Education Overview & Scrutiny Committee

4.1 4.2 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. The Committee noted the action sheet.

5.1 5.2 The Chair introduced the item and following the HoL&A & HoALNI&W overviewed the report. Following Members’ questions and comments, Officers made the following main points: • HoL&A – Welsh Government (WG) had decided there had not been a need to set formal school attendance targets, it instead was the responsibility of each individual school to set its own informal targets. This had helped drive improvement across our schools. DoE – We had compared the data to previous pre-pandemic levels, to get a more accurate comparison and the results had been positive. • HoL&A – We had previously consulted with schools on the revised attendance strategy; however parents and learners were not consulted. Officers had already discussed this and agreed that parents and learners would be consulted on any new attendance strategy. WG had agreed that we were adhering to best practice around attendance and Estyn’s recent report had also agreed. It was also said that Torfaen was being used as an example to other local authorities. • HoALNI&W – The Inclusion Service had been co-created with educational practitioners and all secondary schools participated in the programme. Monthly meetings were held between Service Managers to discuss exclusion data. Meetings were also held with Service Managers and secondary schools and these had involved Educational Psychologists when necessary. We were still in discussions on how best to also integrate this into our primary schools. • HoALNI&W – The next steps would be to review the collected data and analyse it, to aid with any needed tweaks to the exclusion strategy. We had set up a working group who had looked at ensuring a wide contribution to the strategy from all relevant parties. • HoALNI&W – The significant increase in exclusions post-pandemic had been a trend across the UK. There had been a number of reasons suggested as to why, however studies were being done to understand this. DoE – Working groups had been established to further discuss the reasons for this increase. • DoE – We had seen improvements already with decreases made in exclusion numbers. He stressed that the welfare of school staff was a priority for the LA and schools. HoALNI&W – We had good, trusted relationships with our schools and this had been important to seeing a decrease in the exclusion numbers. • HoALNI&W – We were confident that Pastoral Support Plans were being used to good effect. We had received positive feedback from schools around the use of modified days. • HoL&A – We had looked at the attendance data and looked specifically at the leave codes used for pupils and this had shown that some schools had seen a high number of norovirus cases that had resulted in a spike in absence. • HoL&A – Termly Attendance forums were voluntary and schools were encouraged to attend, these sessions were also recorded so that schools that weren’t able to attend had the opportunity to still be included. • HoL&A – Emotional based school avoidance had been a cross-service issue and it was complex to solve. EWO – For those pupils who required it regular sessions had been offered with clinical psychologists, at home or at school, to look at the reasons behind each case. • HoL&A – The #NotInMissOut media campaign had now been the longest running campaign TCBC had ran and schools were still engaging with the campaign. Whilst we only had anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness it was agreed that continuing to push this message was critical. • HoL&A – There was confidence that the Education Welfare Service was sufficiently resourced and any staffing pressures were managed effectively, which the data reflected. • EWO – Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) were just one tool that had been used to tackle absences. We had seen an increase in requests to issue them from Schools. Each Headteacher had their own policy on when FPN’s were needed to be issued. Each request would be reviewed on merit but if they were not deemed appropriate they would be withdrawn. • DoE – It was believed that the increase in home-education students was partially linked to the introduction of FPN’s. EWO – Welfare checks would be made should a child be absent from school and information as to why had not been forthcoming. • HoL&A – Information on waiting list numbers for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) support would be provided following the meeting. However with the opening of the new Early Intervention Hub (EIP) this was expected to have a positive impact on the figures. • HoL&A – Regarding home-educated children it was said that ensuring annual reviews took place had been difficult due to the significant increase in numbers. HoALNI&W – These issues had been discussed with neighbouring authorities to develop solutions. • HoL&A – Full details on the Children Missing in Education (CME) process would be shared with the Committee following the meeting. • DoE – Regarding available resources the Director stated that we were in a fortunate position compared to some other LA’s. • HoL&A – We had received funding from WG to employ a Family Engagement Officer and were confident that this would provide further support to schools to improve performance. EWO – The attendance and exclusions strategies focused on a collaborative approach between schools, the LA, partners, parents and pupils. HoALNI&W – It also focused on collaboration between the schools themselves as well as with all internal Education teams ensuring a consistent approach across the Borough. • SDC&FS – The Strategic Director commented that there were always ways to improve in every strategy and we would always strive to improve performance more, but he reiterated that the work already taken with the strategies had seen improvements. EM – The Executive Member agreed with these comments and added that both he and the committee now received more detailed reports, containing a wealth of information, such as that within the report being discussed. The Chair thanked the officers and executive member for their contributions to the meeting and they left the meeting. On completion of their scrutiny activity, the Committee concluded by offering the following comments and recommendations for consideration: Recommendation 1 – Members recommended that parents and learners be consulted as part of any future reviews of the Attendance Strategy, as this was highlighted as a gap with regards to the previous review that had taken place. Recommendation 2 – Members noted Officers’ comments that the Exclusions Strategy needed to be reviewed, and they accepted the suggestion that the current Educated Other Than At School (EOTAS) Forum could include work around exclusions, rather than create an additional specific Exclusions Forum. Therefore, Members recommended that the EOTAS Forum included work around exclusions, going forward and they also stressed that primary schools needed to be represented within any forum that would discuss exclusions. Recommendation 3 – Members acknowledged Officers’ comments that a full evaluation of the Improving Behaviour in Schools (IBIS) project was required in order to assess its impact. Members recommended that this feedback be shared with Members, once available. Recommendation 4 – Members appreciated that due to financial restrictions not all of the provision at Pont Fach Assessment Centre could be replicated elsewhere within the borough; however they were concerned that some pupils and families in the north of the borough found the distance to Pont Fach daunting and were therefore resistant to accessing support. Members recommended that Officers explore the potential for the assessment function to be located in the north of the borough and suggested the use of a mobile provision, should a permanent provision not be possible Recommendation 5 – Members commented that some families had approached them due to confusion around the potential for Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to be issued for unauthorised absences in Nursery. Therefore, Members recommended that communications and information be strengthened in this area to provide clarification. Recommendation 6 – Members were concerned by the impact that the rising number of pupils that were Elective Home Educated (EHE) was having on staff workload, particularly in order to conduct the annual EHE assessments. Therefore, Members recommended that the number of EHE pupils and the impact on staff workload continue to be monitored. Additional Comments & Observations from the Committee: The Committee welcomed the offer from Officers to provide the following: • Data relating to the number of Torfaen learners on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting lists; • Information on the number of children on the EHE register in Torfaen, compared to the Wales and Gwent averages; and • A copy of the Children Missing in Education (CME) process, including the associated timeframes that relate to the Local Authority and schools.

6 Date of next meeting 10/7/2025 6.1 This would be the last meeting of the 24/25 Scrutiny cycle, the Chair thanked the Committee for their contributions. The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 10 July 2025, which would be visioning for the 25/26 cycle.