main principles of the new curriculum all tie in with this approach. Of the twenty seven ‘what matters’ statements in the new curriculum, thirteen of them link directly to P4C. The ‘what matter’ statements will be statutory in the new curriculum.

 

She detailed the staff training undertaken and the staff enthusiasm towards the P4C programme which is now deeply embedded from nursery to year 6 and benefits pupils across the subjects.

 

She outlined that continued professional development and support for teachers would be key to the success of the new curriculum going forward.

 

She outlined examples of how the P4C initiative works in practice in school and detailed the sorts of questions that are asked of the children to stimulate answers and debate within the classroom. She outlined that the children are invited to discuss a wide and varied range of topics and receive various different visitors/organisation’s to the school to discuss issues.

 

She outlined that during the Estyn inspection of the school four years ago the children had identified P4C as the ‘best thing’ about school.

 

She detailed that an intergenerational forum has been developed within the school involving the children and older people from the community. This has led to a better understanding and appreciation of issues from both sides.

 

She outlined the good relationship that her cluster of schools currently has and outlined this would need to continue going forward. She stated that in her view the progress being made in preparedness for the new curriculum in Swansea was very well aligned with the views of Welsh Government and schools are already discussing the matters and sharing good practice and ideas during the lead in period to the new curriculum.

 

The excellent support from the various groups and bodies established, challenge advisors and family supports officers was helping schools progress with planning for the new curriculum.

 

Members and Officers asked various questions of the Headteacher around the topics outlined above and lengthy and detailed discussions took place in the meeting, the Headteacher responded accordingly.

 

The Chair and Members thanked the Headteacher for the excellent information provided during her presentation and her attendance at the meeting.

 

29.

Workplan 2019/2020. pdf icon PDF 203 KB

Minutes:

The Chair outlined that following the items scheduled for the February meeting, he intended to utilise the March meeting for Members to review

and discuss all the evidence received by the Committee to date, prior to

the collation of a draft Cabinet report.

 

The workplan for the remainder of the Municipal year was noted.