The report presents the final element of the four workstreams commissioned by the Strategic Review into the development and rationalisation of the curriculum and estate provision of primary, secondary and post-16 education.  It reflects the work of the Strategic Review Board and the Post-16 Operational Board and makes recommendations to Cabinet on the potential future direction of post-16 provision in Bridgend County Borough Council. 

The Head of Education and Family Support presented a report on the final element of the four workstreams commissioned by the Strategic Review into the development and rationalisation of the curriculum and estate provision of primary, secondary and post-16 education.  The other elements were presented to Cabinet on 5 September 2017.  It reflected the work of the Strategic Review Board and the Post-16 Operational Board and made recommendations to Cabinet on the potential future direction of post-16 provision in Bridgend County Borough Council.

The Specialist Officer, Post 16 Education & Training explained that a review of post-16 provisions across BCBC was one of the workstreams established under the SRB and a Post-16 Operational Board created to oversee this work and generate a report for the SRB. 

The Specialist Officer, Post 16 Education & Training outlined the current education provision for 16 to 18 year olds in Bridgend. He then explained that the Post 16 Board had reviewed a range of concepts for the future of post-16 provision across BCBC including the retention of the status quo, the merger of sixth forms into a BCBC sixth form centre, the development of a new independent sixth form college; or the development of one or more sixth form centres as part of Bridgend FE College; mixed models with some school sixth forms being retained and others merged in line with the three models described above or a full tertiary model.

The Post-16 Board undertook a detailed assessment of the concepts and the recommendations from the Post 16 Board were:

1.   Not to consider further the concept of an independent Sixth Form College.  This was based on the evidence from St. David’s Catholic Sixth Form College consultation on its own future with Cardiff Local Authority

2.   To generate specific proposals in relation to Welsh-medium, Faith-based and additional learning needs (ALN) provisions.

3.    To take forward the preferred concepts of 3a and 3c for further detailed consideration and feasibility analysis.

Following consideration of the Post-16 Board report, the SRB endorsed its recommendations and also highlighted three other aspects of provision where it felt progress could be made and were therefore also worthy of further investigation:

1             an increase in the amount of collaborative or common timetabling among the school sixth forms and with Bridgend College;

2             consideration of the implications of moving staff between centres rather than students; and

3             the use of internet-based technology to support e-learning and using staff resource more efficiently.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration welcomed the  Specialist Officer, Post 16 Education & Training to the meeting and congratulated him on the work he had done. The recommendations at the end of report showed that more work was required to outline the options.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration explained that he was already talking to different contributors such as the college and would be visiting each secondary school to talk to students who would be involved. 

The Leader noted that there was already a comprehensive survey of students and a high participation rate. He asked if there would be further consultation with learners who were at the heart of the matter. The Specialist Officer, Post 16 Education & Training replied that there would further consultation and various concepts would be discussed with the younger groups who would be affected by this. Aspirations would be set out and they would engage with all the secondary schools and encourage them to run workshops, a source of significant contributions in the past.

The Leader said that he was encouraged by the response and recognised that the Specialist Officer, Post 16 Education & Training was not supported by a team and that he had carried out this work on his own.

RESOLVED:         Cabinet:

1         noted the recommendations of the Post-16 Board and Strategic Review Board as outlined in section 4 of the report.

2         agreed to further detailed analysis and feasibility studies of these recommendations by the Post-16 Board and the SRB; and

3         agreed to a further paper being brought from SRB to Cabinet in Spring 2018 with recommendations on preferred options that could form the basis for a public consultation on post-16 provision across Bridgend Borough County Council.