Agenda item

(a)  Councillor Sarah Merry (Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Education, Employment and skills) will be in attendance and may wish to make a statement;

(b)  Nick Batchelar (Director of Education and lifelong learning and Jackie Turner Assistant Director of Education and Lifelong learning) will present the report and be available to answer any questions Members may have;

(c)  Questions from Committee Members;

(d)  The way forward for this item will be considered at the end of the meeting.

The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Merry (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment & Skills), Nick Batchelar (Director Education and Lifelong Learning) and Jackie Turner (Assistant Director Education) to the meeting.

The Chairperson invited the Cabinet Member to make a statement in which she highlighted the improving picture across the board, but noted that there are still challenges to address, including reducing the gap in attainment for eFSM pupils, identifying the priority order for the asset maintenance backlog and improving provision and support for those with Additional Learning Needs (ALN). 

Nick Batchelar (Director Education and Lifelong Learning) provided a statement in which he said that the results so far have been positive, but ESTYN reports will continue to be monitored. In terms of challenges, the budget for out-of-county placements is a continuing pressure. He added that consultation took place on proposed changes to ALN provision in January.

Jackie Turner (Assistant Director Education) also made a statement in which she outlined the improvements that have been seen across all schools. In the primary sector, the proportion of schools in the green and yellow categories is higher than the Wales figures. A similar pattern of improvement is seen across secondary schools, with only 1 still categorised as red (although this school is making good progress). Special schools have improved considerably over the past year, with none categorised as red. The report also contains information on regional moderation comparison with other Local Authorities, and Cardiff is doing well overall.

Members were pleased with the report and had no questions.

AGREED – That the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the Way Forward.