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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – That, subject to above amendments, the work programme be agreed.
AGREED – (i) That the Committee was assured of the significant range of mechanisms in place to support pupil voice and how key messages are used to inform provision. (ii) That representatives from the Senedd, Youth Justice Service and the School Council Forum be invited to attend a future Meeting of this Committee when further reports on Engagement with Pupil Voice are considered. (iii) That the Pupil Voice and Wellbeing report be brought to the January 2025 Meeting. (iv) To recommend to the Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention That the concerns of the Committee regarding the extensive waiting times for Neurodevelopment Service be raised at appropriate meetings. (v) That the Senedd be thanked for the positive contributions they have made in all areas. (vi) That further research into identifying areas/schools where CAMHS was most needed be incorporated into the report being presented in January 2025.
AGREED – That the information be noted.
The Chair welcomed Councillor Frank Hemmings and Tina Mannering as new Members onto the Committee. She thanked Councillor Stella Matthews for her support as former Vice Chair, and also thanked Councillors Corin Jarvis and Jerry Wellens who had both left the Committee.
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Beryl Blackmore and Tina Mannering.
AGREED – That the Minutes of the Meetings held on 24 April 2024 and 9 May 2024 be signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – That, subject to above amendments, the work programme be agreed.
The Chief Officer Governance Customer submitted a report (COGC/47/24s) asking Members to consider the Committee’s work programme. The Scrutiny Facilitator presented the report and highlighted the following points during the debate: · Confirmation that a report on budget cuts to schools was originally scheduled for today’s Meeting, but it was felt appropriate that due to the pre-election period, that this report be deferred until the July Meeting. · Members were reminded about a Workshop that would be taking place on Tuesday 2 July at 4pm at the Noddfa Resource Unit, Gwersyllt. · The Scrutiny Facilitator advised that the Customers, Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee recommended in January that every Committee should have regular budget monitoring reports on their work programmes. The Scrutiny Coordinating Group had considered a process which would introduce some consistency across all the Scrutiny Committees, and as a result, it had been recommended that the Customers, Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee would consider quarter one and quarter 3 budget monitoring reports which go to Executive Board in July and February each year and if there were any particular areas of concern, that Committee would refer them on to the relevant Scrutiny Committee to consider in further detail. It was therefore suggested that a reserve slot be included on the work programmes for the September and March Meetings. · Suggestion that as there were no items currently scheduled for the Meeting in April 2025, that slot be allocated for a meeting of the School Improvement Monitoring Group. · Request that the report on Free School Meals which is due to be presented to the Committee in September contains detailed information regarding the quality and choice of school meals and length of meal times as a number of concerns had been raised with Members. It was agreed that the Chair would liaise with those Members in advance of the Chair’s Planning Meeting which would take place in September. AGREED – That, subject to above amendments, the work programme be agreed.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (i) That the Committee was assured of the significant range of mechanisms in place to support pupil voice and how key messages are used to inform provision. (ii) That representatives from the Senedd, Youth Justice Service and the School Council Forum be invited to attend a future Meeting of this Committee when further reports on Engagement with Pupil Voice are considered. (iii) That the Pupil Voice and Wellbeing report be brought to the January 2025 Meeting. (iv) To recommend to the Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention That the concerns of the Committee regarding the extensive waiting times for Neurodevelopment Service be raised at appropriate meetings. (v) That the Senedd be thanked for the positive contributions they have made in all areas. (vi) That further research into identifying areas/schools where CAMHS was most needed be incorporated into the report being presented in January 2025.
