Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room - 2nd Floor West Wing, Guildhall

Contact: Alistair MacLellan  Email: Alistair.MacLellan@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Ann Holmes, Deputy Catherine McGuinness, Deputy Philip Woodhouse, Helen Sanson and Veronica Wadley.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

Members' declarations under the Code of Conduct in respect of items on the agenda

Minutes:

Alderman William Russell and John Bennett declared non-pecuniary interests in Item 9 (Review of Funding to the Guildhall School Trust and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for Scholarships) by virtue of being Governors of the Guildhall School.

 

Ian Seaton declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 11 (Year 1 Review of Learning in Open Spaces) by virtue of being a Member of The City Bridge Trust.  

 

Chris Hayward declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 12 (City of London Academies Trust, Academies Development Programme – Update) by virtue of being Chairman of the City’s Planning and Transportation Committee, which would be considering the planning application for the City of London Primary Academy Islington.

 

Henry Colthurst declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 14 (SGOSS Funding Proposal) by virtue of being considered as a Board Member of SGOSS.

 

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 192 KB

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 14 September 2017.

 

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that the minutes and public summary of the meeting held on 14 September 2017 be approved as a correct record, and a list of outstanding actions noted.

 

Matters Arising

Sponsorship Agreement with City of London Academies Trust

The Chairman noted that a summary report on the respective responsibilities of the Trust and the Sponsor would come to a future meeting of the Board.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Education Activities Update pdf icon PDF 89 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Minutes:

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;

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Draft Education Strategy Action Plan pdf icon PDF 80 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding a draft Education Strategy Action Plan and the following points were made.

 

·         The Chairman noted that in light of discussion on the previous item, the issue of mental health should be added to the action plan as well as being discussed at the Board Away Day.

 

·         A Member requested that future iterations of the action plan include details on budget allocations to individual items so that Members could make informed decisions on how best to allocate resources.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Budget Update 2017/18 Financial Year pdf icon PDF 112 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding a budget update for the 2017/18 financial year and the following points were made.

 

·         In response to a question, the Chamberlain confirmed that the underspend outlined within the report was a genuine underspend, and that the Board could apply to the Finance Committee to carry over the monies into the 2018/19 financial year.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Proposed Education Budget for 2018/19

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

Members agreed to vary the order of items on the agenda so that Item 21 (Proposed Education Budget) 2018/19) was moved into public session and considered next.

 

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the proposed Education Budget for 2018/19 and the following points were made.

 

·         The Chamberlain noted that the proposed budget involved an increase just over £1m based on an increase of the City Premium Grant to each full secondary and primary school in the City of London Academies Trust, composed of £250k per secondary and £100k per primary.

 

·         The City of London Academies Trust Chief Executive Officer (COLAT CEO) noted that the City was currently the top performing sponsor in the United Kingdom and the proposed increase would allow the Trust to maintain that position. The interventions funded by the City Premium Grants would be mainly academic and pastoral, and resources would be targeted at the most disadvantaged children.

 

·         A Member expressed three concerns with the proposal. First, he was not clear where the additional £1m would be coming from. Second, the report contained no details on the interventions that the City Premium Grants would secure. Third, if approved the additional funding ran the risk of the City being accused of utilising resources that were unavailable to other academy trusts or local authorities, which would be difficult to rationalise and defend in the absence of clear information on the source of the monies and the reasoning underpinning how and where they were applied.

 

·         In response, the Chairman noted that the Away Day in January 2018 would provide an opportunity to align the Education Strategy with the proposed 2018/19 budget, and that he agreed with the fact that a significant increase in spend would potentially have reputational impact for the City that

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Risk Registers - City of London Educational Trust Fund and City of London Combined Education Charity pdf icon PDF 69 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding risk registers for the City of London Educational Trust Fund and City of London Combined Education Charity and the following points were made.

 

·         The Chairman noted that in his view the risks facing the charities could be distilled into three key risks: whether the investments were generating enough return; whether the investments were appropriately invested…[third – FOR REVIEW BY CHAMBERLAIN/CHAIRMAN]

 

RESOLVED, that subject to comments made at the meeting, Members and Trustees agree that the register satisfactorily sets out the risks facing the Charity and that the appropriate measures are in place to mitigate those risks

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Trustees' Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2017 pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Chamberlain regarding the Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2017.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Review of funding to The Guildhall School Trust and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama for Scholarships pdf icon PDF 147 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Minutes:

Members considered a joint report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services and the Chamberlain.

 

RESOLVED, that Members

 

·         Agree to continue the City Corporation’s payment of £30,000 to the School to fund scholarships for the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years subject to the School reporting back annually to the Education Board on the numbers of scholarships awarded and the impact of the grant.

 

·         Agree to review the payment again after a further three years’ funding in the context of the City Corporation’s education priorities at the time.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Culture Mile Learning - case for investment 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 412 KB

Report of the Chair of Culture Mile Learning.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Chair of Culture Mile Learning.

 

RESOLVED, that Members recommend to Policy & Resources Committee the release of £120,000 to implement the City Corporation’s Culture Mile Learning initiative.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Year 1 Review of Learning in Open Spaces pdf icon PDF 264 KB

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces.

