Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all those present to this meeting of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee including Members, Officers and representatives of Ysgol Llangoed and Ysgol Beaumaris.

To receive any declaration of interest by any Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

Councillor Alun Roberts declared a personal interest in respect of item 2 on the agenda as a member of the Governing Body of Ysgol Beaumaris.

Councillor Carwyn Jones (not a member of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee) declared a personal and prejudicial interest with regard to item 2 on the agenda as Chair of the Governing Body of Ysgol Llandegfan and also on the grounds of his wife’s and mother’s employment in Ysgol Llandegfan and his cousin’s employment in Ysgol Beaumaris. Councillor Carwyn Jones said that he had been granted dispensation by the Standards Committee on 18 July, 2017 to represent the local viewpoint throughout the process.

Councillor Lewis Davies informed the Committee said that he had resigned as Chair of the Governing Body of Ysgol Llangoed because he wished to be objective in the consultation process.

To present the report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvement).

The report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Partnerships, Community and Service Improvement) incorporating a report on the outcome of the Statutory Consultation on the reconfiguration of primary education provision in the Seiriol area (Ysgol Llandegfan, Ysgol Llangoed and Ysgol Beaumaris) held during the period from 22 May, to 2 July, 2018 was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Education, Libraries Youth & Culture reported that the schools’ modernisation process involves assessing and weighing up the future of schools and the effect this will have on parents, children, teachers, school governors and a range of other stakeholders. It can be a contentious matter; it is a challenging task for the Council and is a matter that causes concern for parents and stakeholders which he could understand. However, what is under consideration is the future of schools perhaps for the next 50 years; a schools’ service that is wilting under the pressure of financial cuts; a maintenance backlog, the demands of the curriculum as well as a number of other issues. The Council has to give serious consideration to making the schools system more effective so as to create an environment wherein both pupils and teachers can succeed, and also to making it more efficient so that resources are used effectively and all schools get a fair share of the budget. The Portfolio Member said that the introduction of the 21st t Century Schools’ Programme whereby Welsh Government is prepared to contribute half the cost of projects to refurbish or rebuild schools and colleges in Wales provides an opportunity to rationalise and modernise the primary school stock on Anglesey and to create high standard schools for this generation and those to come. This funding will not be available for ever.

Although the three schools in the Seiriol area are the focus of discussion for this meeting, they form part of the bigger picture comprising of Anglesey as a whole and the Education Service within it. The budget for the Education Service makes up 40% of the Council’s overall budget; the Service is facing having to make savings of £5.2m over the next 3 years. Whilst the Council has in the past sought to protect Education from budget cuts, it cannot continue to do so. An additional consideration is the school maintenance backlog cost of £16m. The financial pressure which this Authority and others are experiencing is the result of the Westminster Government’s continuing austerity agenda. The Portfolio Member said that whilst closing a school is not a decision that anyone wants to make, the current situation is not sustainable and the Authority has to act reasonably.  The Authority’s School Modernisation Programme has as its aims to improve educational outcomes for children; to improve leadership standards and the quality of teaching and learning and to ensure there are sector leading schools in each area. The drivers of change are the same as they have been for previous consultations and include improving teaching standards and attainment, reducing the variation in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.