Education Overview & Scrutiny Committee

4.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 6th February 2025 were confirmed as an accurate record.

5.1 The SO gave an update and explained that the remaining items on the action sheet had been completed since the publication of the action sheet. 5.2 The Committee noted the action sheet.

6.1 The Chair welcomed all to the meeting. 6.2 The Youth Service Manager gave a brief introduction to the report, highlighting the following areas: • National occupational standards were being reviewed by Estyn. There had been a recent consultation which acted as an addendum to this report. • Feedback was imminent on the upcoming 5-year strategic plan. 6.3 Following Members’ questions and comments, the Strategic Director – Children & Family Services, Youth Service Manager, Executive Member for Children and Families & Education, Head of Resources & Planning and Director of Education made the following main points: • The new youth clubs in Griffithstown, Thornhill and Talywain were established in December 2024. Talywain’s numbers were increasing steadily. There had been fluctuations in attendance at Griffithstown provision due to a significant falling out between young people. • The creation of these youth clubs had been positive community-based projects and there had been good relationships established with Pontypool Community Council and the Community Partnership Team to support these clubs whilst ensuring Young Persons voice remained at the core. • 15 – 20 young people was a good amount for a core youth group. The amount that could be supported was cohort dependent due to differing level of needs. • There was more work to be done in respect of the attendance of the youth club in Griffithstown as there was a big population of young people in this area. • There had been a six-month mapping exercise prior to the creation of these clubs to ensure they were meeting the needs of an area. This mapping could be shared with Committee Members if they wished for it. • Half-term provisions were based on consultations with young people to source activities they would like to undertake. There had not been daily provisions requested by young people due to their higher level of independence. • The annual performance target for young people accessing provisions had remained at 2000 young people for a number of years. This figure had been based on funding and the national audit. It was noted that this target was due a review. • There were a number of mechanisms used to measure improvement including case studies, star charts, and numerical scaling. • General feedback showed that the youth service had been successful in raising confidence and self-worth of young people. • The target around improvement in young people’s circumstances was currently 75% but this would also be reviewed. • There was a wider piece of work being undertaken to facilitate the sharing of outcomes of post 16 provision with previous education facilities. • There was a need for greater communication surrounding the work of the Youth Service whether this be by word of mouth or via social media. It was noted there were difficulties with this as there was often an intentional amount of distance kept from family members, especially in the case of LGBTQ youths. All positive news was celebrated internally within groups. It was hoped there would be a clear expectation around communications set out in the upcoming strategy. • The new provisions would incorporate a redesign of the core youth service team. Based on the current model in place it was thought that the cost of these provisions would be around £45,000 – £50,000 a year. It was hoped these provisions would be running by the end of the year. • Recruitment was a national issue however there was infrastructure in place within the team to manage this. Resources were shared with other teams where possible. The redesign of the core team would include making the management structure more streamlined, freeing several resources. • It was challenging to source volunteers. The most success in this area had been young people who had used the service or by working directly with universities. • There had been work undertaken with Monmouth Youth Service as they had a training programme which upskilled staff to be able to deliver both level 2 and level 3 qualifications in youth work. • There hadn’t been any degree level students or graduates to the service in approximately 5 years. • Four of the transfer posts from Inspire to the Youth Service had been appointed and the fifth post would be appointed soon. This was a new approach and would require co-ordination and co-operation. • It was decided that there should be a singular point of co-ordination to reduce the number of resources being used. • The Youth Service within Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council was different to Torfaen as it was largely externally funded. However, there was close work undertaken across the region despite this. • It was unlikely that there would be a reduction in the grant provided by Welsh Government to support Youth Work as there was an emphasis on the topic across Wales. However, there were contingencies in place if needed, such as using community resources. • There had not been any significant gaps in provision highlighted as an outcome of the recent consultation. Mental Health support was an on-going issue for young people; however the youth service had an education psychologist available two days per week and community-based counselling. • The consultation also showed young people were recognising vaping as an issue and work was being undertaken to address this. • Feedback on the consultation was given to key contacts within schools to be passed on to the young people who took part. If there were contact details provided for the young person, feedback would be provided first hand. • There was work done to look at direct issues raised by young people, such as support around careers advice, which included providing individual one to one support. • Trips and activities were designed to be reflective of what Young People wanted. These were normally designed to be activities they may not experience elsewhere or something that would promote independence. • The main purpose of the cost attached to these activities and events was to ensure the commitment of young people. There was a fine balance maintained with costs and if a family could not afford to pay, they were not charged. • Some Local Authorities had large additional incomes due to their structure. There would be a request sent to other Local Authorities to ask for a breakdown of their allocation of funds. • Volunteers can support the Youth Service but the core team either needed