Agenda item

To receive the report of the Director of Education and Skills.

(Torri S, some pupils to attend)

The Committee received the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services setting out a summary of outcomes and learnings relating to projects funded by City Premium Grant (CPG) in the 2023/24 academic year, noting that 2023-24 was the final year of the previous Education Strategies. Members noted in particular these points:

-        key statistics from the 117 CPG funded projects that ran in 2023/24;

-        highlights of popular themes and areas of focus across projects;

-        developments in the process’s second year of operation; and

-        key learnings and intended improvements.

In response to a question on alignment with the Education Strategy, Members noted that future reports will be mapped against priority areas set out in the Education Strategy.

The Board heard from ImpactEd on their evaluation of the CPG (Appendix 3).

A Member sought clarification on whether the programmes are being centrally curated at CoLAT, and the Board noted that a newly-appointed partnership lead is co-ordinating bids at strategic level and ensuring that the additionality is having the desired outcome.

A Member sought clarification on negative outcomes associated with a small number of the programmes, and the Board noted that the outcomes could be measuring confidence levels, assessment variations, or could indicate a need to adjust the programme.  

In response to a question on schools’ evaluations and how they were delivered, the Board noted that an incentive mechanism exists to ensure that schools provide an evaluation ahead of securing future bids. 

A Member asked whether the primary/secondary CPG applications were in line with expectations, the meeting heard that the proportions were in line with expectations.   

The meeting heard from two students at City of London Academy Highgate Hill and one student at Islington Collegiate Sixth Form who shared their account of their transformative experiences made possible by CPG funding.