Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor, The Lord Mountevans, Ann Holmes, Stuart Fraser and Chris Hayward.

Henry Colthurst noted that, as a result of his Chairmanship of Mossbourne Academy, he had decided to step down as Company Member and Trustee of the City of London Academies Trust. The Town Clerk noted that arrangements to replace Mr Colthurst would be made in due course.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 July 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2016 were approved.

Matters Arising

Sponsor Governor – City Academy Hackney

Members approved Anne Fairweather’s appointment as sponsor governor of the City Academy Hackney.

City Academy Hackney – Standby Loan Proposal

The Town Clerk confirmed that the standby loan proposal had been approved by the Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 8 September, and a letter to that effect had been issued.

Report of the Chair of the Learning & Engagement Forum [to follow].

Members considered a report of the Chair of the Learning & Engagement Forum concerning the establishment of a Cultural Education Partnership (CEP) and the following comments were made.

·         The CEP should engage with Livery Companies who delivered education outside of London.

·         Analysis should be conducted on which areas of London the CEP should focus on.

·         Officers should advise how the Education Board would interact with the emerging Cultural Hub.

RESOLVED, that

·         £25,000 be approved as Year 1 funding for the establishment of a Cultural Education Partnership.

·         The requirement for £37,780 Year 2 funding be noted and subject to further approval.  

Report of the Chair of the Learning & Engagement Forum [to follow].

Members considered a report of the Chair of the Learning & Engagement Forum concerning a research proposal on trends in the take-up of Arts GCSE subjects. The following comments were made.

·         The Chairman noted that there was a debate in the education sector of to what extent arts subjects had been in decline – a debate which to date lacked evidence.

·         The Deputy Chairman noted that the research, if approved, should focus on facts and avoid inherent bias, particularly given the research was being co-commissioned with the Arts Council England.

·         A Member supported the proposal but warned against focusing on the Ebacc. He suggested that there would be a difference between state and independent schools.

RESOLVED, that

·         The City of London Corporation co-commission, with the Arts Council England, research into the take-up of Arts GCSEs.

Report of the Chair of the Learning & Engagement Forum [to follow].

Members considered update reports of the School Visits Fund and the Great Fire Website. Members noted that the work being undertaken in both areas was very positive, and noted that the School Visits Fund in particular should be advertised as widely as possible through avenues such as the London Government Dinner, London Councils, and the GLA Culture Committee.

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

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on a proposed model governance structure for local governing bodies (LGBs) of the City of London Academies Trust (COLAT). The Education Strategy Director noted that the proposal related to new and forthcoming City academies, and that LGB arrangements for existing City academies would remain the same. Furthermore, he noted that contrary to language used in the report, the City was not ‘obliged’ to make appointments but that it would be ‘expected’ to. The following comments were made.

·         Members noted that had previously considered this issue at their May 2016 meeting.

·         If the principle of only one sponsor governor per LGB was adopted, it would be important for the City to be confident that its interests as academy sponsor were safeguarded as far as possible on each LGB. This could be ensured in part by an annual City governor conference.

·         The principle of 1 staff governor and 1 non-staff governor on each LGB should be adopted.

·         Governors should be appointed for terms that mirrored the school year.

·         A report on the development of COLAT governance to date should come back to the Board, along with COLAT’s scheme of delegation and accountability framework.

·         Members noted that decisions on LGB governance were ultimately for COLAT, in consultation with the City as sponsor. The City also approved LGB chairs under the COLAT-City sponsorship agreement.  

RESOLVED, that

·         The proposed model governance structure be adopted for the City of London Academy Shoreditch Park, and that arrangements be made of the appointment of a City of London sponsor governor onto that LGB;

·         Members take a final view on COLAT LGB governance subject to the forthcoming report on the development of COLAT governance.

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on school partnership events and governor training dates. A Member suggested that Livery Masters be invited to attend the City Schools Concert at Milton Court on 30 January 2017.

There were no questions.

IPPR Report – Education Education Mental Health

In response to an observation from a Member, the Town Clerk agreed to circulate a copy of the recent IPPR report on mental health to the Board outside of the meeting. The Education Strategy Director agreed that this was an important issue that had been discussed at the Headteachers’ Forum.

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.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2016.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2016 were approved.

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services on unvalidated examination results 2016.

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

Members considered a report of the City Surveyor and the Director of Community and Children’s Services on Galleywall Primary, City of London Academy.

Report of the Chief Executive Officer, City of London Academies Trust.

Members received a report of the Chief Executive Officer, City of London Academies Trust regarding s10 consultations for City of London Academy Highgate Hill and City of London Academy Shoreditch Park.

Report of the Director of Academy Development.

Members received an update report of the Director of Academy Development on the City of London Academies Development Programme.

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

Members considered a report of  the Director of Community and Children’s Services on a proposed review of the memoranda of understanding concerning the City of London’s co-sponsored academies.

There were no questions.

Members discussed the City of London Academy Southwark’s Uniform Policy and the

City of London’s Education Communications.