Agenda for Children's Partnership Board on Wednesday, 13th December, 2017, 4.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: LB 31-32 - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Kate Morris  Kate Email: Morris2@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

26.

Apologies

Minutes:

Phyllis Brackenbury

Chris Cook

Helene Denness

Toni Price

Maria Ward

Zartasha Zahied

27.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None.

28.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 309 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2017

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2017 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

29.

Board Membership Update

Verbal update from Emily Humphreys Support Assistant Children and Adults Directorate

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the appointment of the following new members to the Board:

 

·  Kate Clifford, Head Teacher at Southwold Primary School & Early Years Centre – Primary Schools representative;

·  Derek Hobbs, Principal at The Nottingham Emmanuel School – Secondary Schools representative;

·  Toni Price, Head of Community Engagement, Nottingham City Council – Community Engagement representative;

·  Helene Denness, Consultant in Public Health, Nottingham City Council – Public Health representative;

·  Chris Wallbanks, Strategic Commissioning Manager, Nottingham City Council – Commissioning representative;

(2)  note that letters have been sent to partners who have recently left the Board (Sean Kelly, Jacqui Newton and Sally Pearce), to thank them for their contribution.

30.

CYPP Priority 2 Update: Supporting Achievement and Academic Attainment pdf icon PDF 263 KB

Report of the Education Director

Additional documents:

Minutes:

John Dexter, Education Director, introduced the report which presents the most recent set of data available outlining the key measures of attainment by children and young people attending early years settings and schools in Nottingham from the Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS) to Key Stage 5. John highlighted the following:

 

(a)  At the EYFS 66.2% of pupils in Nottingham were assessed as having reached a good level of development, up from 63.5% in 2015/16. The gap has been closed on both national and statistical neighbour averages, but concern remains over the level of boys’ literacy at the end of the EYFS;

(b)  at Key Stage 1, there a lower proportion of higher attainers in 2016/17 than there were in 2015/16, which is a concern. However, in phonics, since 2015/15 Nottingham has improved from the lowest performing local authority in England to 118th out of 150;

(c)  the proportion of pupils attaining the reading, writing and mathematics benchmark was 57% which is an increase of 7% on 2015/16. Only 2 city primary schools are below the government floor standard for reading, and none are for writing or mathematics;

(d)  national benchmarks for primary progress are not yet available, but estimates suggest that Nottingham progress in all three core elements at primary school will be in the top third of authorities nationally;

(e)  at Key Stage 4 the average Attainment 8 score per pupil has decreased 5.1 points to 39.5 in 2016/17, though this was reflected nationally. Nottingham is ranked 149th out of 151 local authorities. The average Progress 8 score in 2017 puts Nottingham 145th of 151 local authorities;

(f)  the percentage of pupils achieving 5 higher grades at English and Maths is no longer a national benchmark but is still significant. In 2017, 46.7% of pupils in Nottingham achieved this.

 

The following points were raised during the discussion that followed:

 

(g)  a lower proportion of higher attainers in 2016/17 achieved the higher standard than in 2015/16. This is an important area to focus on and Head Teachers across the city are working to improve work with higher attainers;

(h)  the secondary figures may not be a true representation of all pupils who live in the city as a fifth go to out of authority schools;

 

Janine Walker, Head of Inclusion and Disability, then gave a presentation to the Board on children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Nottingham City, highlighting the following:

 

(i)  14.4% of pupils in Nottingham City are identified as SEND, with 1.6% having Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The percentage of pupils with EHCPs is lower than average in Nottingham City but rising;

(j)  a 5 Year SEND Strategy is being developed for Nottingham City. There has been consultation with Head Teachers, SEND school staff, Early Years settings, parents and carers. The Strategy has been written and is due to be confirmed in April;

(k)  mainstream schools are keen to further develop their own SEND provision such as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

31.

Partner Update: Special Schools pdf icon PDF 295 KB

Presentation by David Stewart, Special Schools Representative

Minutes:

David Stewart, Oak Field School, delivered a presentation on the work of Special Schools in the city, highlighting the following:

 

(a)  there is a lack of routes into the teaching of pupils with SEND, with minimal time spent on this on teaching courses leading to underprepared teaching staff;

(b)  EHCP Reviews are rarely multi-agency and often just the teacher and the parent, meaning that families’ expectations are not met. EHCPs often do not include enough information, but this may be as they are not established yet;

(c)  Special Schools across the city are all full, and there is large demand from outside the city as well, and there are a growing number of pupils from abroad who have little or no previous education;

(d)  health support is fragmented with many agencies and changes, and a protocol is much needed in the city. Health needs override educational needs at most INSET training days for staff;

(e)  transport costs for visits and trips is extremely expensive for pupils with SEND and can require 4 minibuses for one class of 10 pupils, as well as the high cost of training volunteers to drive school minibuses;

(f)  a study was commissioning by the local authority on Special Needs and Pathway Post 19 (SNaPP) and found that transition planning should include longer-term goals which may take more than a year to achieve, for example travel training at an early stage to ensure that they are confident and safe in the use of public transport. It also found that greater consideration needs to be given to the sex education needs of young people during the transition period;

(g)   the city is still committed to supporting the provision of a summer school for families with SEND pupils, working closely with Social Care. There are, however, restrictions around when the building can be used due to its Private Finance Initiative rules;

(h)  Oak Field School has been recognised by the Family Planning Association for delivering innovative sex and relationship education to young people, with the best examples to be showcased in a report to the government;

(i)  a former Special School pupil from Nottingham is now a member of the National Youth Dance Company, and pupils with SEND have been working with Matthew Bourne Dance Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company;

(j)  directorates at the Council have pledged support to engage pupils with SEND into employment. Some pupils have already been taken on as apprentices, and one is at the police;

 

Attendance of external agencies at ECHP Reviews, such as health partners, can be difficult due to capacity, but there have been discussions around using technology to simplify attendance.

