Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Judi Ellis.

The Chairman was pleased to welcome a number of new committee members and offered his thanks to Members and Co-opted Members who had now left the Education PDS Committee.

Report CSD14081

The Committee considered a report outlining Co-opted Membership appointments to the Education PDS Committee for 2014/15.

RESOLVED that:

1)  The following Parent Governor Representative appointments be made to the Education PDS Committee for 2014/15 with voting rights:

·  Mrs Mylene Williams, Primary Parent Governor

·  Mr Tony Wright-Jones, Secondary Parent Governor

·  Mr Darren Jenkins, Special School Parent Governor

2)  Mrs Mary Capon representing the Church of England and Mrs Joan McConnell representing the Roman Catholic Church be appointed as Co-opted Members to the Education PDS Committee for 2014/15 with voting rights;

3)  The following Education PDS Co-opted Membership appointments be made to the Education PDS Committee for 2014/15 without voting rights:

·  Mrs Jo Brinkley as Head Teacher Representative

·  Mrs Alison Regester as Pre-School Settings Representative

·  Mr Adil Ghani as Young Peoples Representative

Councillor Teresa Ball declared that she was a Governor at Bromley Adult Education College and that she was employed by the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY).

Councillor Nicholas Bennett JP declared that he was a Governor at Bromley College and at Princes Plain Primary School.

Councillor Mary Cooke declared that she was the Chair of Governors at Blenheim Primary School.

Councillor Alexa Michael declared that she was a Governor at Bromley Adult Education College representing the Local Authority and that she lived near the proposed permanent site of Harris Primary Academy Shortlands.

Councillor Keith Onslow declared that he had a grandson attending Pickhurst Infant Academy.

Councillor Neil Reddin declared that he was a Governor at St Olave’s School, that he had children who attended Warren Road Primary School and that his wife was a Governor at two primary schools in the Borough. 

Mrs Jo Brinkley, Head Teacher representative, declared that she was the Head Teacher of Hayes Primary School and the Acting Head Teacher of St Mary Cray Primary School.

Mrs Mary Capon, Church representative, declared that she was an employee of the Aquinas Trustand that she had a daughter attending St James Primary School.

Mrs Joan McConnell, Church representative, declared that she was a Governor at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.

Mr Darren Jenkins, Parent Governor representative, declared that he was a Governor at Riverside School and Wickham Common Primary School.

Mrs Alison Regester, Pre-School Settings and Early Years representative, declared that she ran a private day nursery in the Borough. 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th March 2014 be agreed and that matters outstanding be noted.

No questions had been received.

Six oral questions were received from Rosalind Luff, Chair – Parent Bromley Voice and David Strawson and are attached at Appendix A.

Four written questions were received from Malcolm Wood, on behalf of Bromley Mencap and Roger Vincent-Townend, Bromley Chain and are attached at Appendix B.

The Portfolio Holder for Education gave an update to Members on work being undertaken across the Education Portfolio.

Work continued to support the conversion of the Grovelands and Kingswood Pupil Referral Units to academy status as the Bromley Alternative Provision Academy from September 2014, with Bromley College of Further and Higher Education as the sponsor.  The interim Executive Board would shortly be replaced by a new Governing Body for the academy.

The need to create additional primary and secondary school places in the Borough had been identified as a priority, and a number of free schools were seeking to establish in the Borough.  This included three proposed secondary provisions in the Bromley, Chislehurst and Beckenham areas, and three proposed primary provisions in the Beckenham and Shortlands areas.  Other proposed free school provisions were seeking to establish in neighbouring boroughs which could benefit a number of Bromley children.  Of the free schools opening in September 2014, the Bromley Bilingual School, re-named ‘La Fontaine Academy’, would be accommodated at the Educational Development Centre, Bromley Common for its first year of operation.  The Harris Primary Academy Shortlands would be accommodated at 1 Westmoreland Road, Bromley for its first year of operation before moving to its permanent site at Kingswood Road, Shortlands from September 2015.

Bromley Youth Music Trust was currently seeking sponsorship as a music hub and to further develop outreach programmes in Bromley schools, as well as working to assist schools in delivering the music element of the Primary curriculum.  Bromley Youth Music Trust’s current lease would expire in 2017, and the Portfolio Holder assured Members that Bromley Youth Music Trust would continue to be accommodated within the Borough.

An increased emphasis had been placed on the recruitment and training of Local Authority Governors, and Local Authority Officers had recently been approached to consider volunteering as Local Authority Governors in Bromley schools.  A number of academy schools were now seeking to appoint Local Authority Governors, which would support closer working links between academy schools and the Local Authority.

