Agenda item

This interim report provides an update on the ongoing review work in support of the Entrepreneurship in York Schools Scrutiny Review, and asks the Task Group to agree the way forward.

Members considered an interim report which provided an update on the ongoing review work in support of the Entrepreneurship in York Schools Scrutiny Review in order that the Task Group could agree the way forward.

The Council’s 14-19 Development Manager informed Members that an inspirations agenda was in the process of being set up. This would promote employers and entrepreneurs going into schools to inspire young people and would link with careers guidance and would include facilitating a York careers guidance and inspirations offer. Once available this would provide a menu of opportunities to be offered by each organisation and it would be important that York schools engaged fully with that menu when it was published later in the year.

Members expressed the view that the consultation event had gone well and had been useful in that it had given them the opportunity to hear from providers, businesses partners of the Children’s University and schools who have benefitted from it. Members agreed that the event had demonstrated that a lot more was taking place in York’s schools than anyone had realised. They stressed the importance of highlighting best practice and encouraging those schools not currently participating to do so.

Members discussed the Fiver Challenge detailed in the report. They noted that although the local authority had run the fiver challenge in York in 2011, take up had not been good. One Member suggested that it would be worthwhile promoting the scheme in York schools again. This would require a mentor from business to provide support to each school and someone to coordinate and administer the process from within each school. If the scheme was no longer running nationally it would also require a pot of money. It was envisaged that schools could be asked to provide a summary report following participation in the scheme to enable officers to evaluate its success.

Councillor Fitzpatrick advised Members that her visit to the Queens Park Community School in Brent had demonstrated how entrepreneurship could become embedded in a school’s philosophy resulting in pupils having a “can do” attitude. She stressed the need to embed the ethos of entrepreneurship in schools thus providing the correct environment for entrepreneurial inspirations to develop and flourish.

Officers advised that through the Leeds City Region, it was hoped to obtain funding to allow a business person to sit on each school’s governing body.

It was agreed that the task group’s main recommendations would focus on the following areas:

·        Promoting the fiver challenge in York Schools

·        Highlighting best practice in schools.

·        Promoting the work of organisations such as the Children’s University

·        Promoting the inclusion of business people as school governors.

·        Encouraging schools to engage with the Inspirations Agenda.

It was agreed that Officers would provide further information on the inspirations agenda for inclusion in the Task Group’s draft final report and that the Chair would produce a covering report, with the current report and its annexes forming the evidence base for the review.

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Task Group would take place following the Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 24 February 2015.

Resolved: 

(i)      That the analysis of the information gathered to date as detailed in paragraphs 36-54 of the report be noted.

(ii)      That the information provided at the recent Consultation event as detailed in paragraphs 56-83 of the report be noted.

(iii)     That further information on the Inspirations Agenda be provided by officers to support the review.

(iv)    That research into the Fiver Challenge be undertaken, with a view to promoting it in York Schools.

(v)     That the suggested method for presenting the report be noted.

(vi)    That the next meeting of the Task Group take place on 24^th February 2014 at 6.30pm (or on the conclusion of the Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting).

Reason:    

To conclude the review in line with agreed scrutiny procedures and protocols and enable the draft final report to be presented to a future meeting of the full Learning & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee.