Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies.

The following standing declarations were made relating to the other bodies which Members of the Education Board served on.

Deputy John Bennett

Board of Governors City of London Freemen’s School

Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Nigel Challis

Board of Governors of the City of London School for Girls

Board of Governors The City Academy, Hackney

Castle Baynard Educational Foundation & Alderman Samuel Wilson Fund

Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment Educational Foundation

Oxford University Council Integrity Committee

Henry Colthurst

Board of Governors, Mossbourne Community Academy

Board of Mossbourne Federation

Member of Court of the Worshipful Company of Grocers

Revd Dr Martin Dudley

Board of Governors City of London School for Girls

Alderman Peter Estlin

Treasurer, Bridewell Royal Hospital - King Edward's School, Witley

Alderman Jeffrey Evans

Board of Governors City of London Academy – Islington

St Paul’s Chorister Trust

Council of Almoners, Christ’s Hospital

Deputy Catherine McGuinness

Board of Governors The City Academy, Hackney

Castle Baynard Educational Foundation & Alderman Samuel Wilson Fund

United Westminster Schools Foundation

Board of School Governors and Council or Almoners, Christ's Hospital

Barbican Centre Board

Guildhall School Development Fund

Deputy McGuinness noted in relation to item 6 that her daughter was a student at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and had passed through Junior Guildhall as well as playing in the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. Deputy McGuinness also noted she was a trustee of the Epping Forest Centenary Trust.

Virginia Rounding

Board of Governors City of London School for Girls

Board of Governors The City Academy – Hackney

Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Management Committee

Alderman William Russell

Board of Governors City of London School for Girls

Board of Governors of Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Board of Governors Knightsbridge Schools International

Board of Governors Knightsbridge School

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 16 October 2014.

The public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 16 October 2014 were approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Annual Activities and Outcomes Report

The Chairman noted that a report outlining Year-1 activities and outcomes would be submitted to the January meeting of the Board.

Appointment of Members to Governing Bodies

Members of the Board discussed the process of appointment of individuals to governing bodies, noting that a database of names should be maintained and reviewed at least twice a year, and that a pool be opened of candidates coming from business and the Livery in addition to the Court of Common Council.

Livery Schools Link

The Chairman noted that the contingency application to the Policy & Resources Committee had been approved at its meeting on 6 November 2014.

Governor Appointment to the City of London Academy Islington

The Director of Community and Children’s Services noted that he would be informing the City of London Academy Islington that the Reverend Dr Martin Dudley had been nominated by the Court of Common Council to the academy’s board at the Court meeting on 4 December 2014. In response, a member expressed concern at the length in time between the Education Board’s recommendation in October 2014 and the Court of Common Council’s approval in December 2014.

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

The Board received an update report on recent activity in the delivery of the Education Strategy 2013-5.

RECEIVED

Report of the Director of the Museum of London.

The leaflets referred to in Appendix 1 are available on request from the Town Clerk’s Department.

The Education Board received a report of the Director of the Museum of London on education outreach work undertaken by both the Museum of London and its partners in the Learning and Engagement Forum (LEF). She noted that activity undertaken by the museum itself could be broken down into two strands. The first strand was formal outreach activity undertaken through school curricula, and the second was informal engagement through day-to-day courses and lectures.

            The Director went on outline the wider activity of the LEF, a collection of ten cultural organisations maintained in whole or in part by the City of London Corporation that sought to make a marked difference in young peoples’ lives. The ten organisations had a broad mix of skills and specialisms that, collectively, provided a rich cultural offering.

            She then noted that the Museum alone was engaging directly with around 300,000 pupils each year, and had drawn up several work areas with which the City of London Corporation could increase its education portfolio and influence on education throughout London. The first of these was ‘hard education’ on topics such as homophobia, racism and gang culture. The second involved partnership working with the London Metropolitan Archives to draw up a business case for a refreshed Great Fire of London website in time for the anniversary celebrations in 2016, a piece of work whose importance was underlined by the popularity of the current Great Fire of London website which, whilst receiving 1.7m hits per year, was also in need up refreshing and updating. The third strand was the plan to establish a School Visits Fund to provide small grants to London schools to assist them in organising visits to members of the LEF and the City.

            The Director went on to respond to several questions and comments put to

Report of the Director of Creative Learning, Barbican and Guildhall School.

