Venue: Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Contact: Bethan Adams 01286 679020
No. | Item |
---|---|
CHAIRMAN To elect a Chairman for 2015/16. Minutes: It was decided to
re-elect Councillor Eryl Williams as Chair of the
Joint Committee for 2015/16. |
|
VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a Vice-chairman for 2015/16. Minutes: It was decided to
re-elect Councillor Michael Williams as Vice-chair of the Joint Committee for
2015/16. |
|
APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Diane Chisholm (Primary Schools representative), Rita Price (Wrexham Diocese) and Arwyn Thomas (Gwynedd Council). |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declaration of personal interest was received by any Members present. |
|
URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. |
|
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING PDF 252 KB (copy enclosed) Minutes: The Chair signed minutes of this meeting
held on 25 February 2015 as a true record.
4.1 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES It was reported that national
verification and assessment and standardisation work has been completed by the
4 regions for national quality assurance purposes and that a draft report has
been produced. It was noted that a report in the context of local information
will be presented to the next meeting of the Joint Committee on 23 September
2015. It was decided to: accept and note the above. |
|
REGIONAL BUSINESS PLAN 2014-15 - MONITORING REPORT PDF 351 KB (copy enclosed) Additional documents: Minutes: The GwE Managing Director presented a report, updating the
Joint Committee on the progress made against the 2014-15
Business Plan. The members were led through each priority in the report
and a response given to comments. The main following points were made during
the discussion: (a)
Priority 4 – ‘Increase the uptake of, and raise standards in, Welsh as a First Language
across the region’. Following the secondment
of Mrs Eleri Jones coming to an end, it was noted
that another individual will be undertaking the work and that the priority
remains important. (b)
In response to a question by a Member in relation
to ensuring consistency both nationally and regionally, Mr Geraint Rees (Welsh
Government) noted that Professor Donaldson’s report highlights Welsh medium
education and that cohesive development is required in each region. He added
that Gwynedd Council is a lead authority on Welsh medium education in the
region and that deeper networking is required due to such variety across the
region. (c)
In response to a question by a Member regarding
meetings to discuss the way forward with Welsh medium education in the region
as the 6 authorities have a different strategy and work profiles, it was noted
that it is very important have a
discussion on the way forward. (d) Priority 6 ‘Establish and promote an
effective regional model for school>school support’. It was noted there is strong evidence to show
that schools are willing to collaborate but that some schools have a more
traditional view. The need to ensure that it is a whole regional programme was
emphasised. (e)
Priority 7 ‘Develop quality leadership and teaching
and learning on all levels’. A Member noted that developing leadership is very
important and that value needs to be measured.
(f) Priority 8 ‘Support schools to develop more
robust and effective assessment, standardisation and moderation processes’. In
response to a comment by a Member, the GwE Managing
Director noted that steps are being taken to ensure a better balance between
support and challenge following the publication of the Estyn
annual report. (g)
Priority 10 ‘Ensure the
effective governance of GwE’. With regard to scrutiny arrangements, Mr
Geraint Rees (Welsh Government) noted that the Wales Audit Office (WAO) has
expressed that scrutiny should take place regionally; but, now, a shift is to
be seen towards the relevant Scrutiny Committees within the Authorities looking
at thematic reports. It was noted that discussions are underway with regard to
a cohesive system for scrutiny. It was decided to: Accept and note the content of the report. |
|
THE JOINT COMMITTEE’S FINAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2015 PDF 269 KB (copy enclosed) Additional documents:
Minutes: A report by the Gwynedd Council Head of
Finance was presented outlining an outturn on the 2014/15 Revenue Income and
Expenditure accounts along with an endorsed statement of accounts in statutory
form, but pre-Audit. The content of the accounts was discussed
and there were opportunities for Joint Committee members to ask questions. It was reported that the accounts have been
endorsed and sent to the WAO. They will be presented at the next Joint
Committee meeting for approval. The Chair and the GwE Managing Director signed
the 2014-15 Annual Governance Statement. It was decided to: accept and note the content of the report and approve the management of the underspend as outlined in Appendix A ‘2014-15 Revenue Income and Expenditure Account’ along with the 2014/15 Statement of Accounts (pre-audit) – Appendix B. |
