SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (LIFELONG LEARNING)
Minutes of a meeting held on 14th
December, 2009.
Present: Councillor J. Clifford
(Chairman); Councillor Mrs. K.A. Kemp (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. M.E.J. Birch, Mrs. V.L. Ellis, C.P.J. Elmore,
J.F. Fraser, E. Hacker, Mrs. V.M Hartrey, F.T. Johnson,
C.L. Osborne and Mrs. S.I. Sharpe.
Non-Voting Observer: Mr. G. Beaudette
(Primary).
Also present: Councillor A.D.
Hampton.
723 MINUTES -
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 30th November, 2009 be approved as
a correct record.
724 DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST -
No declarations were received.
725 PROGRESS REPORT ON
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY FOCUSSED SCHOOLS IN VALE SCHOOLS (DLD)
-
By way of background it was explained that
Community Focussed Schools (CFS) was a WAG grant funded initiative
aimed at developing schools as centres of learning and supported
pupils, the families and the wider community. CFS in the Vale
had been established since 2007 with CFS Cluster Co-ordinators
accommodated in secondary schools across the Authority.
Funding criteria had changed over the last year and grant funding
was now available and partly ring-fenced to support additional
child care provision.
Since the core priorities and values for
learners in the Vale were expressed within the Council's vision for
education, namely Education 2015, it was considered timely that
provision such as CFS be aligned with those core priorities.
CFS Cluster Co-ordinators, whose role was to facilitate the
alignment of support services and agencies with those identified as
being most in need, were now line managed by the recently appointed
CFS Manager out of Provincial House. A new CFS Strategy had been
devised, and was appended to the report. In addition, a CFS
Steering Group had been established to guide the work of the CFS
team. It was noted that, to date, CFS had been involved in a number
of successful programmes and a summary of CFS led initiatives in
the Vale of Glamorgan over the last year was also appended to the
report. In response to questions, the CFS Manager expanded on
the detail relating to those initiatives, referring in particular
to the collaborative approach adopted to ensure the optimum
provision to service users and maximisation of the resources
available. Funding of £57k. (to be expended by the end of March
2010) had been made available to start the project and a further
£95k. for the forthcoming financial year. The amount allocated to
each project would be calculated dependent upon the resources
required and the CFS Manager stressed that work was ongoing with
partners to ensure the sustainability of those projects.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
the progress achieved in promoting the Community Focussed Schools
agenda within the Vale of Glamorgan be noted.
(2) T H A T
the draft CFS Strategy be endorsed.
(3) T H A T
a further report on CFS be submitted to this Committee in April
2010.
Reason for recommendations
(1) To
apprise Members of developments in CFS.
(2) To
progress the Strategy.
(3) To keep
CFS under review.
726 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
- THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW (DLD) -
The Head of Service had prepared a
comprehensive report in respect of the above which was complemented
by a presentation given by the Curriculum Development Adviser -
Numeracy. The report commenced with the fact that the
education system in Wales was arranged in Key Stages which outlined
the phases a pupil progressed through as follows:
· baseline
assessment for each pupil in a Reception Class
· end of Key
Stage (KS) 1 teacher assessment for each pupil at the end of Year
2
· end of KS 2
teacher assessment for each pupil at the end of Year 6
· end of KS 3
teacher assessment for each pupil at the end of Year 9 (KS3 teacher
assessment is externally moderated and school assessment systems
externally verified)
· assessment
in KS 4 and KS 5 through external marking and moderation - KS 4:
GCSE plus a range of learning pathways and KS 5: A Levels.
Currently within the Vale, no Baseline
Assessment was administered for nursery age pupils.
Additionally, there was no common Baseline Assessment for pupils
across Wales although the Department for Children, Education,
Lifelong Learning and Skills was piloting the All Wales Baseline
Assessment for release to all schools in 2011. It was noted
that schools in the Vale were participating in the pilot
programme.
