Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Rt Hon. The Lord Mayor Nicholas Stephen Leland Lyons, Mandeep Thandi, and John Griffiths.

The Chair moved that two former Members of the Board be thanked.

RESOLVED, That the Board agree to formally thank Alderman Sir Peter Estlin and Tim Campbell for their service to the Board.

The Chair thanked Alderman Sir Peter Estlin for his thoughtful, insightful and intelligent contributions to the work of the Education Board since he first joined back in 2014, noting that he continued to serve on the Board during his time both as Sheriff in 2016 to 17, and as the 691st Lord Mayor in 2018 to 19. The Chair thanked him grateful for his diligence and his direct no-nonsense approach across the decade – almost – of service. Among his many roles, Sir Peter was Treasurer at King Edward’s School Witley from 2006 to 2016, and as chair of the Association of Apprentices Sir Peter was instrumental in the Big Apprentice Meet Up becoming a core component of the City’s annual London Careers Festival. The Board noted in particular his banking and finance background that has been so helpful to our work, as well as his commitment to boosting digital skills in the UK.

The Chair thanked Tim Campbell MBE for his contributions to the Board as he steps back from his role after serving two terms. Tim attended his first Education Board meeting back in April 2015 during the mayoralty of Sir Alan Yarrow and during the chairmanship of Catherine McGuiness a decade after winning the BBC TV series The Apprentice. The Board noted his contributions since that time to support young people wanting to start their own business, particularly those from a disadvantaged background, including acting as Chair of Governors at the primary school

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2023.

The public minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2023 were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received the report of the Clerk.

The Board agreed that the outstanding action was completed.

To consider the outcome of the meeting of the Nominations Sub-Committee held on 04 October 2023.

The Board considered the update of the Nominations Sub-Committee of the Education Board on the meeting of 04 October 2023.

The Board heard that the Nominations Sub-Committee had considered five applicants at a meeting on 04 October 2023 to the position of external Member taking into account the specific skills and attributes candidates brought to the role, and had unanimously approved the appointment of Floyd Steadman OBE.

The Board having approved the decision of the Sub-Committee, Floyd Steadman joined the meeting.

RESOLVED, That Floyd Steadman OBE be approved as an external Member of the Board for a four-year term expiring on 17 October 2027.

To receive an update on the forum (verbal report of the Clerk).

The Board noted the verbal update of the Clerk on recent and upcoming member development and learning sessions.

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

The Board noted the report on the current position regarding the development of the Education, Cultural & Creative Learning and Skills Strategies 2024-28, noting that these three reviews are in progress:

a)    Identify key learnings from the current strategies;

b)    Identify potential education opportunities across the range of departments within the City Corporation; and

c)    Consider the current external education landscape with key stakeholders and interested partners.

The Board also noted the update on the stakeholder engagement activity that has taken place to date.

To note the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Service.

To receive the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board viewed a 15-minute video ‘Child Q update report – why was it me?’ on the Child Q findings produced by the City and Hackney Safeguarding Board, noting that Members not at the meeting would be forwarded the link, noting also that it was the remit of other committees  to discuss the findings and implementation thereof.

To receive the report of the Director of Community and Children’s services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Service, noting that the City of London Academies Trust (CoLAT) Board of Trustees (BoT) had ratified new appointments to Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) at their meeting on 22 September 2023.

The Board noted that the late Deputy Mark Bostock was showing as a Governor at CLSG as the list was retrospective, and paid tribute to his commitment and dedication. A minute’s silence was held in his memory.

To receive an update on Education Cultural Creative Learning, and on the Wren300 project.

The Board noted the update on events and activities delivered across the three strategies overseen by the Education Board: Education; Cultural and Creative Learning; and Skills, and noted also the calendar of meetings, forums and events for the 2023-24 academic year.

Referencing section 4 of the report, the Board noted that the London Compact 2030 – Bridge the Gap event has been moved from 16 November 2023 to 30 January 2024 at Guildhall in the morning, led by City of London Academy Trust in partnership with the Education Strategy Unit.

The Board noted that the Lord Mayor elect has asked the CoLC to work on a professional summer school in partnership with the Corporation, the University, and the livery companies among other partners.

To receive the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Service providing Members with key information relating to the status of the Cultural and Creative Learning Projects following the implementation of the new funding model. 12 projects have now received funding. The combined associated cost of these projects is £184,315 of £190,000 available.

The Board noted that the Education Strategy Unit is now handling the Schools Visits Fund and applications have begun, and options for a new public-facing website are being explored. The Fund is being promoted through a range of channels. Since applications went live in September 2023, 41 applications from schools have been accepted and around 66 school trips are being facilitated for 2024. Virtual Schools across Greater London have been invited to apply for School Visits funding.

