Agenda item

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 waiting for costings before submitting any bid.

A Member asked what would happen with the unspent money. The meeting heard that the underspend would stay in place for a second round in early 2024, and some of the allocation would be directed at outcomes of scrutiny meetings.

A Member commented that there was merit in providing a short summary at the conclusion of the roll-out of whether the initiative had been successful, where a clear evaluation of parameters was available. The Board noted that evaluation criteria and strategy were being discussed, and that a degree of experimentation was to be welcomed.  

In response to the comment that the 35%+FSM-entitlement criteria could benefit from a degree of flexibility, the meeting heard that criteria could be adjusted where deemed necessary, noting also that 55% of attendees at CoLAT schools were entitled to Free School Meals. The Board agreed that there was merit in exploring that option, as well as addressing the issue specifically of SEND-related projects.

RESOLVED, That the Board delegate authority to the Chair and the Strategic Education and Skills Director to distribute Round 1 awards from the City Premium Grant: Disadvantaged Pupils Grant; the City Premium Grant: Partnerships Grant; and the City Premium Grant: Strategic Grant to the schools.