Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Alderman Peter Estlin, Philip Woodhouse, Roy Blackwell, Helen Sanson and David Taylor.

Henry Colthurst

Board of Governors, Mossbourne Community Academy

Board of Mossbourne Federation

Member of Court of the Worshipful Company of Grocers

Alderman Peter Estlin

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

Christopher Hayward

Member of the Court of Governors – Christ’s Hospital

Governor – Bridewell Royal Hospital

Governor – City of London School for Girls

Member of the Court of The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers

Deputy Catherine McGuinness

Board of Governors of The City Academy, Hackney

Castle Baynard Educational Foundation & Alderman Samuel Wilson Fund

United Westminster Schools Foundation

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

Barbican Centre Board

Guildhall School Development Fund

Alderman The Lord Mountevans

Board of Governors of the City of London Academy Islington

Virginia Rounding

Board of Governors of the City of London School for Girls

Board of Governors of The City Academy Hackney

Ian Seaton

Board of Governors City of London School

Board of Governors Bridewell Royal Hospital

Donation Governor Christ's Hospital

Philip Woodhouse

Board of Governors of the City of London Freemen’s School

Board of Mossbourne Federation

Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, Hackney

Chairman of Governors of Wellesley House School

Member of the Court of Worshipful Company of Grocers

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 May 2015.

The public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 May 2015 were approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Quality Assurance and Accountability Framework

The Director of Community and Children’s Services noted that this report had been approved by both the Head Teachers’ Forum and the Chairmen of Governors’ Forum.

Livery Education Review

A member noted that the Worshipful Company of Educators were currently progressing issues identified following the publication of the Livery Education Review report.

A list of outstanding actions was received.

Special Interest Areas

The Town Clerk undertook to recanvass members of the Board outside of the meeting to identify candidates for Special Interest Areas.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received a report of the Town Clerk on action taken under delegated authority since the last meeting to submit the Education Board’s Annual Report to the Court of Common Council.

RECEIVED

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s services updating them on recent activity undertaken in support of the Education Strategy. In response to a comment from a member, the Director confirmed that his department would be working to build on the recent roundtable event on the National Apprenticeships Service hosted by the Lord Mayor at Mansion House.

At the invitation of the Chairman, the Director of the Museum of London provided an update on the work of the Learning and Engagement Forum (LEF). She noted that the LEF was on course to provide an interim report to the Education Board later in the year, and commented that whilst visitor numbers at LEF institutions were healthy, the low exchange rate meant that there were fewer foreign school visits. She confirmed that headline visitor figures could be circulated to the Board from time to time at future meetings.

In response to a comment from a member, the Chairman stated that the learning and engagement partners were looking at ways of engaging with the London Film School.  However it was unlikely to fall within the remit of the Education Strategy and noted that most of its students were self-financing postgraduates.

RECEIVED

Report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

Members considered a report of the Deputy Town Clerk on the review of the City of London Corporation’s grants portfolio. The Chairman noted that the Board was being asked to consider its potential role, alongside the Community and Children’s Services Committee, in governing the Combined Education Charity and City Educational Trust Fund.

A member noted that in his experience the grant making of both funds tended to have a social aspect as well as an educational one. Overall members felt that the most appropriate governance structure now that the City had an education strategy and Board would be for these charities to be governed by a joint subcommittee of two members from each of the Education Board and Community and Children’s Services Committee. Members welcomed the opportunity to review the most appropriate governance arrangements in conjunction with the Community and Children’s Services Committee.

Members then discussed City Corporation funding for King Edward’s School Witley (KESW) and Christ’s Hospital, noting that funding for was drawn from the Finance Grants Sub Committee City’s Cash. Members queried what would happen to City Corporation funding for these schools once the recommendations of the grants review were implemented. Unless an alternative source of funding was identified it was suggested that an allocation should be made for them from the funds currently carrying the cost before these funds were allocated to another grant-making theme.   Members noted this proposal would require a resolution to the Policy and Resources Committee, which would be responsible for reviewing the overall level of funding made available to educational support by the City Corporation. The Education Board agreed with the Chairman’s suggestion that it should be involved early in the decision-making process when the funding-term for both KESW and Christ’s Hospital next came up for renewal.

RESOLVED, that

·         The report on

The Board received a resolution of the Policy and Resources Committee dated 28 May 2015.

