Venue: Council Chamber
Contact: Georgina Moore
No. | Item |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: There were
no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting. |
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Minutes - Children and Young People's Learning Scrutiny Panel - 19 April 2021 PDF 331 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel held on 19 April 2021 were submitted and approved as a correct record. |
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Education and Learning - An Overview Verbal Report Officers from Children’s Services will provide the Scrutiny Panel with an overview of the main service areas within its remit and an outline of priorities, key issues and challenges for the year ahead. Minutes: The
Director of Education, Prevention and Partnerships; the Head of Achievement,
Education, Prevention and Partnerships and the Strategic Lead for Inclusion and
Specialist Support Services were in attendance to provide the scrutiny panel with
an overview of the main service areas within its remit and an outline of
priorities, key issues and challenges for the year ahead. The
Director of Education, Prevention and Partnerships advised that in respect of
Covid-19, the numbers had previously declined quite significantly, however,
over the past three weeks the number of cases had increased once again. It was
commented that the Local Authority had been working with Sir Kevan Collins (the
Government’s Education Recovery Commissioner) and Sir Alan Wood to discuss
education recovery and the role of councils in supporting that work. It
was anticipated that if self-isolation requirements were to remain unchanged,
the impact of Covid-19 would cause disruption into the new academic year, as
children and young people had not been vaccinated. It was anticipated that
keeping groups separate (in ‘bubbles’) and delivery of remote learning would
continue throughout the new academic year. Members
were advised that in a recent announcement by the Department for Education
(DfE), proposals for a “landmark
investment” of £15bn in teachers, tutoring and an extended school day to help
children catch up had been watered down to £1.4bn for schools in England.
Nationally, there was not currently a clear picture of what recovery looked
like for education. However, it was envisaged that recovery would be focused at
a school-level and would be bespoke to each local area. With
Covid-19, the home learning environment was vital in supporting education and
that was typically defined by child’s or young person’s social circumstances. Members
heard that there was a need to identify a baseline of performance and determine
how schools would deliver a comprehensive programme of catch-up, which would be
aimed at young people who had lost out on learning due to the pandemic. In
terms of elective home education, there had been an increase in the number of
children and young people being educated at home and there was a need to
determine the drivers behind that. It was also added that there had been an
increase in the number of children and young people missing education. It was
advised that children and young people from eastern European countries had been
migrating in and out of the area and there was a need to understand the reasons
for that. There was also a need for the Local Authority to track those families
and ensure those children were safe. The
Director commended the work that schools had undertaken in light of the
Covid-19 pandemic, schools had coped exceptionally well in ensuring their
pupils remained safe and continued to learn. Members heard that an Achievement Strategy had been developed, which would be sent to schools at the end of term. The strategy focused on key areas of recovery and business as usual and included performance measures. It was planned that schools would ... view the full minutes text for item 21/3 |
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Setting the Scrutiny Panel’s Work Programme - 2021/22 PDF 312 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer advised that
the purpose of the report was to invite the scrutiny panel to consider its work
programme for the current municipal year. It was commented that the report contained a
list of topical issues, which were anticipated to be of particular interest to
the scrutiny panel, those included: ·
the impact of COVID-19 on education and the
Council’s Recovery Plan; ·
post-16 education; ·
children missing education; ·
sexual abuse in schools and colleges; and ·
an update on sufficiency of school places. Also included within the submitted report
were suggestions that had been received from Children’s Services, those
included: ·
recovery; ·
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
(SEND); and ·
Inspecting Local Authority Children’s
Services (ILACS) improvement Reference was made to the aid attached at
Appendix 1 of the submitted report, which would enable Members to prioritise
issues where scrutiny could make an impact, add value or contribute to policy
development. It was recommended that two topics be selected
for the work programme for 2021/22. A discussion ensued: ·
Members commented on the importance of the
scrutiny panel investigating the impact of COVID-19 on education and the
Council’s Recovery Plan. ·
A Member suggested the following topics: o
The changes to the national curriculum, the
new curriculum - relationships and sex education (RSE) and the impact on
schools. o
In terms of those with SEND, what support was
provided to high achievers. ·
A Member recommended that in respect of SEND,
there was a need to ensure that children and young people were receiving
appropriate provision for their needs. ·
A Member commented that it would be
advantageous to investigate the reasons for those pupils with SEND missing
education. ·
A Member commented that Post-16 education was
of interest and there was a need to ensure that young people receive the skills
and training to find great jobs. ·
A Member suggested that sexual abuse in schools and colleges should be
investigated to identify the prevalence of the issue in Middlesbrough. ·
A Member recommended that the bullying of pupils with SEND should be
investigated. Following
discussion, Members were in agreement that SEND, the impact of COVID-19 on
education and the Council’s Recovery Plan and Post-16 education should be
included in the work programme for 2021/22. It was agreed that the comments
made by Members throughout the discussion, in respect of SEND, would be taken
forward when determining the terms of reference for the SEND review. AGREED
In-depth
reviews ·
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) ·
The Impact of COVID-19 on Education and the Council’s Recovery Plan Short
review/one-off meeting ·
Post-16 Education |
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Education and Covid-19 Recovery Verbal
Report The
Executive Director of Children’s Services will provide the Scrutiny Panel with an
update on education and Covid-19 recovery. Minutes: The Director of Education, Prevention
and Partnerships commented that in respect of Covid-19, the numbers had
previously declined quite significantly, however, over the past three weeks the
number of cases had increased once again. As previously stipulated, it was anticipated that if self-isolation requirements were to remain
unchanged, the impact of Covid-19 would cause disruption into the new academic
year, as children and young people had not been vaccinated. It was anticipated
that keeping groups separate (in ‘bubbles’) and delivery of remote learning
would continue throughout the new academic year. It was commented that due to
Covid-19, sports days had not been family events and physical transitioning
from Year 6 to Year 7 had stopped. Members were advised that at a
future meeting, the impact that Covid-19 on particular age groups would be
reported. Currently 23 (out of 54) schools
currently had pupils self-isolating - 18 bubbles had been affected. NOTED |
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Proposed Meeting Schedule for 2021/22 PDF 189 KB Minutes: A proposed
meeting schedule, for the Children and Young People's Learning Scrutiny Panel,
was submitted for the scrutiny panel's consideration. AGREED
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