Agenda and minutes

Gary Holmes

Richard Matthews

To note that Tracy Rees has been appointed as secondary academy representative

The Chair of the Forum welcomed Tracy Rees as a new member of the Forum following the resignation of Carol Fearria as secondary academy representative.

RESOLVED to note the appointment of Tracy Rees from Fernwood Academy as Secondary Academy representative.

None.

Last meeting held on 18 June 2015 (for confirmation)

The Forum confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2015 as a correct record and these were signed by the Chair. A report on take up of 2 year old nursery places will be brought to the meeting on 5 November.

The work programme for the next meeting of the Forum was noted, with the addition of reports on new high needs guidance, take up of 2 year old nursery places and a funding application for the Fair Access Protocol.

Report of the Corporate Director for Children and Adults

David Thompson, Risk Health and Safety Manager, introduced his report requesting de-delegation of funding for schools health and safety building maintenance for maintained mainstream primary and secondary schools in 2016/17, highlighting the following points:

(a)  the funding requested to be de-delegated is to be used to fund tests and inspections in maintained primary and secondary schools, including:

·  air conditioning units;

·  asbestos surveys;

·  automatic doors and gates;

·  boilers;

·  electrical circuit testing;

·  emergency lighting;

·  fire alarms;

·  heat pumps;

·  legionella risk assessments;

·  lifts;

·  lightning protection;

·  pressure sets;

·  stage lighting;

(b)  any remedial works that are required due to schools failing any tests or inspections will be organised and paid for from the Dedicated Schools Grant against the Capital expenditure from revenue funding held centrally within the Schools Block;

(c)  schools will be informed of the programme for tests and inspections throughout the year, and the de-delegation requested offers good value for money as they will be procured through the local authority’s framework agreement.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the statutory and legislative responsibilities of the local authority in relation to health and safety building maintenance of maintained primary and secondary schools and the type of costs that the requested funding will be used to fund;

(2)  approve the de-delegation of the health and safety building maintenance funding for maintained mainstream primary schools in 2016/17 based on a rate of £13.92 per pupil. The total estimated funding requested to be de-delegated is £176,000;

(3)  approve the de-delegation of the health and safety building maintenance funding for maintained mainstream secondary schools in 2016/17 based on a rate of £13.92 per pupil. The total estimated funding requested to be de-delegated is £18,000.

Report of the Strategic Director of Organisational Transformation and the Strategic Director of Finance

Della Sewell, Employee Relations Manager, introduced her report requesting de-delegation of funding to enable trade union facility time for senior trade union representatives from schools to attend negotiation and consultation meetings and to represent their members in schools in 2016/17, highlighting the following points:

(a)   the cost of this service will increase in 2016/17due to the following factors:

·  schools that have academised since the last year’s approval was given to de-delegate have decided to make their own arrangements;

·  prior to the financial year 2016/17 the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) did not take up their full entitlement;

·  due to the amalgamation of Fernwood Infants and Junior to become a primary school there is one less maintained school

(b)  as a result of this increase in cost it is necessary to increase the funding allocated per pupil and the lump sum per school to enable the full reimbursement of schools with trade union representatives;

The following answers were given in response to questions from the Forum:

(c)  this cost is not covered by union subsidies as they only cover full-time officials;

(d)  if academies don’t buy back the service they have to negotiate an elected steward within the school themselves, who must have time off for union working.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the de-delegation of funding for senior trade union representatives from maintained mainstream primary schools at a rate of £1.52 per pupil and a lump sum of £1,586.86 per school. The total estimated funding requested to be de-delegated is £79,000;

(2)  approve the de-delegation of funding for senior trade union representatives from maintained mainstream secondary schools at a rate of £1.52 per pupil and a lump sum of £1,586.86 per school. The total estimated funding requested to be de-delegated is £4,000;

(3)  note that this proposal is based on the assumption of academy buybacks continuing in 2016/17, generating additional income of £54,000.

