Meeting documents

Apologies were received from Paul Irwin and Mark Shaw.

To declare any Personal or Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

There were none.

Minutes of the meeting held on 7^th October 2014 to be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7^th October 2014 were confirmed as a correct record. 

A member asked for clarification as to when the Committee would be receiving data on the results of the new Secondary Transfer test which was introduced last year.  The Chairman reported that she was aware that there had been some confusion because the Committee would be meeting twice in November.  The 11+ results would be presented at the 19^th November meeting and Headteachers and Chairmen of school governing bodies would be invited to attend the meeting to contribute to a number of items on the agenda on that day.

Public Questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in the county to put a question to a Scrutiny Committee about any issue that has an impact on their local community or the county as a whole.

Member of public, who have given prior notice, will be invited to put their question in person.

The Cabinet Member and responsible officers will then be invited to respond. 

Further information and details on how to register can be found through the following link and by then clicking on ‘Public Questions’.

http://democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=788

There were none.

For the chairman of the Committee to provide an update to the Committee on recent scrutiny related activity.

The Chairman reported that she had visited West Wycombe School where she had enjoyed, along with the children, a presentation on wind farms and a talk from an airline pilot.  She had also visited an Early Years Mother and Toddler Singing Group at Disraeli School which was very well attended.

For members of the Committee to update the Committee on any issue they are investigating on behalf of the Committee.

Members had recently visited Bletchley Park where McAffee had an exhibition on Internet Safety.  Members reported that this had been a very productive trip.  The Chairman advised that she had asked McAffee to deliver a session on Internet Safety for all members.

Questions to Cllr David Simmonds, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services, Hillingdon Borough Council and Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People’s Board.

Contributor

Cllr David Simmonds, Hillingdon Borough Council

The Chairman reminded members that Cabinet were considering the Committee’s letter detailing recommendations on the Draft Ofsted Improvement Plan, which was the first product of the Committee’s Inquiry on Improving Children’s Social Care.  To further assist the Committee in their scrutiny of this key topic, the Chairman welcomed Councillor David Simmonds from the London Borough of Hillingdon to the meeting and invited him to introduce himself and give members the benefit of his experience of a recent Ofsted inspection in Hillingdon.

Mr Simmonds explained that he is a Councillor in the London Borough of Hillingdon, which is a Conservative run Council with significant Labour opposition.  He became a councillor in 1998 and at that time, Children’s Services in Hillingdon was in special measures.  Under a new administration Children’s Services was improved and achieved a Good rating from Ofsted with some Outstanding features.  When Ofsted inspected Hillingdon again in 2014, their rating was Satisfactory and the local authority (LA) were advised that they needed to do more in order to regain their Good rating. 

In addition to his role as Cabinet Member at Hillingdon, Mr Simmonds is also Chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Children and Young People Board, which offers support to LAs in difficulties and help to share best practice across the country.  It was important to note that some local authorities were still struggling post-Ofsted despite investing more money in Children’s Services.

All members involved in Children’s Services, including those scrutinising the work of the service, should be familiar with the 2004 Children’s Act and the more recent ‘Working Together’ document which clarifies the LAs duty and responsibilities and clearly outlines the responsibilities of the Director of Children’s Services, Chief Executives and Council Leaders, Chairman of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and Partners.  Members need to consider if their LA is meeting the requirements laid out in ‘Working Together’ – this is a very helpful starting point.

 After a disappointing Ofsted inspection the public will ask ‘what did you know?’, ‘what steps had you taken?’ ‘were you holding partners to account?’ and ‘why did you not spot the early warning signs?’.  When things go wrong people often comment that they didn’t see this coming, but then later on they realise that some partners were flagging issues, but this did not constitute a coherent or complete picture of the situation.

Another big tip for members involved in scrutiny of children’s services was to consider the Annex A document.  This was a set of performance information which Ofsted request from each LA inspected.  This could be a very helpful starting point for members, as it was information that was already available and it should be updated routinely. Another useful source of information would be the minutes of the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), as the LSCB leads an area’s child protection work.

Responses to a poor Ofsted Inspection

Mr Simmonds explained to members that one of the key challenges post-Ofsted was how to craft an appropriate response.  Often  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider the local authority arrangements for supporting school improvement in Buckinghamshire.

