Issue - meetings

To submit the GwE Annual Report for 2023-24.

To accept the report and note the observations.

Arwyn Thomas (GwE Managing Director) and Alwyn Jones (GwE Assistant Director (Standards)) were welcomed to the meeting. ⁠

The Managing Director of GwE delivered a few introductory words, thanking Cyngor Gwynedd and also this committee, for the support given to GwE and its staff over the years. 

GwE's Assistant Director (Standards) provided a summary of the content of the Annual Report and members were given the opportunity to ask questions and submit observations.

GwE was thanked for preparing a concise report this year.

It was suggested that the national trends contradicted what was noted in this report. I.e. although Key Area 2 (Improving Teaching and Learning) noted that the quality of the teaching was generally robust across the sectors, another report on this meeting's agenda declared that recent publications, including Estyn and PISA reports and the personal national report on the assessments, had noted that the quality of learning and outcomes within schools and across schools etc. required improvement.  In response, it was noted that levels of contradictory evidence were inevitable until the Government's direction in relation to the Accountability Framework in Wales had emerged.

It was noted that it seemed that Key Area 5 (Support and Challenge for Schools Causing Concern) focused on academic results almost without exception, and it was asked what would happen if there were concerns regarding other matters, e.g. Additional Learning Needs or the school leadership in general. In response, it was noted that the quality of leadership was at the core of all this and that its repercussions then filtered through to the quality of teaching and the provision that the children received, ultimately affecting the children's standards.

A member enquired how the 13 improvement priorities in the Annual Report 2022/23 had now reduced to 5. In response, it was noted that all aspects had been summarised into the 5 priorities in this report.

The honesty of the report was welcomed, such as the comment 'The quality of senior leadership is generally robust, but a few challenges remain in some specific areas' and ‘Inconsistency remains in the quality of implementation across the authority ...'.

The fact that eight teachers from Gwynedd had gained a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) this year was welcomed, but it was suggested that it would have been beneficial to state how the figure compared with the three previous years. In response, it was noted that the figure was fairly consistent in Gwynedd, and that it would be interesting to see in the next period how many would choose to use this qualification to lead in their local area.

RESOLVED to accept the report and to note the observations.