Agenda and minutes

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To receive the minutes of the previous meeting(s) and agree as an accurate record.

The minutes of the 17 November where accepted by the Panel.

The letter to the Cabinet Member was noted.

Questions can be submitted in writing to scrutiny@swansea.gov.uk up until noon on the working day prior to the meeting. Written questions take precedence. Public may attend and ask questions in person if time allows. Questions must relate to items on the open part of the agenda and will be dealt with in a 10 minute period.

No public questions were received.

The Panel thanked Sarah Hughes, Head of the Improvement and Monitoring Unit for presenting the report and recent progress with regard to both the Education performance against identified priorities and the Estyn Inspection recommendations. She covered:

·       Background to the report

·       Progress in the 2021-22 academic year for Education Directorate objectives

·       Progress this academic year so far with key objectives like pupil manifesto, universal school meal provision, governors portal and budget/resources

·       Progress against the two recommendations made by the Estyn Inspection of Local Government Education Services in 2022

The Panel raised the following points/questions in relation to the Estyn Inspection progress:

·       The Panel emphasised the importance of the vocational learning offer and felt that this is key as one of the growth areas.  They asked about how the ‘quieter’ voices of post 16 pupils are being captured.  Also if, from the consultation something that is different from what is currently offered arises will their be the facility to adapt and allow that. The Panel asked if a list of some of the vocational courses available at post 16 could be circulated to the Panel.

·       The Panel asked what ae we doing in Swansea to improve the take up of and use of the Welsh language in education.

The discussion, thoughts from the session and any recommendations will form part of the letter that will be sent to the Cabinet Member.

Cllr Robert Smith (Cabinet Member Education and Learning, Helen Morgan Rees (Director of Education) and Karin Jenkins (Head of Swansea Music)

The Panel thanked Karin Jenkins (Head of Swansea Music) for providing a report and attending the panel to give a briefing on Swansea Music. She outlined:

·       Background to the service and core responsibilities

·       The Swansea Music Service Level Agreement

·       The National Music Service Wales; and

·       Outlined the benefits of the new music service SLA model, the potential challenges posed by this model

·       Outlined the benefits of the National Music Plan and the potential challenges posed

The Chair also received a number of questions from a member of the public and these will form part of the Conveners letter to the Cabinet Member so that a full response can be received following the meeting.

The discussion, thoughts from the session and any recommendations will form part of the letter that will be sent to the Cabinet Member.

The Panel noted the work programme.