Agenda item

The Director of Community & Children’s Services to be heard.

Members received a verbal update from the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the City’s Family of Schools.

All the City’s Family of Schools had now reopened. Overall, the return had been positive with staff and pupils excited to return. The recovery curriculum was both broad and balanced, with extra resources directed to wellbeing and behaviour. There had been an extraordinary effort from staff and teachers to return in a safe and timely manner. Frontline workers had been under a lot of pressure and the Board noted its huge thanks to all those who had been working both on the return to school and throughout the pandemic.

Attendance rates were close to normal although there had been a slight decline in recent weeks with some students and staff self-isolating.

Dining facilities in some schools remained an issue.

Members discussed flu vaccinations noting that teachers did not fall into a priority group unless they also fell into a different category (e.g. those with long-term health conditions such as asthma). There was no COLAT budget to provide flu jabs for teachers. It would be up to each individual academy if this was something they wished to explore. As the City of London independent schools were formally part of the City of London Corporation, those employed by them would qualify for the City’s flu jab scheme. The same benefit could not be readily extended to the academies within COLAT as they were a separate entity. The Chamberlain advised that to fund such an activity would likely need the formal approval of Resource Allocation Sub-Committee. On recommendation from the Chair, the Board agreed to seek informal soundings on the matter.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.