The attainment of Looked After Children would be a key priority for the Education Portfolio for 2014/15.  It was important to ensure that Looked After Children were encouraged to access a range of education and extra curricular provision, as well as to aspire to further and higher education opportunities. 

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder update be noted.

The Education Portfolio Holder to present scheduled reports for pre-decision scrutiny on matters where he is minded to make decisions.

Report ED15068

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report requesting the extension of the current contracting arrangements that the Local Authority had in place with Bromley Healthcare CIC for speech and language therapy and occupational therapy for a period of one academic year from 1^st September 2014 to 31^st July 2015.

The Local Authority had, for a number of years, commissioned Bromley Healthcare CIC to provide an element of the speech and language therapy and occupational therapy provision for pupils in special schools and schools with unit provision.  The main contract for this therapy was held by Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group with the Local Authority holding a separate, smaller value contract.  The existing Local Authority contract with Bromley Healthcare would expire on 31^st August 2014, having previously been awarded by contract extension and exemption.  Following scrutiny by Education PDS Committee on 12^th November 2014, the Portfolio Holder for Education agreed to pass the Local Authority funding directly to the relevant schools from 1^st September 2014 to enable them to commission services directly.  However, following changes to funding legislation for schools, it had since been identified that further detailed work was required to establish the new funding model before changes could be implemented.  It was therefore proposed to extend the current contract with Bromley Healthcare CIC for a period of one academic year from 1^st September 2014 to 31^st July 2015, allowing a further period for this detailed work to be undertaken.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to agree to a waiver of Financial Regulations to enable a new contract for speech and language therapy and occupational therapy to be put in place for a period of one academic year from 1^st September 2014 to 31^st July 2015.

Report ES14062

The Committee considered a report outlining the outcome of the Transport Gateway review.

The Transport Gateway review focused on transport activities undertaken or commissioned by Education, Care and Health Services Department, predominantly comprising Passenger Transport Services for adults and the Special Educational Needs Transport team for children.  The existing Passenger Transport Framework Agreement, utilised by Bromley for the delivery of transport was due to expire in August 2015, and the vehicle hire agreement for the delivery of Passenger Transport Services was due to expire in November 2015.  There was potential to combine delivery of these two services after August 2015 to identify if significant cost savings could be realised by contracting either element or through delivering these services in an alternate way. 

As part of the review, these transport services had been soft market tested, which included discussions with service managers, and permission was being sought to formally go to market to determine the best value option for delivery of these services into the future.  The proposed contracts had a potential value of £5.8m per annum and therefore there was a requirement to follow European Union public procurement regulations with the placement of a Contract Notice advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union seeking expressions of interest from organisations wishing to tender.

RESOLVED that the Executive be recommended to approve the tendering of contracts for the provision of transport services for adults and children as outlined in Paragraphs 3.28 - 3.30 of Report ES14062, and to agree to the placement of any required Notice of Advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union, seeking expressions of interest from organisations wishing to tender.

Report ED15060

The Committee considered a report providing an update on the travel training programme for pupils with special educational needs, and seeking the agreement of the Council’s Executive to continue the travel training programme for a period of three years and to exempt the programme from tendering for a maximum period of three years to allow the existing service provider to continue to deliver the programme, building on the networks formed with parents, schools and key stakeholders over the past year.

The Local Authority had a statutory duty to provide transport assistance to pupils with a statement of special educational needs to access their specialist provision.  Dependent on the level of need and ability, transport assistance was provided in a range of vehicles, with a limited number of pupils using public transport.  Currently 825 pupils were eligible to receive transport assistance. 

In April 2013, the Council’s Executive approved invest to save funding for a travel training programme for a period of one year.  Bexley Accessible Transport was awarded the contract in June 2013, which had a target of enabling 28 pupils to travel independently by the end of the programme.  During the course of the travel training programme, 33 pupils had been trained to travel independently, four pupils had partly passed the training, nine pupils would revisit the training and four pupils had not completed it.  It was proposed that travel training should become an integral part of the ‘menu’ of transport assistance offers into the future.  Following an initial comprehensive assessment of need for each pupil, continuation of transport assistance needs would feature in the regular reviews at the key stages in a pupil’s education timeline and where appropriate, young people would be supported through the travel training programme to gain the skills and confidence to become independent travellers and reduce their dependency on transport assistance provided by the Local Authority.

In considering the report, the Chairman was pleased to note the success of the travel training programme for pupils with special educational needs.

