Agenda, decisions and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

None.

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

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

Approved.

Resolved that the Minutes of the Education & Skills Corporate Delivery Committee held on 22 June 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record.

For Information

Sarah Hughes, Improvement and Monitoring Manager, Education Directorate provided a detailed and informative presentation on Context for Swansea Local Government Education Services.

Details provided included Swansea schools; Learners in Swansea; School buildings; and Education budget.

The Committee asked questions of the Officer and Cabinet Member for Education & Learning, which were responded to accordingly.  Discussions took place on the following: -

·       How Swansea schools compared to others in Wales.

·       School buildings – condition rating A and B schools: 56%.

·       Welsh in Education Strategic Plan which included the ambition to grow Welsh-medium provision.

·       The overall objective to meet the needs of all learners within Swansea, where possible.

·       Condition of older schools in Swansea.

·       Capital maintenance and school improvement programme.

·       Provision of details of how environment friendly Swansea schools are and future plans in this respect.

·       School buildings - £216m school capital schemes since the last Estyn inspection in 2013, particularly older schools.

·       Focus upon outdoor education, including the assistance Ward Members can provide to schools, e.g. the transfer of an area of a local park in Landore to provide the school with its only green space.

·       Providing the numbers of catering, cleaning, caretaking, leisure and crossing patrol staff to the Committee.

·       Adopting a very local approach when dealing with issues and targeting schools in the most deprived areas.

·       The very positive outcome of no schools being currently monitored by Estyn.

·       The opportunities provided by the City Deal.

·       Adopting an holistic approach to dealing with poverty, including providing assistance for those living in the most deprived areas.

·       Assistance provided to pupils following the impact of Covid 19.

·       The positive impact that sport can have upon children / schools.

The Chair requested that responses be provided by Officers in respect of the condition of older schools in Swansea; the provision of details of how environment friendly Swansea schools are and future plans in this respect; and providing the numbers of catering, cleaning, caretaking, leisure and crossing patrol staff.

Noted.

The Improvement and Monitoring Manager presented a ’for information’ report which provided the Committee with a draft outline of the work programme for 2022-2023 and what it sought to achieve in terms of policy objectives.

It was outlined that following a discussion between the Director and Cabinet Members, the priorities provided in the report were identified as draft items for the work programme 2022-23, subject to any amendments made by the Committee.  The table also provided the anticipated outputs and outcome from each work plan item, the policy commitment that each work plan helps deliver and the corporate priority that each work plan item was aligned to.

The Committee discussed the following topics: -

·       Improving school attendance and strengthening school leaders and communities.

·       Supporting parents / guardians in respect of improving school attendance.

·       The negative impact of school exclusions.

·       Providing a progress update in respect of the 10 agreed recommendations in the Supporting the Challenges for Learners in Recovering from the Pandemic report to Cabinet on 21 July 2022.

·       Strengthening school leaders, making sure current policies are fit for purpose and ensuring there are sufficient resources to build the ethos across school communities.

·       Developing managerial skills across schools and ensuring schools have development plans in place.

·       How Swansea is dealing with additional learning needs reform and new code.

·       Supporting middle tier leadership within schools.

·       Effective governance within schools.

The Chair requested that more detail be provided on the areas identified in the draft work programme at the next scheduled meeting.  He also requested that a progress update be provided to the Committee meeting in December 2022 in respect of the 10 agreed recommendations from the Supporting the Challenges for Learners in Recovering from the Pandemic report to Cabinet on 21 July 2022.