Agenda item

To be presented by Gwern ap Rhisiart (Head of Education).

The verbal report was presented by the Head of Education. It was noted that several headteachers had expressed the view that the secondary sector allocation needed to be reviewed and that more clarity was needed regarding the formula itself. An interest was expressed in understanding whether the county's schools were making the best use of the funding they were receiving, whether the funding rules were firm in relation to our schools, and how the governing bodies had an input into the arrangements. To this end, it was confirmed that Eifion Jones had been commissioned to carry out a specific piece of work within the secondary sector. It was noted that Eifion Jones had visited every secondary school in the county, had spoken to each headteacher and a representation from the business team, and had looked at the schools' arrangements and, beyond the schools, had carried out work looking at the funding formula itself to come to a conclusion as to whether it was a fair reflection of the current climate and the position of the current numbers of children in schools.

It was confirmed that, from the initial impressions of the work, there was work to be done to refine the formula and certain aspects needed to be looked at in greater detail, for example schools with more than 900 pupils and language cohort elements. It was suggested that it was appropriate for the Forum to ask Eifion Jones to come and report on his findings at the next meeting. It was hoped that the Department would be in a position to report on what it intended to do moving forward as a result of Eifion Jones's recommendations in his report. It was confirmed that Eifion Jones would report back to the Department before the end of the summer term, with the intention, following this, of meeting with all secondary headteachers to ensure that there was clarity in due course about the work to be cascaded to them and to the governing bodies.

An intention was expressed to create an education system within Gwynedd that ensured a fair system for all, and it was noted that this was the intention behind the formula, to ensure that it was fair to all schools, regardless of size. An intention was expressed to fight for additional money to ensure that no one missed out as a result of the changes in the formula and to ensure that any kind of injustice within the formula was rectified.

During the discussion, the following observations were made:-

Concern was expressed that any changes to the formula would result in some schools losing money, particularly in the primary sector. In response, it was noted that the work was currently looking specifically at the secondary sector, with the possibility of expanding the work to the primary sector in the future. It was confirmed that there was no intention to withdraw money from the primary sector to fund the secondary sector as part of the work. Hope was expressed that there would be a possibility of attracting more investment to the secondary sector to avoid any school losing out as a result of this work.

It was questioned whether it was the smaller schools who were creating the problems within the funding formula. In response, it was noted that this was true to some extent, but that it was too simplistic an explanation to convey the situation in its entirety. It was explained that there were several factors that created problems within the funding formula. It was confirmed that the specific piece of work discussed looked at creating fairness within the current formula and system.

The Chair noted that smaller secondary schools as well as schools with higher numbers were affected by challenges, and that it was important to keep this in mind.