Agenda item

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members considered an Education Activities Update report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services and the following points were made.

·         A Member welcomed the activity around mental health outlined within the report and noted that this was an increasingly pressing issue for the City’s independent schools, and in the City of London School in particular. Another Member concurred, noting that the City of London School for Girls had recently adopted a Suicide Policy. In his view, the issue of mental health in schools would only become more pressing and therefore the City should aim to be ahead of the curve. Following further discussion, Members agreed that mental health should be approached in a unified way across the whole Family of City Schools, and to include mental health on its outstanding actions list, and to review it in depth at the Board’s January 2017 Away Day.

·         The Director of Community and Children’s Services noted that mental health was a safeguarding issue and was therefore tracked at officer level by the City’s Safeguarding Board. Nevertheless, he recognised the pressures placed on schools by mental health given the reduced resources available to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and reassured Members that the issue was being further reviewed by the Association of Directors of Community and Children’s Services.

·         The Strategic Education and Skills Director noted that mental health was an issue where the whole spectrum of a school community – students, parents, staff and governors had to be involved. She added that Her Majesty’s Inspectors had made clear that schools were expected to deliver balanced curricula that safeguarded pupils’ mental health.

·         The Chairman summarised discussion on the issue, noting that the Board was clear that the City Schools needed to do more to address the emerging issue of mental health; mental health should be reviewed at the January 2018 Away Day with a view to allocating it as a strategic objective with associated budget; and a pan-City School approach should be formulated and brought back to the Board for consideration.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.