Report of the Corporate Director for Children and Adults

Mick Evans, Pupil and School Services Manager, introduced his report requesting de-delegation of funding for gym equipment maintenance through the Sportsafe gym equipment maintenance service in 2016/17, highlighting the following points:

(a)  the benefit of de-delegation of funding is it provides a designated contact point between the authority and Sportsafe, to arrange maintenance checks and to rectify problems between school scheduling visits and Sportsafe commitments;

(b)  the local authority liaise with the contractor on irregular items and challenge such costs, whilst questions are raised on the quotation schedules for replacement equipment items against the cost of repair to ensure value for money;

(c)  as the dedicated schools grant reduces as more schools academise, the price may vary but still represents good value for money. Academies buying back the service could prevent this.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the de-delegation of funding for the Sportsafe gym maintenance service for  maintained mainstream primary schools in 2016/17 at a rate of £500 per school. The total estimated funding to be de-delegated is £19,000;

(2)  approve the de-delegation of funding for the Sportsafe gym maintenance service for  maintained mainstream secondary schools in 2016/17 at a rate of £500 per school. The total estimated funding to be de-delegated is £1,000;

(3)  note that a survey of academy schools will be carried out to ascertain how they carry out their responsibilities around safe gym equipment.

Report of the Directors of Education and the Corporate Director for Children and Adults

Trish Haw, Behaviour Support Team, introduced her report requesting de-delegation of funding for the behaviour support team (BST) in 2016/17, highlighting the following points:

(a)  the BST carries out both core functions which enable schools and the local authority to meet their statutory duties and other non-core functions which are commissioned through schools as a traded service;

(b)  the funding is targeted towards those children and young people with special educational needs and disability and social emotional mental health difficulties where they:

·  are at high risk of exclusion;

·  are in foundation and key stage 1;

·  have identified safeguarding issues/concerns;

·  have barriers to progress in school;

(c)  an increasing number of academies now buy back the service, increasing the income from traded services year on year;

(d)  there is to be a review of alternative provision and this could change radically. However, the BST will remain important, particularly to primary schools.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the de-delegation of funding for statutory services provided by the Behaviour Support Team in 2016/17 for maintained mainstream primary schools at a rate of £55 per pupil eligible for free school meals and a lump sum of £3000 per school. The total funding to be de-delegated is £301,000, made up of £187,000 generated by pupils eligible for free school meals and £114,000 lump sum funding;

(2)  not approve the de-delegation of funding for statutory services provided by the Behaviour Support Team in 2016/17 for maintained mainstream secondary schools at a rate of £55 per pupil eligible for free school meals and a lump sum of £3000 per school.

Jane Daffé, Senior Achievement Consultant, introduced her report requesting de-delegation of funding for Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA)in 2016/17, highlighting the following points:

(a)  traded income for the service has increased significantly since last year, with 50% of services now traded and a continuing upward trend. As a result of this the per-pupil request has been reduces by half;

(b)  EMA in Nottingham is successful and ethnic minorities perform well;

(c)  the service has been adapted to meet changing demands and now works more with new arrivals and pupils with English as an additional language (EAL). Demand on the service continues to rise.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  approve the de-delegation of funding for Ethnic Minority Achievement from maintained mainstream primary schools at a rate of £44.56 per EAL pupil for 2016/17 to ensure that the IDEAL team has sufficient time to create programmes and products for a fully traded service to be established. The total estimated funding to be de-delegated is £108,000 (based on October 2014 census and to be reviewed at Autumn census 2015);

(2)  approve the de-delegation of funding for Ethnic Minority Achievement from maintained mainstream secondary schools at a rate of £44.56 per EAL pupil for 2016/17 to ensure that the IDEAL team has sufficient time to create programmes and products for a fully traded service to be established. The total estimated funding to be de-delegated is £1,000 (based on October 2014 census and to be reviewed at Autumn census 2015).

Presentation by Lee Kimberley, Head of Trading Operations and Jacquie Blake, School Traded Services Manager

Lee Kimberley, Head of Trading Operations, gave a presentation outlining the work and recent development of Nottingham’s Education Catering Services, highlighting the following:

(a)  historically the arrangement for school catering was a one-pot system with no reflection on the actual take up and costs per school. This has changed as of 2014 towards individual budgeting and contract costs for schools, reflecting the actual cost to run the operation and take up of meal numbers;

(b)  all maintained schools’ meals are directly subsidised by Nottingham City Council, with the paid meal price maintained at a low price point;

(c)  the uptake school meals has increased since the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). 13,000 meals per day were served in 2014/15 compared to 10,000 in 2013/14;

(d)  the service is fully comprehensive, including repairs, maintenance, staff cover, procurement and admin, safety and inspections and on-going investment into facilities to maintain standards;

(e)  individual school contracts are tailored to individual schools’ needs and pupil numbers with modern branding and marketing materials, locally sourced, fresh seasonal produce and a focus on quality and customer service;

