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Listen to this siteMonday 3 December 2007
Minutes of the meeting
Phil Morgan opened the meeting by welcoming all the members. Apologies had been received from Jeremy Corson, Anne Bull, Nia Rees Williams and Liz Dowling.
Back to topIt was agreed, in light of some additional comments received from one member of the group, that the minutes of the last meeting would be re-circulated (with suggested amendments) for consideration. In the circumstances, the draft minutes will not be endorsed as a true and accurate record until the next meeting.
Updates on actions arising from the last meeting were as follows:
David Smith asked for an update on the NAtional Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) proposals. Phil Morgan advised that the Agency Board have agreed the proposal to operate the survey on an annual rolling programme basis for 2008/09 and UK funding arrangements were finalised in principle. The arrangements provide for enhancement of the sample sizes across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales subject to the necessary funds being found by each country. In Wales, a bid for additional funding for a range of the Agency’s work including NDNS was in preparation. This would be submitted to the Assembly in the next week or so. There had been preliminary and encouraging discussions between officials as to the value of enhancing the national sample size. Lindsey Kearton asked for an update on the Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey (LIDNS) programme. Phil Morgan reported that the draft report was at a very advanced stage.
Back to topPhil Morgan welcomed Laura Davis to the meeting and invited her to give a brief introduction to the study and the key conclusions. Laura began by advising that the report that had been circulated to members prior to the meeting was a preliminary working draft: a full version (with annexes) should be available by the end of January. She went on to briefly speak about the approach the evaluation team had taken and to highlight the main conclusions reached. She invited the Group, in its deliberations, to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the draft and to recommend any revisions where appropriate. She asked if Members would find it helpful to have a case study Annex. Finally she indicated that although not specifically part of the commission that Warwick had identified and included several recommendations.
In preliminary discussion Members posed several questions, and sought clarification on certain points, in particular:
At this point Laura Davis then withdrew to allow the Group to discuss the report in detail.
Phil Morgan began by reminding Members that this evaluation was a specific milestone in FWB and invited them to indicate whether they considered the report was factually accurate, balanced and met with the terms of the commission.
Members expressed a broad range of views including:
In addressing the key questions the consensus appeared to be:
Laura then rejoined the meeting and the following preliminary observations were offered on particular aspects of the report:
Conclusion
The final draft report would be circulated as soon as it became available. All members were encouraged to provide written comments as soon as they were able.
Teresa introduced this topic. Currently, limited work is being taken forward in this area. FSA’s main actions have been in contribution to the Keep Well This Winter (KWTW) campaign, and Maureen mentioned that WLGA have yet to progress action in the Healthy Ageing action plan on meals on wheels but that the WAG was defining next years programme budgets so they could start work on issues being raised.
Specific issues that were raised included the importance of maintaining independent living in the community – evidence of older people often entering hospitals malnourished, and what happens to them when they leave? Lindsey mentioned the Welsh Consumer Council (WCC) food poverty report which highlighted food poverty is a real issue for vulnerable / elderly groups and more needs to be done in this area. There was some discussion as to whether clinical malnutrition tools could be transposed into the community.
Lindsey advised that there is the intention within the WCC to conduct follow-up work in this area, which is being backed by Age Concern. Particular aspects mentioned included the need to highlight rural aspects and the importance of local shops working together to forge improvement. There is too much focus on larger supermarkets offering healthier options when encouragement is needed for businesses to offer better choice and delivery and so on. Also, food mapping needs to be brought down to community level. Lindsey was also aware that local authorities are pushing intergenerational work quite hard.
Members discussed how addressing the needs of older people could be taken forward, and it was agreed that scoping work is required. One proposal was to hold a further meeting and invite a series of speakers to present on relevant issues to allow the group to formulate a strategy linked to the NDNS data from over 65’s free living. This work must also link with the work Linda Davies is taking forward.
Back to topThe Welsh Assembly Government intends that, from 2008, there exists in Wales:
A series of consultation exercises has been launched as part of the Wales 2008 review. Consultation packs containing the proposals of the Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills for revised national curriculum subject. Orders have been sent out to schools and interested organisations. Parallel consultations have also been launched on:
These proposals support the Government’s aims to ensure that the new school curriculum, assessment and qualifications arrangements will promote an approach that is more learner-centred and skills-focussed and that builds on the Foundation Phase and links effectively with the 14–19 Learning Pathways programme. The revised subject Orders and the frameworks for personal and social education and careers and the world of work should help deliver the Government’s wider aims, including the promotion of:
The Minister would like the curriculum to be more learner focused and therefore the schools need to have increased flexibility to fit around their specific learners. More skills focus is also needed across the curriculum as the 2002 showed it was too content heavy. Anne identified four skills which are to be highlighted across the curriculum: developing thinking, developing communication, developing ICT and developing numbers. These will be combined with problem solving, managing our learning and performance, and working with others to tie all the details together across the 3-19 ages.
The summary document can be downloaded as a pdf file from the (External)
Welsh Assembly Government website
.
David Smith asked Anne about the statutory requirements and she advised that Design and Technology is compulsory for 7-14 year olds. Anne also stated that the Personal and Social Education framework will contain a whole school approach to food and health and that while it will be designed as a whole package that there are no plans to change the national curriculum order and subjects at this time. She continued by saying that specific food and fitness guidance will also be provided and that the Appetite for Life Strategy will fit into the Food and Fitness Implementation plan.
Back to topIn light of the information received on the Curriculum review, Phil Morgan asked members what the sub-group would like to do in response to WAG consultation, and if they would like another meeting with or without DELLS presence. Phil and Sarah Rowles agreed that they would lead on a draft response but would set aside a date in March in case it was required.
Back to topThe Chair proposed the date for the next meeting to be Monday 26 March 2007. Members will report back at a later date to confirm their availability.
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