The Board noted that all Members would receive relevant information via email to support schools.

In response to a question on whether Dr Johnson’s House was included in the visits, the Board noted that the list of venues is being reviewed and that a proposal will be submitted to the Board by early 2024 on expanding the venues encompassed by the Fund.

A Member asked whether the Fund could be promoted at the London Careers Festival (LCF). The Board noted that there was scope for further promotion at the LCF. 

The Board asked whether unsuccessful applicants to the Cultural Learning Fund were given feedback. The Board heard that all applications were successful, with some adjustments to applications following feedback from the Education Strategy Unit.  

To receive an update on the Tacking Racism Taskforce.

The Strategic Education & Skills Director gave a verbal update on the Tackling Racism Taskforce.

Members heard that, in the light of Member feedback, further work is being undertaken to explore how bursaries could be more actively promoted to children in global majority families, alongside publicity from London Free Assistance Consortium, and outreach staff at the CoL independent schools who work proactively with a range of organisations to identify bursary students from disadvantaged families.

Members heard that Black History Month activities were taking place across all CoL schools, alongside a range of training sessions for staff.

To view the presentation on the Goldsmiths Equity Awards.

The Board welcomed staff and students from Goldsmith’s College University of London to commemorate the Goldsmiths Equity Awards supported by the CoLC, and viewed a presentation on the awards delivered by the Director of Development and Alumni Relations.

The Board noted that 50% of students at Goldsmiths were from BAME backgrounds, and that 37% of those came from a financially disadvantaged background, leading to the development of the Equity Awards fundraising campaign (£3K pa across a 3-year undergraduate degree), with a target of £3M, of which £1.4M has been raised. 

The Board also heard from the Academic lead for the Equity Awards and some of the beneficiaries on the impact of those Awards. The video produced by Goldsmith’s is available on request.

To receive the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services, noting the outcomes of the London Careers Festival (LCF) 2023 which engaged primary, secondary and post-16 pupils across London in work-related and skills development activities, noting in particular the LCF 2023 evaluation report with key outcomes and achievements, and?the recommendations for LCF 2024 and onwards.? 

To consider the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board noted the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Service on the 2024 iteration of the London Careers Festival (LCF), noting the proposed date change and the budget allocation implications.

Members noted that the only dates available in 2024 were in late February/early March, and that livery stakeholders had been expressing enthusiasm for a February date for some time in order to hold the event outside the exam period. 

RESOLVED,

-          That the new date for LCF 2024 be approved (26 Feb to 08 March 2024); and

-          That the existing budget be reallocated, meaning that savings will need to be sought from existing or planned activities amounting to a total sum of £55,000 during financial year 2023-24

To receive the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board noted the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services that presented a programme update of the outcomes from the City of London Corporation’s Adult Skills and Education Services activities, as well as providing a brief summary of its publicly funded programmes delivered during 2022/2023.  

To receive the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board noted the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services setting out the outcomes and impacts of the City of London’s Connecting Communities programme that ran between 1 January 2022 and 30 September 2023, noting also its recommendations.

In response to a question on what were the key outcomes, the meeting noted that the project had been difficult to run from a standing start in a short period of time, and that some lives were significantly positively impacted.  The meeting also noted that many already-working people in poorly paid jobs needed support, as well as those not in employment that tended to be targeted by Government initiatives.

The meeting heard from one of the programme’s beneficiaries Mohammad Hussain Mobarez who thanked the Board for their support of the programme in helping him into his job as constable at the City of London.

The Board noted the correction to the final paragraph of the report circulated to Members before the meeting, to read as follows:

Some final measures

By end August 2023, the City of London Connecting Communities programme had supported 186 participants (56% of target) aged 25 and over, and 139 aged 18-24 (NEET) (87% of target) in addition 92 participants had secured employment (plus 1 self-employment).

Of those who had gained employment by 31 March 2023, 72% were still in employment at 30 September, exceeding the target sustainment rate (6 months in employment) by 32%.   

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 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 21 June 2023.

The Committee considered the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2023

To consider the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.  

The Board considered the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services

To consider the report of The Chamberlain on: 1. The City Educational Trust Fund (290840) and 2. City of London Corporation Combined Education Charity (312836).

The Board considered the report of the CBF & Charities Finance Director

To receive the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

The Board received the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services

To consider the report of the CEO of City of London Academy Trust.

The Board considered the report of the CEO of the City of London Academies Trust

Update from Chairs of City of London family of schools.

The Board noted the update of the Chairs