It was proposed to continue the travel training programme for a period of three years with at least 20 pupils trained to travel independently per annum.  A Co-opted Member noted the benefits of the travel training programme to young people and in reducing the costs of transport assistance to Local Authority, and underlined the potential to roll out the travel training programme to a larger number of young people.  The Chairman requested that the Portfolio Holder for Education provide details to all Members of the Education PDS Committee on the maximum number of pupils across the Borough who might be able to benefit from the travel training programme following the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Executive be recommended to:

1)  Consider the outcomes of the Invest to Save Travel Training Initiative that was approved at Executive at its meeting on 3^rd April 2013;

2)  Agree the investment of £60,000 per annum to continue the travel training programme for the next three years;

3)  Agree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report ED15059

The Committee considered a report advising Members of work being undertaken to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities to prepare for adult life, and outlining proposed future developments for young people with special educational needs and disabilities after the Children and Families Act 2014, Part 3 came into force from 1^st September 2014.

In July 2013, the Education Portfolio Holder approved the Local Authority’s amended Statement for Intent which had been developed in collaboration with a range of stakeholders to support young people as they moved towards Post-16 provision and transition, and had a particular focus on further education placements for young people.  To support the delivery of the Statement of Intent, the Local Authority invested £153,835 in an invest to save project which aimed to increase the independence of young people with special educational needs and disabilities before leaving formal education. This funding provided additional resources to deliver a range of initiatives and support for young people, families, providers and services, including the establishment of the ‘Preparing for Adulthood Team’, an increase in further education opportunities available in the Borough, and work to build the confidence of young people and their parents in the post-16 offer in the Borough. 

The number of young people with special educational needs and disabilities and the level of need of these young people was expected to increase in future years, with 305 young people currently due to transition to adult services in the Borough over the next ten years.  In order to ensure that the progress made so far was sustainable in the longer term, it was proposed to continue investment in the programme of works for a further two years as an invest to contain project, with budget adjustments being made at the end of the relevant financial years in the light of savings achieved.

RESOLVED that the Executive be recommended to agree the proposed investment that supports future developments for young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Bromley in order to help contain future budget pressures in adult services.

Report ED15069

The Committee considered the forward rolling work programme for the year ahead based on items scheduled for decision by the Portfolio Holder for Education and items for consideration by the Education PDS Committee.

In considering the work programme for 2014/15, the Chairman requested that a report on Truancy and Missing Children be considered at the meeting of Education PDS Committee on 5^th November 2014.  The Chairman also requested that reports on progress in strategies to target young people classified as being ‘Not in Education, Employment or Training’, Education of Looked After Children, and Home Education be considered at the meeting of Education PDS Committee on 27^th January 2015.

The annual Education Seminar would be held later in 2014, which would give all Members of the Council and Co-opted Members of the Education PDS Committee the opportunity to explore key issues affecting education in the Borough.

A joint meeting with the Care Services PDS Committee exploring child safeguarding would be held on 26^th February 2015, and Councillor Kathy Bance MBE requested that female genital mutilation be included as a child protection issue.

The Chairman proposed that the Education Budget Sub-Committee be reconvened for 2014/15 to consider budgetary matters relating to the Education Portfolio.  This was supported by the Members of the Education PDS Committee and Member nominations were confirmed as Councillors Teresa Ball, Kathy Bance MBE, Nicholas Bennett JP, Alan Collins, Judi Ellis and Neil Reddin.  The draft terms of reference of the Education Budget Sub-Committee were endorsed by Members.

The Chairman highlighted the priority for primary and secondary school place planning and proposed that the School Places Working Group be convened for 2014/15.  This was supported by the Members of the Education PDS Committee and Member nominations were confirmed as Councillor Judi Ellis, any four Conservative Members of the Education PDS Committee and Councillor Kathy Bance MBE.

The Chairman proposed that a joint working group be established with Care Services PDS Committee which looked at the effectiveness of Children’s Centres and the Tackling Troubled Families Programme and would draw on the experience of Members and Co-opted Members of both committees.  The Chairman would raise the suggestion with the Chairman of Care Services PDS Committee and report back to the next meeting.

The Chairman emphasised the importance of ensuring that schools identified as requiring improvement were making satisfactory progress and proposed that a School Improvement Panel be convened for 2014/15.  This was supported by Members of the Education PDS Committee and Member nominations were confirmed as Councillor Mary Cooke, any three Conservative Members of Education PDS Committee, and Councillor Kathy Bance MBE. 

The Chairman also proposed that a Progress of Academy Status Panel be convened for 2014/15 which would support schools in progressing towards academy status.  This was supported by Members of the Education PDS Committee and Member nominations were confirmed as Councillor Keith Onslow (or in his absence, Councillor Alexa Michael), the Portfolio Holder for Education, the Chairman of Education PDS Committee, the Vice-Chairman of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Chairman to move that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it was likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The Committee considered the report and supported the recommendations.