(f)  the ultimate objective is to remove the subsidy from the council, whilst maintaining a fully comprehensive service, maintaining meal numbers and viability per school;

(g)  the School Food Plan, which reinforces the need and benefits of school meals has achieved bronze Food for Life accreditation, with and aim for silver in the autumn term and gold in 2016/17;

(h)  an executive chef will deliver a training plan to upskills cooks in schools to as high a standard as possible;

(i)  an annual audit will be carried out which will ensure that all legal and government food and hygiene standards are maintained in each school,

(j)  the service has worked to procure new contracts with local suppliers to ensure fresh, seasonal and local produce, 100% meat sourced from the East Midlands, 100% MSC accredited fish, and 100% free range eggs;

(k)  to meet the introduction of UIFSM, the government funded a capital programme of £481,000 to upgrade maintained school kitchens, topped up by a further £695,000 by the council to ensure all requirements were met. This has secured employment for local citizens, with 27 posts created;

(l)  the current turnover of the service is £6.4 million per annum. This is a shortfall in £695,000 from the capital costs which the council has met;

(m)the media is reporting that the UIFSM scheme is under review, though this is only speculation at present. If this change were to be announced, School Catering is working with Finance to model its impact. Schools will be kept informed of any developments.

RESOLVED to note the information and thank Lee for the presentation

Report of the Directors of Education

Pat Fielding, Director of Education, introduced his report on arrangements that have been implemented during 2015 for pupils that have been, or are at risk of being, permanently excluded and to advise Schools Forum of the associated financial implications. Pat highlighted the following:

(a)  due to an increased level of permanent exclusions across all key stages, revised arrangements have been required. These measures are an interim solution pending a larger scale rationilisation;

(b)  in the 2014/15 academic year five key stage one (KS1) pupils have been permanently excluded, compared to one in 2013/14. Emergency temporary accommodation for these pupils has been set up at Glenbrook Management Centre, supported and staffed by the Behaviour Support Team;

(c)  the Ofsted inspection of Denewood Learning Centre in December 2014 identified significant concerns about the provision for pupils in Key Stage 2 (KS2), due in part to the physical capacity of the building to accommodate the increasing numbers. As a result, 6 pupils continue their education at Denewood, 4 pupils have been moved to Woodlands School and 12 pupils have been moved to Westbury School. This has resulted in higher attendance, improved behaviour and improved teaching and learning;

(d)  Denewood Learning Centre was temporarily closed following its Ofsted inspection with key stage 3 (KS3) pupils moving to alternate providers. As of September 2015 it has reopened, education 56 pupils;

(e)  Bulwell Academy has worked with the council to pilot a localised Alternative Provision hub at the school, with a number of pupils moving from Denewood as of the summer half term 2015. The academy provides these students with a range of pathways depending on individual needs and circumstances;

(f)  strategic plans are underway with regard to the commissioning of an updated framework agreement for permanently excluded pupils at KS3 and key stage 4 (KS4) due to significantly increasing numbers at Unity Learning Centre;

(g)  in order to address these issues of increasing numbers of permanently excluded pupils, an Alternative Provision focus group was established consisting of head teachers/principles of primary, secondary and special schools, council officers and Nottingham City Secondary Education Partnership (NCSEP);

(h)  the focus group has commissioned the following:

·  a review of existing systems and structures relating to alternative provision/PRUs;

·  a review of the structure, range of services and systems operating in the provision of education for city pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), including special schools and focused provision;

·  a review of the impact of services/agencies that work with schools and academies from KS1 – KS4 to improve pupil behaviour and engagement, and to prevent placement breakdowns;

these reports have now been completed and will be presented to school head teachers in October.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the revised alternative provision arrangements that have been put into place during 2015;

(2)  note that the additional costs of alternative provision for the 2015/16 financial year compared to the amount budgeted, currently estimated at between £1.198 million and £1.655 million as detailed below:

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item(s) in accordance with section 104a(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item in accordance with section 100a(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on a basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of the Corporate Director for Children and Adults

Lucy Juby, Project Manager, School Organisation, introduced her report.

A representative from the school was in attendance for this item.

RESOLVED to approve the recommendations in the report.

2015: 5 November, 10 December

2016: 21 January, 25 February, 21 April, 16 June

RESOLVED to note that the Schools Forum will meet on the following dates in the 2015/16 academic year:

2015:  5 November, 10 December

2016:  21 January, 25 February, 21 April, 16 June