Agenda item

·         Approval and adoption of the Response Plan in Appendix 1.

·         Call on the Welsh Government to establish a Public Inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding this serious offending.

·         Commission the Chief Executive to make arrangements to implement the contents of this Response Plan including establishing a specific Programme Board and to regularly report progress to the Cabinet.

·         Authorise the Chief Executive to establish and organise temporary resources and necessary staffing capacity to realise the contents of this Plan to be funded from reserves.

·         Note that the Response Plan is a working plan that will need to be reviewed regularly and, in that context, ask the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise the Plan as part of their work programme.

·         Delegate the right to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, the Cabinet Member for Education and the Cabinet Member for Children, to make minor editorial adjustments as required.

The report was submitted by Cllr. Nia Jeffreys, Council Leader and the Chief Executive.

DECISION

·       Approval and adoption of the Response Plan in Appendix 1.

·       Call on the Welsh Government to establish a Public Inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding this serious offending.

·       Commission the Chief Executive to make arrangements to implement the contents of this Response Plan including establishing a specific Programme Board and to regularly report progress to the Cabinet.

·       Authorise the Chief Executive to establish and organise temporary resources and necessary staffing capacity to realise the contents of this Plan to be funded from reserves.

·       Note that the Response Plan is a working plan that will need to be reviewed regularly and in that context ask the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise the Plan as part of their work programme.

·       Delegate the right to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, the Cabinet Member for Education and the Cabinet Member for Children, to make minor editorial adjustments as required.

DISCUSSION

 When submitting the report, it was emphasised that the victims were at the heart of this plan and tribute was paid to the victims' bravery and resilience, as well as everyone who had been impacted by the horrific offences committed. There was a quote from the report “we cannot for a second forget about the most important people in all of this, the girls who should have been safe in their school. The whole purpose of this Response Plan and every step that we take is to do everything possible to ensure that no one suffers in the same way ever again and this should be our main consideration at all times.”

The Leader noted that she had apologised to the victims, and she was determined to turn every stone to establish what had gone wrong. It was noted that the purpose of the plan was to set out all the work that was happening to get to grips with the situation in a live document, with external bodies giving input and guidance, and to put further input as the plan would be developed for the future. It was emphasised that this was a live document and would be adapted as lessons became clear and as the situation became clearer. The six main current objectives were emphasised as noted in the report, outlining the next steps of establishing a Programme Board under the guidance of an independent person to measure the progress and identify any gaps.  It was noted that the plan would not turn back the clock or undo what had happened to the victims. 

The Chief Executive emphasised the shocking impact on the victims mainly, as well as the school, the wider community and the Council.  It was noted that this was a unique situation that was developing daily, with the first step having been established through statutory arrangements from the Child Practice Review by the North Wales Safeguarding Board.

The Plan's six aims and four work streams were elaborated upon.  ⁠It was emphasised that no stone would be left unturned and the work would be open and transparent. 

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       It was declared that there was support for the safeguarding monitoring visits in schools and the desire to adapt them to become annual visits.

·       The fact that the Scrutiny Committee intended to conduct an investigation as part of the plan was welcomed, as well as the important work by the committee to scrutinise the progress on the plan for the future.

·       The detail of the programme was welcomed, as well as the external specialists' input and the fact that it was a live programme. It was emphasised that the Programme Board would be chaired by an independent person.

·       There was an enquiry for assurance that support would continue to be given to the victims when attention was given to the plan and as every investigation reported

o   In response, it was noted that support had been given to the victims, with more support to be given in the future. It was noted that there was a need to ensure that this would happen in a sensitive and appropriate manner, under the guidance of the victims.

·       Tribute was paid to Ysgol Friars' pupils and staff, and there was a question regarding support to maintain them

o   In response, it was noted that support would be provided to the school's management team and Governors with the need to develop support for all school staff, reminding them that counselling service was available for the pupils.  It was noted that consistent support was available from the Authority through the school support board.

·       The plan’s emphasis to implement and the commitment to implement as information would be received was welcomed.

·       The Chief Executive, all the Education Department's staff and all relevant departments were thanked for the work that they were doing associated with the above.