The Board received a presentation from the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on the work of the School. The Principal noted that the School, which had been founded in 1880, had been ranked as the premier institution of its kind for the previous two years and currently had 970 students on its roll.

            He went on to note the School had been made a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in 2006 which meant that it was now in receipt of public funding. Given that the School had no charter, it operated under an instrument provided by the Privy Council which was subject to audit. The last audit had awarded the School degree-awarding powers.

            The Principal went on to state the School’s main aim was to train the most promising actors and musicians, and that the current breakdown in composition was 50:50 between UK national and international students. He added that the School also engaged with musicians under the age of 18 through Junior Guildhall and the Centre for Young Musicians, of which 10% of places were nationally funded. He noted that long term sustainability and cost were an issue, as well as the reputational risk posed by achieving quality assurance at a time when arts organisations as a whole were under pressure to do more with less.

            The Principal then responded to some questions from Members of the Board.

·         It was not possible to offset cost through increased fees as undergraduate fees were subject to a cap, and postgraduate fees were subject to market pressure.

·         There was no conflict between catering to talent and nurturing talent as the School built pathways for both students with existing talent and students with potential. Moreover the School was open to all comers.

·         The Junior Guildhall’s provision of drama was deliberately

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

This report was considered and approved by the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee at its meeting on 13 October 2014.

The Open Spaces Departmental Business Manager introduced a report on the City of London Corporation’s Education Strategy. She gave some context to the adoption of a new Open Spaces Education Strategy, noting that it had been agreed by the Policy and Resources Committee that some savings could be made through the reduction of education provision at Hampstead Heath, the City Gardens and West Ham Park.  

            She went on to note that the new Open Spaces Education Strategy had three aims: to improve partnership working, provide more targeted education, and to deepen the involvement of the Open Spaces Department in the provision of education through providing a strategy for delivery throughout the year instead of the current site-by-site provision. Moreover the adoption of the new Open Spaces Education Strategy was in response to the adoption of the City of London Corporation’s wider Education Strategy and reflected the Open Spaces wider involvement in the Learning & Engagement Forum. She concluded by noting that the scale of planned education provision would be subject to a successful application the City Bridge Trust. In response to a question from the Chairman she confirmed that sports provision had been deliberately excluded from the strategy, though added that this was another area in which the Open Spaces provided significant facilities to local communities.

RECEIVED

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

The Chairman introduced a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the delivery of strategic objective 3 of the Education Strategy, to inspire children through an enriched education and outreach opportunities. The Board went on to discuss how work that was currently being done met the aims of the strategy, and how the strategy could be amended to better address corporate objectives.

·         It would be helpful to have more demographic data to inform improvement.

·         The strategy needed to discuss partnership working.

·         The strategy needed to identify City of London Corporation education assets that could be utilised more strategically, such as playing fields.

·         The strategy should have more emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as well as arts and culture.

·         The Education Board should be mindful that, from a strategic perspective, it was still fact-finding and gaining an understanding of the City Corporation’s education portfolio.

·         The strategy should reinforce the value of the Board’s ability to maintain a holistic overview of the education offer. It should reference the potential for the use of the City Bridge Trust as a resource and call for greater involvement from the Livery.

·         The strategy should mention sport.

·         The strategy should be clearer on the Education Board’s scope, and how the strategic aims were being implemented.

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

The Head of Finance introduced a report on Revenue Budgets for 2015/16. He noted that it was not a detailed allocation of monies to the City Academies, which would be the subject of a further report to the Board at a future meeting.

RESOLVED, that Members

·         Approve the Revenue Budget for 2015/16 for submission to the Finance Committee;

·         Authorise the Chamberlain to revise the budgets to allow for further implications arising from the agreement by the Education Board of specific allocations of funding to Academies and Central Support Services.

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

The Education and Early Years Manager introduced a report on the expansion of the Sir John Cass Primary School, noting that the City of London Corporation had currently secured around £4.5m towards the expansion of the school to a two-form of entry (2FE).

RECEIVED

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

The Education Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the education of primary aged children in the City of London.

RECEIVED

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Education Board received a report of the Town Clerk on actions taken since the last meeting.

RECEIVED

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act

RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act as follows:-

Item(s)                        Paragraph(s)

16-19                           3

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2014.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2014 were approved as a correct record.

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

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk and Director of Community and Children’s Services on the appointment of external members of the Board.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.