The proportion of schools entitled to free
school meals (% FSM) in the Vale was significantly lower than
the Wales means for all sectors. Using FSM as a proxy
indicator of social-economic deprivation, that figure indicated
that the Vale was relatively advantaged. The scores of the
2008 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation reinforced the relatively
advantaged position of the Vale. With the establishment of
Unitary Authorities in 1996, the Vale became host to three Special
Schools. Those schools provided setting appropriate to
pupils’ needs and many places were secured by pupils who were
domiciled out of county. Compared with Wales, there was
significantly higher number of pupils in the Nursery Phase with
pupil numbers in Special Schools also exceeding that of the all
Wales figures. When comparing the numbers of pupils with
statements of Special Education Needs (SEN) with numbers in Wales,
the Vale had a significantly lower number of pupils with Statements
of SEN in Primary and Secondary phases and significantly higher
numbers in the Special Schools. Since there were fewer
Primary and Secondary schools in the Vale compared with the LA
means, the number of pupils in Vale schools were generally higher
than average. With the exception of Years 12 and 13, pupil
teacher rations and class sizes were, however, similar to the all
Wales means. As regards children who were Looked After (LAC)
taken overall, an increasing trend was observed in both the Primary
and Secondary phases. In respect of Permanent Exclusions,
data for the last four years showed that for Primary schools there
had been only 1 permanent exclusion in 2005/06 and none
since. In Secondary schools, numbers had remained broadly the
same. With Fixed Term Exclusions, taken overall, in Primary
schools numbers had remained broadly the same. For Secondary
schools an increasing trend had been observed.
Overall, it was agreed that the findings
indicated that the aggregated performance of Vale schools should be
significantly higher than for Wales as a whole and generally rank
in the 6th highest performing authorities. The
Authority wide expectation for performance in all phases and for
all PIs reflected the relatively advantaged position of the Vale
and recognised that achievement and attainment targets must be both
challenging and achievable whilst remaining aligned with national
and local expectations. Further details relating to actual
performance data were contained both within the report and the
presentation.
Discussion ensued on value added and the fact
that the same achievement as evidenced in respect of performance
was not reflected in value added across schools in the Vale.
Reference was made to various factors which could impact on
value added, including
· inherent
inconsistencies across Wales in value added judgements by teachers,
the type of assessment used and the level of challenge underpinning
individual pupil targets
· the mobility
rate within Vale schools, as children moved into and out of the
education system.
It was accepted that there was real merit in
developing an understanding of value added trends that had the
potential to identify areas where targeted intervention might
impact upon outcomes. As a result, specific research would be
commissioned to ensure that the Directorate had a clearer picture
of value added which could be shared with schools. That
research would be conducted by the Council’s in-house Value Added
Statistical Team and which it was anticipated would focus on some
of the following key areas:
· an in- depth
analysis of current data for those pupils who remained within Vale
schools
· an in-depth
analysis of National Foundation for Educational Research data
(NFER) which was likely to be more standardised, facilitating
comparison with other local Authorities
· undertaking
an historical comparison with the SATS based value added data
previously available
· additionally,
the School Improvement Service was committed to working with all
stakeholders in the Vale in order to continue to secure improved
outcomes for all children and young people, including that of added
value.
It had been recognised that engaging with Head
Teachers in respect of value added and teacher assessment
methodology were just two steps that needed to be taken to address
the current position.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
the progress being achieved across Vale of Glamorgan schools be
welcomed.
(2) T H A T
the need for further research about Value Added Performance be
noted, and that an interim report in relation to Value Added be
submitted to this Committee in February, 2010.
(3) T H A T
a further report on School Performance and Value Added be submitted
to this Committee in November 2010.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) To note
the progress in relation to schools performance.
(2) To
develop a shared understanding about the concept of Value
Added.
(3) To keep
School Performance under review.
