Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:-

Cllr Hayley Illman, who was substituted by Cllr Clare Cape

Cllr Roy While, who was substituted by Cllr James Sheppard

Dr Mike Thompson

Miss Maisy Humphrey

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 September 2018. (Copy attached)

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 September 2018 as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

The Chairman made the following announcements:-

(a)          Director, Education & Skills  The Chairman introduced and welcomed Helean Hughes, who had taken up her appointment as Director, Education & Skills the previous day.

(b)          Cabinet items

For information on 25^th September Cabinet considered the following items

Consultation about option proposals for Lypiatt Primary School including possible closure

Lead officer:  Tom Lindsay

Chairman’s Involvement: Briefing paper on the consultation was provided for the item.

Appropriation of Education Land at Poulton Field, Bradford on Avon New!

Lead officer:  Will Gray

Chairman’s Involvement: Meeting with Will Gray, Estate Surveyor, to assure that sufficient protections will be in place for the local green space.

On 9th October Cabinet considered the following item

Care leavers’ Council tax exemption

Lead officer:  Martin Davis

On 27th November Cabinet will consider the following items

Consideration of Proposals for the Development of Special Schools for Children and Young People with complex SEND/Severe learning

Difficulties

Lead officer:  Judith Westcott

CSC Input – It was noted that task group met with officers/cabinet member for a briefing and that the proposals would now be for the whole of the county.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Tuesday 30 October 2018 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 1 November 2018. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

No questions had been received from councillors or members of the public.

The Committee will receive an update on the activities of the Wiltshire Assembly of Youth (WAY), Youth Safeguarding Board (YSB) and the Children in Care Council (CiCC) presented by Maisy Humphries, the Committee’s Children’s & Young People’s representative. (Copy attached)

The Committee received an update on the activities of the Wiltshire Assembly of Youth (WAY), Youth Safeguarding Board (YSB) and the Children in Care Council (CiCC) which was presented by the Commissioning Officer in the absence of Maisy Humphries, Children & Young People’s Representative.

It was noted that a joint meeting had taken place on 26 September 2018 between WAY and YSB when they discussed the possibility of them merging into a new group.  Work had been carried out subsequently including drawing up terms of reference which it was anticipated could be agreed by the end of November. CiCC members would be invited to be part of the new arrangements for youth voice as well as continuing as a distinct forum.

Group members had been working to engage secondary schools in Make Your Mark, the UK’s largest youth organisation, delivered by Youth Parliament, and 10 issues had been included on the ballot papers. The following five issues had been identified by Wiltshire students as priority issues:-

·         End knife crime

·         Homelessness

·         Mental health

·         End period poverty

·         Welcome refugees

During discussion, Members expressed interest in the five priorities put forward by Wiltshire students and wondered if the students considered that there was a serious knife crime problem in Wiltshire or whether they were taking into account the national problem, especially in the London area.  Similarly, did they have knowledge of much homelessness amongst young people in Wiltshire or were they considering the national problem. The Commissioning Officer responded by informing the meeting that the students were very much aware of knife crime in their own environment.  With regard to homelessness, it would be possible to follow this up with the schools which had participated in the ballot.

Resolved:

(1)      To note the contents of the report.

(2)      To follow up on the details of the homelessness priority when information from the participating schools is available.

The committee will receive details on Wiltshire Council's submission to central government on how we are fulfilling our apprenticeship target.

Agenda supplement to follow.

The Chairman reported that, after discussion with the relevant officers, this item had been deferred to a later meeting to allow for the availability of the relevant data.

The committee is provided with a report which provides an overview of pupil performance at the end of each key stage using the latest available data. It compares attainment in Wiltshire with national, south west and statistical neighbour performance and where possible at this stage performance trends are identified.

The report identifies key priorities and gives an overview of strategic school improvement activity carried out by the School Effectiveness Team, including future priorities to improve educational outcomes.

The committee is asked to consider the information in the report, ask questions and comment on the key priorities.

The Committee received a report which provided an overview of pupil performance at the end of each key stage using the latest available data. It compared attainment in Wiltshire with national, south western and statistical neighbour performance and where possible performance trends were identified.

The report identified key priorities and gave an overview of strategic school improvement activity carried out by the School Effectiveness Team, including future priorities to improve educational outcomes.

