8 COVID EDUCATION GRANTS TO SUPPORT PUPILS PDF 602 KB
Cabinet Member – Councillor Cemlyn Williams
To consider a
report on the above.
Additional documents:
Decision:
To accept the report and to note the
observations received, while also hoping to have an update on this later on in
the year.
Minutes:
Officers of the Education Department and GwE
were welcomed to the meeting.
Submitted – the report of the Cabinet Member
for Education detailing the Accelerated Learning Programme Grant received by
schools to assist pupils as a result of Covid.
The Senior Manager for Schools detailed the
background and conditions of the grant, noting that the total funding allocated
to Gwynedd schools was approximately £2,220,440.
The GwE Core Leader - Primary, referred to
the Regional Grant Planning Dashboard created by GwE to support schools to plan
effectively for the spending of the grants, whilst also providing an overview
of the primary school schemes. Then, the GwE Core Leader - Secondary, gave an
overview of the secondary school schemes.
Members were given an opportunity to ask
questions and make observations.
It was suggested that once the schools have
had the opportunity to fully utilise the grant, it would be beneficial to
receive a summary of the views of headteachers, teachers and pupils who have
benefited from the additional support, so that the impact of the grant can be
quantified. It was also suggested that
it would be useful to have a summary of the good practice highlighted by GwE
Core Leaders.
In response, it was explained that the
headteachers were expected to submit information to the Education Department
and GwE in the autumn term about the impact of the grants, and that this could
be brought before the scrutinisers at that time. It was also noted that the Welsh Government
was keen to obtain examples of the good practice referred to, so that it could
be shared nationally.
In conclusion, the Cabinet Member for
Education emphasised the importance of ensuring consistency of provision across
the county. He expressed his
appreciation of the work carried out, but agreed that neither GwE nor the Department
was in a position to provide a full update at this time. He further noted that he was aware of the
activities that had been conducted, and that sharing good practice was a very
important element of this.
RESOLVED to accept the report
and to note the observations received, while also hoping to have an update on
this later on in the year.