Agenda item

Presentation by Huw Ynyr

It was noted that all Forum members had received a copy of a report prepared jointly by the Assistant Head of Information Technology and the Dwyfor/Meirion Area Education Officer on the Hwb In-Schools Infrastructure Grant.  It had not been possible to include the report on the Forum’s agenda, as no final figures had been received from the Welsh Government until the eleventh hour.     

 

Details on the contents of the report were received.  It was noted:-

 

·         In July 2019, the Minister for Education announced a funding programme to transform Education Technology in Wales. 

·         The £50m venture would use the new ‘All-Wales ICT catalogue’ as a medium to assist local authorities to purchase the essential compatible equipment on behalf of their schools.

·         In accordance with the scheme’s conditions, it would be local authorities who would serve as the strategic supply partner for the programme and it would be necessary to use finance appropriately to ensure that every school is upgraded in accordance with national standards.

·         That Gwynedd has committed to be a link for schools in the county and had agreed to the core principles of standardisation, consistency and most importantly sustainability.

·         The grant enabled the Gwynedd schools network to be renewed in order to reach the national standard, by upgrading the wifi network points and cabinets and to install new cables where needed.

·         Hardware to upgrade the network had been ordered and installation work would occur over the next two terms.

·         As the Council had committed to the sustainability of this equipment, there would be no cost implications to schools when the installed equipment via a grant would come to the end of its lifespan.

·         That close to £1.4m of the grant this year had been invested in hardware to upgrade the network.

·         That an assessment of the number and condition of existing devices across Gwynedd schools indicated that a wide range of devices were available in schools, however, many had dated.

·         That the Education Department’s Digital Education Strategy had set an ambition in terms of the ration of devices to children of 1:4 in foundation phase and 1:1 in key stages 2, 3 and 4, together with a device for each teacher and for many support staff.

·         If the ratio of 1:1 in the secondary sector was not maintained then elements of the old system would have to be retained with a significant increase in equipment maintenance costs.

·         It was estimated that 13,676 devices were required at a cost of £2,908,205.02.  The grant would enable us to purchase these devices.

·         Based on the renewal cycle of five years, it will be necessary to find 20% of the cost of these devices each year for the next five years.  At the end of the five years a new set of devices would be presented. The costs will be as noted in the following tables:-

 

	Number of Pupils	Number of computers (on a ratio basis)	Cost (on a ratio basis)	Renewal Contribution	Cost per pupil
FP	3,530	883	£293,431.25	£58,686.00	£16.62
KS2	5,150	5,150	£916,242.16	£183,248.43	£35.58
KS3 & 4	6,455	6,455	£1,017,759.85	£203,551.97	£31.53
Total	15,135	12,488	£2,227,433.26	£445,486.65	£29.43

 

Teachers

	Number of Teachers	Number of computers (on a ratio basis)	Cost (on a ratio basis)	Renewal Contribution	Cost per Teacher
Every school*	1,188	1,188	£462,452.76	£92,490.55	£6.11

 

*£218,319 was needed for Docking Station, Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse – these had not been included in the renewal costs as they should survive the renewal period.

 

·         Therefore, the sustainability costs of the scheme would be £537,976 for both sectors with £280,939 from primary and £257,038 from secondary.

·         For primary schools, a school with 100 children will be expected to contribute approximately £3,250, a school with 200 children £5,900, and a school with 300 children £9,500.

·         The estimated sustainability cost for secondary is as noted in the following table:-

 

School
Ardudwy	£12,723.13
Botwnnog	£17,022.62
Bro Idris (3-16 School)	£11,612.64
Brynrefail	£24,428.27
Dyffryn Nantlle	£14,186.52
Dyffryn Ogwen	£16,213.59
Eifionydd	£15,052.72
Friars	£44,842.83
Glan y Môr	£19,266.51
Syr Hugh Owen	£28,662.73
Tryfan	£13,058.23
Tywyn	£13,418.84
Godre’r Berwyn (3-19 School)	£13,234.61
Y Moelwyn	£13,314.43

 

·         It was not anticipated that there would be any requirement for schools to contribute towards the sustainability of the scheme in the next financial year.

·         That up to £800,000 was available for devices this year, and the grant cannot be spent without a commitment to the sustainability of this investment.

·         As a sign of the Council’s committment to the Digital Education Strategy and the committment to the learners’ digital skills, the Education Department wished to invest in the sustainability of this scheme.  Any investment by the Department would reduce the schools’ sustainability cost.

 

Further to the contents of the report, it was noted:-

·         Although the final figures had not been received regarding the grant until the eleventh hour, an order had to be submitted by mid-day on the 4th of March for equipment to the value of £798,000. 

·         That a number of dicsussions had taken place with the Head of Education regarding how the Department can support investment in the sustainability of the provision. It was intended to look at every budget within the Department and to also hold discussions with the Council’s Cabinet.  It was confirmed that the Department would support the investment, however, it could not currently be confirmed what the exact sum would be.

·         The Department would immediately commit 20% of the £800,00, or it would not be possible to spend the grant. 

 

The Department’s intention to invest in the sustainability of the provision was welcomed.

 

It was emphasised that schools needed to know when the new equipment would arrive, in order to plan for this.  In response, it was explained that rather than running two systems that may not be compatible, it was proposed to bring in one system.  Therefore the timing was very important.

 

It was noted that schools needed information about these decisions during the next few weeks.  In response, it was explained that it was difficult for the Council in terms of planning, as it was not yet known the exact amount of money in the pot for next year.  Therefore, it was likely that the new equipment would not be available until early after Christmas, however, the preparation work would have to be undertaken prior to this and all that would be required then would be to distribute to schools. 

 

It was noted, although it was Cynnal that prepared the annual report on quality, it was the Council who made the decision that the equipment was standard.  It was expressed that this was a grey area, and it was sugested that it would be beneficial to provide a Service Level Agreement to schools.

 

It was suggested that it would be an idea to provide some form of newsletter every fortnight for those schools without a seat on the Forum.  In response, it was explained that two newsletters were sent to schools monthly.  It was also suggested that the representatives on the strategic/technical groups should report back to the headteachers.