The Acting Head of School Effectiveness explained that whilst there had been some success in Key Stage (KS) 1 performance, there was concern in results shown for phonics where attainment had not improved since 2017. Improvements had not been in line with national figures. KS 1 performance in writing had improved since 2017 but was still below the national average.

The figures for KS2 had generally improved since 2017 but, although were comparable with other authorities in the South West, were marginally behind the national standards.

It was noted that the overall figures for KS 4 & 5 suggested that performance was high but with changes in gradings being introduced it was not yet possible to satisfactorily compare 2018 performance figures with previous years.

Detailed figures for individual Wiltshire schools could be found at the following link:-  

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools&region=865&laname=wiltshire&geographic=la&for=primary&basedon=A%20level%20performance&show=All%20students&datasetfilter=provisional&searchtype=&laname=wiltshire%2Cwiltshire%2Cwiltshire%2Cwiltshire

It was noted that these performance figures were provisional as the outcome of appeals were not yet known.

Resolved:

To note the report detailing the provisional data for Performance in Public Tests and Examinations 2018 and to request that the final figures be sent to members of the Committee when available.             

The committee is provided with a report detailing local authority standards for early years and pre-school provision including sufficiency, pupil outcomes and Ofsted grades.

Members are asked to consider and comment on the information provided in the report.

  A report was received which provided an overview of pupil performance at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Ofsted quality judgements for early years and childcare providers, using the latest available data. 

The report provided a comparison of the Wiltshire figures against other Local Authorities (LAs) using the LA quartile (25%) position – ‘A’ being the top quarter and ‘D’ being the lowest quarter of LAs in England. The report identified key areas for action and provided an overview of early years improvement activity carried out by the Early Years Learning & Development Team, including future priorities to improve educational outcomes.

The performance of EYFS learners as a whole cohort demonstrated that in 2018 Wiltshire had a slightly greater improvement rate than nationally. It was pleasing to note that this cohort was slightly outperforming children nationally, regionally and in statistical neighbours.

With regard to disadvantaged learners, although the standard was rising and the gap with the Foundation Stage was narrowing, there was an urgent need to be at least in line with the national average, it being about 6% adrift at present. It was pointed out that it was not yet possible to compare the 2017 figures against the 2018 stats for all children but an analysis would be undertaken once the 2018 figures had been published later in November. 

Members were pleased to note that Wiltshire Ofsted judgements (Overall Effectiveness Grades) compared favourably with those for England and the South West. However, there was an insufficient amount of outstanding provision in Wiltshire’s most disadvantaged areas.  A new project “Eager for Excellence!” was being developed for 2018/19 to support and coach leaders in these areas. 

However, the School Based Ofsted Judgements showed that judgements for Wiltshire reception classes and maintained nursery classes were 7% behind the national average. It was noted that an early years education sub-committee group at Primary Heads’ Forum was being developed this year and also middle leadership training for EYFS leaders in schools.

It was noted that there were a significant number of childminders who reported that their offer of early help was insufficient. Members were advised that this problem was being investigated and meetings were being arranged with Early Years Improvement Officers to ascertain the problems and explore how best to support families. 

The Chairman thanked the Officers for the report and stated, on behalf of the Committee, that he was keen to see a continuing improvement in pupil performance and Ofsted quality judgements, in comparison with national, south west and statistical neighbour performance.  

Resolved:

To note the report detailing the Early Years Standards for 2017/18.  

The committee is asked to consider a report detailing the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) Higher Education Strategy.

Since 2017, officers have been working with colleagues in Swindon Borough Council on the Strategy in response to the skills issues identified in the Strategic economic plan which include a shortage of skills at level 4 and above and low average progression rates to higher education across the area.

Consideration was given to a report by the Director, Education & Skills which informed the Committee about the progress to date of the development of the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) Higher Education Strategy including plans for a Multi Campus University.

Members were informed of the work that had been undertaken with colleagues from Swindon Borough Council on SWLEP since 2017 in response to a skills shortage at level 4 and above and low average progression rates to higher education across Wiltshire and Swindon. The commissioning of a full evidence base including desk based research and surveys of young people, adults and employers was completed in March 2018. It demonstrated :-

·         Lack of graduate talent pool

·         Forecast skills shortage at L4+

·         Employers reporting higher level skill shortages

·         Limited Higher Education offer linked to LEP sector priorities beyond foundation level

·         Low progression to Higher Education and student choice not matching employer needs.

