Agenda item

[NOTE:  Councillor D. Jones had earlier declared an interest in this item.]

The Committee considered a report providing an overview of the support available to Carmarthenshire’s schools and specialist settings from the County Council and from the regional consortium, ERW, as they implement the Curriculum for Wales by September 2022.

The Authority is developing a professional learning proposal for the Curriculum for Wales that complements the work of the Inclusion Team, the aim of which is to ensure that a good pedagogy meets the needs of individual pupils at all levels and that schools effectively progress in line with the aims of the National Mission.  In addition, Education Support Advisers and officers from the Inclusion, Behaviour and Educational Psychologists Teams hold ongoing constructive conversations with individual schools to discuss progress with the transition to the Curriculum for Wales, as well as the Additional Learning Needs transition.

The report provided details of the nature of support being provided and proposed additional/alternative strategic approaches to enhance the current provision including the following:-

v  the current context and schools’ engagement with the new curriculum to date;

v  the strategic approach of the Education & Children’s Services department;

v  the support available to schools and specialist settings;

v  the engagement of schools and specialist settings;

v  questions for governors as they support their schools on this journey;

v  the Research and Professional Learning networks;

v  expectations;

v  the role of ERW.

The following questions/observations were raised on the report:-

·         Asked what are the short and long term plans with regard to ERW, the Director explained that this term four Local Authorities are still working in partnership and are still full members of ERW – Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Powys.  Whilst Neath Port Talbot and Ceredigion have left the partnership, an agreement has been reached to continue to provide some services to them, mainly leadership programmes. The intention now is for ERW to come to an end on 31st August of this year with a new partnership starting on 1^st September, 2021.  The provision and support will continue to be provided by the new partnership but from September on that provision could potentially be more local, pending the outcome of discussions taking place at the moment.  More information regarding the new structure will be shared with new partners soon and hopefully officers will be in a position to provide further details to the Committee at the next meeting.  The Head of Curriculum and Wellbeing added that the Curriculum Team within ERW have been working hard to support schools through this transitional phase;

·         Reference was made to the important role that governors have in this process and officers were asked how the Authority will ensure that support is provided consistently and fairly to all schools throughout the county.  How will Governors know to what extent the staff at their schools have taken part in virtual training courses and how much the staff understand about the challenges ahead etc. The Executive Board Member for Education & Children agreed that it is important for governors to keep their finger on the pulse. Training sessions will be held for governors in September to help them know what sort of questions they should be asking their headteachers. The Director added that all schools should have a School Development Plan which will include the curriculum as one of its priorities and a focus for development.  He acknowledged that there is still some work to be done on the evaluation process for the new curriculum which he was sure would be in place in time for September 2022;

·         Asked for an example of the new way of teaching compared to the old way, the Educational Support Adviser explained that it was mainly to do with building relationships with children and getting them to contribute in the classroom.  The Director added that it was about moving from a set curriculum where you tick boxes for content covered to a curriculum which suits the learners’ needs including local history, local culture etc.;

·         Concern was expressed over the risk that some schools might continue to use the existing curriculum instead of embracing the new curriculum.  The Executive Board Member stressed how important it is to ensure that our schools are brave and look to the future.  Communication skills are so important and so we must build children’s confidence to speak publicly. There is more emphasis on digital working and learning which is going to develop and will be a very important factor in education in the future not just during a pandemic. Distance learning will be with us and we need to ensure that our children have the necessary skills;

·         With regard to concerns that some schools may not embrace the new curriculum, officers were asked how this will be monitored and how will we ensure that best practice is shared throughout the county.  The Educational Support Adviser informed the Committee that information is collected from all schools constantly. It was difficult to undertake any assessments during lockdown, however, any examples of best practice are shared with all schools.  Additional support is provided for any schools where it is required.  The Director added that it was essential to ensure that all schools have the support required to make sure that they are on the right path and are ready for September 2022, which will be the priority for the team;

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the pressure currently on schools due to the problems caused by the pandemic and the significant additional pressure of having to deal with one of the most major changes to education in the last 20 years happening at the same time.  More needs to be done to support schools especially the smaller schools who do not have the resources.  The Head of Curriculum and Wellbeing explained that the new curriculum could be used as a pre-cursor and a vehicle out of the pandemic and could provide a blueprint and framework to build support for learners’ recovery.  It was important to be pragmatic in terms of what is achievable by September 2021 and officers were liaising with the Inspectorate in that respect in light of the interruption to their transition year.  He added that it was important to concentrate on getting the vision right first before moving on;

·         Concern was expressed that schools are stressing over what Estyn inspections are going to look like.  The Head of Curriculum & Wellbeing informed the Committee that this should have been the transition year, however, the Inspectorate halted inspection for the vast majority of schools. The Director added that conversations have been held over the past few weeks with Estyn and WG regarding resuming school inspections and what schools should expect.  Estyn will look at how schools have adapted to and dealt with COVID, however, they will be supportive of any schools piloting new approaches to school curriculum design and implementation as well and that will be part of the inspection process.  It will be about how schools are evolving and developing in readiness for September;

·         Reference was made to school development plans and the fact that they vary in quality across Wales.  Officers were asked if an opportunity existed here to track these plans and ensure consistency across the county and aim for high standards.  Challenge Advisers do good work but can they ensure that all Governing Bodies have feedback regarding what has worked and what hasn’t worked etc.  The Director explained that the WG are working on a new plan in relation to school improvement which clearly outlines the responsibilities of all concerned including governors, the Local Authority and WG. He stressed that there is a monitoring process in place locally with regard to School Improvement Plans.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.