Minutes:
Council received a Cabinet Statement on the impact of Covid-19 on schools in Monmouthshire.
In doing so, the following points were noted:
· The Cabinet Member thanked learners, their families, and all school staff during this difficult period.
· Across Monmouthshire’s schools there have been 1769 positive Covid-19 cases between 3rd September and 12th December 2021. This represents 16% of the school age population.
· There have been 805 cases in our secondary schools and 964 cases in our primary schools. Most affected were learners aged between 8 and 11 which accounted for 42% of all our cases.
· There was a slow start regarding cases in Monmouthshire before cases spiked around half-term. At that time there was a clear shift in cases moving from the secondary school sector to our primary schools. That has been significantly higher in the latter part of the term. This shift could be attributable to the introduction of vaccines to those aged between 12 and 15 from 4th October 2021 but we do not have clear data to underpin that.
· Covid-19 has not only impacted our learners but there has been an impact on school staff. Schools have reported the highest levels of staff cases and related absences of Covid-19 across Monmouthshire County Council. It has had a direct impact on teaching delivery this term and the changes around household isolation requirements has exacerbated the situation where staff were waiting for PCR tests and results.
· The impact of Covid-19 on Monmouthshire’s schools has been more significant in the Autumn term compared to any previous term throughout the pandemic. At the same time, there has been a shortage of supply staff to fill the gaps in staffing capacity, placing additional pressure on our school staffing teams. Despite this, nearly all our schools have remained open throughout the term with only two instances of primary schools having to close a class for a very limited period of time.
· Currently, due to extreme staff shortages, one of our secondary schools has moved to remote learning for post 16 learners for the last week of term to allow face to face delivery for students in years 7 to 11.
· Since the start of the pandemic there has been a focus on the well-being of learners and staff across our schools. This term has not seen any change in this approach. Schools have been able to use some of the new grant streams to support enhanced and developing well-being provision with their schools. Achieving a sustainable balance between well-being and structured learning will be a challenge in the short, medium and longer term.
· The pandemic has impacted on the progress of our learners. This term officers and the Education Achievement Service (EAS) have increased their interaction with schools to understand where learners are and to identify specific areas of support that schools may need to enhance their provision and offer.
· A series of professional discussions have taken place with 18 of our schools during the term which is the highest proportion across the region. The purpose of the meetings is to gain a deeper understanding of our schools and what is being planned to address their issues, to identify what support is needed with a view to moving forward.
· Feedback from headteacher discussions have been positive, especially looking at the new processes that will be implemented in the new year.
· Over the course of the year, we will meet with all schools, with 13 visits scheduled for the spring term and new year, with the remainder being held in the first half of the Summer term.
· New processes to support schools in need of higher levels of support have been established and implemented during the Autumn term. Currently, there are no Monmouthshire schools receiving the highest levels of support.
· The plans for next Summer’s examination series remain as a return to formal examinations. There are alternative plans in place should they not be able to proceed. These decisions are with other parties beyond this Authority.
· All schools have continued their work preparing the implementation of the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and Educational Tribunal Wales Act from January 2022 which has been supported by the team in Monmouthshire and the wider Regional ALN Implementation Team. Officers continue to work with Welsh Government to ensure an appropriately phased implementation of these changes. School governors are advised to make themselves aware of the new arrangements.
· Schools have continued to develop their thinking and approaches to the new Curriculum for Wales. This is a significant change to the current curriculum delivery with each school designing and creating its own curriculum responding to its own local context. The September 2022 introduction should be considered as the beginning of a process.
· The EAS is providing tailored professional learning to support our schools.
· The EAS has rationalised the professional learning offer to schools in recognition of the challenges the schools are facing this term but there remains a wide range of professional learning opportunities and most can be accessed on demand to ensure greater equity for all.
· Estyn has announced that inspections will recommence in the Spring term and schools identified for inspection will be notified at the start of the Spring Term with the current three-week notification period being maintained. It is anticipated that Estyn will visit some Monmouthshire schools on the list for inspection as some of our schools have not been visited for several years.
· Welsh Government has identified that the first two days of the spring term will be designated as additional planning days. This will allow for data and intelligence to be obtained about the Omicron variant and contingency plans to be put in place for the return of children. Welsh Government will be meeting more frequently over the coming months and there could potentially be further updates during the Christmas Holiday period.
· Should there be a need to return to remote learning the blended learning provision has been developed and refined in our schools over the previous 20 months which will allow our students to continue to learn in the least disruptive way possible.
Having received the Cabinet Member’s statement, the following points were noted:
· The First Minister has asked schools as part of their contingency planning in the first two days of the new term to ensure that examination years are prioritised for on-site provision and should they need to restrict in-person learning at any time that those plans are in place. In terms of revisiting those plans they have been asked to consider what arrangements might be needed in place for vulnerable learners and children of critical workers during any periods of disruption.
· Qualifications Wales is looking at rolling back some of the grade inflation. It is anticipated that we will have a better understanding of where we will be regarding Summer examinations by the end of January / early February 2022. Qualifications Wales is working on the premise that examinations will go ahead as normal this current academic year but will be guided by Public Health Wales, going forward.
· In terms of the EAS and its assessment of examinations grades, it was noted that we are working closely with our school improvement partners and our secondary schools to ensure that those steps to prepare our learners, as well as we can, are in place.
· The Cabinet Member informed Council that we have been working closely with Caldicot School to provide support to the student and to the student’s family, as well as to the student’s peers and staff who have been affected by the events that took place at the school earlier in the week. However, no further update could be provided as ongoing work was being undertaken by a range of agencies in respect of this matter.
· The ventilation of Monmouthshire’s schools is critically important during the next school term due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Welsh Government has announced that there will be several risk mitigations that will have to be brought in as part of that higher-level status. This will result in regular testing for students and staff, the wearing of face coverings in both classrooms and communal areas and staggered days. There will be in the region of 400 Carbon Dioxide monitors placed in our schools which will be important, particularly during the Winter months. Feedback from schools have indicated that these monitors are proving to be very effective as a mechanism of managing air flow in classrooms.
· In terms of Chepstow School funds have been invested, particularly over the previous months, renovating certain aged aspects of the school. The delivery of the new Chepstow School remains the same with the opening scheduled for 2024.
· In response to the query regarding the progress of children that have obtained Special Status within the Authority, the Chief Officer for Children and Young People informed Council that the would liaise with colleagues working on this matter and report back.
· The Gwent Incident Management Team raised the status of the region just before the October half-term to high. However, unlike other authorities in the region, Monmouthshire was not experiencing the same high levels of transmissibility at that time within the Authority and didn’t have to make that provision. There are mechanisms in place to move to a blended learning offer in the new year should this be required.
The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for his statement.