Agenda and minutes

Councillor Emlyn Schiavone from Carmarthenshire and Councillor Mark Tierney from Pembrokeshire.

Cllr Lyndon Jones declared a personal interest in Item 5.

The minutes and letter arising from the meeting on the 24 June 2024 were accepted.

The Lead Partneriaeth Officer outlined the outcomes from the Partneriaeth Joint Committee meeting on the 25 October 2025, including:

·       There is a new Lead Director for Partneriaeth and that is the Director of Education in Pembrokeshire Steven Richard-Downes.

·       That there is a new Director of Education in Carmarthenshire Owen Lloyd.

·       There was the appointment of the Chair and Vice Chairs of the of the Joint committee, Councillor Glynog Davies was appointed as Chair and Councillors Robert Smith and Guy Wood were appointed as Vice Chairs.

·       The Joint Committee received a report on a proposal to change the governance and the associated running costs for Partneriaeth by transferring from the current legal agreement to a collaboration agreement.

Member authorities will look to confirm this at their individual Cabinet meetings in December/January.

·       The internal audit work programme for 2024/25 was discussed and the head of internal audit outlined a set out the arrangements for the internal audit review.  The work programme sets out the objectives and the scope and the approach, as well as the reporting arrangements and included the follow up of the previous internal audit recommendations, the annual governance Statement, financial management and risk management. It would be anticipated that work would begin during the spring of 2025 and be reported back to the Joint Committee at a future meeting.

·       The Pioneer financial report for 2024/25 update was received giving financial position at the end of August.

·       An update was given on the progress with the business planning priorities, professional learning and delivery against the local authority education grant funding.

·       The new risk regime was accepted by the Joint Committee.

·       The final item was the lease of office space in Y Llwyfan in Carmarthen.  The Joint Committee considered a report on the renewal of the lease through to October of 2025. Partneriaeth now has reduced needs in terms of office space due to staffing reduction and this is now reflected in the new lease.

·       Priority 1

Support all schools and educational settings to design and deliver their own high-quality provision in commissioned subjects.

·       Priority 2

Provide career pathways for leaders, practitioners and support staff at all levels of the system.

Partneriaeth Lead Officer

The Partneriaeth Lead Officer updated the Councillor Group on the new Partneriaeth priorities from September of 2024, also on how they are delivering for schools linked to two priorities.  He explained that the number of priorities have been reduced following the restructure in the summer.  The two priorities agreed are around (1) curriculum delivery and support in all schools to design and deliver their own high quality provision. So there is much more of a focus on a specific specialism within that area as well as teaching and learning, with (2) relating to career pathways for leaders, practitioners and support staff at all levels of the system. 

The Councillor Group heard that there is a range of bespoke and tailored support for schools and clusters and this is provided this based on information coming through from the local authority partners.  In order to deliver on expectations in the business plan, resources and performance are discussed in every strategy group meeting with Directors of Education. The support in terms of the professional learning offer has been slimmed down to reflect the reduced capacity but also as a result of feedback from stakeholders. 

The Councillor Group asked about:

·       What mechanisms are in place for us to be able to scrutinise the evidence on the impact of the priorities?  The Councillor Group were told that there will be an annual report that will show the level of impact. Also at the end of each professional learning event or bespoke bit of training they evaluate its usefulness and the evidence is captured.  There is a process where the evaluation is taken on the on the day. There is also an expectation of follow up in terms of sampling the schools so those who have been on the professional learning ensure that that work is implemented.

·       What support do you give specifically to in relation the Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) education? The Councillor Group heard that Partneriaeth have a humanities advisor and also have a high quality second person who is currently seconded from Swansea, who continues to support across the three local authorities. We appreciate that it is a specialist area and the feeling from our three directors was that having that second person, with that specific remit, was really helpful in developing that provision.

·       What resources are available and are they sufficient? The Councillor Group heard that the strategic board have decided on Partneriaeth priorities for delivery and we receive funding for them from the local authority education grant. In terms of those elements that we deliver on yes resources are sufficient.

·       in terms of sufficient resource for delivery, yes it is sufficient.

·       What is the uptake by schools on the priority areas mentioned? The Councillor Group were told that there was probably too much offered previously and that the response particularly from school leaders was it was all a bit overwhelming. The reduced offer means that take up is better. The Lead Officer explained that when we see the full picture of what the tailored and bespoke offer looks like, we will really see if Partneriaeth is meeting the challenge of getting to all 264 schools. He also said I think we are in a healthy position because we are delivering less but delivering it effectively.

·       We asked how the business plan and associated risks dovetail with the priorities just recently announced by the Cabinet Secretary and Welsh Government? The Councillor Group heard that this was around the strengthening of provision for literacy and numeracy in particular and the Partneriaeth staff have frequent conversations with local authority officers in the region to ensure we have got an aligned offer for schools. A skilled workforce is needed to deliver those nation priorities and they are already in the local plans.

Lead Officer Partneriaeth

The Partneriaeth Lead Officer explained that the risk profile had been updated in September 2024 it is now in line with delivery of the new business plan objectives and is linked to the delegated local authority education grant funding.  The report outlines the overall risk profile for the region.  Changes to the risks previously highlighted include:

·       The impact of lack of clarity regarding functions of Partneriaeth.  The restructure was important in addressing this but we must continue to make sure that it is clear to stakeholders (including what we are and are not delivering).

·       There has been a slight change to the register because previously there was a risk linked to Welsh Government funding arriving in a in a timely fashion.  This is no longer an appropriate risk because the money flows in a different way and with the 2024/25 funding agreed and. The financial risks moving forward will be looked at when the grant settlement in terms of 2025/26 is known.

·       There was also a risk associated with governance that has been removed relating to clear communication with stakeholders.  This risk is now encompassed in one of the other functions.

The Panel asked about a concern that was raised previously about the uncertainty for staff of the restructuring and whether this had now been resolved?  The Councillor Group heard it was a difficult time for staff and we have been post restructure since September. Staff are settled and are confident in terms of delivery across the three local authorities and are in a strong position to continue to support schools and other settings well as we move forward, given the reduced priorities which are reflected in the reduced workforce.

Scrutiny Councillor Group

The Cllr Group agreed to include their views on today’s agenda in a letter to Chair of Partneriaeth Joint Committee