Issue - meetings

To accept information from the report and receive any feedback.

To accept and approve the Annual Report for 2021-2022.

The report was presented by the Managing Director of GwE, and the following main points were noted:

-      For clarity, it was noted that the content of the report derived from visits to schools, themes from business plans, discussions with the Management Board and Welsh Government priorities.

-      It was stated that there were a number of positive aspects to be commended in the report such as

o   That effective collaboration had ensured appropriate support for schools during a very challenging period by maintaining ongoing contact.

o   A distance learning system was developed to comply with new challenges facing education in Wales.

o   GwE's website was proving very popular.

-      It was explained that GwE and Bangor University worked closely together in relation to the 'Ein Llais Ni' project.

-      It was recognised that GwE faced many challenges in the future such as:

o   Developing and growing a workforce over an extended period.

o   Developing leadership. The lockdown periods were a period of 'managing' rather than 'leading' in order to ensure safety and therefore it was necessary to ensure that leadership skills were again being developed.

o   Business matters such as a risk register, value for money and challenging performance, as well as a responsibility to develop school staff and the GwE workforce.

-      Following a request for further information on specific topics, the Managing Director explained:

o   That there was a lot of enthusiasm from secondary schools in the east to be part of the 'Ein Llais Ni' project. There had to be an effective cascading process to ensure that the project was developed successfully. The Minister for Education had shown an interest in the project and was keen to share the project with other regions in order to adopt the project nationally.

o   Regular work was being done to ensure the well-being of pupils and staff. This work varied from one authority to another due to the different needs of the areas. Further work would be done in September at the level of individual schools.

o   Confidence to use the Welsh language had declined since the lockdown periods therefore work was being done to develop that confidence once again. There was a reduction in the number of pupils who chose to study the subject of 'Welsh' in their higher education and a turnover in a number of head positions. Work was being done jointly with Bangor University in order to encourage pupils to continue with their education in the Welsh language. Work was being done to ensure that a bilingual workforce was nurtured.

o   The relationship between carers/parents and the schools had been challenged in the lockdown periods. Work was being done to develop a package of resources to give parents guidance on the best methods of supporting children and young people.

RESOLVED

-      To accept and approve the Annual Report for 2021-2022.