to be fully qualified or working towards their qualification. • Welsh-language was consistently at the forefront of planning. There were two Welsh speakers within the team and there was work being undertaken to integrate Welsh language into provisions where there were larger numbers of Welsh speakers. • There was a confidence that the first performance measure within Appendix 3 of the report would be met. • It was acknowledged that the performance measures were not felt to be aspirational enough and were a key point of review. • The enhanced duties’ role, referenced within Appendix 4 of the report, included a leadership function with a specific project of focus. • All schools were provided the same offer of provisions, but the needs varied from school to school. There tended to be better working relationships in schools where staffing was stable. • The Duke of Edinburgh award being licensed directly through schools was not felt to be sustainable and expensive. The full impact of direct licenses was not known as this would no longer be Local Authority data, but this could be provided to members on request. • Schools were spoken to on a weekly or fortnightly basis when new provisions were emerging, otherwise there were termly conversations to discuss upcoming provision. • Officers were confident that youth service provision was strategically placed due to the previous consultations. 6.4 The Chair thanked the officers and executive member for their contributions to the meeting and they left the meeting. 6.5 Recommendations On completion of their scrutiny activity, the Committee concluded by offering the following comments and recommendations for consideration: Recommendation 1 – Members supported the recent increase in open access youth service provision and were pleased with its early performance. Members recommended that officers continue with the planned changes for 2025, specifically with regards to additional open access provisions, as they strongly believed in equality of access across the whole borough. However, Members stressed how much they valued the targeted and in-school provisions and did not want this to be detrimentally affected, as a consequence. Recommendation 2 – Members noted that the service delivery targets within Appendix 3 of the report had not been reviewed for several years, and some had already been far exceeded by the end of quarter 3 of 2024/25. Also, the additional open access provisions were expected to substantially increase the numbers of young people engaged in youth services, which related to a specific target. Therefore, Members recommended that officers review the service delivery targets to ensure that they are appropriate and aspirational. Recommendation 3 – Members were concerned around staff recruitment and commented on the recent reduction in the number of university courses that fed into youth work employment. Therefore, Members recommended that the new five-year strategy (2025-2030) reflects the risks around recruitment, with focus on how this will be addressed, going forward. Recommendation 4 – Members appreciated the differences between the Youth Service and Play Service; however they also commented that some crossover existed. Members recommended that officers explore a closer working relationship with the Play Service, specifically around adverts and communications aimed at increasing the number of young people accessing provisions, and also to increase the recruitment of volunteers. Recommendation 5 – Members were pleased to hear that young people who struggled to afford youth service activities and trips were able to be financially supported, similar to approaches seen amongst schools; however they were concerned that this may not be communicated as effectively as it could be. Members recommended that officers explore the potential to improve communications around the level of support available to these young people. Recommendation 6 - With regards to specific concerns raised by young people as part of the consultation within Appendix 1 of the report, Members recommended that officers explore potential improvements to the current system in order to ensure that these young people with specific concerns are signposted to the appropriate support. Recommendation 7 - Members acknowledged officers’ comments that they were engaged with schools and Torfaen Learning Zone around gaps in terms of tracking and follow-up of young people’s progress into employment and further education, as the current level of information was deemed insufficient. Therefore, Members recommended that this work continues and should also include the Youth Service as part of the wider work being conducted. Recommendation 8 - Members noted the recent collaboration that had occurred between the Youth Service Teams within Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent. With regards to Welsh-language provision, Members also noted that Torfaen was in the fortunate position of having two Welsh-speaking youth workers and that Blaenau Gwent delivered a lot of Welsh-language provision. Members recommended that officers increase the collaborative work between both teams with the aim of improving each other’s offer of provision, particularly in terms of Welsh-language provision. Members noted that although availability of buildings formed an important part of providing Youth Service provision, the lack of available buildings did not necessarily mean that provisions could not be delivered in certain locations, as there were many options available for outdoor activities, bowling alleys, etc. The Committee welcomed the offer from the Executive Member and Officers to provide the following: • The mapping information that had been compiled by officers to identify the numbers of young people in different areas and the level of deprivation, employment rates, Anti-Social Behaviour rates, etc. This information is then compared against current provision that is in place in order to identify any gaps in provision. • Further information, via a Welsh Local Government Association request, regarding the youth service budgets of other local authorities, in order to provide clarity around the differences in terms of grant funding. Officers did explain that some local authorities may access social care funding for youth work, for example, whilst others may not.

7.1 The SO presented the report and invited members to review the information contained in the appendices to the report and agree an item for scrutiny at the next meeting. 7.2 The Committee agreed to scrutinise Attendance & Exclusions (Inc Mental Health and Wellbeing).

8.1 The date of the next meeting had been changed due to the upcoming VE Day Celebrations and would now be held at 2pm on Wednesday 7th of May.