Agenda item

(copy enclosed)

A report by GwE’s Lead Director / Chair of the Management Board and GwE’s Managing Director was presented updating the Joint-committee members on the report on the quality of the school improvement services provided by the North Wales Consortium.

The Lead Director / Chair of the Management Board referred to the conclusions and recommendations of the Estyn inspection published on 30 June. He noted that two areas in particular needed to be addressed:-

1)      The work undertaken to promote higher standards in schools, especially in key stage 4.

2)      Matters relating to value for money and business processes, as well as the question of the effectiveness of the programme’s delivery and consistency across the region.

The Assistant Director provided details on the recommendations individually and on the work of drafting an initial action plan in response to those recommendations.

The Assistant Director further stated that they welcomed the positive elements in the report, and accepted the accountability on the service.

The Lead Director / Chair of Management Board noted that he was confident that the steps of action would ensure that the lines of accountability were completely clear.

The Assistant Director thanked the Lead Director / Chair of the Management Board for his support during the period of the inspection.

During the ensuing discussion, the following points were highlighted:-

• Criticism on measuring value for money was a common theme in Estyn / WAO inspection reports on each of the 4 Welsh consortia, and is an aspect on which the regions will collaborate in order to achieve in the future.
• The steps outlined in paragraphs 3.8 and 3.9 of the report did not concern GwE and directly involved the local authorities. The Lead Director / Chair of Management Board responded that he welcomed the clarity from 2017 forwards, but that it was ultimately the local authorities who had statutory responsibility for these aspects.
• It would’ve been beneficial for members to see a draft of the action plan prior to this meeting. The Assistant Director (Support and Brokerage) responded that attention was being given to the plan at the moment, but that he could assure the member that the work was being undertaken. The Assistant Director (Standards) added that the draft was likely to be available before the Joint-committee’s September meeting.
• Even though GwE is completely accountable for improving performance across the North, it is not responsible for the regional networks (which are responsible for implementing specific elements of the National Model), and it was emphasised that this needed to be looked at carefully with regards to accountability and value for money. In response, the Lead Director / Chair of Managing Board referred to the different structures noting that the intention was to hold workshops on quality and the scrutiny of work programmes. 

Middle term funding was discussed. Gwynedd Council’s Head of Finance noted that the decision for 2016/17 was to apply the same funding cut to GwE as was applied in the 6 authorities, but that currently there was uncertainty across all of the United Kingdom’s Government departments in relation to 2017/18 and onwards. He added that he would be working with GwE’s business and finance manager to seek more certainty before planning on the basis of continued funding for GwE on a proportional level to the six councils’ settlement,

IT WAS DECIDED TO note the content of the report and consider the Post Inspection Action Plan in the September meeting.