Agenda item

[NOTE:  Councillor M.J.A. Lewis had earlier declared an interest in this item.]

The Committee considered the Education Services Strategy. Local Authorities have defined responsibilities to deliver high quality services to meet the needs of all children and young people.  The strategy sets out a clear, shared vision for the role that Education Services plays in the future development of vibrant communities and a prosperous economy in Carmarthenshire.

The Committee was informed that, following feedback from the Executive Board, the strategy now covered a 10 year period from 2020-2030.

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

·         Reference was made to the statement in the strategy that there would be no more than two year groups per teaching class and concern was expressed over the consequences for small rural schools.  The Executive Board Member explained that the strategy is the department’s vision for the next ten years and one of the elements contained therein would be to not have mixed groups and the wellbeing of the child was the basis for this.  The Director added that there are a number of challenges facing smaller schools which can be overcome through federation and sharing of resources.  There are 95 primary schools in Carmarthenshire, which is the highest number in any county in Wales;

·         Whilst completely agreeing with the statement in the report that Carmarthenshire has many inspirational education leaders, officers were asked what happens to those talented leaders when they can no longer do the job because they are unable to cope with the strain.  The Executive Board Member agreed that it was challenging and this may be why it was so difficult to appoint headteachers for small schools. The department keeps in touch with all headteachers and offers support where needed.  He pointed out that, unfortunately covid has added to the strain.  The Director agreed that it was challenging, however, headteachers are in a transitional period. Whilst there was no easy answer, the department offered as much support as possible and where a school is under-performing because the headteacher may be struggling additional support is offered to ensure that there is no effect on the pupils;

·         The importance was stressed of recognising the pressure that senior leadership teams in school are under with the combined pressures of covid and the new curriculum, which is very challenging.  The Director explained that measures are being put in place to reduce the workload.  He added that Estyn will not be inspecting school for some time, which will remove some pressure.  He added that there was only so much that officers are able to do and it may be that something at the school needs to change;

·         Reference was made to the fact that all schools are in clusters and they are working on the curriculum.  It was suggested that when secondary school clusters meet they should invite their feeder primary schools to advise them to ensure continuity of learning and avoid a fall in the standard achieved when pupils begin year 7.  The Director agreed that there is a lot that the secondary sector could learn from the primary sector e.g. thematic learning and he would ensure that this suggestion was fed back to the clusters;

·         With regard to improving standards, officers were asked how the Authority will assess and communicate improvements to the public.  The Director advised that it was a question of how Estyn can test what improvements have been made.  Tracking progress and benchmarking were key elements to enable schools to evidence any progress made. The school would need to share that information with the public via the governors’ annual report;

·         Reference was made to recruiting inspirational leaders and officers were asked if they were confident that they will still be able to recruit such leaders if they can’t speak Welsh.  The Director explained that the Authority was introducing a far more robust process with regard to recruitment.  The Assessment Centre approach used for the appointment of Heads of Service will be used for the appointment of headteachers because any headteacher needs to be just as skilled as a Head of Service.  He added that he liked candidates to have a degree of Welsh but more so to have an appreciation for the language and a commitment to learn the language;

·         With regard to the purposes detailed on page 70 it was felt that we should be including our history, from a balanced point of view.  The Director agreed that it was important to concentrate on what is on our own doorstep i.e. Welsh heritage.  The Head of Curriculum and Wellbeing added that the local curriculum provided an opportunity for developing a programme of learning which was relevant and which nurtured not only citizens of Wales but also global citizens.

RESOLVED that the report be received.