Agenda item

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

The Chairman introduced a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services that updated members on recent activity undertaken in the delivery of the Education Strategy. She then welcomed the Director of the Museum of London to the meeting and invited her to update members on the work of the Learning and Engagement Forum (LEF). The Museum Director made the following remarks.

·         The City Corporation was a great ‘family’ of outreach that had great potential to deliver impact. For example the London Metropolitan Archives had recently received a Stamford Award, the first UK archive to do so.

·         Activity undertaken by the LEF in autumn 2014 had included a ‘Picnic with Paddington’ and a Youth Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle, a partnership between the Barbican Centre and the Southbank Centre.

·         Great Fire of London workshops had proved popular, involving 9000 pupils. This project threw up questions around how existing assets such as archaeology were used effectively.

·         The Museum of London had undertaken some items of teacher training following the addition of prehistory to the national curriculum. In addition the Barbican Centre was assisting 3 teachers of school music.

·         The LEF had convened an event at the Museum of London for 240 pupils from the City of London Academy Southwark’s Year 7 on 22 January 2015. The day’s activities were designed to help increase pupils’ understanding of the history of the City.

·         In response to a question from a member, the Museum Director replied that the LEF aimed to roll out its combined outreach across London but was first focusing on building relationships with City Schools.

·         In response to a question from a member, the Museum Director replied that it was the aim of the LEF to ‘engage every school child’, an aspiration first adopted by the Museum of London, an organization that reached 147,000 school children per year.

Members then discussed the role of outreach in general and the following points were made.

·         A member commented that outreach could be used to combat radicalism, and this had recently been discussed at the City Academy Hackney, where it had been agreed that outreach could be used to understand and value UK heritage.

·         The Assistant Town Clerk noted that the Counterterrorism and Security Bill had now passed Parliament, and that from 1 July 2015 it would be a statutory obligation across for the City Corporation as a local authority to counter extremism in its housing estates, and in its schools. A strategy would involve a full range of measures covering the City Police, education and museums. The Chairman commented that this was an area where the various City School Heads could liaise with one another.

A member commented that the City of London School for Girls had won a dragons den style event held at Mansion House on 9 February that was referenced within the update report. The Education Policy Officer noted that it was intended the event would continue under the aegis of Mansion House in future years. The Deputy Chairman added that the event was an excellent idea that should be expanded, and a member noted it was an excellent way to bring both the City’s independent schools and its academies together.

A member noted that he had recently visited Redriff Primary School with the Policy Chairman, and had been thoroughly impressed. He noted however that it was his impression when reviewing Education Strategy activity that there was a marked absence of the City of London Freeman’s School, and queried whether this was a result of its geographic location. All agreed that there was more scope for the Freeman’s School to ‘tell the tale’ of its engagement with the Education Strategy. A co-opted member remarked that the City independent schools would likely have an excellent story to tell in terms of their engagement with local communities and state schools.

The Education Policy Officer remarked that Freeman’s School was fully engaged in greater collaboration across the City Family of Schools. Five of its governors had been present at Safeguarding training the previous week.

A member remarked that any forthcoming Board dinner should be coordinated with those dinners held by the Boards of the City’s independent schools.

The Chairman remarked that the recent recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions in Afghanistan was an alumnus of Christ’s Hospital.

RECEIVED

A member noted that he had recently visited Redriff Primary School with the Policy Chairman, and had been thoroughly impressed. He noted however that it was his impression when reviewing Education Strategy activity that there was a marked absence of the City of London Freeman’s School, and queried whether this was a result of its geographic location. All agreed that there was more scope for the Freeman’s School to ‘tell the tale’ of its engagement with the Education Strategy. A co-opted member remarked that the City independent schools would likely have an excellent story to tell in terms of their engagement with local communities and state schools.

The Education Policy Officer remarked that Freeman’s School was fully engaged in greater collaboration across the City Family of Schools. Five of its governors had been present at Safeguarding training the previous week.

A member remarked that any forthcoming Board dinner should be coordinated with those dinners held by the Boards of the City’s independent schools.

The Chairman remarked that the recent recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions in Afghanistan was an alumnus of Christ’s Hospital.

RECEIVED