A Powys council chief confirmed that the authority has lodged its formal response with Estyn ahead of the deadline.

Known as a Post Inspection Action Plan (PIAP), this document outlines how the council will endeavour to improve education in the county following a highly critical Estyn inspection report which was published in March.

At a meeting of the council’s Learning and Skills scrutiny committee on Thursday, September 11, councillors asked for an update on the PIAP.

Councillors and lay committee members had discussed the overall approach to improving education in the county at the committee’s last meeting in July.

Cllr Gareth E Jones (Powys Independents – Llanelwedd) asked the question as the committee went through the minutes of the July meeting.

Cllr Jones said: “There’s a statement there (in the minutes) that a revised action plan was going to be sent to Estyn before the end of the academic year (July 18).

“I just want confirmation that was done.”

Director of Education Dr Richard Jones said: “It was sent to Estyn at the end of the summer term ahead of the deadline that the inspectorate had set for us.

“So that was completed.”

The committee then agreed to ratify the minutes as a “true and correct record.”

The PIAP explains how the council will respond to the four recommendations from Estyn.

The minutes also show that the committee were given an update on the “Improvement Conference” that Estyn had conducted with the council on July 2.

The minutes said: “Officers confirmed that Estyn had provided constructive feedback during the recent conference.

“While Estyn had acknowledged several strengths in the IBP (Integrated Business Plan), they had also recommended improvements to the success criteria and the use of data.

“Officers stated that they were confident in their ability to incorporate these suggestions and had already begun revising the plan, which would be resubmitted to Estyn before the end of the academic year.”

The minutes add that the Cabinet member for Education, Cllr Pete Roberts (Liberal Democrat – Llandrindod South), who will move over to take on the Adult Social Services brief soon, said that Estyn had “initially challenged the authority’s broader approach.”

This “broader approach” is to implement the Integrated Business Plan (IBP) over the next five years.

This document was presented to councillors in June.

In the minutes, Cllr Roberts said that Estyn had “ultimately accepted the rationale for addressing systemic issues beyond the four formal recommendations.”

The minutes also confirm that Estyn have scheduled a monitoring visit to take place during the autumn term.

The recommendations from Estyn are:

• Strengthen the quality and impact of leadership, including political leadership, at all levels.

• Strengthen the quality of support and challenge to schools to improve outcomes for all learners, including those with ALN.

• Work with partners to rapidly develop and implement a model for 16-19 education that is financially viable and sustainable and meets the needs of all.

• Ensure that the local authority addresses urgently important school site security issues.