Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor Peter Estlin, Alderman Nicholas Lyons, Randall Anderson, Benjamin Murphy, Ruby Sayed and Deputy Philip Woodhouse.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 July 2019.

It was noted by the Town Clerk that Rachel Bower joined the previous meeting following her appointment at the beginning of the agenda.

RESOLVED, that subject to amendment, the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 July 2019 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received a report of the Town Clerk regarding outstanding public actions of the Board.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Governors received a report of the Town Clerk regarding action taken between meetings.

The Chairman confirmed that he had received a response from the Chamberlain regarding action taken to prevent the overcommitment of one of the Education Charity Sub Committee’s designated funds. These measures included a revised report format which would distinguish better the cash available for grant making and the dedication of a senior representative of the Chamberlain’s Department to attend future meetings of the Sub-Committee, until further notice.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

Members received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding an update on the Education Board’s budget for the 2019/20 financial year, which noted no material variation from the budget.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding upcoming national policy. The following matters were raised:-

·         A question was raised about the impact of BREXIT on the availability of school meals for pupils within the Family of Schools. It was explained that this concern stemmed primarily from the working status of catering staff that were in possession of an EU passport. Determination of exactly how many employees would be affected was difficult for several reasons. However, it was reported that the number of staff that held EU passports at the Family of Schools was relatively low and as a result this particular issue was not envisaged as posing a significant risk.

·         The matter of whether the qualifications of teaching staff would continue to be recognised post-BREXIT was discussed briefly. Members were informed that an agreement had already been made for joint recognition of qualifications across the EU, and that this area was unlikely to have immediate implications on the day of the UK’s departure from the EU.

·         Regarding pupils from the EU, it was noted that there would possibly be funding implications for schools receiving support on a per-pupil basis. This impact continued to be difficult to measure as schools were not always made aware of those families that might be looking to move away from the UK.

·         Members felt that the Family of Schools should be encouraged to approach their various contractors (catering, cleaning etc) to request detail of those contractors’ BREXIT contingency plans.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding an update on Education Activities.

Regarding the Prefect’s Dinner on 12 December 2019, all Education Board Members were invited to attend. It was requested by Members that electronic diary invitations be sent out.

Members were notified of both basic and advanced safeguarding training which had been scheduled for governors of the City Family of Schools and which takes forward recommendations from the recent review of safeguarding arrangements across the Family of Schools.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding an update on Governor appointments. The following matters were raised:-

·         The Chair of Governors at Sir John Cass Foundation Primary School submitted an Instrument of Government to the City Corporation which was approved by the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee, under urgency procedure on 29 July 2019. The reason for urgency was due to a deadline imposed by the Department for Education, the details of which were to be reported at the Community and Children’s Services Committee on 13 September 2019.  The governance of the school is now compliant with the School Governance Regulations 2012.

·         It was noted that Richard Bannister was no longer the Principal of City of London Academy, Southwark and therefore no longer formed part of the LGB as an ex-officio governor.

·         The matter of longstanding vacancies on governing bodies was highlighted as being an area of significant concern for Members of the Board. It was felt that there should be greater succession planning when it came to turnover of governors and that the issue needed to be addressed as a matter of priority. A query was raised by a Member in respect of being unable to fill certain ex-officio vacancies on a board of governors where a governing bodies’ terms of reference specify this. It was suggested that, where necessary, changes to the Governing Body’s terms of reference be proposed to the City of London Academies Trust for their approval in order to ensure long-term vacancies are avoided.

·         Safeguarding compliance was also raised to ensure new governors promptly complete the necessary documentation to receive their DBS certificate.

·         Following a question, Members discussed how the Governance Review reported at the July 2019

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

Members received a report of the Director of Open Spaces regarding the three-year review of the Open Spaces Department’s ‘Green Spaces, Learning Places’ programme. The following matters were raised:

·         Members noted the success of the programme and wished to congratulate formally all the staff and volunteers who were involved in its implementation. Members felt that the impact had been significant, particularly to those harder to reach children, including those in receipt of free school meals.

·         Members were in support of the five impact areas (Understanding, Confidence, Nature connection, Wellbeing, Involvement) and felt the programme provided significant value to the educational offering of the City of London Corporation. It was highlighted that the programme also supported the Corporation’s mental health agenda. In light of the uncertainty posed by the Fundamental Review, the Chairman suggested that the Board would probably support any application to protect funding should such support be needed but requested that the Education Board continue to be kept up to date on its impact and development.

·         In response to a query, Members were informed that the Green Spaces, Learning Places team had developed a bespoke impact assessment toolkit with the help of Derby University. The toolkit was used to measure behavioural indicators of children who could benefit most from the programmes. This involved, amongst other things, tracking continued interest in nature and recording responses to specially selected questions asked before and after their participation.

·         Members discussed whether the programme could feed into the Sports Strategy. Whilst it was acknowledged that Open Spaces would likely play a significant role in the Corporation’s Sports Strategy, it was agreed that a sports initiative would not fall naturally into the current programme, which was focussed on introducing young people to nature.

·         Members discussed more broadly the various activities of the Family of Schools

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

NB – Appendix 1 of this report is to follow.

Members considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the evaluation of the 2019 London Careers Festival (LCF). The following matters were raised:-

·         The LCF 2019 was considered by Members as a success, meeting almost all of its ambitious targets in its first year. The Festival was well attended and effectively targeted at the hardest to reach groups. More businesses wanted to be involved than there was capacity for, a number of whom requested notification when applications open for 2020. It was hoped that next year’s event would be even more impactful.

·         Members were informed that an appointment had been made for a position in the Education Unit, who would take the lead on the LCF and broader skills remit within the department.

·         Members discussed the breakdown of attendees to the LCF. It was suggested that for 2020, schools beyond the neighbouring boroughs would be invited at an earlier stage. In addition, following the success of the 2019 events, continued efforts would be made to include the Home School Network, Virtual School and Organisations supporting children with autism. Whilst there was a good attendance of Livery Schools, greater engagement would be welcomed. A Member requested the number of Livery Schools that were involved in 2019, which would be reported after the meeting. Another Member requested that the Care Givers Covenant not be overlooked.

·         A query was raised regarding the existence of any data that would demonstrate whether the LCF led directly to any instances of workplace learning based offers, or quality work experience offers. Members were informed that the only statutory data collated was for those pupils that went to university; however, this data was due to be expanded to include those who went on to apprenticeships. Beyond that, the Corporation was very limited in what

There were no questions.

There was one item of urgent business.

The Chairman informed Members that a vacancy had arisen on the Board of Governors of Prior Weston School and that William Pimlott had expressed an interest in this vacancy supported by the School’s governing body. The Court of Common Council held the responsibility for the appointment but would do so on the recommendation of the Education Board.

Whilst the Board agreed the appointment of William Pimlott in principle, a question was raised about the necessity to advertise a vacancy on an outside body before recommending an appointment to it. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would investigate and ensure the role was advertised, if required.

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 18 July 2019.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2019 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received a report of the Town Clerk

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the City of London Academies Development Programme update.

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

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

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

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

There were two questions.

There was one item of urgent business.