Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Alderman Sir Peter Estlin.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 23 June 2022.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 23 June were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

RESOLVED - That the outstanding actions be noted.

The Committee is invited to elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 30.

The Board proceeded to elect a Deputy Chair in accordance with Standing Order No. 30. The Town Clerk informed the Board that as the only Member expressing their willingness to serve, Naresh Sonpar, was therefore duly elected as Deputy Chair for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED – That Naresh Sonpar be elected Deputy Chair of the Education  Board for the ensuing year.

The Chair to be heard.

The Chair updated the Education Board on the candidates that had applied for the External Member vacancies on the Board.

The Chair proposed the appointment of Mary Robey for a term starting immediately, concluding in October 2025. The Chair also proposed the appointment of James Adeleke and Bolu Faseun for terms starting immediately and concluding in October 2026. This would ensure continued staggering of co-opted terms.

RESOLVED, that –

·         Mary Robey be appointed to the Education Board for a term expiring in October 2025;

·         James Adeleke be appointed to the Education Board for a term expiring in October 2026.

·         Bolu Faseun be appointed to the Education Board for a term expiring in October 2026.

Mary Robey and Bolu Faseun joined the meeting and introduced themselves to the Board.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received a report of the Town Clerk advising Members of action taken since the last meeting in accordance with Standing Order Nos. 41(a) and 41(b).

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The Board received a verbal update on the Schools Bill from the Director of Community and Children’s services. Members were updated on the following points:

a)    There had been 68 changes to the bill.

b)    The main recommendations relate to religious schools.

c)    The articles of association of a relevant Academy proprietor must be updated to contain the provision: “An Academy agreement or master agreement (including an agreement entered into before this section comes into force) is void as far as it is inconsistent with any provision made by or under this Part and is to be read with such modifications as are necessary to take account.”

d)    Section 15 refers to securing 16 to 19 year-old places. Members were informed that the City Corporation has two new sixth form provisions due to open in September. However, as the decision to open predates the Schools Bill, it would only apply to new post-16 provision going forward.

e)    The government is proposing to be tougher on children absent from school, particularly where parents are not supportive of attendance. This includes serving parents and schools with attendance orders.

Members were informed of the following omissions from the Schools Bill:

a)    It does not mention that all schools should be academised.

b)    It does not mention the number of schools in a Multi Academy Trust (MAT).

c)    It does not refer to the enhanced powers of MAT inspection.

d)    There is no requirement for MATs to have a pupil referral unit and their own special education provision.

e)    It does not mention enhanced school hours.

f)     It does not mention the £30,000 minimum starting wage for teachers.

In response to a query from a Member, the Board was informed that it is not currently a requirement for schools to become academies, although it

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

The Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services updating Members on recent events and activities delivered across the three strategies overseen by the Education Board: education; cultural and creative learning; and skills.

A Member provided an update on the event ‘Education London 2030: Social Mobility - The New Challenge Conference’ and informed the Board that the aim is to connect this work with the social mobility forum and how to take this forward as a London-wide strategy.

A Member informed the Board that the Worshipful Company of Gardeners had requested school contacts to offer their assistance with initiatives such as the Environmental Picnic Day. The Chair informed the Board that the Education Unit had been collaborating with the Natural Environment Division to offer work placements to the apprenticeship academy.

The Chair noted the relevance of the discussion to the role of Lead Member for the Environment and invited Members to inform the Town Clerk if they were interested in taking up this role.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The Board received a joint report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services and the Chamberlain containing the latest forecast outturn position for the 2022/23 Education Board Budget.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services updating it on the appointments of Governors to the Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) of the City of London Academies Trust (CoLAT).

Members were informed of a minor error in the report at page 41 which incorrectly stated that the four independent schools are registered as charitable trusts.

At this point the Director of Community and Children’s Services raised an additional item for approval, which prior to the meeting the Chair had agreed could be addressed verbally. Members were invited to approve the appointment of Mr Steve Goodman as Chair of the City Academy, Hackney LGB.

The Chair emphasised the importance of succession planning on the LGBs and ensuring that the LGBs reflect the diversity of their schools.

