Decision details
Education Otherwise than At School - evidence session 7 - POSTPONED
Decision Maker: Children, Young People and Education Committee - Fifth Senedd
Status: Complete
Is Key decision?: Yes
Purpose:
Inquiry5
The Children, Young People and Education Committee undertook
an inquiry into the range of Education Otherwise that at School (EOTAS)
provision including Pupil Referral Units. It focussed specifically on the:
- Reasons for and support available for
children and young people at risk of EOTAS, including through their exclusion
from mainstream provision;
- How effectively parents are engaged and
supported throughout the EOTAS process;
- The variation in rates of EOTAS for
children and young people with particular characteristics (such as
learners with special educational needs or who are eligible for free
school meals) and the consequences of this;
- The levels of financial support
available to support EOTAS and children and young people at risk of
becoming EOTAS and whether this represents value for money;
- Responsibility and accountability for
the education of pupils who become EOTAS;
- Attainment of children and young people
EOTAS ;
- Outcomes and wellbeing of children and
young people EOTAS;
- The quality of support provided to
children and young people in the range of EOTAS provision;
- Professional development support for
Pupil Referral Unit staff, including those who provide home tuition;
- The potential risks for children and
young people EOTAS such as increased barriers to accessing mental health
support, increased risk of involvement with crime and the criminal justice
system such as ‘county lines’;
- Other issues closely linked to EOTAS,
for example managed moves, and the ‘off-rolling’ of pupils.
The
Committee’s inquiry included individual home tuition but did not focus
on the separate issue of elective home education.
Blog
Senedd
Research produced blogs with more information on this topic:
Education
Otherwise than at School
Date, Agenda and Minutes |
Transcript |
Video |
|
1. Evidence session Ann
Keane, Former Chair of the Welsh Government EOTAS task and finish group
(group ceased to exist early 2017) Professor
Brett Pugh, Chair of the Welsh Government delivery group for EOTAS (current
group |
|||
2. Children’s
Commissioner for Wales Sally Holland,
Children’s Commissioner for Wales (via video conference) Jane Houston, Policy
Advisor – Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales (via video
conference) |
|||
3. Estyn Jassa Scott, Strategic
Director Dyfrig Ellis, Assistant
Director Denise Wade, Her
Majesty’s Inspector |
|||
4. Representatives from
Teaching Unions Mairead Canavan, Vale of
Glamorgan District Secretary and National Executive Union (NEU) Executive
Member Tim Cox – Wales Policy
and Casework Official, NASUWT Dilwyn Roberts-Young -
General Secretary, Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru (UCAC) |
|||
5. Welsh Local
Government Association and Association of Directors of Education Sharon Davies, Head of
Learning, Torfaen County Borough Council and representing Association of
Directors of Education in Wales Nick Williams, Director of
Education, Swansea City and County Council and representing Association of
Directors of Education in Wales David Hopkins, Interim
Head of Education - Welsh Local Government Association |
|||
6. Samaritans and Mind
Cymru Sarah Stone, Executive
Director for Wales - Samaritans Liz Williams, Policy and
Communications Officer – Samaritans Dr Ian Johnson, Manager,
Children and Young People’s Mental Health – Mind Cymru |
The Minister for Education was due to
give evidence on 19 March 2020 however, the COVID -19 pandemic required the
Committee to re-purpose this session. As a substitute for the session the
Committee wrote (PDF 274KB) to
the Minister for Education for a written update. On the 16 October 2020 the
Minister for Education provided a response
(PDF 725KB).
Public Engagement
As part of our inquiry, we
developed a survey to ensure families accessing EOTAS and staff working in
EOTAS provisions could share their comments and experiences and feed into the
wider inquiry.
We produced
a summary (PDF 225KB) of the results.
On 28
November 2019, Committee members visited three settings supporting children and
young people receiving education otherwise than at school (EOTAS). These
settings were located in Bridgend, Cardiff and Caernarfon.
We produced
a summary
(PDF 186KB) note
Output
On 23 March 2021 the Committee wrote (PDF 276KB) to
the Minister for Education highlighting the key principles arising from
evidence received for the EOTAS inquiry.
The Welsh Government responded
(PDF, 263KB) to the Committee’s correspondence on 31 March 2021.
Publication date: 25/03/2020
Date of decision: 19/03/2020
Decided at meeting: 19/03/2020 - Children, Young People and Education Committee - Fifth Senedd