Agenda item

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 20^th March, 2024 be signed as a true record.

It was confirmed that the minutes of the last meeting held on 20 March 2024 were correct.

Matter arising from the minutes

Item 7 - Future of School Improvement in North Wales.

GwE Managing Director alluded to the decision to present a report to this meeting of the Joint Committee on the way forward, addressing timeline and governance matters, as well as budgetary implications, noting that:

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·         An early draft of a paper had been prepared to be discussed with the Management Board, which had already been shared with Cyngor Gwynedd Chief Executive as the Lead Chief Executive.

·         The draft paper included some of the questions raised by Joint Committee members, such as the closing down costs of the service, whether any savings can be made in the year, the new models in re-shaping the service and the exact role of the Joint Committee and Management Board in moving forwards.

·         The hope was to share the paper with the Management Board for comments and present to the Joint Committee at the July meeting, or possibly an urgent meeting may need to be called in the meantime if the situation was to change quickly.

·         It was quite clear from the new Minister for Education's initial statement that the reorganisation of school improvement services would go ahead and that Isos, led by Simon Day, had secured a 6-month agreement from the Government to press ahead with the second stage of the work. 

·         It is understood that civil servants expect local authorities to declare their partnerships to the Government early after half-term to early July, and that they are adhering to the timeline up until 31 March 2025. Obviously, nothing had been announced or put in writing in this regard, however as far as giving hope and peace of mind for GwE staff, the sooner the better that models and exact roles within those models are shared.

·         Announcing the models would also inform Joint Committee members in their individual authorities and as joint authorities regarding the closing down costs of the service and local costs in terms of working with partners to set up a new service.

·         Therefore, there were factors that needed to be decided upon sooner rather than later, if the Government is to realise the date of 31 March 2025.

In response, it was noted that the Chief Officers are fully aware of the challenges and uncertainties facing GwE staff, and that the Joint Committee can be rest assured that everybody it working as quickly as possible, individually and collectively, to reach a situation of certainty for future arrangements.  However, it was emphasised that this was an enormous and extremely complex task for the local authorities, especially given the current financial challenges. It was further noted:

·         That one of the civil servants had stated that they were listening to local authorities telling them that the Government's original timeline in terms of declaring partnerships was highly likely to be unrealistic.

·         That more time is needed to work through the models. Once there is more certainly in this regard, the intention is to develop partnerships locally and regionally to support that model.

·         Certainly, the local authorities will not be in a position to declare their intentions immediately after half term.

Concern was expressed that GwE staff have already been through 4 months of uncertainty since the Minister’s announcement at the end of January, and it was asked whether discussions could take place outside of the formal meeting regarding the appropriateness of releasing some staff before March 2025.

In response, GwE Managing Director noted:

·         That the final details of the individual commissions by the local authorities were currently being prepared, before being signed by the Education Portfolio Holder, the Director and himself on behalf of GwE.

·         That there is a risk that seconded staff would be returning to their schools, some staff retiring and others not being able or willing to take the risk and applying for other posts in the meantime.

·         The longer the timetable before models are determined, the higher the risk of being in a position of being unable to fulfil all commissions across the region, depending on the sector, geography and medium.

·         The workforce will have to be reorganised every time a member of staff leaves, which could render a situation where it would be difficult to meet the commission brief.

The need to keep in touch over the next few days and work out the next steps was noted.