Tomorrow, a Bridgend Council scrutiny committee will discuss the council’s draft strategic education plan which will set out priorities for the county’s schools and family support services for the next three years (pdf).
The Education & Family Support Directorate is Bridgend Council’s largest department, with an annual budget of £175million and employing around 4,000 people.
Some of the priorities in the strategy include:
- Rolling out the universal free school meals programme for all primary school pupils.
- Developing more effective mental health services for children & young people and a social media strategy to deal with the negative impacts on young people.
- Seek to cut the number of exclusions and undertake attendance audits, with a review of how non-attendance and truancy are managed.
- Targeted support for disengaged and vulnerable learners.
- Developing a clear vision and strategy for the delivery of Additional Learning Needs services, including additional Welsh-medium provision for learners will moderate learning difficulties.
- Improve training, recruitment and retention of school governors.
- Deliver the school modernisation programme including a new Heronsbridge school, 2 new Welsh-medium and 2 new English-medium primary schools, school extensions and a Welsh-medium seedling school in Porthcawl.
- Cut the number of children refused a place at their preferred school.
- Support measures to boost Welsh-medium education as set out in the separate Welsh Medium Education Strategy.
