Agenda and minutes

Contact: Ben Smith, Tel. 01832 742113 Email  ben.smith@northnorthants.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

9.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

10.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

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

 

No declarations were received.

 

11.

Minutes of the Meeting Held On 30 June 2021

Minutes:

RESOLVED that: 

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021 are a true and accurate record of the meeting, subject to corrections to the spelling of the names Cllr Philip Irwin and Carol Berrevoets.

12.

Update to Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 130 KB

Minutes:

Further to consideration of the terms of reference for Executive Advisory Panels as a whole at the first meeting of this Panel, Cathi Hadley – Executive Director for Children’s Services introduced additional specific wording in relation to the education, Skills and Employment area of activity, as follows:-

 

Education, Skills and Employment – Proposed Addition to the General Terms of Reference

 

The purpose of the EAP is to consider and review any reports on the forward plan for Executive. The Panel will also be kept up to date and informed of any significant government policy changes which impacts on service delivery and any changes to service provision in LSE. A forward plan will be developed to ensure that the Panel have a future plan of items. The forward plan will be reviewed at all Panels.

Ben confirmed policy development in the Constitution.

 

AGREED:

 

That the additional wording above be added to the terms of reference for the Education, Skills and Employment Executive Advisory Panel.

13.

Forward Plan of Executive Items

Minutes:

Members considered the latest Executive forward plan of items, dated from 1 July to 31 October, specifically items relating to Children’s Services.

 

AGREED:

 

That the forward plan of items be noted.

14.

Forward List of Items for Education, Skills and Employment EAP pdf icon PDF 374 KB

Minutes:

Members considered the latest forward list of items for the Panel.

 

The Chair informed Cllr Maxwell that he would respond to a question she had raised on how many children were home tutored outside of the meeting.

 

In response to a further question on how many schools were in special measures, the Executive Director informed Cllr Maxwell that a report on school effectiveness would be brought to the Panel in September 2021, which would cover that subject area.

 

AGREED:

 

That the forward list of Panel items be noted.

 

15.

Variation to the admission arrangements for maintained schools for 2021/22 and 2022/23

Minutes:

The Executive Director introduced  a report on admission arrangements that would be considered by the Executive on 5 August 2021, the purpose of which was to explain why the School Admission arrangements must be varied to comply with the new mandatory requirements of the new School Admissions Code (the Code) from September 2021, and to ask the Executive to vary the admission arrangements for its schools.

 

The Chair informed Panel members that he very much welcomed their views on this and future Executive reports that would be brought to them for consideration in the meetings ahead.

 

Arising from discussion the following principal points were noted:

 

      i.        The effective date of September 2021 for the new admission arrangements would not have any immediate impact on schools or carers as they were all used to working to an admissions code. All interested parties were aware of the requirements and had received sufficient notice;

 

    ii.        The Panel offered its support to the Chair, for it to be a sounding board for any further amendments that may be required to the School Admissions Code in future, noting the delegated powers that were proposed to be given to him;

 

   iii.        The reference in the report to children from abroad was in relation to children in state care in other countries; it was clarified this did not relate to refugees;

 

   iv.        A query regarding the provision of support to children who studied English as a second language would be responded to Cllr Maxwell outside of the meeting, noting it did not directly relate to the item on the agenda.

 

AGREED:

 

That the report be noted.

16.

Exclusion of the press and public

Minutes:

It was noted that item 9 on the agenda was no longer considered to be exempt and that exclusion of the press and public was no longer required.

17.

Two Form of Entry Primary School, Stanton Cross Sustainable Urban Development pdf icon PDF 263 KB

PLEASE NOTE:- This report is now available to the public and is no longer restricted.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Executive Director introduced a report, the purpose of which was to seek approval from the Executive of Section 106 expenditure of £9.66 million to fund the new two form of entry primary school, located at Stanton Cross, Wellingborough.

 

Arising from discussion the following principal points were noted:-

 

      i.        It was queried whether in choosing an academy sponsor for the primary school, whether this allowed any body to seek to run a school, under Free School regulations. The Director undertook to respond outside of the meeting but also confirmed that any final decision would lie with central government’s Department for Education;

 

     ii.        The estimated number of pupils calculated as attending the school in future years was undertaken using the Section 106 process;

 

    iii.        The admissions process would not just be accessible to children of Stanton Cross;

 

   iv.        Capital funders would ensure compliance of build construction going forward which had gone through a Design and Build process, meaning that the contractor bore the risk should the cost of building works rise above the £9.6m funding available for the school to be open by the required date of 1 Sept 2022.

 

AGREED:

 

That the report be noted.

18.

Close of Meeting

Minutes:

The Chair thanked members and officers for their attendance, and closed the meeting.