Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

Note:

1.    Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.    Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the code of conduct, the following declarations were made pertaining to the agenda

Councillor C Preedy, “Personal interest as one of the Special Schools named in Agenda item 7 resides in my ward”

Councillor C Lisles, “Personal interest as Hawthorn High School is mentioned in Agenda item 6 and I am a governor of this school”

Councillor S Hickman “personal Interest in agenda item 6 as I am a governor of Porth Community School”

Councillor S Evans “Personal Interest in item 6, my Employer is the University of South Wales”

Ms Rebecca Lydon “Personal interest in item 7, both my sons are autistic”

Councillor Sera Evans “Personal interest in item 7 as my son is statemented”

Mr L Patterson “Personal interest in item 7 as my son is statemented and receives Education in RCT”

To approve as an accurate record the minutes of the meeting of the Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee held on the 14^th September 2023.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on the 14 September were approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

Information is provided in respect of relevant consultations for consideration by the Committee.

Members were advised that the latest open consultations had been circulated, and advised that if Members had any queries to contact the Scrutiny Team

To provide Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee the opportunity to challenge and scrutinise the Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation & Welsh Language

The Service Director Democratic Services and Communications presented the report to Members to allow them the opportunity to scrutinise the decisions undertaken by the Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation and Welsh Language Services within the period set out in the report and to ensure the appropriate mechanisms are in place to effectively scrutinise the Executive.

A Member asked what the proposals are to ensure the Authority is encouraging use of the Welsh Language within the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP).  The Cabinet Member replied that one of the key priorities as a Local authority is achieving the targets in the WESP.  He advised Members that the Local Authority has been given targets by Welsh Government to increase the number of Welsh speakers in the Borough and in schools.  He advised that the Authority has invested Capital Resources into Welsh Medium schools in the form of improving their buildings and facilities but also building a number of new 21^st Century Welsh primary schools. He added that the Authority is also working together with Early Years providers to invest in Early Years facilities to make the Welsh Language more appealing from a younger age with the ambition that those children will then stay in a Welsh Medium setting for their entire education.

A Member asked the Cabinet Member to comment on Capital Investment in the Estyn report and if there is any information on the suggested improved outcomes for pupils.  The Cabinet Member commented that the Council is committed to building three new primary schools in the Borough with works on the sites already well under way.  He added that the Minister for Education had also attended the sites and was pleased to see the progress being made for our children and young people. He advised the Committee that the key priorities for the Authority are having the best facilities available for learners and as well as building new facilities it was crucial that we continue to refurbish existing schools to increase attainment. He concluded that our children deserve the best facilities for their education.

A Member referred to recommendations in the Estyn report  and asked the Cabinet Member what his view was as to how these would be improved in RCT

The Cabinet Member replied that whilst most of the Estyn report gives an accurate reflection of the high standard of Education across the Authority, he acknowledged there is always room for improvement.  He acknowledged that partnership working with the Consortium is an area we can improve on and also the areas around self-evaluation will be reviewed to improve effectiveness.  He added that in the report there is emphasis on purposeful Leadership and this is reflective of the calibre of our senior officers and the strategic leadership in RCT.  The report reflects well our prioritisation of assisting the most vulnerable in the Borough and the comments on our long term succession planning strategy.

A Member asked for clarity on how long the new special school will keep up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To nominate two Members of the Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee to be invited to attend the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to contribute to discussions on the Child Poverty Notice of Motion

Following the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 27 September, Members were asked to nominate two Members of the Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee to be invited to attend the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to contribute to discussions on the Child Poverty Notice of Motion

RESOLVED to nominate Councillor and Councillor to be invited to attend the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to contribute to the Child Poverty Notice of Motion discussion.  

To scrutinise and challenge the Child Poverty and Community Focused School approach in RCT.

Head of Attendance and Wellbeing Service presented the report to Members on the Community Focused School approach in RCT. The report provides a further update on the agenda following the report provided to Members in December 2022. The report discusses the approach to family engagement and utilisation of Welsh Government and Cabinet funding in this area as well as some of the Capital Grant that has been provided to RCT by Welsh Government.  The Officer continued that the report also covers elements of the work undertaken to mitigate the impacts of poverty on learners and their families so that, where possible, barriers are removed to education.