The Lead Member for Education submitted a report (COEEI/10/24s) to help Members’ understanding of how service areas across the Education and Early Intervention Department engage with young people and to correlate with the work ongoing to support pupil’s wellbeing. The Lead Member presented the report, and with input from Officers, responded to questions accordingly. A debate ensued and the following points were raised: · Reassurance given that the Department were doing everything possible to support schools in engaging with pupils to understand what was affecting their lives in and outside of school in order to improve their education. · Suggestion that school pupils as well as representatives from the School Council Forum be invited to attend a future Meeting of this Committee when further reports on this subject are considered. · Update on the links with the Senedd who undertake a number of surveys on the topics and the key issues that are identified as affecting children, young people's wellbeing. Cost of living crisis was the top issue. · Members were pleased to note the positive impact made by the Period Poverty Task & Finish Group on the issue of access to free sanitary products in schools. It was noted that all schools now receive products which pupils can access without having to ask, as well as them being distributed through a number of community organisations. · Importance of ensuring that the public were made aware of where they could access free sanitary products. Officers advised that a new page on the website was being launched soon in relation to this. · Clarification sought regarding how funding had been spent. Officers advised that the grant scheme had been in operation for a number of years now, and this was operated by the Senedd. Further information from the Senedd would be requested. · Officers outlined the work of the School Council Forum, which enabled young people, together with the teachers and other school staff, to understand how to engage young people to be able to articulate their views. The Forum brought together secondary school pupils who could work on key issues which gave them a sense of empowerment when they returned to their schools as it helped develop their knowledge, particularly around decision making etc. · Clarification sought in relation to whether feedback was received from neighbouring authorities for pupils who travelled out of county. Officers confirmed that they worked closely with colleagues across Wales. They also advised that there were links with some of the feeder schools on issues regarding attendance and curriculum development. · Concern that the budget situation could have a negative impact on schools and what support would be available to pupils going forward. The Lead Member advised that at present, the impact faced by schools wasn’t fully known yet, but Executive Board would be considering a report next month. In the meantime it was important for schools to share what they believed the impact had been on them individually, as some schools would be in a better position than others. · Clarification sought regarding the cost of living and how this was affecting young people. Officers advised that this was a priority as some of the children and young people had seen the pressures of the cost of living on their own parents and carers which impacted on their wellbeing. · Confirmation that Officers would be working with the Senedd on the issue of child poverty. · Concern that a lack of discipline within schools prevented some pupils from getting an education, and this was something that should be looked at further. The Chair asked that if there were concerns with a particular school then these should be raised with the Lead Member and Officers. · Update provided on the work undertaken with CAMHS in order to make attending appointments more child friendly, rather than the children and young people feeling that they were in a medical environment. · Further information was requested with regards to how easy it was for young people to access CAMHS. It was understood that assessments were not taking as long as they had been, due to work done around waiting lists, but ultimately, the aim was to try to prevent the need to access the services in the first place. Unfortunately however, it was recognised that some children required medical assessment, support and intervention which was very challenging. · Recognition that early intervention was very complex, and the challenge in schools was to be able to gain a proper understanding and assessment of pupil’s needs. · Clarification sought regarding any links between socio-economic factors impacting on mental health issues. Officers advised that work had been done previously in order to identify whether there was a particular school that needed intervention, but no specific pattern was identified. AGREED – (i) That the Committee was assured of the significant range of mechanisms in place to support pupil voice and how key messages are used to inform provision. (ii) That representatives from the Senedd, Youth Justice Service and the School Council Forum be invited to attend a future Meeting of this Committee when further reports on Engagement with Pupil Voice are considered. (iii) That the Pupil Voice and Wellbeing report be brought to the January 2025 Meeting. (iv) To recommend to the Chief Officer Education and Early Intervention That the concerns of the Committee regarding the extensive waiting times for Neurodevelopment Service be raised at appropriate meetings. (v) That the Senedd be thanked for the positive contributions they have made in all areas. (vi) That further research into identifying areas/schools where CAMHS was most needed be incorporated into the report being presented in January 2025.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – That the information be noted.
The Chair advised that this item was not an item for discussion, but was an opportunity to provide Members with an update on the work of the School Improvement Monitoring Group. The Chair reported that the Group had received assurance that the Headteacher of Ysgol y Grango had a clear understanding of where the school is on its improvement journey, and were pleased to hear about the increase in the membership of the senior leadership team. AGREED – That the information be noted.
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