727 VALE OF GLAMORGAN
COUNCIL AND MAINTAINED SCHOOLS: PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS (DLD)
-
The purpose of Partnership Agreements was to
enhance and sustain partnership working between the LEA and
schools, which was a strong theme of “Making the Connections”
agenda and the Beecham Report. WAG had developed a School
Effectiveness Framework to support improving children and young
peoples learning and wellbeing, the aforementioned Framework aiming
to develop tri-level working between schools, local authorities and
WAG. Partnership Agreements were a tool in the quest for
improved School Effectiveness, providing a formal basis which made
clear the roles of LEAs and schools.
A Working Group comprising a headteacher from
each cluster group, the Diocese and Directors for Education from
the Roman Catholic and Church in Wales sectors and a Vale School
Governors' Association representative together with officers from
the LEA had worked in partnership with officers to devise the draft
Partnership Agreement as appended to the report. In addition
the Head Teacher Steering Group had been consulted and consultation
with all headteachers had taken place at the Joint Head Teacher
meeting on 3rd December, 2009. The
consultation process had highlighted that the full range of
responsibilities as contained within a single document represented
a daunting prospect for governors which would need to be addressed
in the way the document was finalised and launched. It was
noted that the process of discussion and refinement of that
document had also assisted the Directorate to identify a range of
issues which required further clarification and which would be
built into the Directorate work programme. The Head of
Service confirmed that it was hoped that Head Teacher consultation
would be finalised during January and that it would submitted to
governing bodies early in the Spring Term. In response to a
question from the Vice-Chairman addressed to Members of the
Committee who sat on governing bodies as to their views on the
consultation document, those views expressed were positive as to
the content.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the content and scope of
the Agreement be noted, there being no issues identified therein
which required further clarification.
Reason for recommendation
To progress the Partnership Agreement.
728 PERCEPTION SURVEY
- ACTION PLAN (DLD) -
By way of background, the report referred to
the previous consideration by this Committee of the results of the
School Perception Survey. The results of that survey had been
presented at a special meeting held on 2nd November to
which Headteachers had been invited and the minutes were appended
to the report. Members had subsequently requested that
the Perception Survey Action Plan be reported to this
Committee. The aforementioned Plan was also appended to the
report.
When the results of the Perception Survey had
been presented originally, the Headteachers had suggested that the
reasons for the relatively poor responses were:
· recent
changes in the management structure of the service which had not
become embedded
· the
comparatively poor funding position of Vale Schools reflected a
lack of support and understanding of the needs of schools by
Members.
The Committee had agreed that rather than base
any response on those generalised comments, it was necessary to
focus in detail on each of the issues where Headteachers had
perceived the performance of the Council ranged between poor and
satisfactory. The Action Plan as appended to the report
reflected the outcome of those discussions. The new
Management Team within the Service was seen to be having a positive
impact. The concern originally expressed by schools in
relation to School Improvement and Additional Learning Needs was
reducing and Headteachers were working closely with the Directorate
to progress improvements. In relation to funding issues,
whilst the position had not been resolved, it had been
clarified. Headteachers had welcomed the work of the Council
in developing a strategic vision, had acknowledged recent success
in attracting capital funding and had valued the work of the
Schools Budget Forum. It was noted, however, that the fact
that the budget quantum available to the Council, the Education
Service and to Schools had not increased and that Headteachers saw
that as an indication that the Council’s commitment to schools was
not reflected in funding decisions. The Leader’s response on
that matter was appended to the report. The reality facing
the Service in the Council was that budgets were going to continue
to be very challenging and whilst that was recognised and
understood by the Budget Forum the Forum had requested its needs be
addressed as part of the budget setting process. Ongoing ways
in which to engage Head Teachers would require further
consideration and discussion and the Scrutiny Committee would need
to consider how to engage with both Head Teachers and schools in
the future. Other aspects of the Action Plan relating to matters
which were deliverable through the Service and in consultation with
Schools, would be built into the work programme of the
Directorate.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the proposed Action Plan
as appended to the report be endorsed prior to its submission to
Cabinet.