 

RESOLVED, that Members

 

·         note the success of the learning programme in the first year of delivery and support its continued delivery into years 2 and 3 of the current funding.

 

·         note the issue of not achieving funding from external sources and the risk this presents to the programme.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

City of London Academies Trust, Academies Development Programme - Update pdf icon PDF 90 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the Academy Development Programme for the City of London Academies Trust and the following points were made.

 

·         The Director of Academy Development noted that three academies had joined the Trust in September 2017 and a further two were expected to join prior to Christmas 2017 – Newham Collegiate Sixth and Highbury Grove.

 

·         The Director of Academy Development next provided Members with a capital build update. He noted that the contractor for Galleywall Primary had been underperforming but that the issues had been addressed at present. The planning application for the City of London Primary Academy Islington would be submitted to Planning Committee in Islington on 5 December 2017 and the City of London on 12 December 2017. The Director noted that the application involved a 14-storey residential building plus school on a constrained site, and in planning terms the exceptional benefit of the proposal was clear.

 

·         The Chairman referenced the expansion of the City of London Academy Trust and took the opportunity to note that the Sponsor and Trust’s relationship with the City’s co-sponsored academies would benefit with a review.

 

RESOLVED, that Members

 

·         Note three City academies opened in September 2017, increasing the number of sole sponsored academies from three to six.

 

·         Note the progress being made on two further two academies will be joining City of London Academies Trust by the end of the calendar year, bringing the total of sole sponsored academies to eight.

 

·      Note the progress of the capital programmes for these academies.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

City of London Academies Trust (04504128) Governor Appointments pdf icon PDF 139 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding City of London Academies Trust (04504128) governor appointments.

 

RESOLVED, that Members

 

·         Approve the appointment of Roy Blackwell as Chairman of the City of London Academy Highgate Hill Local Governing Body.

 

·         Note that in approving the appointment of Roy Blackwell as Chairman of the Highgate Hill Local Governing Body the Trust Board has varied the standard Local Governing Body Terms of Reference to allow for eight appointments by the Trust Board rather than seven in this case, as it was considered to be in the best interests of the school.

 

·         Note the current membership of the City Corporation’s schools’ governing bodies.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

SGOSS Funding proposal and proposed changes to the City Corporation's nomination to SGOSS's Board of Trustees and company membership pdf icon PDF 94 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 15.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding a SGOSS Funding proposal and proposed changes to the City Corporation’s nomination to SGOSS’s Board of Trustees and company membership and the following points were made.

 

·         In response to a question, the Education Policy Officer noted that the funds for the proposal were included within the Education Budget’s local risk budget line for strategic partnerships.

 

·         A Member noted that many e-learning modules were freely available to school governing bodies and requested that SGOSS be asked to provide more detail on the type of modules they planned to create using City monies.

 

RESOLVED, that Members

 

·         Agree to recommend to the Outside Bodies Sub-Committee, should SGOSS formally offer a right of nomination to the City Corporation, that the nominee should be an elected Member currently serving on the Education Board, whose nomination would require the approval of the Policy and Resources Committee

 

·         Delegate authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to Agree to fund SGOSS to the sum of £24,340 from City’s Cash to promote governor led employability initiatives within schools in London per its proposal

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

City of London Corporation Apprenticeship Programme pdf icon PDF 179 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 16.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the City of London Corporation’s Apprenticeship Programme.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

City of London Corporation Adult Learning Service pdf icon PDF 89 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 17.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the City of London Corporation’s Adult Learning Service. The Strategic Education and Skills Director noted that consideration was being given to introducing a pathway offer to the Adult Learning Service going forward.

 

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Questions on Matters Relating to the Work of the Board

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Any Other Business that the Chairman Considers Urgent

Minutes:

Education Policy Institute – Entries to Arts Subjects at Key Stage 4

Members noted that the EPI report that was part-funded by the Board had been released in September 2017. The Chairman added that Members would have an opportunity to review the report further at their March 2018 meeting.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Exclusion of the Public

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

 

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 20.

Minutes:

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.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

Non-Public Minutes

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2017.

 

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 21.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that he non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2017 were approved as a correct record.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

City of London Academies Trust - Amendment of Scheme of Delegations

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 22.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the City of London Academies Trust – Amendment of Scheme of Delegations.

 

Deputy John Bennett left at this point of the meeting.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Governance of Southwark Academies

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 23.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the governance of the City of London Academies Trust’s Southwark academies.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Un-validated progress Data for City Schools 2017

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 24.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Un-validated progress data for City Schools 2017.

 

Chris Hayward left at this point of the meeting.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

Safeguarding

The Education and Skills Director to be heard.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 25.

Minutes:

The Strategic Education and Skills Director was heard regarding safeguarding matters.

 

At this point of the meeting, two hours having elapsed since the start of the meeting, Member agreed to extend the meeting in line with Standing Order 40.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

26.

Non Public Questions on Matters Relating to the Work of the Board

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

27.

Any Other Business that the Chairman Considers Urgent and which the Committee Agree Should be Considered Whilst the Public are Excluded

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.