RECEIVED

The Board received a resolution of the Finance Committee dated 9 June 2015.

RECEIVED

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

Members considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Community and Children’s Services on Revenue Outturn for 2014/15.

RECEIVED

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

The Director of Community and Children’s Services provided members with a verbal update on the issue of governance structures for the City of London Corporation’s academies. He noted that he considered the current structure for the existing City academies was not sustainable given the level of proposed expansion, and that he aimed to implement a structure that provided the necessary support, scrutiny and challenge to the academies, and that this approach arose in part from feedback from the Department for Education. He noted that this would involve a rationalisation of the current structures, which included a multi-academy trust, single academy trusts, and co-sponsor relationships. He added that the current approach to governance made it difficult for the Education Board to exercise control over and provide guidance to City academy local governing bodies.

Members welcomed the proposed rationalisation of City academy governance, and commented that the City Corporation should be clear on the optimal number of academies it chose to sponsor, as well as tailoring its approach to match the expectations of its co-sponsors.

Alderman Lord Mountevans arrived at this point of the meeting.

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

Members agreed to vary the order of business so that Item 13 concerning the Free Schools Programme be considered as Item 9.

The Director of Community and Children’s Services introduced a report on progress in the City’s Free Schools programme. He noted that he was requesting two named lead-members be allocated to each free school to provide member-level advice and feedback up until the ‘opening’ phase of each school. The two members had been identified through their high level of engagement with the project to date and their overall project experience.

A member expressed concern at the fact that interim local governing bodies were already in place given the lack of involvement of the Education Board. The Chairman agreed and noted this unsatisfactory situation was one of the factors that needed to be reviewed during the Director of Community and Children’s Services review of academy governance.

RESOLVED, that

·         The report on progress in the City’s Free Schools programme be noted, and

·         Gareth Moore CC be appointed as lead-member for the City of London Primary School Islington.

·         Hugh Morris CC be appointed as lead-member for the City of London Primary School Southwark.

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

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on partnership working across the family of City Schools.

RECEIVED

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

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on secondary school admission trends. The Chairman noted that there was no additional demand for secondary school admissions in the City of London at present.

RECEIVED

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

This report has been approved by the Streets and Walkways Sub (Planning and Transportation) Committee, Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee and the Projects Sub (Policy and Resources) Committee.

Members considered a report of the Director of Built Environment on public art initiatives in the Eastern City Cluster, particularly their use by visiting school groups.

RECEIVED

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

This report was considered and approved by the Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 28 May 2015.

Members considered a joint report of the Director of Economic Development and the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the assessment of new employability initiatives.

RECEIVED

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

Members considered an update report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the Sir John Cass’s Foundation Primary School Expansion. The Director provided further background on the recent decision by the Sir John Cass Foundation to withdraw their support from the proposed expansion.

The Director noted that the proposed expansion had been the topic of discussion of the Foundation; the school’s governing body; and the City of London Corporation, since 2013. All indications and feedback from the tripartite meetings had suggested that the Foundation was content with the proposed expansion, and that the Foundation’s subsequent refusal to support the expansion at the ‘11^th hour’ after two years’ of negotiations - without providing any reasoning for its decision - had very serious and profound implications for the City of London given it meant the school would not have the capacity to provide places to match demand.

The Director noted that, at present, in his capacity as statutory Director responsible for education, he was being obliged to approach partner boroughs to request that they enrol primary-aged City children in their schools. Whilst this option was feasible in the short term, it was not sustainable in the long term given demographic pressures in both the City and its neighbouring boroughs.

Members shared the Director’s concern and noted that the Foundation, in acting in the way in which it was described, was seemingly acting contrary to its objectives. The Board resolved to register its concerns with the Community and Children’s Services Committee and also requested the Director to consider longer term worst case contingency options should the Foundation maintain its position.

RESOLVED, that

·         The current situation concerning the proposed expansion of the Sir John Cass Foundation Primary School be noted, and

·         The concerns of the Education Board regarding the impact

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)

18-22                           3

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2015.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2015 were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Creative Learning.

This report was approved by the Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 28 May 2015.

Members considered a report of the Barbican Centre’s Director of Creative Learning on the creation of a community interest company named Drum Works that would work with young people in the East End of London to combat social problems.

RECEIVED  

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

The Board considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on the City of London Corporation’s academy expansion programme.  

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.