Agenda and minutes

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 10^th March, 2010 be approved as a correct record.

Sue Budby, report author

Further to Minute No. 110 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services held on 20th January, 2010, consideration was given to a report presented by Sue Budby, Education Co-ordinator for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Schools, concerning the current situation with the ABLE Rotherham Project. The report contained details of the proposal to build a version of the ABLE Project on the site of Swinton Community School - A Maths and Computing College and be managed by the School.

Swinton Community School, had the support of the Governing Body and were aware that the project would need to be staffed and maintained and they confirmed that this would be managed from within the school and the school budget.  Running costs would need to be covered by sale of produce/training places as there was no additional funding to support this aspect.  The project would be designed to have minimal running costs.

The students in the Autism Unit at Swinton were happy to donate photovoltaics (PV) won from British Gas if there were reciprocal benefits for the Unit.  It was intended to build a “mini system” within the Unit’s existing greenhouse and refurbish the raised beds, as part of the project development, for use by the unit.  The school would also use the raised beds for alternative curriculum activities, bringing the current horticulture provision back on to the school site.  Wormeries would be included in both areas and this would enable the school to reduce the £6,000 per year they spent on waste disposal, 30% of which was food waste from the kitchen. 

Swinton confirmed that they would like to develop the project on site and create a structure which could move with the future building plans.  For security reasons the project would be located in an enclosed area within the school building, in the inner courtyard, it was likely that a build in this area would require planning permission.

The Council had received a “Back on Track” grant from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to fund the capital costs of this project.  The staffing and operating costs would be managed from within the School and school budget. A bid would also be submitted to the Coalfield Regeneration Trust for a grant to finance the additional revenue costs.

Discussion ensued on the enterprise and business opportunity for this project to flourish and need for the Steering Group to be informed of developments prior to the move towards seeking planning permission.

Resolved:-  (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the ABLE Rotherham Project, as now reported, be supported in principle and the proposed development on the site of Swinton Community School - A Maths and Computing College be noted.

(Councillor S. Wright declared a personal interest in this item on the basis that he was a Trustee of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust)

Aileen Chambers, report author

Consideration was given to a report presented by Aileen Chambers, Child Care Sustainability Manager, which sought approval on the process for ensuring quality provision in Nursery Education.

One hundred and twenty two providers delivered early education in Rotherham, 39% of which were private, voluntary or independent (PVI) organisations who were contracted on an annual basis. 

Improving and maintaining high quality early education was a key propriety to ensure high outcomes for children.  The current contract with private, voluntary or independent providers contained expectations for the level of delivery and the process to be followed if expected delivery levels were not being met.

The current position and processes that have been developed dealt with providers who consistently failed to meet required levels of quality.

An extensive range of support was provided to all early education providers in order to improve and maintain high levels of early education delivery, however, despite this a small number of providers remained unable to sustain an acceptable level of delivery.

The draft Code of Practice would come into force in September, 2010 and would provide more clarity on the distribution of early education funding.

Discussion ensued on the need to safeguard children, definition of corporal punishment, categorisation of “good” standards of care, commitment by providers to the Common Assessment Framework and the need to follow up persistent non-attendance.

Reference was also made to the appeals procedure and the reasons for the complaint being considered at Stage 3 by the Department of Children, Schools and Families.

Resolved;-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)  That the implementation of the strategy relating to ensuring quality provision be approved.

(3)  That a further report be submitted to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services once the new Code of Practice comes into force in September, 2010.

David Hill, report author

Consideration was given to a report presented by David Hill, School Organisation, Planning and Development Manager, concerning the admission arrangements which would apply for school admission in the 2011/2012 academic year which were considered by Governing Bodies during the Autumn Term, 2009.

The report summarised the issues which had arisen as a result of the annual consultation exercise with and between schools, other local authorities and with parents, which were set out in detail as part of the report. It was noted that all admission authorities must determine their arrangements by 15th April, 2010.

Discussion took place on the proposed changes to the ‘In – Year Fair Access’ protocol applying to community and controlled schools.

Resolved:-  (1) That the report received and its contents noted.

(2) That the proposed admission numbers contained within Annex 1 to the report submitted for community and controlled schools be confirmed for the 2011/2012 academic year, subject to the clarifications included at Annex 2 to the report submitted.

(3) That the proposed admissions criteria for community and controlled schools for the 2011/2012 academic year, be approved and adopted.

(4) That the proposed changes to the length of time the ‘Waiting List’ operates, as detailed below, be noted:-

(i)      Primary Schools – waiting list in operation for the whole of the academic year;

(ii)      Secondary Schools – waiting list in operation for the whole of the Autumn Term (in accordance with guidelines issued by the Department of Children, Schools and Families).

(5) That the changes relating to voluntary aided schools’ admissions criteria, as outlined at Annex 2 to the report submitted,  be noted.

