Agenda item

To consider the report of the Corporate Director Education.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Education and the Service Manager Education Transformation and Business Change which was presented to provide Members with the opportunity to scrutinise the management of pupil places and the school estate, throughout the 2020/21 academic session.

The Corporate Director of Education spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein.

A Member enquired regarding the live birth data.  The Director of Education advised that the Council was yet to receive the 2020/21 live birth data from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.  With regard to planning for school places they also look at trend analysis as some schools received mote applications.  Both the birth rates and the trend analysis gave an overall picture that depicts likely projections for surplus places across the school estate.  He advised that they were expecting the overall pupil population to increase and they were also starting to see some positive trends around inward migration into the county borough.

A Member referred to surplus places and was disappointed that information for primary schools had not been provided and requested that this be an action point for the next meeting.

The Director of Education clarified that the information presented in the table on page 325 related to secondary schools.  He advised that a similar table had been produced for the primary sector and would ensure that was shared with Members.  Surplus places in the primary sector had been in the region of 29% which had now been reduced significantly.

The Member referred to condition surveys that showed the condition of Blaenau Gwent schools had improved dramatically over a period of time.   He referred to trend analysis and enquired if work was undertaken with parents, to share the improvements made to schools, to give them confidence to send their children to Blaenau Gwent schools, to reduce outward migration as pupil numbers affected school finances.  The Director of Education confirmed that the data did include trend analysis and they worked with parents to give them assurances and confidence, that as learners transition from primary into secondary schools, that the secondary settings were well placed to from the quality of the learning environment perspective.   He pointed out that this year Abertillery Learning Community year 7 had admitted 160 learners which had been a dramatic turnaround of the uptake of places within the school setting.

With regard to Penycwm school and the River Centre a Member enquired how these schools were assessed.  The Director of Education said that capacity at Penycwm school had recently been increased to 175 and capacity at the River Centre was 64.  As Special schools, the learners within those settings were placed via the Additional Learning Needs Panel and was based upon learners needs and requirements.

The Chair commented in relation to Ebbw Fawr Learning Community the data for January 2022 was 992 and reduced to 943 for January 2028 and raised concerns that with all the new residential developments being undertaken in Blaenau Gwent how the data was reducing.  The Director of Education said the figures were based upon the anticipated pupil population coming through the system, which showed a slight decline in that area.  Moving forward this would be compensated by the new housing developments taking place.  The secondary phase was going to be meeting capacity in the near future but at this point in time it was difficult to make calculations on pupil populations with housing developments still in relatively early stages of development.  There would be an annual review of the numbers but the Director was confident that Ebbw Fawr Learning Community would be reaching and meeting capacity over the next few years.

The Member accepted the Director’s comments but reiterated his concerns that Ebbw Fawr Learning Community with reduced capacity would then not be able to accommodate the number of pupils.

A Member commented that the Education Directorate was fully aware of the situation with regard to Ebbw Fawr Learning Community and felt confident that they would look at future numbers and future provision the school could provide.

The Corporate Director of Education commented that three out of the four secondary settings were starting to have emerging sufficiency issues and as a consequence there needed to be investment within the school estate.  He pointed out there was now less migration out of county to secondary learning settings which was very positive and was encouraging to note that Blaenau Gwent learners were receiving their teaching and learning in Blaenau Gwent settings.

The Chair felt that all Councillors should promote Blaenau Gwent schools and inform parents how good education in Blaenau Gwent schools was.

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and endorse Option 2; namely that the Education and Learning Scrutiny Committee considered the report, and provided comments relating to the current monitoring and reporting processes.