Agenda item

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Education which was presented for members to consider the full contents of the draft EAS Business Plan 2021-2022, as part of the regional consultation process. Through this activity, members will ensure that the plan enables appropriate support for schools and settings in Blaenau Gwent.

The new EAS Principal Challenge Adviser briefly introduced herself to Members.  There had been a change in EAS arrangements Hayley Davies-Edwards was the new Principal Challenge Adviser attached to Blaenau Gwent from January 2021.

The Assistant Director EAS spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein.

The Co-opted Member stated that the EAS had adapted the way they worked and had adopted a more supportive role over the past year which had reduced the additional demand on how teachers provided additional support in delivering improved blended learning.  He had one concern with the business plan that related to the ambitious aim in relation to the new curriculum for Wales and felt it would be a shame to rush to implement it now at the expense of ensuring that all pupils had caught up and sought assurances that moving forward would not be at the expense of catching up.

The Assistant Director EAS responded that as a region they were responding to the national interpretation requirements of moving towards curriculum for Wales and saw it as an opportunity.  He acknowledged the sensitivity around the individual context of individual schools and the population they served, if pupils required different forms of support in order for them to re-learn some of the basics they may need, that would be appropriate within that individual school setting and the EAS and teams would support schools doing this.

In response to a Member’s questions regarding how the EAS would assess where children’s education was at present, and whether the Authority was getting value for money from the EAS.  The Assistant Director EAS said in relation to the data for accountability, in summer 2020 there were no assessments at Foundation Phase or Key Stage 2, and Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 data was based on school assessments. In 2021 the Welsh Government were currently consulting on the reporting of data, the consultation closes at the end of March, so it was unlikely that there would be a full range of end of key stage data.  Critically schools knew their learners and the progress they need to make to return to learning.  The EAS would work with schools to support their understanding of where their learners are, he explained there were still, for example national tests available but the requirement to actually have to take those national tests on an annual basis had been modified, it was on a best endeavours basis during the year because learners had not been in school for much of the year to actually take those adaptive national tests.  What was critical was when schools used tools like that they are used in a way to assess where learners were and to assess their needs rather than for accountability.

In relation to value for money, an annual value for money report had been delivered to every local authority and the conclusion provided at the time by the external consultant was that the EAS provided good value for money.

In response to a Member’s question regarding what the EAS was doing to encourage schools that were not engaging, the Assistant Director EAS said that high levels of schools had engaged in the CSSR process and through the Principal Challenge Adviser process schools were approached where there were concerns around engagement to address any issues.

With regard to priority J on the EAS Business Plan a Member felt that the words ‘celebrating success’ should be added to the phrase ‘To further develop a culture around accountability that identifies and values a broad spectrum of characteristics of effective schools and settings’.  The Assistant Director EAS hoped that ‘celebrating success’ permeated throughout the document.  Priority J reflected on some of the statutory responsibilities that the local authority had, which the EAS deliver on as their partners in relation to the accountability elements.

The Assistant Director EAS confirmed that the recommendations coming from Estyn to the Welsh Government would be fully integrated into recommendations going to local authorities and schools.

In relation to value for money, the Corporate Director of Education said there were two variables; one was an assessment of whether or not performance was improving, and the second was whether that assessment could be done more efficiently with less resources.  The current allocation of resource that the Council commissioned the EAS was just over £350,000 and he confirmed a 2% reduction in that budget for 2021/22. He felt this provided good value for money.

A Member raised concerns regarding blended learning and how pupils’ progressive progress was measured in relation to literacy and numeracy and how that data was analysed as this was the second year for pupil assessments.  The Assistant Director EAS said there was no blueprint for how learning from home could be delivered, learners would have spent different periods of time at home, due to isolation etc. schools had learned from scratch and that was one of the key elements that was covered at the distance and blended learning’s seminars.  As learners return, schools would be in a position to assess learner’s capabilities, abilities and future needs would be picked up.   He felt that schools were developing their approaches now and the EAS would support schools and share best practice on how to address the needs of individual learners.  He explained that no Consortia was involved with the GCSE or A level results, the EAS were never involved with the assessment, as it had to be undertaken by independent organisations such as the WJEC, the EAS only acted as a conduit between Qualifications Wales, the WJEC and the secondary schools.  With regards to the business plan the EAS would continue to work with national organisations and school colleagues to communicate with clarity the messages that come at a national level on national assessments.

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and endorse Option 1; namely that the Business Plan be accepted as presented.