Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair, nominations were sought for the appointment of a Chair Pro Tem of the Children and Young People's Learning Scrutiny Panel.

Councillor C Hobson was nominated and seconded and, following a vote, appointed as Chair Pro Tem of the Children and Young People's Learning Scrutiny Panel.

AGREED that Councillor C Hobson be appointed as Chair Pro Tem of the Children and Young People's Learning Scrutiny Panel for the duration of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel held on 10 October 2022 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

Following the Scrutiny Panel’s 2021 review of Behaviour, Discipline and Bullying in Schools, it had been agreed that a comprehensive report on exclusions would be submitted to the scrutiny panel on a 6 monthly basis. Officers will be in attendance to present this data.

Following the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel’s 2021 review of Behaviour, Discipline and Bullying in Schools, it had been agreed that a comprehensive report on school exclusions would be submitted to the scrutiny panel on a 6 monthly basis.

The Council’s Strategic Lead for Inclusion and Specialist Support Service was in attendance at the meeting to present data and information on permanent exclusions and suspensions during the 2021/22 academic year, figures for the current academic year (2022/23) and historical trends.  It was explained that the monitoring of school exclusion data had recently become the responsibility of the Council’s Inclusion and Outreach Service.

The scrutiny panel was informed that during 2021/22, Middlesbrough schools had excluded 52 pupils. It highlighted that, initially, a total of 77 permanent exclusions had been issued throughout that academic year. However, 25 of those 77 had been subsequently withdrawn and not upheld.

During 2021/22, in reference to the 52 permanent exclusions:

·         Trinity Catholic College had excluded the highest number of pupils (17);

·         more males (32) had been excluded than females (20);

·         more Year 10 pupils had been excluded than any other year group (21), followed by Year 9 (10) and Year 8 (10);

·         the three most common reasons for pupils being excluded were identified as persistent disruptive behaviour (22), physical assault on a pupil (11) and physical assault on an adult (6).

Middlesbrough’s historic exclusion figures were shared with the scrutiny panel. Those figures identified the number of pupils that had been excluded at each of Middlesbrough’s schools, over a three year period.

It was highlighted to Members that, in respect of the last academic year (2021/2022), it had not been mandatory for Middlesbrough’s schools to report suspensions to the Local Authority. Analysis of the data that had been received had identified that those schools with the highest level of suspensions (previously known as fixed-term exclusions) were Trinity Catholic College, Outwood Academy Ormesby and Outwood Academy Acklam.

During the current academic year (2022/23), for the period September to October half term, there had been 9 pupils excluded from Middlesbrough’s schools. It highlighted that, initially for that period, 11 permanent exclusions had been issued and 2 had been subsequently withdrawn and not upheld. Members heard that, when compared with the data collected over the same period in 2021/22, there had been a 34% reduction in permanent exclusions.

During 2022/23, in reference to the 9 pupils that had been permanently excluded over the period September to October:

·         more males (8) had been excluded than females (1);

·         more Year 9 pupils had been excluded than any other year group (5), followed by Year 10 (2) and Year 8 (2); and

·         the two most common reasons for pupils being excluded were verbal abuse and threats to an adult (4) and physical assault on an adult (2).

For the period September to October half term (2022), Trinity Catholic College, Outwood Academy Ormesby and Outwood Academy Acklam had continued to report the highest level of suspensions. It was confirmed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/28

Following Ofsted’s recent inspection, the Scrutiny Panel will receive the Trust's response to Ofsted’s findings, which contains actions planned to secure improvements.

Following a recent inspection, Outwood Academy Ormesby had been judged inadequate by Ofsted. The Trust’s response to Ofsted’s findings had been circulated with the agenda pack for the meeting and the response outlined actions planned to improve the academy’s performance.

The Director of Education and Partnerships advised that when an academy was judged as inadequate, it was standard procedure that the DfE would write to the academy providing a warning that the academy’s funding agreement could be terminated. The document circulated with the agenda pack was the Academy Trust’s response to that letter, which stated that the Trust’s preferred option was to bring about the rapid change needed to remove the academy from its inadequate judgement. It was commented that the Trust had conveyed a preference to submit written evidence to today’s meeting, to illustrate the improvement work that was planned, rather than provide a verbal report.

It was explained that Outwood Academy Ormesby was working closely with the Local Authority and the DfE to improve the academy’s performance. It was added that the Council’s Head of Achievement had been appointed as a member of the Academy Improvement Board.

Members queried whether the school would subsidise the Local Authority for the support it was receiving from officers. The Director of Education and Partnerships advised that the Local Authority was unable to charge for the services and support provided. The Strategic Lead for Inclusion and Specialist Support Service advised, however, that given the high levels of permanent exclusions, the Local Authority had approached the School Management Forum to request additional funding. Subsequently, the forum had agreed to transfer £600,000 from schools to the High Needs Budget to enable the effective delivery of support to those pupils who were at risk of exclusion. In response to a Member’s query, it was explained that the all schools had contributed an equal amount to the High Needs Budget, regardless of their exclusion rates.

A Member made reference to the two parents meetings, which had been held by the Trust, to present the Ofsted inspection outcome and discuss the Action Plan.  The Member challenged the comment made by the Trust in the submitted letter, which stated that positive responses had been received. The Member had attended one of those meetings and conveyed that positive feedback had not been received from parents.

The Head of Access to Education and Alternative Provision advised that as Outwood Academy Ormesby had been judged as inadequate, a HMI Inspector would now be attached to the academy to monitor performance. The academy would also be subject to a series of Ofsted monitoring visits, whereby the academy would be required to demonstrate/illustrate that significant improvements had been made to the academy’s standards and performance.

A Member commented that the academy had been visited by several Members during the last academic year and staff members and pupils had been polite and respectful. Therefore, the Ofsted judgement was somewhat unexpected. It was commented that the way in which the Ofsted report had been written  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/29

The Chair will present a verbal update on the matters that were considered at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 25 October 2022.

The Chair advised that on 25 October 2022, the Overview and Scrutiny Board had considered:

·         the Executive Forward Work Programme;

·         an update on ongoing work and current key issues from the Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health, Public Protection and Digital Inclusion; and

·         updates from the scrutiny chairs.

NOTED