(6) That the appropriate notice be published in respect of the proposed admission numbers for the schools named in Annex 2 to the report submitted, where the admission number will be less than that indicated by the current net capacity calculation.

(7) That the change to the co-ordinated schemes for Primary and Secondary preferences, which is extended to in-year admissions, be confirmed.

(8) That the revised ‘In – Year Fair Access Protocol’, as detailed in the report now submitted, be approved.

(9) That a copy of this report be published on the Council’s website.

Alison Leone and Angela Milton, report authors

Consideration was given to a report presented by Alison Leone, Principal Officer – Student and Business Support, which set out how under the Local Authority (Post-Compulsory Education Awards) Regulations, 2000, Local Authorities were required to make an annual determination on exercising powers to make financial awards to new Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) students.

In parallel with the removal of the power to make discretionary awards, funding was withdrawn from the then Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) from 1999-2000.

From that date, the Local Authority determined not to make any new awards. New funding was available to students from a new Standards Fund (now Learning and Skills Council allocated grant) in the form of Learner Support Funds. Also, since September, 2004, the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) had been available to FE learners.

Authorities were, however, still required to make an annual determination for each financial year in regard to the revised power conferred in 1998. They have three main choices under the regulations:-

·              To determine not to take up the power in any circumstances and not make any provision for considering applications.

·              To decide to exercise the power only in respect of certain groups or categories of student.

·              To decide to exercise the power generally and consider applications from all students - still in accordance with its policies on eligibility.

The Authority had to date determined each year not to make any provision.

Discussion ensued on the signposting expertise within Children and Young People’s Services that existed despite the responsibility having been taken away from the Local Authority.

Resolved:-   That the continuation of the current policy be approved.

David Light, report author

Consideration was given to a report presented by Catharine Kinsella, Senior Director Schools and Lifelong Learning, which set out how new forms of school leadership and governance were increasingly important in education nationally.  Several were being driven explicitly by government policy, especially Academies and Trusts in the Secondary phase. Others were a response to ensure the supply of good school leaders, prompting, for example, an increase in the number of Head Teachers leading more than one school particularly in the Primary phase, in rural communities and in the Faith sector.

It was essential that any form of school leadership and governance was determined by the needs of the particular school and its community not expedience or external policy. Rotherham currently had one school federation at Canklow Woods Primary School and Whiston Worrygoose Junior and Infant School led by an Executive Head Teacher. The federation was a response by the Local Authority (LA) to the systematic and sustained underperformance of Canklow Woods Primary School and had supported a transformation of the performance profile of the school at KS2 in 2008 and 2009 while the excellent outcomes at Whiston have been sustained. The federation was commended in Canklow’s recent Ofsted inspection, where its strong improvement was recognised.

Other Rotherham schools were now actively exploring federal solutions both at their own initiative and at the recommendation of the Local Authority. Such arrangements were likely to become a permanent and growing feature of the local school system and necessitated a planned response from the Local Authority if they were to be supported successfully.

Discussion ensued on essential needs of schools and their communities and the exploration of federal solutions also being considered by Thrybergh Fullerton and Trinity Croft and Ferham and Thornhill schools.

It was suggested that in order to make this responsibility more effective training should be made available to all Governing Bodies.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)  That the implications for the local school system of the increasing introduction of federations be noted.

(3)  That further reports on the impact of federations on school performance be submitted to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services in due course.

(4)  That reports be presented to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services to approve any proposed new federations.

Will Ryan, report author

Consideration was given to a report presented by Catharine Kinsella, Senior Director Schools and Lifelong Learning, which set out performance in Rotherham primary schools at the end of Key Stage 2, in 2009.

Details were provided on the positive and concerning features of performance, the effectiveness of the School Effectiveness Service, priorities for improvement and development activities.

Resolved:-  That the contents of the report be noted.

Resolved:- That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Sue Wilson, Performance, Information and Quality Manager, which set how the current three year contracts for Rotherham Grid for Learning (RGFL) and Rotherham Learning Portal (RLP) would expire on 31st July, 2010.   The contract had been subject to re-negotiation for a further term with RBT, taking into account both BSF and Digital Region in Rotherham.

The current Rotherham Grid for Learning and Learning Portal provided Rotherham schools with a number of services including email, Internet and Intranet access, security and content filtering, connectivity to YHGfL and SuperJANET, the National Educational Network and secure connectivity to the Council’s network.

A comprehensive six month procurement exercise had been conducted in partnership with RBT comparing a number of suppliers to drive down supplier costs.  This exercise had been undertaken to renew these contracts for an additional three years, taking the renewed contract to 31st July, 2013.  The procurement involved schools for scoping and requirements gathering, supplier and solution evaluations and technical direction.

Discussion ensued on the proposed new services, the pricing model for the cost of the services, proposed increase to individual schools and the benefits for all schools to sign up.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received.

(2)  That approval be given to the contract with RBT to be in place for a further three years.