Contributors

Mr Mike Appleyard – Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills

Mr Chris Munday – Service Director, Learning, Skills and Prevention

Mr Raza Khan – Chief Executive – Bucks Learning Trust

Mrs Amanda Taylor-Hopkins – Director of Education – Bucks Learning Trust

Mrs Sarah Holding – School Relationship Manager, Learning Skills and Prevention

Papers

A report to consider the Ofsted inspection framework for the Local Authority arrangements for supporting school improvement and to provide an update on the preparations underway to prepare Buckinghamshire County Council for a possible Ofsted Inspection for its arrangements for supporting School Improvement.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Mike Appleyard, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Mr Chris Munday, Service Director, Learning, Skills and Prevention, Mrs Sarah Holding, Schools Relationship Manager and Ms Atifa Sayani, Education Champion to the meeting.  Mr Chris Munday introduced the item explaining that he believed it would be helpful to the Committee to understand the framework used by Ofsted for the inspection of School Improvement, as Bucks was likely to be inspected shortly.  The report set out the preparatory work that was taking place and the Committee might like to consider how it could contribute.

In response to a member’s question, Chris Munday clarified that whilst a number of Bucks schools were now Academies, the local authority(LA) remained responsible for educational standards, in both maintained and Academy schools.  The LA work with the Regional Schools Commissioner if there are concerns about schools and currently Bucks maintained schools were generally performing better than Academies.  Academies were still supported through the Bucks Learning Trust (BLT) and were represented on the BLT Board.  Mrs Sarah Holding commented that there was an expectation that Academies would remain within the Bucks family of schools and Academies had inputted into the School Improvement Strategy.  Academies would be expected to work with the LA and the BLT in delivering School Improvement.

The Chairman invited members’ questions as follows:

How ready is Bucks for an Ofsted inspection and if one happened today, what strengths and weaknesses do you think Ofsted would identify?

I believe if we were inspected today we would receive a mixed review.  On a number of indicators we are very good, for example, in the Primary sector the number of schools which are now Good or Outstanding is above the national average, but in other areas we are not performing as strongly.  I have asked Atifa Sayani to establish a baseline of data across all functions of School Improvement as it has not been inspected for a while.  The framework is divided into 9 aspects and our self-evaluation is a good way of pulling together all our good work and highlighting any areas which need improving.

In terms of strengths, I would highlight school to school support, the fact that School Improvement is no longer so fragmented and that there are clear consistent policies with identifiable outcomes.  Areas for improvement might include looking at Phonics and writing at Key Stage 2 and support to Upper Schools.

I recently sent you a copy of a report on the reform of the middle tier and would like to know your views.  It is hard to scrutinise Academies and Free Schools so how can we scrutinise educational governance and standards going forward?

Our development of the BLT was a way of trying to work with Academies and Free Schools, so it is no the LA going into these schools and this has been positive – the BLT are working with one of the Free Schools for example.

In terms of the middle tier overall, there have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

An update on the implementation of the agreed Select Committee recommendations of the Narrowing the Gap Select Committee report on the attainment gap between socially and economically deprived pupils and their peers in Buckinghamshire. 

Contributors

Mr Mike Appleyard – Cabinet Member for Education and Skills

Mr Chris Munday – Service Director, Learning, Skills and Prevention

Mr Raza Khan – Chief Executive, Bucks Learning Trust

Mrs Amanda Taylor-Hopkins – Director of Education, Bucks Learning Trust

Papers

A report on Narrowing the Gap

The Chairman explained to members that this item was an opportunity for the Committee to receive an update on the implementation of their recommendations which went to Cabinet in the Narrowing the Gap report in March 2014.  It was important that the Committee followed up on the outcomes of their inquiries.  Mr Appleyard, Mr Munday, Mr Khan and Mrs Taylor-Hopkins remained in attendance for this item. Mr Chris Munday, Service Director, Learning, Skills and Prevention explained that work undertaken by the LA and the BLT had been significant in implementing the Committee’s recommendations, although at Secondary level, it was recognised that these recommendations alone might not be enough to narrow the gap.

Michael Gove had introduced a number of changes to exams, which would particularly affect GCSEs – firstly there had been a range of courses which were previously counted as being equivalent to five GCSEs but these would now only be equivalent to one GCSE and secondly, schools could previously use a child’s best result in a GCSE exam for their statistics but now they will have to use the child’s first result.  This change will impact GCSE results nationally.  Mr Appleyard gave an example of one particular school where their best GCSE results demonstrated a 67% pass rate, but based on the first results this would be 49%. This change would be the same for all schools, but members noted that this would make comparisons from one year to the next more difficult.

