Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from R Lazelle, K Phelan, A Roberts and M Symonds Co-opted Members.

Members are reminded of their personal responsibility to declare any personal and prejudicial interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 relating to Council Tax, the Local Government Act 2000, the Council’s Constitution and the Members Code of Conduct

Note:

(a)  Members are reminded that they must identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest and

(b)  Where Members withdraw from a Meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chair when they leave

No Declarations of Interest were made.

To consider the attached report

The Chair welcomed Liz Jones ALN Transformation Lead Central South Region and the Officers to the Meeting.

Liz Jones then led the Committee through ‘The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act’ report and together with the Officers responded in detail to the following questions raised by the Committee:

·         Parental involvement with the new Act

·         Request for a timescale in the Plan

·         At what point will the timeline be achieved

·         Assurance sought that good practice will be shared with other schools and the Consortium

·         Working with Parents and the Third Sector

·         Strategic impact and engagement with Health

·         Implementation of IDP’s

·         How is the finance worked out for each Authority – How much is allocated to the Authority under each priority

·         New responsibilities under the Act – Ages 0 to 25 – Working with the Health Board

Resolved that:

The report be noted.

To consider the attached report

The Chair welcomed Steve Jones to the Meeting.

Steve Jones then led the Committee through the ‘Value for Money’ report and responded in detail to the following questions raised by the Committee:

·         Paragraph 7.10 – Explanation requested of the £72

·         Deprivation from Local Authority to Local Authority - Impact on results

·         Variations with the data sets used – Difficult to make a comparator

Resolved that:

The report be noted.

To consider the attached report

The Chair welcomed Joe Colsey to the Meeting.

Joe Colsey then referred the Committee to the ‘ESTYN Self Evaluation Reporting (SER) Framework (Inspection Area 2) report and together with Sue Walker responded in detail to the following questions raised by the Committee:

·         Marketing Campaign – Parental attachment

·         Request for definition of SEBD

·         Training around non- attendance - What will this look like for schools

·         Paragraph 7.1 – How will this be translated into Actions, Outcomes and Deliverances

Resolved that:

The report be noted.

Resolved that:

The public be excluded from the Meeting on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 16 under Part 4 of Schedule 12A Section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Sue Walker then made a Presentation to the Committee giving details on the following:

·         Key Messages

·         Context of Merthyr Tydfil

·         FSM

·         ALN

·         Key Stage 4

·         Attendance

·         Exclusions

·         Specific Concerns

Questions were then raised by the Committee on the Presentation and were responded to in detail by Sue Walker.

A Member then recommended that the Headteacher and Chair of Governors of Afon Taf and Cyfarthfa High Schools be invited to attend a future Committee Meeting.

The Chair advised that he would meet with the Officers to discuss how to progress the issues raised in the Presentation.

Resolved that:

The Headteacher and Chair of Governors of Afon Taf and Cyfarthfa High Schools be invited to attend a Committee Meeting in the Spring of 2019.

Councillor L Davies and A Rees Co-opted Member left the Meeting at 5.45 pm.

There was no update on this item.

To consider the attached report

The Committee considered and agreed the Work Programme.

To receive an update from the Chair

The Chair and the Committee discussed in detail the issues that had been considered in the Meeting.

The Chair advised that there was no business deemed urgent.