Agenda item

The Deputy Mayor & Executive Member for Education and Culture will be in attendance to provide an update in their capacity as portfolio holder for Education and Culture.

Councillor Storey, Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture, accompanied by the Director of Regeneration and the Director of Education and Partnerships, was in attendance at the meeting to provide the Board with an update regarding her portfolio in relation to Education and Culture.

 

As part of the Executive Member’s portfolio in relation to Culture, the Board heard that this included strengthening the town’s cultural sector through strong sector leadership with the Cultural partnership, liaising with the Regional Arts Council and funding bids.

 

There was a range of venues and museums within the cultural remit including Middlesbrough Town Hall, Middlesbrough Theatre, Newham Grange Leisure Farm and associated partnerships, Dorman Museum and Captain Cook Museum.

 

In addition, events such as the Orange Pip Market sat within the Culture remit, together with storage preservation and engagement delivered by Teesside Archives and a wide range of arts and music projects within arts development.

 

The Executive Member’s priorities in relation to her culture portfolio were:-

 

·         To extend the uses for the Town Hall.

·         Extend Cultural ambassadors programme.

·         Support music partnerships to achieve long term outcomes.

·         Support Middlesbrough Art Week and NPO (National Portfolio Organisations) Partners.

·         To make Middlesbrough the heart of artistic and community creativity.

 

During discussion, the following issues were raised:-

 

·         In response to a query, the Board was advised that Teesside Archives was located within the Dorman Museum and services could be accessed by the public, however, it was generally best to book an appointment in advance if looking for specific documents.

·         In response to a request for an update in relation to Captain Book Birthplace Museum, it was stated that a report was awaited in relation to proposals put forward from a private investor.

·         Reference was made to the Executive Member’s priority to extend the use of the Town Hall and it was queried whether examples could be provided.  The Executive Member replied that she would like to see it being more widely used by commercial ventures and by community groups.

·         Reference was made to the Orange Pip Market and it was queried whether there were any plans to extend it to Baker/Bedford Street, rather than holding it in just one of the streets as it could become crowded.  The Executive Member advised that originally both streets were used for Orange Pip and also Centre Square, or the Town Hall during inclement weather.  When it was held in just one of the streets that was usually due to there not being enough stalls to take up both streets.

·         Further information was requested around the Cultural Ambassador’s Programme and the Board was informed that the Council launched the programme to create a fund to help the creative sector continue to plan and deliver outstanding events across the town.  This year partners from Holiday Inn Express, Leonardo Hotel, Teesside University and Stagecoach North East, had provided funding which organisations could tap into.

·         A Member of the Board queried whether there were any plans to deliver bigger-scale cultural events with the Tees Valley Combined Authority.  The Executive Member stated that she would love to link up with the TVCA but their focus was on the whole of the Tees Valley rather than just Middlesbrough.

·         It was queried how many gigs had been held this year in Middlesbrough Town Hall and whether it had been used more this year than last year.  The Executive Member responded that she would obtain the information for Members and highlighted that due to roof restoration works planned last year, there had been a reduction in the number of gigs that could be held.  However, the Town Hall Manager had worked incredibly hard to increase the number of bookings and it was anticipated that this would increase next year.  In addition, the number of gigs depended on who was in the area at the time and it was highlighted that Stockton’s Globe Theatre had impacted on the Town Hall to some extent.

 

In relation to her portfolio on Education, the Executive Member advised that this included:-

 

·         Working with schools – to challenge and support them with their exclusion policies and promote inclusion; and driving strategies to improve outcomes for young people.

·         Family Hubs – Supporting them to engage with families and break down barriers to access; and support the links between Health and Education.

·         Youth Justice – to drive delivery of the Youth Justice Plan; and strengthen Partnerships to support delivery of shared agendas.

 

The Executive Member’s priorities within this area were:-

 

·         Supporting schools to improve attendance of all children, particularly the most vulnerable.

·         Ensuring the build of Outwood Riverside.

·         Supporting sixth form and college provision.

·         Preventing young people from entering the Youth Justice system.

·         Supporting child literacy.