|
ALIGNMENT OF REGIONAL WORKING ARRANGEMENTS WITH WELSH GOVERNMENT NATIONAL MODEL PDF 360 KB (copy enclosed) Additional documents:
Minutes: (a) GwE’s final business
case was presented for approval, which summarises the present areas of work,
assesses the possible options and recommends the most effective intervention
for delivery. Ian Budd (Lead Director – Chair of
Management Board) noted that the business case was assessed against the
following criteria: ·
Does it make the best use of experience and
expertise? ·
In a time of financial constraints, is value for
money ensured and is there flexibility to manage the decrease in funding? ·
Is it easily understood so that it may be shared
with stakeholders? (b) Mr Geraint Rees
(Welsh Government) noted that the Local Authorities have kept the leading roles
in these areas, therefore sufficient capacity needs to be ensured within the
networks. In response, Ian Budd (Lead Director – Chair
of Management Board) noted that the Management Board has revised its remit and
membership so as to comply with the national model. (c) The following
points were highlighted during the subsequent discussion: ·
the need to improve the Governing Body in schools ·
in response to a comment from a Member, Ian Budd
(Lead Director – Chair of Management Board) noted that a main officer takes the
leading role on every network. He added that authorities could provide more resources
to deliver a specific programme, but when GwE was
established no individual authorities made specific requirements. ·
accountability would be clearer when the Service
Level Agreement is in place noting roles and responsibilities. ·
the WAO report notes that a movement towards joint
ownership should be seen rather than commissioning by an individual authority
and that GwE is making great strides by producing a
joint business plan. It
was decided to: (a) accept and note the content of the report
(b) approve the following interventions with
regard to areas of work: ·
advice and support
for Governors (page 10 of the report) ·
the Foundation
Phase (page 10 of the report) ·
Learning Pathways
14 – 19 (page 12 of the report) ·
Welsh in Education
Strategic Plans and Welsh in Education Grant (page 13 of the report) ·
regional
co-ordination of the ICT Strategy (page 14 of the report) ·
specialist human resources support (page 14
of the report) delegate the responsibility of planning and delivery of the interventions to the GwE Management Board. |
|
GwE MAIN PRIORITIES PDF 355 KB (copy enclosed) Additional documents: Minutes: (a) The GwE Managing
Director presented a report to update the Joint Committee on the main
priorities of the service. It was reported that Estyn will conduct an
inspection during the spring/summer of 2016 on a new framework that is yet to
be published. It was noted there will be a consultation on the framework in the
autumn of 2015 and consortia have been informed there should be evidence of no
competition between them. The GwE Assistant Director (Standards) gave
a presentation on the support and challenge provided by GwE. (b) The
following points were noted during the subsequent discussion: ·
in response to a question from a Member regarding
confirmation of the category of a school, it was noted that GCSE results in
August are taken into account and that the school’s category is confirmed at
the beginning of September ·
in response to a query, it was noted that, with
regard to secondary schools, it takes 1-2 years for a school to improve and
come out of the red category ·
the need to collaborate both within and across
Local Authorities to improve schools ·
some schools need intensive support with schools
becoming independent in the long run. ·
the colour analysis does not show the full picture;
some schools are content in the yellowy category and don’t want to progress to
the green; these schools should be challenged locally ·
the main priorities will be shared with schools’
Governing Bodies in the future and there will be understanding with regard to
how to best implement the model (c) The GwE Assistant Director (Support and
Brokerage) gave a presentation on the leadership development programme. In response to a query by a Member with
regard to a long term evaluation, it was noted that the impact is assessed at
the end of the academic year. It was noted that 4 individuals who took part in
the middle leadership development programme have been promoted and all 4 stated
that the programme had been useful. It was decided to: Accept and note the content of the report. |
|
BASE BUDGET 2015/16 PDF 326 KB (copy enclosed) Additional documents: Minutes: A report by the GwE
Managing Director and the Host Authority Head of Finance on the GwE baseline budget for the 2015-16 financial year was presented. The content of the report was discussed and
Joint Committee Members were given an opportunity to ask questions about any elements
in the report. It was decided to: adopt the baseline budget for 2015/16 as presented in Appendix 1. |