Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Ian Jelley and Lee Wilkes.

RESOLVED that: 

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 May 2022 be approved as correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair invited those members who wished to do so to declare any interests in respect of items on the agenda.

No interests were declared.

At the Chairman’s invitation the Head of School Effectiveness presented a report which gave an update on the amalgamation of Tennyson Road Infant School and Alfred Street Junior School.  This was listed as item 4 on the agenda.

It was noted that the report provided a summary of the initial consultation outcomes undertaken between 1^st March 2022 and 29^th April 2022. The comments and concerns raised through this process had been taken into account in developing the recommendations set out in the report, that would be presented shortly to the Executive.

The initial consultation had received 167 responses, predominantly made up of local residents, parents/carers/guardians, and school staff. Members noted that nearly 75% of respondents either strongly agreed or tended to agree with the schools amalgamating.

In answer to queries on the report the following was confirmed:

     i)        Decisions on which DFE number to keep could only be made after the Executive had made a decision on whether to proceed further.

    ii)        In noting that the decision by the Executive would be made close to the beginning of the new school year, the Head of School Effectiveness would ensure future implications were appropriately evaluated for the schools.

   iii)        All HR processes would be followed to ensure the Headteachers received the appropriate advice they required.

Having considered the consultation outcomes and the feedback provided by the Head of School Effectiveness, members of the Panel were supportive of moving to the next stages of the process of amalgamating the schools.

RESOLVED that: 

a)    The Executive be informed that the Executive Advisory Panel supports approval of the publication of a Statutory Notice proposing the amalgamation of Tennyson Road Infant School and Alfred Street Junior School in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006;

b)    The Executive Advisory Panel receive a further report following the formal consultation in respect of further recommendations regarding the amalgamation of the Schools.

At the Chairman’s invitation the Family Hubs Co-ordinator provided a presentation providing an update on Family Hubs and Start for Life measures to ensure that families had the access to services and the support that they needed.

Arising from the presentation and discussion the following points were noted:

     i)        There were six key Start for Life action areas:  A seamless support for families, a welcoming hub for families, Information available when needed, an empowered Start for Life workforce, continually improve the service and a leadership for change;

    ii)        Effective data sharing was vital for the work to continue and improve;

   iii)        Prevention and early help were linked to the Integrated Care Systems.  It was about enabling people to live active lives and a personalised approach with partners to provide a team around a family.  Many children accessed services, but not all children’s needs were yet identified;

   iv)        An Early Childhood Services and Extended Early Help Maturity Matrix had been completed with the aim of developing an action plan based on this;

    v)        Future work would be informed by various national frameworks and policy documents including the Early Childhood Services Report which was concerned with how communities supported each other and how the partnership supported them;

   vi)        A review of commissioning and partnership arrangements would be considered to ensure there was no duplication of anything that had already happened.  Engagement with partners had begun and a new Board had been set up with regard to the Early Help Strategy. Some of the pathways would be implemented from January 2023 with a view to what it meant for children and families.  These would be considered for the long term to ensure they were sustainable;

  vii)        A seamless thread was the aim to ensure all was linked and it was an uncomplicated system to access, with outcomes and outcome measures designed to be able to see how provision impacted on parents and partners;

viii)        The system would be linked to ensure it was offered to families locally and the work reviewed after 6-12 months to see how it was going;

In answer to queries on the update the following was confirmed:

• The hubs would be situated where they were needed.  It was vital to map services to ensure they were fair and equitable and placed in the correct place;
• The provision was for those aged 0-19years.  If individuals had a special educational need however, it was increased to 25 years.

RESOLVED that: 

The presentation be noted and the work of Family Hubs be supported.

RESOLVED that: 

The latest Executive Forward Plan be noted.

RESOLVED that: 

The following briefings be added to the forward list of items for the Panel:-

     i)        School Exclusion Policies and Exclusions;

    ii)        Children’s Mental Health following the Covid pandemic;

   iii)        Foster Care.

There being no urgent or exempt items, the Chair thanked members and officers for their attendance, and closed the meeting.