Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Auden Room - Ground Floor, West Offices (G047). View directions

Contact: Catherine Clarke and Louise Cook  Democracy Officers

Items
No. Item

49.

Declarations of Interest

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

 

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

 

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda

 

Minutes:

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the register of interests, any prejudicial interests or disclosable pecuniary interests which they might have in respect of the business on the agenda or any other general interest they might have within the remit of the committee.  Councillor Taylor declared a personal interest in agenda item 6 that he was employed by City Screen, a venue that supplied films and live music and Cllr Fitzpatrick declared a personal interest as she was a trustee of York Theatre Royal.

50.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 67 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 21 January 2015.

Minutes:

Resolved: That the minutes of the last meeting of the Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21 January 2015 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

51.

Public Participation

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is Monday 23 February 2015 at 5:00 pm.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

 

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officers for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

 

 Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note this meeting may be filmed and webcast or audio recorded and that includes any registered public speakers, who have given their permission.  The broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts  or,if sound recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

 

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

 

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at: http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

Minutes:

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

52.

York Theatre Royal - Service Level Agreement Performance Bi-annual Update Report pdf icon PDF 68 KB

This report is to inform the Scrutiny Committee of the progress and performance of the York Theatre Royal under the current Service Level Agreement (SLA).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Executive of the York Citizens Theatre Trust attended the meeting to inform Members of the progress and performance of the York Theatre Royal under the current Service Level Agreement.

 

The Chief Executive informed Members that the Theatre:

·        had transferred from the ownership of City of York Council to the York Conservation Trust in January 2015.

·        had continued its work to develop designs and secure funding to enable the capital project to take place from end of March 2015, which included a commitment from York Conservation Trust to immediately invest funds to repair the roof and other fabric works.

·        had received further commitments from the York Conservation Trust for continued investment over the next 3-5 years to improve the buildings condition and enabling the Theatre Trust to develop new income streams and secure its financial stability.

·        would be closed from mid March till October 2015 with the Theatre reopening in December.

·        had negotiated a residency programme at the National Railway Museum (NRM) during the closure period.

·        had secured the Exceptional Award, 1 of only 5 in the Country, and additional funding through the National Arts Council who had recognised the exceptional activity between the Theatre and NRM.

·        had received a large number of attendances for all productions with the Pantomime reaching 49,000.

 

Members thanked the Chief Executive for her update and congratulated her on the work the Theatre had done with local schools and the opportunities they made available for young people.

 

In answer to Members questions it was confirmed that the Theatre:

·        had apprenticeships and school aged placements available and would always encourage learning within the organisation. 

·        paid their Internships/Apprenticeships but not school aged placements.

·        does not currently advertise York on the Railway Children advertisements in King Cross Station due to the current contract with the commercial producers but the Story Board in that station was still available which referenced York.

·        offered two adult acting classes every week, which were consistently oversubscribed.

·        had active friends and volunteer groups that worked in varies roles throughout the Theatre including archives and fundraising.

·        had over 250 community volunteers who were involved in the Big Community projects such as Blood and Chocolate and will be involved in this year’s production, In Fog and Falling Snow.

·        had two new groups available for children with learning difficulties making a total of 16 different youth group opportunities.

·        productions supplied by York Citizens Theatre Trust on the main stage always offered sign interpreted, audio-described and captioned performances.

·        could not supply sign interpreted performances for most productions that toured but would ensure that these plays were audio described.

·        refurbishments would transform the access to the building and the new lift, would allow for wheelchair users to reach the dress circle.

·        Front facing staff were not dementia trained but it would be considered in the future when all disability training was renewed.

 

Members thanked the Chief Executive for her report and were pleased that the Theatre had transferred to the York Conservation Trust. They agreed the investment would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

53.

Careers Review- Further Update on Implementation of Recommendations pdf icon PDF 89 KB

This report provides Members with a second update on the implementation of the recommendations arising from the previously completed scrutiny review of Careers, Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG). Members are asked to sign off all those now considered fully implemented.    

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report that provided a second update on the implementation of the recommendations arising from the previously completed scrutiny review of Careers, Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG). Members were asked to sign off all those now considered fully implemented.

 

Discussions took place regarding each recommendation listed below and the following comments from officers were noted:

iv) To develop a form of CYC Charter mark.

·        This was a challenging area now that the statutory duty had changed and transferred to schools.

·        Schools wanted a local Charter Mark that was recognised by OFSTED.

v) Each young person should be offered a career interview.

·        The Local Authority in partnership with the schools had a statutory duty to interview and support pupils who were at risk of NEET, had special needs, were Looked After or had attendance issues.

·        The review showed that there was some very good practices being used but it was not consistent across all secondary schools which had resulted in some pupils not receiving an interview.

·        Officers felt it would be beneficial for Members to receive the Destination Survey for 2014 school leavers at a future meeting.

vi) To provide greater scope for involvement by employers in schools.

·        The Local Authority was involved in a new joint initiative with NYBEP, the Children’s University, and both York Universities, that would provide good links with employers.

·        It was confirmed that the School Governing Bodies had received a letter to identify an Enterprise Governor for each school to champion the enterprise and employability agenda.

·        Around 90% of businesses in York were small to medium sized and more focus was needed on encouraging these companies to go into schools.

vii) Schools should ensure that all young people are provided with advice and the necessary support to access vocational options and apprenticeships.

·        The career programmes in all secondary schools covered the full range of post 16 options.

·        A high level apprenticeship event inviting large and small employers from across the city to showcase their Apprenticeship vacancieshad been arranged to take place in West Offices in March 2015.

viii) CYC website should provide a quick and easy link to careers advice for young people through the Young People’s Zone at the YorOK website.