 

**DECLARATION OF INTEREST

 

At this point in the meeting, Councillor McClintock declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to any discussion that may involve issues in relation to Middlesbrough College as he was a Governor at Middlesbrough College.

 

During discussion the following issues were raised:-

 

·         A Member referred to Eton College announcing it was coming to Middlesbrough a few years ago and queried whether there was any movement on this.  The Executive Member responded that she had concerns about the potential impact this might have on current sixth form provision in Middlesbrough as there were currently not enough sixth form teachers.  A shortage of further education teachers was a national issue.  Grant funding had been secured to encourage teachers to stay on longer at current sixth forms and an additional college may have a negative impact in terms of teaching provision.  There had also been a decline in the numbers of students wanting to study academic subjects.  There had been no further discussion as to whether they still planned to come to Middlesbrough.

·         It was queried whether there was any progress on the new building for Outwood Riverside.  The Executive Member advised that she had recently had a positive meeting with the Minister for Schools Capital and was hopeful that work would commence on the building in February 2025, subject to the planning process overseen by the MDC.  In response to a further query, it was confirmed that Outwood Riverside was a school only and did not have a sixth form attached.

·         It was queried whether there could be some cross-party support for working with the TVCA and the area health authority.  The Executive Member advised that she had met with the North East Combined Authority to look at what they were doing.  The NECA was acting outside of its remit to provide funding for benefit advisers to be placed in all primary schools in all of their local authority areas.  It was highlighted that family hubs in Middlesbrough were doing a lot of good work but were limited as to what they could do within resources.  It was suggested that OSB may want to consider writing to the TVCA asking them to look at some of the issues as Middlesbrough did not have financial ability to provide some of the additional services it would like to.

·         Reference was made to the new rules on VAT for students and it was queried whether this affected any of Middlesbrough’s schools/academies.  It was highlighted that school fees for private schools providing education and boarding services would be subject to the standard VAT rate (20%) from 1 January 2025.  The local authority’s education remit was up to the age of 16 and there were no private schools in Middlesbrough, however, there may be students living in Middlesbrough that attended private schools in other areas.

·         It was queried how many schools in Middlesbrough were rated as outstanding by Ofsted.  The Director of Education and Partnerships responded that all primary schools except one were rated as outstanding but that secondary schools were more of a mixed picture.  League tables could be circulated if Members wished.

·         In response to a query regarding sufficiency of school places, the Executive Member advised that there was currently sufficient provision for the number of children requiring them and that it was her number one priority to ensure that the Outwood Riverside school was built as soon as possible as children attending this provision were currently being transported daily to Eston.  In response to a query regarding transport costs, it was confirmed that this was currently being financed by the DfE.

·         It was queried whether there were any plans to establish additional family hubs.  The Executive Member advised that she would like to see family hubs extended and the use of additional sites could potentially be explored providing funding could be secured.

·         Reference was made to school exclusions and it was stated that whilst some were justified, many were imposed for trivial reasons such as wearing the wrong shoes.  The Executive Member agreed that many academies lacked trauma informed care and that she had raised concerns with some schools regarding their disciplinary techniques and that this was something being worked on with the academies.

·         A Member referred to alternative education provision and enquired what the cost was, per child and in total, to the Council for all Middlesbrough children attending such establishments.  It was confirmed that alternative provision was not run by the Council and the cost did not come from the Council’s core budget, however, the transport costs were covered by the Council.  The Executive Member highlighted that there was a high proportion of children on EHCPs and those with additional needs in alternative provision and that she would strongly encourage the extra provision being put into mainstream schools to support as many children as possible within mainstream education and would prefer the local authority to have greater oversight.

·         It was queried how many schools were Council controlled.  The Director responded that there were currently eight Council-controlled primary schools, however, some were in the process of transferring to academies, and no Council-controlled secondary schools out of a total of 57 schools.  It was highlighted that some special schools covered both primary and secondary ages and were Council-controlled.

 

The Chair thanked the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture and the Directors for their attendance and the information provided.

 

AGREED that the presentation provided be noted.