Agenda item

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Education Department.

DECISION

1.     To accept the report noting the questions on home education, de-registration, use of units, school meals, monitoring arrangements, youth clubs and safeguarding.

2.     To note the importance of giving a high-profile for safeguarding in documentation for the purpose of providing comfort to the public, and that the matter is prioritised by the authority.

3.     To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to:

• consider carrying out an exercise to find out why so many children are not taking advantage of free school meals.

• consider whether there are ways of effectively informing governors about how to question at meetings of school governing bodies.

• ensure that all steps are taken to avoid de-registration in our schools.

 

The Cabinet Member for Education presented the report. During the discussion, the following observations were made: -

Questions were asked about the Immersion System's data, specifically how many start the 10-week course but don't complete it. Data on how many withdraw from the process and how many applications are rejected was requested, stating that this would give a more complete picture than the current skill level focused information at the end of the course. In response, it was noted that the data would be provided and there was currently no evidence that withdrawal was a major problem, but it was acknowledged that individual circumstances could vary.

It was asked whether there were plans to develop smaller settings or more bespoke provision for learners who find it difficult to cope in mainstream arrangements due to neurodiversity, mental health or anxiety. It was asked whether it was possible to combine any such units with smaller school sites that face challenges in terms of numbers. In response, it was noted: -

-        That inclusion was a core principle, and the vision did not involve moving learners into separate units as an automatic solution.

-        The starting point was to strengthen the capacity of mainstream schools and adapt provision, with appropriate staffing levels and training to be able to provide effective support.

-        That more resources were needed to adapt mainstream schools to make them suitable for children of all abilities.

-        That it was becoming harder to support children of all needs within mainstream schools for a variety of reasons, such as increasingly intense needs.

-        Transportation costs and the child's experience of mixing with others are important factors when considering separate provision.

It was asked why there was no obvious reference to the 'Our Bravery Brought Justice' report within the document before them, noting that this was the first education and economy scrutiny meeting since the report was published and the lack of direction could cause public concern. In response, it was noted:-

-        That the response to the report currently took up over 80 percent of the department's time, with a focus over several teams responding to the report.

-        That other things the department was doing at the same time with the same level of resources, made it increasingly challenging to accomplish these.

-        That additional resources had been secured in response to the report and that reporting arrangements to the Programme Board were in place, with further scrutiny of the Programme Board's work due to take place shortly.

-        There was a need to ensure that the response work was more visible within formal reports.

-        The Committee had an opportunity to discuss the response to the report in full in early January 2026.

The increase in home education since the pandemic was questioned, with concern expressed about safeguarding and how it could be ensured that children receive suitable education. The possibility was raised that the trend could continue to increase. In response, it was noted: -

-        That the increase in deregistration levels was a national trend and that Gwynedd's situation was similar to the median nationally.

-        That a change in the social contract following the pandemic has played a part.

-        Situations where children refuse to attend or find it difficult to cope can lead to parents choosing to deregister as the easier option.

-        That a cohort of home education parents do so for the right reasons and do it appropriately, but it was acknowledged that a cohort deregister for a variety of inappropriate reasons, such as avoiding poor attendance outcomes.

-        Visits were held and support was offered where possible but there were limitations when families do not engage. The Council did not have powers to enforce entry into a child's home.

-        That the department shared the concern about the increase and was doing everything within its powers to mitigate the impacts, and to question why parents were deregistering children and to prevent this from happening initially.

-        That the increase raised safeguarding concerns and the department would welcome any action by the government to give the Council more powers to be able to visit children within the home to communicate with them directly.

It was asked whether children being educated at home were mainly from local families or from families who had moved to Gwynedd. It was noted that no definitive answer could be given in the meeting to this question.

It was asked whether the fact that around 30% of pupils do not take advantage of free school meals was a cause for concern, questioning why the measure had been shown as green within the report. It was asked whether the pattern varied between schools or was consistent across the county. In response, it was noted: -

-        That there was a wish for every child to take advantage of the offer to ensure they had a nutritious meal every day.

-        The indicator was green due to an improvement since the previous year, but it was acknowledged that there was obvious room for improvement.

-        There were several possible reasons, including individual preferences and varying patterns where some pupils take school lunch on some days and their own food box on others.

-        Patterns varied across the county.

-        Arrangements were in place to gather pupils' views and satisfaction about the meals, but responses had been low recently, and it was noted that there was an intention to boost the work to understand barriers and improve provision.

Confusion was noted as to who the author of the report was. In response, it was noted that the Cabinet Member for Education was the author of the report and the information in the document would be amended.

A suggestion was made to send information termly and occasionally to Councillors who are governors, to enable governors to question headteachers about important educational issues and direct them to address a specific area at a governors' meeting, to enable them to act as a critical friend highlighting key areas such as safeguarding, well-being, inclusion and additional learning needs. In response, it was noted that this was a valid point and that there was an opportunity to strengthen this connection. It was noted that the request would be prioritised by the new year.

Concern was raised about the possible link between increased attendance and increased deregistration. The impact of prosecuting families in court, because of low attendance, was questioned, citing the risk that vulnerable families could choose to deregister after receiving warnings, with further implications for support and safeguarding. It was stressed that many parents were deregistering their child as there is no suitable provision for them within schools. In response, it was noted: -

-        There was an understanding that some parents were in very difficult situations and felt that they had no other option.

-        That the welfare team needs to exercise the ability to take legal action as a last resort, stressing that this does not happen lightly and that broad consideration would be given to medical, mental health and other factors before reaching this stage.

-        That there was an increase in attendance following prosecution in many cases, although that would not be true in all cases.

-        The aim was to ensure that children are safer by attending regularly.

-        Officers within the welfare team carry out visits and offer support to families of children who have deregistered.

-        Families who contact us to get support are often able to have a more robust support pathway towards returning to school, where appropriate.

-        That arrangements were made to work with other agencies to identify families who are not engaged, and contact would be made with Children's Services as required.

-        That building trust with families was a central part of the journey and the work continued to develop.

Concerns were raised about the Youth Service, questioning how much monitoring was taking place in relation to the community clubs. It was questioned why there were low numbers attending some community clubs, and whether it was because the clubs did not offer the most appropriate provision for children in the community. It was questioned how high satisfaction percentages should be interpreted in relation to the participation figures, and whether the service only gets feedback from children who attend rather than children within schools who choose not to attend. In response, it was noted: -

-        That the percentages reflected the satisfaction of those who have engaged with the service.

-        Participation figures were relatively high in the context of the current population of young people, noting the impact of the demographic decline, but it was acknowledged that there was room for improvement and that there was a desire to increase engagement.

-        That work was being done through schools to understand what young people want from the provision, and it was noted that the activities included a social and recreational element as well as an educational element.

-        Historic errors had occurred, but improvements were being seen, with an increase in the number of community clubs and work underway to extend provision to more areas.

-        There was a need to ensure that provision matched the wishes of young people.

RESOLVED

1.     To accept the report noting the questions on home education, de-registration, use of units, school meals, monitoring arrangements, youth clubs and safeguarding.

2.     To note the importance of giving a high-profile for safeguarding in documentation for the purpose of providing comfort to the public, and that the matter was prioritised by the authority.

3.     To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to:

• consider carrying out an exercise to find out why so many children were not taking advantage of free school meals.

• consider whether there were ways of effectively informing governors about how to ask question at meetings of school governing bodies.

• ensure that all steps were taken to avoid de-registration in our schools.