Agenda, decisions and minutes

To elect a Chair for 2021/22.

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Beth Lawton as Chair of this committee for 2021/22.

To elect a Vice-chair for 2021/22.

To elect Councillor Cai Larsen as Vice-chair of this committee for 2021/22.

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Cai Larsen as Vice-chair of this committee for 2021/22.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Rheinallt Puw and Dewi Roberts.

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

No declarations of personal interest were received.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration.

None to note.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee held on 15th April, 2021 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 15 April 2021 as a true record.

Cabinet Member – Councillor Cemlyn Williams

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and ask the Education Department and Cabinet Member for Education to consider the observations of the committee, and that the scrutiny committee receives a further report on this when more details are available.

The Cabinet Member for Education and officers from the Education Department were welcomed to the meeting.

Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member for Education inviting the scrutinisers to give observations on the proposed vision for the immersion education system towards 2032 and beyond.

The Cabinet Member set out the context, noting that the new vision was intended to build on the good work achieved by the language centres over the last few decades, acknowledge the hard work of the staff, and update and modernise the provision.

The Head of Education noted:

·         That he believed that this was an exciting vision, which laid the foundation for a celebrated service to do more good work, thus updating the service to be part of the 21st century schools programme.

·         That the Department and the staff of the language centres were anxious not to lose sight of the lessons learned as a result of re-purposing the service and reaching more children in a different way during the pandemic, and that there was a desire to build further on those strengths and approaches.

·         That members had already received a copy of Estyn's letter to the Chief Executive which highlighted the Authority's work in supporting schools and children during the pandemic period, and in particular commending the work of the language centres in re-purposing the service.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and make observations.  During the discussion, the following observations were noted:

·         The success of the language centres over the years was recognised in ensuring that learners acquire the Welsh language.

·         There was agreement with the intention to strengthen accountability as part of the new vision.

·         The proposal to equip schools' workforce to support learners to make further progress in building confidence and acquiring the Welsh language was supported.

·         The proposal to establish an immersion education provision in Bangor was supported.

·         The Education Department was asked to provide more detail on the immersion education system when it becomes available.

·         Opinion was divided on the funding source for the immersion education system, with some members supportive of the intention that schools would contribute, thus increasing accountability and shared ownership of the system between the Education Department and the schools, but the wish was also expressed for the Council corporately to be funding the budgetary gap due to the fact that the Welsh language was one of the Council's main priorities.

In response to the observations and questions from members, it was noted: 

·         In terms of the schools' input and contribution to the revised vision and service, it was proposed to engage informally with schools' headteachers on the new vision.  Also, if the new system came into force, it was likely that a management board would be established for the new system which would include representation from the school system.  This meant that the schools could contribute and jointly own and shape the provision, to ensure that the system responds to the needs of the schools, while simultaneously keeping up to date with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Cabinet Member – Councillor Cemlyn Williams

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and to note the observations received, while also hoping to have an update on this later on in the year.

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.

To submit the scrutiny draft work programme 2021/22 for adoption.

To adopt the scrutiny work programme 2021/22.

A draft scrutiny work programme for 2021/22 was submitted for adoption.

It was noted that one item from this meeting had slipped.

RESOLVED to adopt the scrutiny work programme 2021/22.