Invitees:

Deborah McMillan, Corporate  Director – Education and Transformation

Cllr Huw David, Deputy Leader

Cllr Hailey Townsend, Cabinet Member, Childrens Social Services and Equalities

Nicola Echanis, Head of Strategy Commissioning and Partnerships

Sue Roberts, Group Manager – School Improvement

Paul Wolstenholme, Bridgend Link Adviser- Central South Consortium

The Scrutiny Officer introduced the report to members which provided them information on the work that was being undertaken and the support that was being provided to target and raise educational performance for children from socially deprived backgrounds. 

A member asked what impact the new cashless catering system that had recently been implemented in some schools in the Borough had on families eligible for free school meals.  The Head of Strategy and Commissioning Partnerships advised that not all schools had implemented the cashless catering system and some schools outsource their catering so the system was not a possibility for them.  She advised that where it had been implemented it had removed the stigma attached to having free school meals.  She added that she would bring a more detailed report to the Committee on this.  A Member added that the implementation of cashless catering at a school in Maesteg had been very successful with pupils and parents being pleased with its benefits. 

The Deputy Leader added that BCBC are encouraging more schools to implement the system as it was better all round for pupils and parents and also dramatically reduced the administration around collecting and banking dinner money fees from pupils.

The Head teacher at PenyBont School added that he had not introduced the cashless catering system as the school were uncomfortable that only one days grace would be given to a pupil if there was no credit in their account. Members asked if further information could be brought to a future Committee on how the system dealt with arrears on an account.

A Member questioned if free school meals for all pupils was a possibility.  The Deputy Leader advised that cost was a massive issue and the Authority needed to reduce budgets too much which would not able them to offer free school meals to all.

The Chairman Children Young people and Overview Scrutiny Committee asked if the Authority could assist primary schools in deprived areas in looking at schemes such as Cloud Nine which helps children get access to PCs at a heavily subsidised rate, as not all pupils had access to a computer at home.  The Head of Strategy and Commissioning Partnerships agreed and stated that poverty excluded the equality of access which made it difficult for a lot of pupils as IT was well embedded in all schools in the Borough.  She added that research had found that the issue however was more about access to the internet rather than the access to equipment.  A member recommended that the Authority could use section 106 opportunities to implement broadband for their local community.  Members also stated that Town and Community Councils may be able to assist to provide free WIFI access to its residents and could even approach key employers in the Borough to do the same.

Members questioned how many primary and secondary schools in Bridgend provided a free breakfast club for pupils and asked also if free breakfast clubs were available post 16 as this would be a stressful time for pupils who had exams to sit.  The Head of Strategy and Commissioning Partnerships stated that she did not have figures to offer at the meeting but could provide the information to the Committee at a later date

The Committee thanked Head teachers Mr Ben Blackwell and Mr David Jenkins and Assistant Head teacher Andrea May for their attendance and input into the Committee discussions and added that their contributions were a valuable insight.

Conclusions

Members raised concerns over reports of pupils not having sufficient access to a computer at home.  The Committee recommend that the Local Authority assist Primary Schools in looking at schemes such as Cloud Nine, which had recently helped a local school procure computers for youngsters at a heavily subsidised price.

The Committee further recommended the Local Authority utilise Planning 106 opportunities to acquire Community Broadband which would assist pupils who do not have internet access at home.  Members recommended that this could be expanded with Town and Community Councils also approached over provision of free wifi access as well as key employers in the community, Valleys to Coast, BT and BAVO.

The Committee welcomed the input from the Head teachers Mr Ben Blackall and Mr David Jenkins and Assistant Head teacher Miss Andrea May on both items and concluded that such representatives be invited to attend the Scrutiny Committee on a more regular basis to provide valuable insight and assist with discussions.

Additional Information

Members requested further information on how arrears were dealt with for Cashless catering and whether schools were experiencing more issues with arrears through the new system.

The Committee requested information on how many secondary schools within the County Borough have breakfast clubs.