 

RESOLVED to thank David for the presentation and information provided.

32.

Nottingham Schools Trust Update pdf icon PDF 113 KB

Presentation from Pat Fielding and Sarah Fielding, Joint CEO’s of Nottingham Schools Trust

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Patrick Fielding, Joint CEO, Nottingham Schools Trust, delivered a presentation on the Nottingham Schools Trust, highlighting the following:

 

(a)  The Trust was set up in response to the loss of schools and their assets from the Local Authority through academisations, and has as members 29 of the 34 maintained schools in Nottingham, promoting collaboration rather than competition between these schools whilst allowing them to retain their individuality;

(b)  the aim of the Trust is to represent, lead, challenge, support and work on behalf of Nottingham City schools, and to allow school leaders to play their part in realising the vision of collective moral purpose and a shared commitment to the achievement and success of all children;

(c)  more schools have asked to join the Trust, some of which are outside Nottingham City, and there has been significant local and national interest;

(d)  the core team at the Trust consists of the joint CEOs, a Project Manager and admin support, working with School Improvement Advisors. A skills matrix has been drawn up which identifies all the skills of staff across all the schools who are willing to share these skills across the Trust free of charge;

(e)  the Trust is funded by a membership subscription, as well as Nottingham City Council grant funding. All schools receive the same amount of School Improvement support, on the basis that all schools are vulnerable;

Board members made a suggestion that members of staff who deal with SEND pupils in mainstream schools would benefit from shadowing teaching staff at special schools.

 

RESOLVED to thank Patrick for the information provided.

33.

Education Improvement Board Update pdf icon PDF 247 KB

Presentation from Jennifer Hardy, Project Manager Schools Organisation Team

Minutes:

Jennifer Hardy, Project Manager for the Education Improvement Board, delivered a presentation updating the Board on the work of the Education Improvement Board (EIB), highlighting the following:

 

(a)  the EIB is chaired by Sir David Greenaway, and has representatives from Nottingham City Council, Multi Academy Trusts, maintained schools, Nottingham High School, the University and Further Education providers. The full Board meets termly, but has sub-groups for business, outcomes, recruitment and retention, and vulnerable children;

(b)  the EIB’s key areas of focus are retention and recruitment of teachers and school staff, provision of literacy, provision for mathematics, provision for science and transition between primary and secondary education. Recruitment and retention is being wound down as a priority;

(c)  there is a proposal for Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher groups to become part of the EIB structure when the Nottingham City Secondary Education Partnership (NCSEP) closes;

(d)  funding is available to continue the EIB for a further two academic years, and bids will be submitted for additional funding from funds such as the Strategic School Improvement Fund (SSIF) or the Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund (TLIF);

 

Board members commented that transition for pupils with SEND should be a particular area of focus. Councillor Webster, who is a member of the EIB, congratulated the EIB for good work that has been done, but felt that collaborative working could still be better between members.

34.

Youth Cabinet Update pdf icon PDF 260 KB

Minutes:

Jon Rea, Engagement and Participation Lead Officer, introduced the report which gives an update on the work of the Youth Cabinet and associated Children and Young People Participation in Governance programme groups and activities in Quarter 3 2017-18, and highlighted the following:

 

(a)  two Primary Parliament sessions in November focussed on earning and learning, where they worked through a programme of design thinking-based workshops to design, build and market a solar powered kit car;

(b)  a Youth Cabinet event was held at Take 1 Studios in Hyson Green on the theme of Earning and Learning, and looking at barriers to young people getting the jobs they want;

(c)  activities took place to mark Takeover Challenge Week 2017 from 6th -10th November, including a takeover of the Loxley House restaurant and young people working with the council’s communications team.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  acknowledge and support the achievements of children and young people engaging in participation and active citizenship work through the Participation in Governance programme and the work of the Youth Cabinet;

(2)  consider how they can use the Children and Young People Participation in Governance programme to further participation in organisational strategies, plans and processes.

35.

Introduction of General Data Protection Regulation - May 2018

Verbal update from Emily Humphreys Support Assistant Children and Adults Directorate

 

Minutes:

Emily Humphreys, Support Assistant, Children and Adults informed the Board that the City Council’s Audit Committee has contacted all of the council’s partnerships regarding the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) from May 2018, as the Committee wants to ensure all of the Council’s partnerships are aware of the GDPR before it is introduced.

The GDPR will supersede the Data Protection Act 1998 and will introduce tougher fines for non-compliance and data breaches, whilst enabling people to have more say over what companies can do with their data.

The Children’s Partnership Board does not have a data sharing agreement as the information being shared is not personal data. However, partner organisations are expected to be responsible for making their own preparations including the provision of training and refresher training for the introduction of the GDPR. 

A link to further information on the GDPR is included below:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/.

 

36.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 106 KB

Board to note upcoming items

Minutes:

RESOLVED to note the contents of the forward plan.