In answer to questions posed by Members of the Committee, it was explained that plans were still at a very early stage and that it would be at least 10 years before a university campus was operational.  There was also much to consider regarding the siting of one or more campuses and there had yet to be made a decision as to the name of the university.  There had been a number of suggestions that a suitable title might be University of Wessex.  Members strongly felt that the institution should not be called Swindon University and reflect Wiltshire’s involvement in the scheme.

Resolved:

To note the report on the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) Higher Education Strategy and to request an update report in 12 – 18 months’ time.   

The committee is provided with a report which includes information regarding the most recent Ofsted Inspection reports published from September to mid October 2018.  It provides an ongoing view of the effectiveness of schools as seen by Ofsted Inspection.

The Committee received a report by the Director, Education & Skills which included information regarding the most recent Ofsted inspection reports  published from September to mid October 2018. It provided an ongoing view of the effectiveness of schools as seen by Ofsted inspection.

It was noted that inspections focused on the following main areas:-

·         Effectiveness of leadership and management

·         Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

·         Personal development, behaviour and welfare

·         Outcomes for pupils

Where appropriate the effectiveness of early years or sixth form was also inspected.

From the evidence collected, schools were given an overall effectiveness grade as follows:-

·         Grade 1 (outstanding)

·         Grade 2 (good)

·         Grade 3 (requires improvement)

·         Grade 4 (inadequate)

The inadequate category (4) was further subdivided into special measures or serious weakness depending on the capacity of school leaders to make the improvements needed.

Regarding Wiltshire schools, it was noted from the report that:

§  11 total inspections had been carried out during the period.

§  5 retained good grades

§  1 retained a requires improvement (RI) grade

§  1 improved from inadequate to good

§  2 outstanding dropped to RI

§  1 outstanding dropped to inadequate

§  1 new grade at inadequate

Whilst Members were content with the general way in which Ofsted inspections were carried out, they did express disquiet and concern that schools which were judged as outstanding were not routinely inspected and these were only carried out if Ofsted was alerted to any problems or difficulties.

Members were delighted that Southbroom St James Academy, Devizes, which was part of the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, had risen to Good at its recent inspection on 25 September 2018 from Inadequate at its previous inspection.  The Chairman undertook to write to the Headteacher and also to the Chief Executive of the Trust congratulating the school on its success.  

During discussion, Members noted that some schools had been previously inspected a while ago since which new and tougher inspections had been introduced by Ofsted. Furthermore, officers had been aware of difficulties at some of these schools but unfortunately not long before the Ofsted inspections were carried out. 

Resolved:

(1)      To note the update on Ofsted Inspection from September to mid October 2018.

(2)      That the Chairman write to Southbroom St. James Academy and Chief Executive of the Academy Trust on behalf of the Committee to congratulate their Ofsted outcome.

A report by Terence Herbert, Corporate Director, is attached presenting an update on developments relating to children’s services arising from the Department for Education.

The Committee received an update from Terence Herbert, Corporate Director, on developments relating to children’s services arising from the Department for Education from August to October 2018 as follows:-

·         More support to help schools with costs

·         New education and skills measures

·         Academies update

·         Data protection

·         Sale of energy drinks

·         New unit to tackle exploitation of vulnerable young adults

Resolved:

To note the update provided.

The committee will receive updates from active Task Groups and the committee’s board representatives.

A report by the Senior Scrutiny Officers providing an update on Task Group Activity since the last meeting is attached.

The Committee received updates on the activities of the following Task Groups/Boards:-

·         Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) Task Group

·         SEND School Provision Task Group

·         Traded Services Task Group

·         Education Transformation Board

Resolved:

To note the updates on task group activity provided.

The Committee is asked to note the attached documents showing the relevant items from the overview and scrutiny forward work programme and the latest version of the strategy list for the Children, Education and Skills directorate.

The Committee received a document showing the relevant items from the Overview & Scrutiny Forward Work Programme, together with the Children’s Services Strategy List.

Resolved:

To not the Forward Work Programme for this Committee and the Children’s Services Strategy List.

To note that the next scheduled meeting is due to be held on Tuesday 15 January 2019 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

Resolved:

To note that the next scheduled meeting of this Committee was due to be held on Tuesday 8 January 2019 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.