Agenda item

EDUCATION PORTFOLIO PLAN

Minutes:

Report ED17010

 

The Portfolio Holder for Education presented the draft portfolio priorities and aims for the 2016/17 academic year with priority outcomes reflecting the Building a Better Bromley vision for the children and young people within the Borough.  The Plan also set out the direction of travel for education within the Borough.

 

In considering Priority 3, aim 3f, a Member asked the Portfolio Holder to confirm whether any primary maintained schools would be forced to convert to academy status, either through the principal of ‘critical mass’ or for any other reason.  In response the Portfolio Holder confirmed that he did not foresee any schools within the Borough being forced to convert as the local authority was seeking to work and communicate with schools in order to achieve 100% voluntary conversion.  In response to a question concerning the position of the department in relation to special schools, the Portfolio Holder reported that one such school had already converted.  The Portfolio Holder viewed special schools slightly differently to mainstream schools as it was essential to ensure that all the necessary support mechanisms were in place prior to the schools embarking on academy status.  In response to a question of what would happen in the event that schools did not convert, the Director of Education, acknowledging that there was currently a period of changing Government policy, highlighted that the Education White Paper published by the previous Conservative Government had indicated that once a local authority had reached tipping point schools would be forced to convert as part of a multi academy trust.  The position for special schools was different as these schools worked directly with the Local Authority’s Special Educational Needs department.  It was the intention of the Local Authority to work with all schools to identify the best way forward.

 

In response to a question concerning any learning that LB Bromley could take from the investigation that had been conducted into test results at Harris Academies in Tottenham, the Director of Education confirmed that within Bromley there were robust moderation processes in place to ensure that test results accurately reflected performance.  The Local Authority was in the process of commissioning a new provider for this moderation but the Director was confident that standards of moderation would remain high.  A number of Headteachers within the Borough had indicated that they felt over moderated this Summer but the Director stressed that this robust process should give the Local Authority, parents, pupils and schools confidence in the Bromley results that had been published.

 

In response to a question from the Chairman concerning is thoughts on grammar schools, particularly in the North of the Borough, the Portfolio Holder confirmed that he was broadly supportive of grammar schools and would welcome applications for such schools.  The Portfolio Holder reported that he believed that grammar schools would be well received by a number of residents within the Borough.  In making these comments that Portfolio Holder stressed the need to ensure that the was a range of provision across the Borough that catered to the needs and abilities of all young people in Bromley.  The Portfolio Holder confirmed that he would be providing a response to the Government’s consultation on grammar school provision and emphasised that Members could individually respond online with details of how to respond being provided in the consultation document launched on 12 September 2016.

 

The Pre-School Settings, Early Years and Childcare Representative stressed that Early Years were vitally important in setting early standards as it was important to know the attainment of children at the earliest opportunity.  The Director of Education confirmed that schools undertook an assessment of children entering Reception year and this provided a measure of attainment and identified any special needs that may be exhibited.  The Director also suggested that it was important to monitor the achievement and attainment of those children who received funding for pre-school at 2 years old at it was likely that the families of children eligible for this provision would need more support from the Local Authority and it was essential that this support was provided at the earliest opportunity.

 

The Chairman suggested that as the Committee, in January, would be investigating the help and support provided to underachieving pupils it would assist the Committee’s investigation if information and evidence of interventions used in the first five years of life could be provided.

 

In response to a question surrounding any additional support that could be provided to the Virtual Schools and the Bromley Children’s Project following a reduction in funding, the Portfolio Holder and Director of Education agreed to provide a written response following the meeting.

 

The Director acknowledged, in response to a question concerning the look and make-up of the new School Nursing service,  that the service made a palpable difference however, there had been concerns expressed in relation to the quality and value for money of the service.  The Service would not be stopped however a review had been undertaken into how the Service could be more efficiently run.

 

The Director confirmed that the aim of reducing permanent exclusions in Bromley Primary schools to zero was achievable as there were a number of options that should be pursued by schools prior to permanent exclusion, such as managed moves.  The Portfolio Holder stressed that this aim was about intervention and ensuring that pupils were provided with support and their needs addressed.  The Local Authority needed to work with schools to achieve this aim but in recent years the number of permanent exclusions had increased.  Permanent exclusions could have a devastating effect on a child’s future educational prospects and it was essential that all efforts were made to reduce the instances of this type of exclusion.

 

The Chairman requested that the Committee be provided with a RAG rating of achievement against portfolio priorities.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

1. The Portfolio Holder be recommended to agree the 2016/17 Education Portfolio Plan.

 

2. That the Committee be provided with a Red, Amber Green (‘RAG’) rating for the Portfolio Plan at its next meeting in January 2017.

 

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