Agenda item

To accept and note the information in the report.

The report was submitted by Cllr Beca Brown

DECISION

To accept and note the information in the report.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted, noting that it had been a busy period for the department and that the report highlighted a range of work that was being undertaken. Although there was an attempt to bring everything together, it was stated that one theme could be seen throughout the report, namely well-being, attainment and inclusion. It was explained that this field had always been important but the pandemic had highlighted the challenges facing the county's children and young people. In light of all the challenges, it was emphasised that the Cabinet Member had been amazed at the resilience of young people and that the department was seeking to mitigate the challenges and to support the children and young people to reach their full potential.

Attention was drawn to some schemes as follows, it was noted that all schools implemented an Accelerated Learning programme as a result of the pandemic and that exceptional work was being undertaken to target the pre-school and post-16 learning period. It was emphasised that the work of transforming the Additional Learning Needs service continued and that a preparedness pre-survey showed very strong progress across the county in terms of preparations that had already been made.

There was pride in the work that had been undertaken on the Digital Strategy with an electronic device now provided to every child from years 3 to 11 in order to reduce the inequality between children, who had the freedom to take the device home with them. In terms of the Free School Meals scheme, it was stated that the county was ahead of schedule and proud that it was working.

Pride was highlighted in the Immersion Education system as several financial sources had enabled the department to commission work to create a virtual town, which would provide children with an opportunity to speak Welsh virtually before venturing to use it in the 'real world'. It was explained that this made the work of teaching the language more similar to a game rather than a lesson.

Observations arising from the discussion

·         The county's young people were congratulated on their GCSE and A Level results.

·         In terms of the Digital Education Strategy, it was enquired whether every child had now received their devices. It was confirmed that they had shared the final supply over the past few weeks.

·         If the devices were part of the Digital Strategy, it was asked whether pupils were allowed to take them home. It was stated that the right to take them home was crucial for the scheme to ensure that every child received the same opportunity and had the opportunity to do their homework without any challenges.

·         It was enquired how the Catering and Cleaning department coped with the additional requirements in terms of providing school meals across the county. It was noted that there was substantially higher demand but considerable work had been undertaken to secure the right equipment and facilities. In terms of staffing, it was noted that the department had been able to cope with demand thus far but it was excellent to see families taking advantage of the opportunity.