Reason for recommendation
To progress the Action Plan.
729 WELSH LANGUAGE
EDUCATION SCHEME 2009-2014 (DLD) -
Under Section 5 of the Welsh Language Act
1993, the Local Education Authority was required to provide a Welsh
Language Scheme dealing specifically with Education. The
Council had, in fact, produced and applied a series of Welsh
Education Schemes since January 2000 and the latest version was
appended to the report. The Welsh Language Board had approved
the said scheme for consultation in accordance with the relevant
statutory requirements.
The Head of Service introduced the recently
appointed Welsh Language Development Adviser who confirmed that the
consultation process to date had given rise to predominantly
positive comments which would be fed back to the Welsh Language
Board.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
it be noted that the Welsh Language Education Scheme 2009-2014 had
been circulated for consultation.
(2) T H A T
Members be requested to submit any observations on the draft
scheme to the Welsh Language Development Adviser by early January,
2010.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) For
information.
(2) To
allow the scheme to be amended.
730 ADDITIONAL
LEARNING NEEDS - 2ND QUARTER PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND
PERFORMANCE ACTION MONITORING (DLD) -
Sickness absence was well within the target
set. The Head of Service clarified the reasons for the PI target
not being met in respect of the percentage of employees leaving
(none of whom formed the core team) and for the slippage that
had occurred in respect of just one action from the 2009/10 Action
Plan.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the reasons given be
accepted and the position noted.
Reason for recommendation
To have regard to the current position.
731 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
- 2ND QUARTER PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND PERFORMANCE
ACTION MONITORING (DLD) -
Sickness absence was well within the target
set. The Head of Service clarified the reasons for the PI target
not being met in respect of the percentage of employees leaving
(due largely to the expiry of temporary contracts). As
regards progress with actions from the 2009/10 Action Plan, 6 out
of a total of 34 had slipped and 2 had yet to commence. Updates
were given in respect of the corrective action taken or being
taken.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the reasons given be
accepted and the position noted.
Reason for recommendation
To have regard to the current position.
732 STRATEGIC PLANNING
AND PERFORMANCE - 2ND QUARTER PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND
PERFORMANCE ACTION MONITORING (DLD) -
Sickness absence was within the target
set. The Head of Service clarified the reasons for the PI
target not being met in respect of the percentage of employees
(which related to staff within the Catering Services and to
retirements). Three actions from the 2009/10 Service Plan had
yet to commence. Action A20 had been delayed pending the
appointment of a new ICT and Data Manager who was due to take up
post in January. As Service Level Agreements should be
consulted on at least 3 months prior to the start of a new
financial year, that action would be carried forward to
2010/11. A23 in respect of re-tendering the catering service
was dependent on a value for money review of the service which
would be conducted in the New Year. It was noted that A35 in
relation to changes in the perception of the learning environment
of Cowbridge School was on target but straddled two financial
years.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the reasons given be
accepted, that the position be noted and that the Head of Service
submit a report on the outcome of the aforementioned review to this
Committee upon its completion.
Reason for recommendation
To have regard to the current position and to
allow consideration of the findings of the review.
733 LIFELONG LEARNING
- 2ND QUARTER PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND PERFORMANCE
ACTION MONITORING (DLD) -
The Head of Service opened by referring to
very pleasing performance evidenced overall in the Key PIs,
reminding Members that performance in respect of LCL/001 (the
number of visits to public libraries) placed this Council in the
top quartile of Welsh Authorities. The Head of Service also drew
attention to the fact that all other PIs reported had outturned
within target. Reasons were given in respect of the five actions
within the 2009/10 Action Plan which had slipped.
RECOMMENDED - T H A T the reasons given be
accepted and that the position be noted.
Reason for recommendation
To have regard to the current position.