·        Access to the website had been improved including more visible links to careers advice on the Yor-Zone page.

ix) Taster days for 6th form and college should be introduced and aimed at young people in year 10.

·        Some schools did not have the capacity to offer taster days to Year 10 students but was offered to all Year 11 pupils.

x) At the end of Year 11 a letter should be sent to every young person that sets out the support services available at Castlegate. 

·        This had been achieved in July 2014 with letters being sent to all Year 11 leavers.

 

The Task Group and officers were thanked for their work on this review.

 

Resolved:

 

i)             That the committee noted the report and considered each recommendation in annex  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

54.

Draft Final Report -'Disabled Access To York's Heritage & Cultural Offer' Scrutiny Review pdf icon PDF 280 KB

This report presents the findings from the recently completed scrutiny review of Disabled Access to York’s Heritage & Cultural Offer, and asks the Committee to agree the Task Group’s draft recommendations, to enable the final report to be presented to a future meeting of Cabinet.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report that presented the findings from the recently completed scrutiny review of Disabled Access to York’s Heritage & Cultural Offer and asked the Committee to agree the Task Group’s draft recommendations, to enable the final report to be presented to a future meeting of Cabinet.

 

The Chair of the Task Group thanked everyone who had participated in this review, in particular the Scrutiny Officer and Cllr Barnes whose contributions had been instrumental. The Task Group agreed that the review had been extremely interesting and meeting and listening to external partners had been hugely beneficial.  

 

Members discussed Make It York’s offer and agreed it would be useful for the Committee to receive a report which explained their aspirations. To monitor how this new enterprise had been incorporated, Members also agreed to receive six monthly updates.

 

The draft recommendations were considered and Members discussed the wording used in the sentence ‘making accessibility a requirement of membership’ found in paragraph 87, point x, bullet point 1 of the report.  It was noted that a clearer explanation was needed and the Task Group agreed to circulate an amended sentence around the Committee for approval.

 

The Chair stated that the Wayfinding Project had funding available that could be allocated to digital use and that at a recent Cabinet meeting a decision on the allocation had been deferred. It was suggested that funding from this Project could be used to generate the downloadable mobile application, which would contain a comprehensive guide to accessible facilities in York.

 

The Task Group Chair agreed to contact the relevant Cabinet Member and officer involved to explore the options available. If the funding was obtainable the Task Group would redraft points xii and xiii, in paragraph 87 of the report, to reflect that City of York Council would be providing this provision.  

 

It was agreed the endorsement of the recommendations would be deferred until the next meeting to allow the Task Group to seek clarification on the proposed amendments.

 

Resolved:

 

i)             That the review findings detailed in paragraphs 12-82 of the report be noted.

ii)            That the endorsement of the Task Group draft recommendations be deferred until the next meeting.

iii)          That the sentence ‘Making accessibility a requirement of membership’ be amended and emailed around the full Committee for approval.

iv)          That the Cabinet Member and officer involved with the Wayfinding Project be contacted by the Task Group Chair and any updates to recommendations xii and xiii be prepared.

v)           That a report be received, at a future full Committee, from Make It York with 6 monthly updates.

 

Reason: To conclude the work on this review in line with scrutiny procedures and protocols thereby enabling this draft final report to be presented at the next meeting of the full Learning & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

55.

Draft Final Report - 'Narrowing the Gap' Scrutiny Review pdf icon PDF 252 KB

This report presents findings from the recently completed Narrowing the Gap scrutiny review and asks the Committee to agree the Task Group’s draft recommendations, to enable the final report to be presented to a future meeting of Cabinet.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report that presented findings from the recently completed Narrowing the Gap scrutiny review and asked the Committee to agree the Task Groups draft recommendations to enable the final report to be presented at a future meeting of Cabinet.

 

The Task Group Chair informed the Committee that this review took place to scrutinise how the gap could be narrowed for those pupil premium children who were not achieving. She thanked the Task Group for their input and confirmed that they also worked in collaboration with officers. She stated that the visits were illuminating and the information received was extremely encouraging.

 

The Assistant Director of Education & Skills thanked the Task Group on behalf of the cluster schools visited.  She stated that they had also found the visits hugely beneficial and welcomed the insight into the work of scrutiny. She suggested the agreed recommendations be shared with the schools.

 

Officers confirmed that a virtual network was being considered to systematically share information across the City by creating a network for schools to collate ideas. City of York Council were hoping to host and build this system that would include data such as good practice’s from other schools.

 

Resolved:

i)             That the review findings and conclusions as detailed in paragraphs 15-50 of the report be noted.

 

ii)            That the draft recommendations as listed in paragraph 51 of the report be endorsed.

 

Reason: To conclude the review in line with scrutiny procedures and protocols and enable the agreed final report to be presented to a future meeting of Cabinet.

 

 

56.

Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee Workplan 2014/15 including a verbal update on ongoing 'Entrepreneurship in York Schools' Scrutiny Review pdf icon PDF 47 KB

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s workplan for the 2014-15 municipal year and receive a verbal update on the ongoing Entrepreneurship in York Schools scrutiny review.

Minutes:

Members considered the committee’s workplan for the remainder of the 2014-15 municipal year and received a verbal update on the Entrepreneurship in York Schools Scrutiny Review.

 

They agreed to defer the Draft Final Report – Disabled Access to York’s Heritage & Cultural Officer Scrutiny Review until the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday 18 March 2015.

 

Resolved:    i) That the work plan, including the above amendment, be agreed.

 

                   ii) That the update on the Entrepreneurship in York Schools Scrutiny Review be noted.

 

iii)  That the Destination Survey for 2014 school leavers be presented at a future meeting.

 

 

Reason:           To keep the committee’s work plan updated.

 

 

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