A Member provided an update on the following:

·       Preet Singh has been appointed staff governor at City of London Academy Shoreditch Park LGB;

·       Alderman Robert Howard is no longer a governor at the City of London Freemen’s School LGB.

The Member also informed the Board of upcoming changes which had not yet been ratified.

A Member stressed the value of training for governors. The Member stated that it was particularly important for governors of the LGBs to understand the role of a trustee within a MAT.

A Member reminded the Board that issues relating to the LGB of the academies is the responsibility of CoLAT and that this distinction of responsibilities should be reflected in the City Corporation’s documentation.

RESOLVED, that –

·       The report be noted;

·       Mr Steve Goodman be appointed as Chair of the City Academy, Hackney LGB.

James Adeleke joined the meeting and introduced himself to the Board.

Report of the Director, Museum of London.

The Board received a report of the Director of the Museum of London providing a quarterly update on the Schools’ Visits Fund that Culture Mile Learning was asked to provide as a condition of its funding for 2022/23.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services updating Members on the outcomes of the London Careers Festival (LCF) 2022 accompanied by a presentation on the same subject.

The Board was pleased with the media coverage of the festival, noting that it was the first time the LCF had been covered by the BBC.

A Member queried how businesses were being encouraged to engage with the local community, given that workers were travelling into the City for work less frequently than they had historically. It was agreed that Officers would explore this point further with the Member outside of the meeting.

A Member informed the Board that it was important that dates for the LCF were established three to five years in advance as this would enable schools to include it within their academic calendar and prepare for the event. The Member suggested developing a school stakeholder map to allow for targeted communications to schools focusing on particular career pathways. The Member also suggested that the Board could work with businesses to develop the LCF into a week of volunteering.

In relation to social mobility, a Member noted that there remain a number of barriers to pupils from disadvantaged communities preventing them from entering businesses. The Member stated that given the current labour shortages it was an opportune time to encourage businesses to invest in developing a local, diverse workforce. It was noted that this would involve matching pupils with the correct business as well as developing their soft skills.

A Member noted that the City is now covered by Business Improvement Districts and suggested exploring involving these businesses in the LCF. The Board noted that it was important to utilise existing platforms to connect students into work placements. It was agreed that the role

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

The Board considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services updating Members on the progress of the Connecting Communities programme and requesting the Board’s authorisation for the City Corporation’s media team to support the programme.

Due to time constraints, it was agreed that an accompanying video would be circulated to Members following the conclusion of the meeting.

Members were informed of the challenge the City Corporation element of Connecting Communities faced in reaching potential participants due to the limited number of unemployed residents within the City of London.

It was noted that the media team currently provides the programme with a Twitter feed, a corporate page on the City Corporation website and that it is featured on the ‘Getting help with the cost of living’ webpage.

Members were informed that the media team were content to:

a)    Promote Connecting Communities through its local media, including City Matters;

b)    Issue a news release.

It was noted that the programme runs across 12 London boroughs and is a Central London Forward Project. As such, any wider promotion of the scheme would have to be agreed at the Education Board and Policy & Resources.

The Education Board agreed that the current media plan as previously established remains unchanged, but was content to agree that the media team promote Connecting Communities through its local media channels.

RESOLVED, that –

·       The report be noted;

·       Members agreed to authorise the City of London’s media team to support the programme within the City of London.

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

The Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services summarising the findings of the Ofsted inspection of the City of London Corporation’s Adult and Community Learning Service which took place on 14 to 17 June 2022.

In response to a query from a Member, the Board was informed that Officers were exploring expanding the service and were working with external connections to do so.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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:-

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2022.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 23 June were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received a report of the Town Clerk setting out the non-public outstanding actions.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Managing Director, Bridge House Estates.

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director, Bridge House Estates, providing an update on the strategic work of the City Educational Trust Fund (CETF) (290840) and the spends of the funds.

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

The Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services providing Members with an overview of the City Family of Schools results for 2022.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

The Chairs of the City Junior School, CoLAT, CLSF, CLS and CLSG to be heard.

The Board received verbal updates in relation to City Junior School, City of London School for Girls and CoLAT.

RESOLVED – That the updates be noted.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.