Following conclusion of the presentation of the report, the Chairperson invited questions from Members

A Member referred to the Community Engagement and asked if the activities and services being offered outside of the school hours were easily accessible children living in poverty, i.e don’t need to book online, pay for the activities and transport to / from the activities.

The Head of Attendance and Wellbeing replied that the YEPS service do work closely with schools to make sure, where possible that transport is put on for pupils to enable them to attend the activities and be transported home safely.  He did acknowledge however, that following analysis of the data that this is an area that needs further work and development to see if barriers such as the high cost of transport can be overcome.

A Member commented that some parents evenings cannot be attended by those living in poverty as their children get bussed to school but the parents do not have the transport to be able to get back to the school for evening appointments.  The Member stated that what has previously worked well is taking the meetings out into the Community where they are easily accessible to all parents. The Chair agreed and stated that with a figure of less than 50% of schools offering out of school activities, more needs to be done to combat Child Poverty and the barriers these families face. The Chair also referred to the decrease in the number of schools (61.5% to 59.3%) who have a designated member of staff with responsibility for developing and improving multi-agency working and stated that further exploration for this decrease was needed.

In response to a Member query around Multi-agency and third party attendance support and attendance at schools, the Head of Attendance and Wellbeing advised that there is a lot of work being undertaken in this area, recognising that there is still a long way to go.  He added that they are in strategic conversations with Public Health Wales around providing co-location opportunities in schools i.e.  through Health visitors and mental health support alongside central education services, although these talks are only in the early stages.

A Member asked if the Big Bocs Bwyd link with food banks to ensure wraparound service is there.  As families are referred to the Food bank.  The Head of Attendance and Wellbeing replied  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To scrutinise and challenge the implementation of the ALNET (Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal) Wales Act (2018) and its associated ALN Code for Wales (2021) in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) during the academic year 2022/23.

The Head of Inclusion services presented the report to Members to provide an update on the implementation of the ALNET (Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal) Wales Act (2018) and its associated ALN Code for Wales (2021) in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) during the academic year 2022/23.

The Chair welcomed ALN Coordinators to the meeting and thanked them for being in attendance to hear their contributions to the discussions.

Following conclusion of the presentation the Chairperson invited questions from the Committee

A Member asked if officers felt there are any gaps in RCT where they felt there should be provision but there isn’t. The Head of Inclusion replied that learning support class realignments are regularly undertaken and we always strive to have an even distribution of learning support classes across the Local authority area.  We are constantly looking at improving environments that suits the 21^st Century curriculum.  She added that she did not feel there were any gaps currently, but acknowledged there is always a need to keep provision under review.

A Member asked if the portal that school staff use for submissions has improved.  The Head of Inclusion Services confirmed that they had taken feedback from ALNcos and undertaken many changes to improve and streamline the situation. She added that the reasons for rejections were also investigated and used to improve the submission process.  The Officer concluded that the Specialist Placement Request form had also been reviewed so that ALNcos do not have to submit as many forms as they did previously.  She acknowledged that whilst it is another new process, the process had been simplified.

The ALNco advised that the portal had given them some challenges and whilst there were still some small challenges the Local Authority has done a lot of work to improve it.  She added that a working group reviewed and assessed what improvements could be made and those have since been implemented.

The Chair asked the ALNcos if they felt they have sufficient time and resource to ensure they can carry out their duties. 

The ALNco replied that she felt she was in a fortunate position to have strong leadership from her headteacher and she had a passion for inclusion and takes the time to ensure her team could be upskilled.  She believed her school is firmly invested in needs of students and has a strong focus on ALN support and they are supported with assistants and administrative support too. Another ALNco confirmed that she was in a similar position and had been given a non-teaching role this year so she could put all her focus in to ALN.  In addition she has a deputy ALNco who is working on a half timetable.  She concluded that trying to teach as well as undertake a ALNco role is challenging.

The Chair advised that the Committee would like to see this item continue to feature on their Work Programme and they would like to see the findings, data and outcomes of the Quality Assurance and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To reflect on the meeting and actions to be taken forward.

To consider any items, which the Chairman, by reason of special circumstances, is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

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