Agenda item

Report ED16034

 

The Chairman was pleased to welcome the Director of Education, Mrs Sam Parrett, Principal and CEO of Bromley College, and Mrs Jo Brinkley, CEO and Executive Headteacher of the Spring Partnership Trust to the meeting.  The Committee had before them a report which provided an overview of education and the Education Services Department within the London Borough of Bromley.  The report provided background information and context on the education landscape within Bromley highlighting the key priorities and policies of the teams within the Education Department.  In addition to this, Mrs Parrett had provided to the Committee some background information on Bromley College and Mrs Brinkley had provided a report on the Spring Partnership Trust.

 

The Director of Education and Mrs Parrett also gave comprehensive presentations to the Committee. 

 

Mrs Jane Bailey, Director of Education and Cllr Peter Fortune, Portfolio Holder for Education

 

Following the presentation to the Committee by the Director of Education, a question and answer session was held with the following themes emerging:

 

Statutory Responsibilities of the Local Authority

 

The Director of Education reported that she anticipated that the statutory duties of the Local Authority would reduce however, the Local Authority would retain responsibility for safeguarding.  In relation to this duty all schools had a duty to co-operate with the Local Authority.  The Children’s Safeguarding Board would retain its responsibilities and the Local Authority would be looking at how the system could be strengthened.  Recently a Primary Headteacher and a Secondary Headteacher had joined the Board and it was considered that this would help to develop and enhance relationships moving into the future.

 

The Committee noted that Appendix 3 to the reported provided by the Director of Education was a review of statutory duties and outlined the duties which the Local authority was likely to retain and those that would transfer to other bodies.

 

In terms of developing close co-operation with both academies and the Regional Schools Commissioner, the Director of Education emphasised the importance of working in partnership and developing robust relationships in order to share information.  To this end, good communication would be key.  It was not anticipated that the resolution of any issues that could arise would be driven through statute.

 

The Portfolio Holder emphasised that this was very much an evolving process and that as a leader in the field of academy conversions the London Borough of Bromley would need to be pro-active in feedback back to the Department for Education any policy issues as they arise.

 

Nursery Provision

 

The Director of Education reported that the White Paper did not comment on Early Years provision as its focus was statutory provision however the Local Authority was awaiting the White Paper relating to Early Years.  It was anticipated that any impact for early years would be around funding reforms.

 

In relation to the concerns that had been raised surrounding the proposals for extending nursery provision at a fixed rate, taking no account of the variation in the quality and quantity of facilities, the Director of Education confirmed that the intention was to extend free nursery provision for 3 year olds from 15 hours to 30 hours per week.  The Local Authority shared the concerns of the providers about how this would be delivered and Bromley Council had provided a response to the consultation.  The Director of Education reported that she understood that the providers were responding on their own behalf. 

 

Mrs Regester, representative for Early Years, reported that guidance that had been received indicated that providers would not be compelled to offer the additional 15 hours free provision.  It was possible that, in light of the guidance, a number of providers in the Borough would not offer the additional hours and this could be a particular challenge for Bromley.

 

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Provision

 

The Director for Education highlighted that Bromley was a Pathfinder Local Authority in this area.  As a result of this status a great deal of work had already taken place with parents being fully involved.  There now had to be an emphasis that Education, Care and Health Plans were for those with complex needs who fell within the criteria that the title suggested and this would require a shift in culture.  There was a strong SENCO Forum within the Borough and this was very helpful in enabling learning and the sharing of policy and strategy.  The priority of the Local Authority had to be early intervention, working with SENCOs to ensure that they were able to identify young people that required additional help and support.

 

The Director of Education reported that within the Borough there were approximately 8,000 children with an identified need and of these approximately 1,600 had a statement or health plan.  There were 48 children in specialist out-of-borough provision.  There was a clear focus on keeping as many as possible in borough and this would require ensuring that there was a fit-for-purpose offer for some of the more complex young people residing within the Borough. 

 

In relation to SEN Transport, the Director of Education reported that Officers were continually looking at ways to manage the SEN Transport budget efficiently.  The Portfolio Holder highlighted the importance of ensuring that as many children with EHC plans/statements are educated within the Borough, and in doing so keeping children near their homes and thus keeping transport costs to a minimum. 

 

Faith Schools

 

The Director of Education confirmed that she was aware of the desire of the Catholic Community to have a Catholic secondary school in the Borough.  Any new school would now have to be approved through the new Free School process.  The Chairman noted that it has been indicated that the Government may change the current restriction on the number of pupils which the Church could require to be practising adherents.  This could mean that the Catholic Bishops may review their position on new schools. It was noted that in the successful appeal against planning permission for new homes at the former All Saints School site a commitment was made by the Archdioceses that the proceeds of the sale of the land would be used for Bromley pupils.

 

School Places

 

In relation to ensuring that there was planning for a sufficient number of school places, the Director of Education reported that Officers were working closely with the Education Funding Agency (EFA).  The Education White Paper had made it clear that if Local Authorities failed to established enough school places the Government would intervene however no information had been provided concerning what form any intervention would take.

