Agenda and minutes

Apologies received from P Phillips and Cllr C Jones

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

Declaration received from L Matuszcuk

To consider the attached report

Presented by S Walker

The following questions were raised

What will be the impact?

Referring to 5.19 what are the expectations for future budgets?

Regarding the estyn standards for management, is there a risk that as schools are inspected that they may be failing to meet standards?

Referring to 4.3 how many schools south and north of the borough are in amber?

How can schools manage approximately a 3% downturn in funding with almost an 11% increase in costs?

How will this impact young people regarding aspirations and achievements?

How much was taken out for admin by MTCBC before the distribution of the Welsh Government Grant?

What is the impact on student wellbeing following music redundancies?

Welsh schools have additional expenditure due to few resources being readily available in the Welsh language especially regarding ALN resooruces, is this factored into funding?

There is a noticable downturn in Cyfarthfa highschools funding, why is this?

Are there assements regarding the impact on teachers workload with increased class sizes?

No comments were raised.

Resolved that;

The following reccomendations be approved;

2.1 Scrutiny members note the contents of the report and consider implications for the monitoring of schools’ budgets and the prioritisation of schools’ funding in the Council’s budget setting processes 2024/25 onwards

To consider the attached report

Presented by S Walker and L Bruford

The following questions were raised;

Regarding 5.12 how is attendance monitored to ensure that holiday programmes are engaging with the target audience?

How is family engagement measured?

Regarding 4.5 how are schools expected to prioritise this?

To what degree were governing bodies included in these collaborations?

How are successful pilot programmes sustained?

Are there plans for when grant funding ends?

How does Welsh education fit into this as its not in either cluster?

How do you evaluate wellbeing?

No comments were raised

Resolved that;

The following reccomendations be approved;

2.1 Members discuss and debate the content of the report, reflecting on dialogue from previous meetings and identify if there are further aspects of this agenda that need scrutinising.

To consider the attached report

There will be a workshop held to discuss LRB Capacity in November.

The committee will be scrutinizing school inspection reports in the upcoming meeting.

The committee will be reviewing food waste in schools.

The committee will further examine the impact of school budgets.

Did we address the recommendations in each report and how have we added value?

The Chair states that the committee has added value.

To consider referrals made to Scrutiny for inclusion in the Forward Work Programme.

No referrals were received

No other business was deemed urgent by the Chair

Any outstanding actions?  Feedback from workshops / task and finish groups / enquiry days, etc.