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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Decision Session - Executive Member for Economy and Culture |
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Date |
27 January 2025 |
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Present |
Councillor Kilbane (Executive Member) |
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Officers in Attendance |
Angela Padfield - Head of Adult Learning Service - York Learning
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8. Apologies for Absence (10:02am)
There were no apologies.
9. Declarations of Interest (10:02am)
The Executive Member was asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any disclosable pecuniary interests, or other registerable interests he might have in the respect of business on the agenda, if he had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. None were declared.
10. Minutes (10:02am)
Resolved: That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 22 October 2024 be approved and signed by the Executive Member as a correct record.
11. Public Participation (10:02am)
It was reported that there were no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
12. York Learning Self Assessment Report (10:09am)
The Executive Member considered a report presented by the Head of Adult Learning Service - York Learning, discussing this year’s self-assessment report for Ofsted, which showed where York Learning stood in relation to the ‘Education Inspection Framework’. This final report was scheduled to be submitted to Ofsted on Friday, 31 January 2025.
The Head of Adult Learning summarised that there had been good engagement with the service, which provided a strong offer. Those areas where there had previously been low achievement had largely been turned around, and those areas which had not shown significant progress at this time were moving in the right direction and were reflective of the national picture.
The Executive Member thanked officers for the learner-focused report and noted that Ofsted had expressed appreciation for the honesty and depth of the authors’ self-reporting which had made us a trusted provider.
The Executive Member enquired about the statistics on impact – 2023-24 Education & Training 16-18 & 19+ and the Head of Adult Learning clarified that this should illustrate a 4 point improvement over last year’s figure. The Executive Member agreed that it was remarkable to have 93% successful progression into work/further learning, noting that very clearly something was working.
The Executive Member noted there had been challenges with retention of early Years apprenticeships – while the report reflected that this figure was just (0.2%) over the national average, learner retention was lower than other areas. The Head of Learning responded that those leaving were often young people, who intended to pursue early years education as a career path, but later saw that other areas offered greater financial incentives. Others had been challenged by the necessity for Maths and English qualifications due to changes in policy during their apprenticeship.
Noting the amendments published in the agenda supplement, the Executive Member
Resolved: To approve the 2023/24 Self-Assessment Report, subject to any suggested changes.
Reason: This helps monitor the service and provide sound governance arrangements.
Cllr P Kilbane, Chair
[The meeting started at 10.01 am and finished at 10.24 am].