 

The Portfolio Holder stressed that choice of school place and need for school places were two very different entities and in order to give parents any choice the Local Authority would need to deliver extra school places.  This was a function of the planning system and something that would need to be resolved during the coming year.

 

The Committee noted that the provision of sufficient schools places was a monumental problem for Bromley as a local authority.  It was clear that between 30 and 35 FE would be required by 2023 and it took time to build a school.  If action was not taken soon there would be a serious problem as the Local Authority would be unable to fulfil its statutory duties and could be facing Government intervention.

 

Children in Care

 

The Director of Education confirmed that the Education White Paper sought to strengthen the roles of Corporate Parents and the Virtual Headteacher in order to drive improvements in the educational achievement of children in care. 

 

Miscellaneous Issues

 

In terms of decisions surrounding whether the needs of schools could be partially met by funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) in the way in which Section 106 monies were earmarked, the Portfolio Holder confirmed that no decisions had been reached however, the Education Department was making representations along the lines that the money should be available for this purpose.

 

In relation to attendance, the Director of Education reported that the recent High Court judgement in the Isle of White case regarding term time holidays had not had any impact up until now on requests for such holidays in Bromley’s maintained schools.  The Portfolio Holder stressed that the view of the Local Authority was that the best place for children was in school.

 

In relation to sold services to schools, the Director of Education highlighted that the Local Authority sold very few services to schools: there was a small free school meals checking service, elements of the education welfare service is traded and data packs were sold to a number of schools. 

 

Mrs Sam Parrett, Principal and CEO of Bromley College

 

Following the presentation to the Committee by Mrs Parrett, a question and answer session was held with the following themes emerging:

 

New Free School Academies

 

Mrs Parrett confirmed that if the Bromley Futures Academy was successful in navigating the Free School application process it would provide places for 50 pupils and would open in 2018.

 

The Committee noted that the Bromley Beacon Academy was expected to take girls with social, emotional, and mental health needs, Mrs Parrett confirmed that these pupils were currently schooled within the pupil referral until system and would transfer out of their existing provision.

 

Providing Skills for the Future

 

In response to questions from the Committee, Mrs Parrett reported that labour market information was used to identify the potential skills that employers would require in the future and thus determine the curriculum.  Bromley College was continually reviewing its ability to deliver the necessary skills for the continually evolving labour market.  In this respect the College’s offer was very much market led.  Provision was constantly being reviewed and developed to match the market for jobs and the future requirements of employers.

 

The Committee was informed that 4,000 students attending the College were adults over 25, therefore individuals who were upskilling or retraining.

 

Mrs Parrett explained to the Committee that over the next three years there would be 300,000 new jobs in the construction industry.  As a result of this there was a need to ensure that skills were readily available locally and that potential workers had a good understanding of emerging technologies in the industry with these types of skills being provided by the pan-London Construction Career College.

 

In relation to the proposed Academy at Biggin Hill for Aeronautical, Engineering and Motor Vehicles, Mrs Parrett explained that the Local Authority was now master planning the area.  One residual problem was whether the land would be transferred and at what price however, the College was receiving excellent support from the Local Authority.  One area of uncertainty was whether the financial commitment from the Greater London Authority would remain with the change of London Mayor.

 

SEN Provision

 

The Committee noted that Bromley College provided some excellent provision for SEN students and queried whether this could be expanded in co-operation with the Council in view of the Council’s duties in this area.  In response, Mrs Parrett confirmed that there were priority places for Bromley children however, as the reputation of the College grew this was becoming increasingly difficult.  However, with the planned merger of Greenwich and Bexley Colleges with Bromley College new opportunities may arise.

 

Mrs Jo Brinkley, Executive Headteacher and CEO of Spring Partnership Trust

 

Mrs Brinkley had provided a brief written report which was circulated to the Committee outlining the work of the Spring Partnership Trust.  Mrs Brinkley explained that the Local Authority had a wealth of experience developed over many years.  This experience could reveal a number of opportunities for sold services to schools as it was clear that as a result of the acadamisation agenda there were now a number of emerging business leaders in schools who would benefit from this expertise.  Schools would not want to lose the expertise of local authorities that had been developed over a long period.

 

It was unclear from the Education White Paper how services would be co-ordinated in the future however, there was an opportunity to make the new system work through the Regional Schools Commissioner, Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) and the Local Authority in Bromley acting as a champion of the Government’s education strategies.

 

In response to a question, Mrs Brinkley indicated that it was not clear what the ‘optimum’ number of MATs across Bromley would be.  The whole point of the new system was to introduce diversity and competition.  Mrs Brinkley suggested that parents would want schools to each have an individual identity with any Trust acting as the backbone linking all the schools within its responsibility and providing the overarching culture and values.  Mrs Brinkley stressed the importance of schools reflecting their local community and being unique to their local area.

 

The Chairman thanked the witnesses for the attendance at and input into the Select Committees meeting. A report outlining the findings and recommendations of the Committee would be produced in due course.