Yesterday I travelled to Cardiff to attend a conference on the future of education in Wales and the delivery of the National Mission. The Cabinet Secretary, Kirsty Williams, introduced the event which was particularly focused on accountability through the new evaluation and improvement framework. The main message for councils was that the drive to increase regional working will continue through the education consortia but there’ll be changes to how they function and how Estyn operates. I hope to circulate the presentations to schools and education colleagues when they are available. It’s clear the emerging accountability system will be based on self-evaluation, peer review and a wider range of evaluation indicators.
Earlier in the week we had even more difficult news elsewhere on the budget when we learned that council contributions to teachers’ pension costs will likely rise from 16.48% to 23.8% in 2019, a sum far greater than previously indicated. This will add a further £4 million to the budget gap with no sign of help coming from Westminster at this stage. CMT will discuss the implications of this next week but it seems inevitable that more savings will need to be identified. Here’s the latest warning from the WLGA.
Leisure staff
Next Monday six of our community leisure centres and the LC will be operated by not-for-profit trust Freedom Leisure. This is an exciting new partnership for us. The facilities will remain council venues offering council services – and the same friendly staff (transferring from the council and Bay Leisure) will help customers stay healthy and active. This change will help contribute towards our budget challenges. Freedom Leisure has a proven track record and the ability to deliver leisure services effectively and sustainably. Thank you to everyone involved for making this a smooth transition.
Great effort
Corporate Building Services came to the rescue when Penllergaer school was forced to close due to a burst water main. They got the call on Tuesday and completed the repairs on Wednesday. The school re-opened on Thursday which meant pupils only lost one full-day of education. My thanks to Andrew McFenton, Barry Morgan and Mike Boat for their great work.
Guildhall transformed
The Guildhall has been transformed into a scene from World War One as part of an exciting production. Created by Swansea-born artist Marc Rees, Now the Hero is the headline piece for the 2018 Swansea International Festival. The production uses three interweaving stories of war inspired by an epic poem, an intimate portrait of a serving Swansea soldier and the Brangwyn Hall’s British Empire Panels. The production has spread across the Guildhall as you’ll see from these photos. Well done and thank you to everyone involved.
On a similar note, a true story about a team of young rugby players from India who took the under-14 Rugby World Cup by storm is being filmed in Swansea in November and December. We’ve been involved in supporting the production from the outset and it’ll showcase our city to huge new audiences across India, the world’s biggest movie market, so my thanks go to the team who’ve made it possible. And if you want a walk-on part in ‘The Jungle Cry’ you can to sign-up as an extra in the movie.
Awards
Congratulations to our highways and transportation team for winning the Value Award at this year’s Construction Excellence Wales ceremony. The award is linked to the development of the Morfa distributor road which opened last year.
Retirements
There are a couple of notable retirements this week, including Jenni Spencer Davies who’s leaving after 18 years’ service as the curator at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. Jenni successfully oversaw the £8m gallery refurbishment and established partnerships with Tate Britain, The British Council and Artes Mundi. Also, Julia Incebel who’s worked at the Grand Theatre as an usherette for 42 years. Julia started on Boxing Day with her mum because they were short-staffed and stayed ever since! Best wishes to both Jenni and Julia and all our other retiring staff.
