Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Elin Hywel, Ruth Roe (Meirionnydd Parent/Governor Representative), Karen Vaughan Jones (Dwyfor Parent/Governor Representative), and Councillor Menna Jones (Cabinet Member for Corporate Support).

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 14^th July, 2022 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 14 July 2022 as a true record.

Cabinet Member – Councillor Beca Brown

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and note the observations, and scrutinise the matter again when appropriate.

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

The report of the Cabinet Member for Education was presented in response to a request from the Committee members for an opportunity to examine in more detail relationships and sexuality education, which was a mandatory element of the Curriculum for Wales Framework from September 2022.  It was explained that this element had been mandatory in all primary schools in the county since September 2022, and in six of the secondary schools that had chosen to introduce the curriculum to Year 7 in September 2022.

The Cabinet Member set out the context for the report, noting the following:

·         That it was early days on the journey of the Relationships and Sexuality Education Code, but that the feedback from the schools had been good and that positive communication had been taking place between schools and parents.

·         That she had every faith in the profession to deliver this pluralistic and inclusive education that was appropriate for the child's development, as well as the child's age.

·         That she was extremely proud that children were going to receive an education that would keep them safe and happy as they went through life.

·         That the Code had received a great deal of attention, and that she had received a lot of correspondence from victims of sexual abuse who were now adults, from parents of victims and from people who worked with victims, all of whom said that they were so glad to see this education being formalised.

·         That she very much hoped that this education went a long way towards ensuring that no child would be bullied and insulted for being different from what was regarded as the norm, and that was why it was so important that this education was implemented effectively across the county.

The Head of Education reiterated the Cabinet Member's comments, and noted:

·         That school headteachers reported that they had received a positive response to the Code from the majority of parents and carers, and that he also had every faith that school leaders and staff dealt with the matter wisely.

·         Because the field was presented in a pluralistic way, there are different views presented so that children and young people had the opportunity to come to their own independent opinion based on facts.

·         That it was important to note that the Welsh Government had recognised that development or maturity or developmental relevance was at the heart of the curriculum.  Therefore, the schools would deliver the education according to their knowledge of their learners in terms of their maturity and their ability to understand and deal with the matter.

The Head then referred to paragraph 4(iii) of the report which stated, "when developing the Curriculum for Wales, Gwynedd schools will be supported by GwE", noting, in terms of correction, and to make the situation clearer, that the six authorities across the north had commissioned an individual to collaborate with the Healthy Schools movement in order  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Cabinet Member – Councillor Beca Brown

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and to note the observations.

The progress report of the Cabinet Member for Education was submitted at the request of this Committee, on the preparations of Gwynedd schools for Curriculum for Wales work.

Representatives from GwE were welcomed to the meeting.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. 

Individual members submitted the following observations:

·         That it was encouraging to see that all Gwynedd schools ensured that the promotion of the Welsh language and the culture and heritage of Wales was clearly woven into the design of the curriculum.

·         That it was essential that we did not lose sight of the importance of the traditional academic disciplines, which were essential in order to ensure fairness in society.

·         That it was essential to ensure consistency in standards from school to school in order to ensure fairness, not only between communities, but also at the level of the individual pupil.

·         That one page of the report, in particular, was full of references to 'a few', 'many' or 'some' schools, which was completely meaningless without the table, and that the relevant percentages should be included in each case.

·         That the new curriculum was welcomed, but that the shortage of staff, especially assistants, was a huge problem.

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

·         That in terms of the training arrangements, a programme was being created, cross-regionally and across Wales, in order to set the framework in terms of curriculum design, taking into account the vision, values and type of local behaviour a school or a local community aspires to, around the four purposes.  GwE had been working closely with Professor Graham Donaldson and had created a regional network and local and specific networks in Gwynedd looking at areas of learning and experience individually, and then age-appropriately in relation to the areas of learning and experience.  Then, a series of clusters had been created and a series of leagues, and the training permeated down to the level of the clusters.  It was also important to note, as the menu progressed, that schools learned from each other and shared experiences.

·         That assessment and progression were the greatest challenges for the profession.  There was now a much more holistic picture of the child, as well as the academic aspect.  Models and systems were created to share with the schools, especially in terms of formative assessment, and work was also underway in terms of the primary/secondary transition in the context of the local curriculum.  It was further noted that one of our most important weapons in the wake of the development of the new curriculum would be the clear focus on a local/area curriculum, and it was believed that this was a means of strengthening the transition in a way that was relevant to a curriculum that truly reflected local requirements.  It was also believed that it could help remove the perception by some that a period of education ended at the end of year 6, and another period started in year  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cabinet Member – Councillor Menna Jones

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and to note the observations.

The Corporate Director and the Ffordd Gwynedd Adviser were welcomed to the meeting.

The report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support was submitted, presenting the conclusions of the Ffordd Gwynedd Working Group Review based on the responses received to a questionnaire which was circulated to the heads in order to:

·         get an overview of how the Ffordd Gwynedd principles have embedded within the departments; and

·         enable the development of a Ffordd Gwynedd plan that would ensure appropriate support for the coming three years. 

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. 

Individual members submitted the following observations:

·         The new Tidying Teams were thanked for their commendable work.

·         It was noted that there was a desire to see Ffordd Gwynedd working, but that the officers' enthusiasm about how things were going at the moment could not be shared. 

·         It was stated that understanding the true needs of the customer was central to the report, but if Ffordd Gwynedd was not concerned with that, it served no purpose.

·         It was suggested that the report was too general, woolly and vague, e.g. there were several references to 'considerable progress', 'room for improvement', etc. but no accompanying definition.  Similarly, there was a reference to, e.g. 'some departments/teams', and it was suggested that the departments that succeeded or underachieved should be named, internally within the Council.  The report also stated that teams were working innovatively, but it would be beneficial to know which teams were doing that, and what the good practice was.

·         Despite accepting that there was a long way to go, it was suggested that Ffordd Gwynedd, as an ideal, was something to aim for, and the vision was congratulated.

·         It was noted that the lack of response from some staff/departments to enquiries from elected members and members of the public was a major problem, and that this needed to be prioritised in the short term, Ffordd Gwynedd or not, naming and shaming those who transgressed.

·         It was emphasised that if Ffordd Gwynedd was to work, everyone needed to buy into the culture, and disappointment was expressed that it had not been possible to bring the workforce on board with this, especially on the Highways side.

·         It was noted that the principles of Ffordd Gwynedd should be shared with external companies that carried out contracts for the Council.

In response to the observations and questions from members, the Corporate Director noted: 

·         That he was very disappointed to hear some of the comments, but fully accepted that the members wanted more details, and was more than happy to share the information.  He also accepted the point about highlighting where efforts needed to be focused.

·         That he and the Chief Executive were working together on a piece of work regarding the lack of prompt response to enquiries from some services, and that steps had already been taken, with the situation now having improved in a number of services where there had been problems in the past.  He asked members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To present the Committee’s draft work programme for 2022/23 for adoption.

Adopt the work programme for 2022-23.

Submitted - the Committee's draft forward work programme for 2022-23 for adoption.

RESOLVED to adopt the forward programme for 2022-23.