Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed the Chairman of Policy and Resources to the meeting and invited him to deliver some comments. The Chairman of Policy and Resources addressed the Board and made several points:

·         His personal strategy as Policy Chairman included the desire to substantially increase the City Corporation’s contribution to dealing with London issues, particularly education, employment and cultural opportunities.

·         He had instituted a review of the City Corporation’s approach to education as he felt there was potential to improve the City Corporation’s role as academy sponsor; improve cooperation between the City’s independent schools and the City Academies; improve the City Corporation‘s approach to appointing governors; explore the potential for collaboration with the Livery on matters of education; ensure the City’s support for its independent schools was in line with the City Corporation’s wider strategic priorities, and that the schools were in turn supporting the work for the City Corporation.

·         He was satisfied that the Education Strategy Working Party had examined these issues, and with the Working Party’s outcomes, namely the Education Strategy and the Education Board.

·         As Policy Chairman, he was committed to working with colleagues on the Court of Common Council, London Councils as well as the Mayor of London on a range of initiatives to improve the lives of all Londoners, through employment programmes, infrastructure initiatives, sharing costs and the work of the City Bridge Trust.

·         By delivering on education, the City Corporation would be able to demonstrate some of the substance of its wider contribution to London, with its members making best use of the resources that their predecessors had bequeathed.

·         He wanted to do more on education through the family of City Schools and through outreach. He wanted the current outreach programme to be bigger. He wanted the City Corporation to be a leader in fostering social mobility.

·         He emphasised the importance of the potential City Corporation offer on education, comparing the implications of a scenario where both the City of London School and the City Academy Hackney did not exist. Arguably current pupils at City of London School would not be inconvenienced by simply attending comparable schools instead, whereas current pupils of the City Academy Hackney would not enjoy a comparable choice and would be prevented from accessing the excellent educational offer currently provided by the academy.

The Chairman thanked the Policy Chairman for his comments and underlined the positive impact of the City Academies, noting that they were operating in complex socio-economic contexts. She took the opportunity to express disappointment that the briefing issued to Court of Common Council members ahead of the London Local Government Dinner had not featured more material on the City’s contribution I education, both through the family of schools and the considerable outreach programme  – it was important that the City Corporation got its internal message on education clear to enable it to be communicated effectively to others.

Members of the Education Board then noted the following points.

·         It was important not to lose sight of the responsibility the City Corporation had to the educational bodies that it had established

·         In relation to the fourth strand of the Education Strategy, education to employment, it was important to engage with business given the massive reach they had on education to employment programmes. The Policy Chairman responded that EDO was doing a large amount on employability, not all of which is linked to education, but he agreed we need to join these up where possible.   He was not sure that large businesses (many of whom have excellent programmes) needed City Corporation support for their programmes, but a large number of them work together through Heart of the City, who do a great job, to help businesses do more.

·         It was important to move away from using the Court of Common Council as the only pool for City-appointed governors and be open to appointing members from other sectors such as business and the Livery. The Education Board should use its events programme to engage with business.

·         The City Corporation could have a positive impact on social mobility by establishing and supporting a pupil referral unit. The Policy Chairman agreed that this idea had potential, but that it was important to embed the Education Strategy first before embarking on more ambitious proposals. 

·         The City Corporation could do more to ensure its Family of City Schools was combatting political extremism. The Chairman agreed and noted that a paper to on this issue would be useful. The Assistant Town Clerk noted that schools were covered by guidance on the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, which sought to make the application of PREVENT consistent in areas of the country where extremism was of most concern.

·         More should be done to raise awareness in the City over what the City Corporation was seeking to do on education. The Policy Chairman agreed and noted the Heart of the City was doing good work in this respect.

·         The City Academies should be given certainty over their funding from the City Corporation in the longer term. The Policy Chairmen suggested that one option would be to offer a three-year funding commitment on the understanding that the offer be reviewed after two years.

·         Sixth-formers from the Family of City Schools should be invited to City Corporation events. The Policy Chairman agreed, noting that he was keen to do more events both at Guildhall and with the Family of City Schools.