Education
Plaid claim ‘truancy tax’ is a postcode lottery
PLAID CYMRU recently made a Freedom of Information request that uncovered, what they believe, is a ‘piecemeal’ approach to new fines introduced for truancy. The fines were instigated by the Welsh Labour Government. Plaid went on to state that of the 22 Welsh councils that have responded to the Freedom of Information request, 4 began the penalty notices in September of this year; 2 started in October, 1 will start next month and 6 councils will introduce fines for truancy in January 2015. Plaid Cymru Shadow Education Secretary, Simon Thomas, said: “A Plaid Cymru government would do away with this truancy tax.
If the Welsh Government was so adamant about the supposed success of this approach why are they not enforcing councils to impose these fines on parents? “A cross-party committee of the National Assembly reported this was not the most effective way to deal with ‘mitching’ (truancy). Education watchdog Estyn found that over the past five years, attendance in secondary schools has improved. The Estyn report discovered a need for improvement in absence rates of pupils in vulnerable groups and those pupils eligible for free school meals, whose rate is nearly twice that of other pupils. Children getting free school meals are more likely to be persistent absentees and to under perform.
“The Party of Wales wants to break the link between deprivation and low attainment in school, but for this to happen we need to address this issue directly. Working with the child is not simply about turning up at the school gates. We must ensure that we ask why they are mitching school and how we can help them. “A Plaid Cymru government would raise standards and tackle truancy by supporting people. Approaches such as the use of home-school liaison officers and improved communication between schools and families such as texting parents can be very effective in raising attendance levels.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson commented: “We are aware of the importance of ensuring that all local authorities carry out their statutory duties in relation to implementing the Education (Penalty Notice) (Wales) Regulations 2013. To ensure consistency, we have provided detailed guidance on the format, content and application of a local authority code of conduct for the issuing of penalty notices. We have been working closely with Local Authorities on the implementation of their codes. Where we have been made aware that a local authority has not put their code of conduct in place the Minister has written to the local authority, reminding them of their obligations. We will keep in close contact with local authorities to ensure their codes of conduct are in place as soon as possible.”
Education
Teacher’s gruelling challenge to help visually impaired child

TEACHER Sion Jenkins is running 100 laps around a famous Pembrokeshire landmark to raise money to help a visually impaired child in his class.
He is aiming to raise £2,000 on crowd funder platform Go Fund Me by doing laps of Carew Castle and Mill in just 24 hours, about one hundred miles in total.
Sion said: “I decided that I wanted to raise money to help purchase a trike/adapted bike to help a visually impaired child in my class.
“Due to his sight, he isn’t able to ride a bike – and is desperate to gain some independence/confidence and ride a bike like every other child.
“On the back of a challenge set by school, to complete the ‘100 challenge’ as a tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore, I decided to tie the two together and have a go at completing this gruelling challenge.
“100 laps of Carew Castle and Mill will total just under 100 miles – in less than 24 hours.”
If you would like to contribute to this epic challenge this is the link:
Education
Schools partnership promotes the benefits of outdoor learning

OUTDOOR learning across the county has received a welcome boost over the past 12 months as a result of additional funding secured by the Pembrokeshire Outdoor Schools (PODS) project, which has covered the cost of a Co-ordinator working directly with schools.
Thanks to financial backing from the People’s Postcode Local Trust and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trust, the PODS Co-ordinator has been able to help with the delivery of high quality, curriculum-linked learning experiences in school grounds and local outdoor spaces.
Part of the Co-ordinator’s role is also to bring together local and national organisations, including Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s Discovery team, teachers and head teachers. Pooling their diverse knowledge and expertise, the partnership seeks to share good practice and promote the benefits of taking lessons outdoors.
Pembrokeshire Outdoor Schools Co-ordinator Bryony Rees said: “Last summer, the Welsh Government recognised the importance of outdoor learning in the post-lockdown return to school. We have been working hard to support this by giving children and teachers increased opportunities to take their learning outdoors.
“We have already engaged with a number of schools across Pembrokeshire and produced some live webinars. Supporting resources for these can be found on HWB. This has made it possible to reach out to even more schools with practical information, inspiration and advice on delivering outdoor learning programmes.
“Several schools have taken the opportunity to develop their school grounds to support outdoor learning and more recently, Neyland Community School has introduced outdoor lessons every Friday.”
During the most recent lockdown, work has continued online and the PODS website has been developed to provide teachers with some learning resources. Outdoor learning ideas and inspiration for teachers and parents are also shared on the PODS Facebook page (Pembrokeshire Outdoor Schools) and on Twitter @PembsOutdoorSch.
Education
Education announcement welcomed by Pembrokeshire County Council

THE LOCAL AUTHORITY has said that it welcomes the Welsh Government’s announcement today (Friday, 29th January) that schools will be the first to reopen when Wales’ current lockdown restrictions are lifted.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced that the ‘alert level four’ restrictions will remain in Wales for three more weeks but following that period, there would be a ‘phased and flexible back-to-school approach if coronavirus cases continue to fall’.
He said primary school children would be the first to return, if the public health situation continues to improve, and that students studying vocational qualifications would also be among those prioritised for the phased return to colleges.
Mr Drakeford said: “We’ve seen a really welcome fall in cases of the virus all over Wales, but they are still too high and the NHS continues to be under intense pressure.
“We need to keep the lockdown restrictions in place for a little while longer to help us bring rates of the virus down further. If we can do this, we will create the headroom we need to get children back to school after half term – starting with the youngest at primary schools.
“We will work with teachers, colleges, local authorities to plan for the safe return of children to school over the next couple of weeks and keep parents updated.”
Pembrokeshire’s Director of Education, Steven Richards-Downes, will be meeting virtually with Welsh Government ministers today together with other Education Directors.
Mr Richards-Downes said: “We welcome the Welsh Government’s statement that schools will be the first to reopen, whenever that may be.
“We will continue to work directly with unions, headteachers, governing bodies and other Council services to ensure that schools are Covid-safe when they are re-opened.
“Distance learning will continue for now and parents should contact their schools directly if they have any queries regarding this.”
He added: “Any parent experiencing difficulties with digital exclusion should contact their school directly.
Free school meals payments will continue to be paid to families who have applied for them, as planned. The next payments will be made on Thursday, 4th February.
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