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The Committee considered leadership development, outdoor learning, the annual Section 175 safeguarding report and artificial intelligence in schools. It recommended that Cabinet make a five-year commitment to the Pembs50 leadership programme and consider standard school platforms, and it agreed to add reading standards to its work programme.
The Committee elected Councillor Alec Cormack as Vice-Chair and heard from the new Cabinet Member for Education, Councillor Paul Miller. It also considered a monitoring report on two Catholic schools in a federation, the annual review of the post-16 agreement with Pembrokeshire College, and the Committee's annual report. Members agreed to add several items to the work programme and endorsed the annual report for Council.
The Committee considered four reports on 13 March 2026: the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025, the strategy for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), the Partneriaeth update, and Sport Pembrokeshire's review of school sport. It also reviewed its action log and its work programme, and moved the Mobile Phone Policy to September and the dual-stream schools report to November. On each report the Committee noted the information, and the NEET strategy now goes to Cabinet for approval.
At its meeting on 5 February 2026, the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the outline county budget for 2026-27, a petition on the status of Ysgol Cilgerran, school transport costs, crime on school sites and early reading. The Committee recommended that Cabinet support a systematic phonics programme chosen from an approved list, and agreed to add two reports on outdoor learning and artificial intelligence to its September agenda. Other items were noted.
The Committee considered the Golden Grove School visit report, Welsh language provision, mental health and wellbeing in schools, the Curriculum for Wales and 2024-25 exam results, and updated its work programme. It agreed three recommendations on Golden Grove covering transition to secondary school, free school meal registration and links with other schools, and accepted a referral on school transport costs.
The Committee considered reports on the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme, supply teacher spending, school lockdowns and the Section 175 safeguarding audit, and it discussed the report on its visit to Greenhill School. It agreed three recommendations for Greenhill School and expressed frustration at Welsh Government processes that delay school rebuilds.
The committee considered reading standards in Pembrokeshire schools and asymmetric school weeks, where the school day is longer from Monday to Thursday and shorter on Friday. It agreed to review reading standards again in February 2026 and asked Full Council to give a political view on whether the council should support asymmetric weeks. It also endorsed the 2024-25 Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report and noted a report on post-16 education.
The Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on 14 May 2025 and elected Councillor Jamie Adams as Vice-Chair. Its main item was a call-in of a Cabinet decision on the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, and the Committee voted to refer that decision back to Cabinet. The Committee asked Cabinet to consider withdrawing an amendment that tasks the Director of Education with exploring how demand for Welsh language education can be better captured.
It agreed which schools the panel will visit in 2025/26, agreed to write to Welsh Government about adrenaline auto-injectors in schools, and added new topics to its work programme.
The Committee scrutinised a Cabinet decision to keep the Johnston, Tiers Cross and Neyland areas in the Milford Haven School catchment area. Councillors had called in the decision, a process where councillors ask a scrutiny committee to examine a decision. The Committee voted to uphold the Cabinet decision, by 11 votes to 2, with 3 abstentions.
The Committee considered the Council's draft budget and medium term financial plan, a Liberal Democrat alternative budget, and schools falling into deficit. It backed the Directorate's mobile phone policy for schools and added two topics to its forward work programme. The Committee noted the draft budget and the Liberal Democrat proposal, and it urged the Senior Leadership Team to support a bid for the Accelerated Change Programme.
The Committee considered eight items, including a petition on the Johnston and Tiers Cross school catchment, school dogs, and schools falling into budget deficit. It asked Cabinet to reconsider the catchment area, agreed to hold a Member Seminar on school dogs, and added the budget deficit topic to its February 2025 work programme.
The Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered reports on a visit to Portfield School, elective home education, asymmetric school weeks, teacher recruitment and retention, the Voice of the Learner, and its annual report. It made three recommendations after the Portfield visit, agreed to evaluate the asymmetric week each year, and endorsed its annual report before it goes to Council.
The committee elected Councillor Marc Tierney as Vice-Chair and added two items to its work programme. It noted reports on relationships and sex education, school finances, safeguarding and school transport, and agreed a change to the School Scrutiny Panel and a visit to Ysgol Harri Tudur later in 2024.
The committee heard a petition on Newport Youth Club and an update on Manorbier Primary School. It then noted reports on the curriculum, school places, exam results, counselling, school catering and the Pupil Development Grant, and it added two items to its work programme.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The committee considered school places, the Section 175 safeguarding action plan, school attendance and a referral about school budgets, and received an update on Manorbier Primary School. It noted or reviewed most reports, approved its work programme and elected a reserve member to Partneriaeth.
The committee met on 21 September 2023 to consider reports on school governor training, school swimming, the Section 175 safeguarding audit, a quarterly education evaluation and its forward work programme. It noted the governor survey, the safeguarding audit and the quarterly evaluations, and it endorsed the current school swimming provision. It also added two reports to its work programme and agreed school visits for its scrutiny panel.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.