Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Mandeep Thandi, and from Ruby Sayed.

Ruby Sayed observed the meeting via Teams.

The Board noted, with regret, that John Griffiths would no longer be serving on the Education Board after today’s meeting.

The Chair thanked Deputy Madush Gupta for his service on the Board. 

The Board welcomed Steve Goodman in his capacity as guest, and Catherine McGuiness, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the City of London Academy Trust, and also Cristina Odone as a guest in her capacity as Head of Family at the Centre for Social Justice.  

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 06 February 2023.

The public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 06 February 2023 were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received the report of the Clerk.

A Member asked whether a delivery timeline was available on the outstanding actions. The meeting heard that both were under way and ongoing, and that the actions would be the subject of reports to the Board.

Report of the Clerk.

The Board reviewed and approved the Terms of Reference, noting that the membership list had been updated since its circulation, noting also that the membership was subject to change at the upcoming meeting of the Court of Common Council (27 April 2023).

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Children’s and Community Services, noting that there had been no new ratified governor appointments to Local Governing Bodies of the City of London Academies Trust (CoLAT), noting also the  governing body membership of the City Family of Schools.

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board received a verbal report from the Director of Children’s and Community Services.

The Board noted the following points:

-        The department has been working to ensure that Tomlinson recommendations are discharged via the City Premium Grants mechanism, reflecting Members’ intentions to ensure clear differentiation between CoLAT schools and CoL independent schools;

-        Arrangements to transfer administration of Cultural Partnership work (with a focus on schools with 35%+ FSM entitlement) to the Education Strategy Unit as of July 2023 are progressing at pace;

-        Work is ongoing to deliver supported internships for young people alongside the Dagenham Market apprenticeship project, as well as growing apprenticeships in hospitality, health and social care;

-        Strategies around Education, Creative & Cultural Adult Skills are to be presented to Members during Board Away Days (‘The Big Conversation’);

-        Head Teachers’ Forums have encompassed discussions on the challenges of staff recruitment and retention, and opportunities around Artificial Intelligence;

-        Synergies between the Education Strategy Unit, Adult Skills and Education Service, and statutory education services are strengthening;

-        The CoLC was placed 40^th nationally in 2021 among all participating organisations in the Social Mobility Index;

-        The work of the Tackling Racism Task Force will be reported to relevant Corporation committees;

-        On Outdoor Learning and Environmental Responsibility: a network of Environmental leads are to be identified to co-ordinate initiatives in that area; and

-        The Communications and Corporate Affairs sub-committee approved the initial sports strategy report on 19 April 2023 – further information will be circulated;

-        The Education Strategy Unit is now publishing a weekly school news sheet that can be forwarded to outside parties.

A Member commented that the 35%+ FSM entitlement criteria for Cultural Partnership applications was high, and asked whether any flexibility was available on that. The matter was dealt

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

The Board noted the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services and The Chamberlain that stated the annual outturn position for the 2022/23 Education Board Budget.

The £16-17K overspend was discussed in the non-public part of the meeting.

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board noted the report of the Director of Children’s and Community Services updating 

Members on impacts with reference to the Annual Action Plan 2021/22.

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board considered the report of the Director of Children’s and Community Services that updated Members with key information relating to the first round of City Premium Grant applications for 2023/24.

Members heard that:

- 88 applications have been received from 13 schools;

- The combined cost represents 70% of the City Premium Grant funding available to the family of schools for that time period;

- Two schools missed the deadline, and three schools made no application (those three schools have been contacted to discuss the reasons for the absence of any application);

- The 88 applications are divided as follows: 54 from the Disadvantaged Pupils Grant,  18 from the Partnerships Grant, and 16 from the Strategic Grant;

- At least 33 unique partnerships have been created as a result of the process.

A Member asked whether the information on how the money was spent could be shared with schools, and the meeting heard that a summary document could be shared with Head Teachers, and Chairs of Governing Boards.

The meeting heard that independent school partnerships work would be submitted to the Board for the June meeting.

A Member sought clarification on why delegation was required. The meeting heard that additional work was involved during this first year of roll-out and that delegation was required in order to approve projects in a timely fashion.

A Member asked for further information on the profile of the non-submitting schools. The meeting heard that schools had been comprehensively briefed on the CPG applications and that further exploratory work was under way to pinpoint the reason for any non-submission, with a view to streamlining processes where applicable. A comment was made that some schools might find the process over-complicated (and that sharing the benefits could be a motivating factor), and that some schools were

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board noted the report of the Director of Children’s and Community Services informing Members of pupil projections of demand for school places across the London local authorities where there are City of London Corporation (CoLC) sponsored academies.

The Board noted that a more detailed report would be submitted in June 2023.

The Board that two secondary schools (in Islington) had low projected numbers.

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board viewed a presentation on the parental engagement toolkit (one for primary school parents, one for secondary school parents) from Cristina Odone (Chair of The Parenting Circle charity, and Head of Family Policy Unit at the Centre for Social Justice).

The Board noted increased levels of disengagement among parents generally (evidenced partly by the near-tripling of PA figures nationally) and the ongoing work to engage with parents being undertaken by CoLAT, which will be running the toolkit pilot as of September 2023 (with updates to be provided to the Board in late 2023/early 2024). 

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Children’s and Community 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, and noted the calendar of meetings, forums, and events for the 2022-23 academic year.

The Board viewed images of previous events, including Wren 300 workshops and a recent chess tournament.

A Member commented that there was merit in arranging an event targeted at school-leavers across the CoL family of schools. The Board expressed strong support for the idea, and the Education Strategy Unit resolved to examine the logistics of running an event in 2023 or 2024. The meeting heard that no budget had been set for such an event for 2023 and that the calendar was already crowded, but resolved to build in such an event for the 2024 leavers.

Director of the Museum of London.

The Board received the report of the Director of the Museum of London that included a quarterly update information on the Schools Visits Fund that Culture Mile Learning (CML) was asked to provide as a condition of its funding for 2022/23, as well as data on uptake of the fund and its impact on schools.

A Member commented on the apparent flexibility referenced on page 2 of the report around the 35% threshold, and the Board heard that strategies were being developed towards different kinds of partnerships.

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Children’s and Community Services updating Members on the Connecting Communities programme.

The Board noted the recent rise in unemployment, and noted (in response to a question) that the end-of-period evaluation would be conducted by Central London Forward. A Member commented that getting 300 people into sustained employment represented a 6% return – noting also that that figure was from a hard-to-reach group, and that it was important to learn lessons from the exercise, particularly given the level of investment. The Board noted that the CoL would be carefully examining the outcomes of the evaluation.  

Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board received a verbal update on the London Careers Festival 2023, noting that booking numbers appeared to be good so far for primary level events.

The Board noted the range of virtual and in-person session available encompassing apprenticeships, media/theatre, sports, construction and tech domains, noting also the involvement of apprentices in the event itself.

There were no questions.

The Chair reminded the Board of the upcoming Awaydays: 28 April 2023 at City of London School, and 12 June at City of London Freemen’s School.

The Chair took the opportunity to thank Deputy Chair Naresh Sonpar for his contribution as panellist at the Financial Inclusion Summit at Mansion House on 12 April 2023.

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 subsequent 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 06 February 2023.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 06 February 2023 were considered.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received the report of the Clerk.

Managing Director of Bridge House Estates.

The Board considered the report of the Managing Director of Bridge House Estates.

The Board received the Chairs’ updates.

To receive the report of the Clerk.

The Board received the report of the Clerk.