The Chairman invited members’ questions as follows:

How is work with economically disadvantaged communities progressing, are we really getting in amongst communities now?

Yes we are moving towards this but there is still work to be done.  In order to raise attainment the BLT recognises the need to take a broader approach rather than just relying on Pupil Premium. In addition to focussing on raising standards in all schools across all sectors, we are trying to engage with communities and work more directly with children themselves. Some pilot projects will launch this year. Any initiatives we run need to be effective, economically sustainable and produce positive outcomes for children.  With the Jonathan Page centre we are working closely with the service users in order to understand what they really need.

Is there now a great uptake of Pupil Premium?

Our perception is yes but I have no specific data with me that I can share.  But we do have success stories - in Wycombe at the Matrix Centre, Pupil Premium children in year 6 attended a programme which resulted in 90% of them achieving Level 4 in Writing, 92% achieving Level 4 in Maths and 88% achieving Level 4 in Reading.  A member was pleased to hear this encouraging news and suggested that the children should be tracked through their Secondary Schools to see if the benefits of this intervention were sustained over the longer term.

What approach are you taking to Early Years Pupil Premium for three and four year olds, or even for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider the governance arrangements for Adult Education in Buckinghamshire.

Contributors

Mr Bill-Bendyshe-Brown - Deputy Cabinet Member Education and Skills

Mr Chris Munday – Service Director, Learning, Skills and Prevention

Papers

A report on the proposed governance arrangements from the Adult Learning Service.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Bill Bendyshe-Brown, Deputy Cabinet Member for Education and Skills and Mrs Beth French, Service Manager - Adult Learning to the meeting.  Mr Bendyshe-Brown explained to the Committee that Adult Education had last been inspected by Ofsted in 2008 and had been rated Good and a further Ofsted inspection was expected very soon.  In preparing for the inspection, the management team believed that the governance arrangements for Adult Learning needed strengthening and with this in mind, it was proposed that an Adult Learning Board should be established.

The Board will demonstrate the services commitment to rigorous governance and members of the Board will receive appropriate training in the near future. 

The Chairman invited member’s questions as follows:

Your report indicates that there are no financial issues for Adult Learning at present yet I have heard of some courses having to end half way through, is that correct?

We have to achieve a minimum class size for a course to be financially viable and also to make it a worthwhile experience for those who enrol.    If we meet the minimum class size we will run a course.  If numbers are below minimum and the learners do not agree to a reduced number of weeks, we would have to close it but would refund the full fee for any course closed within the first three weeks and pro rata thereafter.

There is nothing in this report about helping people into higher education or back into employment. How can we ensure that higher education is available to more people?

Much of what we do in Adult Learning is helping students who need basic English and Maths skills or those studying English as a second language.  We also support Apprenticeship programmes.  We help single mums back into learning and sometimes people really lack confidence and it can take several weeks just to persuade them to come through the door. In addition there are Learning for Leisure and Pleasure courses and Learning for Life, which helps older people to socialise in a stimulating environment.  We have 130 venues for classes across the county.

How ready are you for an Ofsted Inspection?

As ready as we can be.  We have our 2013-14 data available and have tried to address the issues which Ofsted raised at the last inspection in October 2008.  A lot will depend on the inspection team.

Can we see your self-assessment?

Yes we would welcome the external challenge.

Do you have plans for a longer term strategy?

We only ever prepare annual plans as we are reliant on Government funding and this has been continually cut.  In 2005/6 we had £2.4million for Skills and this has been reduced to £1.7million.  However we do need to look at the longer term and the funding challenges going forward.

The Chairman commented that it was not appropriate for a member of the Select Committee to sit on the Adult Learning Board because otherwise the Select Committee could not scrutinise the service effectively.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Members will review and plan the Committee’s Work Programme.

Contributors

Mrs Val Letheren – Chairman of the ESCE Select Committee

Mr Michael Carr – Scrutiny Policy Officer

The Committee noted and agreed the updated Work Programme.

To note the next meeting of the Education, Skills and Children’s Services Select Committee on Wednesday 19^th November 2014 at 2pm in Mezzanine Rooms 1 and 2

Wednesday 19^th November 2014 at 2pm in Mezzanine Rooms 1 and 2

To resolve to exclude the press and public as the following item is exempt by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 because it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED
To exclude the press and public as the following item is exempt by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 because it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Of the meeting held on 7^th October 2014 to be confirmed as a correct record.

The confidential minutes of the meeting held on 7^th October were confirmed as a correct record.