Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Runciman declared a personal interest in agenda item 8 (Appointment of Local Authority Governors) as a Governor of Joseph Rowntree School.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Executive Member for Children and Young People’s Services Decision Session held on 20 July 2009.

RESOLVED:That the minutes of the Executive Member for Children and Young People’s Services Decision Session held on 20 July 2009 be approved and signed as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak at the meeting can do so.  The deadline for registering is Monday 7 September 2009 at 5.00 pm.

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

This report provides information about the current position with regard to vacancies for Local Authority seats on governing bodies, lists current nominations for those vacancies, as detailed in Annex 1, and requests the appointment or re-appointment of the listed nominees.

RESOLVED:That the appointment and re-appointment of LA Governors, as proposed in Annex 1 of the report, be approved subject to the following additions:

·        Mr S Britten reappointed for a further term of office as an LA governor for St Oswald’s CE School

·        Mrs K Daniells  appointed to the forthcoming LA governor vacancy at Burnholme Community College subject to the necessary CRB checks being carried out.

REASON:      To ensure that local authority places on school governing bodies continued to be effectively filled.

The Executive Member considered a report that informed her of the current position with regard to vacancies for Local Authority (LA) seats on governing bodies, listed current nominations for those vacancies (detailed in Annex 1 to the report) and requested the appointment or reappointment of the listed nominees.   It was noted that the report had omitted to include Councillor Merrett’s political affiliation to the Labour Party.

The Executive Member was pleased to note the authority’s success in recruiting LA governors and that vacancy rates remained very low. She expressed her thanks for the work carried out by governors and her appreciation that a number of governors who had completed their term of office were willing to continue to serve on the Governing Body.

RESOLVED:That the appointment and re-appointment of LA Governors, as proposed in Annex 1 of the report, be approved subject to the following additions¹:

·        Mr S Britten reappointed for a further term of office as an LA governor for St Oswald’s CE School

·        Mrs K Daniells  appointed to the forthcoming LA governor vacancy at Burnholme Community College subject to the necessary CRB checks being carried out.

REASON:      To ensure that local authority places on school governing bodies continued to be effectively filled.

This report seeks the Executive Member’s approval to consult widely with a range of stakeholders and settings providing Early Years Places to determine an updated admissions policy for Free Early Years places (including school nurseries) that ensures sufficiency of places whilst also meeting parents’ needs as effectively and efficiently as possible.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That consultation with parents and providers of Early

Years Free Entitlement be initiated using the agreed consultation document (Annex 2 of the report).

(ii)               That feedback from the consultation be presented to the Executive Member for consideration at the Decision Session in March 2010 to enable this to inform any proposed changes to the local guidance. 

REASON:      To enable the views of parents and providers of Early Years Free entitlement to inform any proposed changes to the local guidance.

The Executive Member considered a report that sought approval to consult widely with a range of stakeholders and settings providing Early Years Places including maintained and independent schools, private and voluntary providers (including Mother and Toddler groups), the Early Years and Extended Schools Partnership and parents.  The purpose of the consultation would be to determine an updated admissions policy for Free Early Years places (including school nurseries) that ensured sufficiency of places whilst also meeting parents’ needs as effectively and efficiently as possible.

The two areas of focus in updating the guidance were the need to include vulnerable children under the reference to “social need” and a review of the guidance whereby children were admitted from anywhere within the City of York council area.  The original intention of this part of the guidance had been to promote equality of access and to allow working parents to secure nursery provision close to their workplace.  However, the policy had in some cases meant that local children were unable to access local schools, including schools already attended by their siblings.

The Executive Member stressed the importance of ensuring that the guidance on Early Years Places Admissions did not conflict with the Primary Schools Admission Policy.  It was also important that the valued partnership between the maintained, private and voluntary sectors was maintained.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That consultation with parents and providers of Early

Years Free Entitlement be initiated using the agreed consultation document (Annex 2 of the report)¹.

(ii)               That feedback from the consultation be presented to the Executive Member for consideration at the Decision Session in March 2010 to enable this to inform any proposed changes to the local guidance². 

REASON:      To enable the views of parents and providers of Early Years Free entitlement to inform any proposed changes to the local guidance.

This paper seeks approval to consult widely on a proposed single funding formula for the free entitlement to three and four year old nursery and childcare provision.  The report sets out the options that are being recommended to be included in a formal consultation document.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That consultation be initiated with the providers of the

Early Years Free Entitlement using the agreed consultation document (Annex 1 of the report).

(ii)               That feedback from the consultation be presented to the Executive Member for consideration at the Decision Session in January 2010 to ensure that the new formula is in place by the statutory deadline of April 2010.

(iii)That the feedback to the Executive Member include details of the proposed formulas for neighbouring authorities.

REASON:      To enable the views of providers of Early Years Free Entitlement to be considered when the new formula is agreed.

The Executive Member considered a paper that sought approval to consult widely on a proposed single funding formula for the free entitlement to three and four year old nursery and childcare provision.  The report set out the options that were being recommended to be included in a formal consultation document.

The Executive Member received assurances that the consultation would extend to all providers, including the maintained sector. 

Details were given of the transitional arrangements that would be put in place. A contingency would also be set aside to ensure sustainability.

It was noted that there were likely to be variations between different authorities as to the formulas that were put in place. 

RESOLVED:            (i)            That consultation be initiated with the providers of the

Early Years Free Entitlement using the agreed consultation document (Annex 1 of the report)¹.

(ii)               That feedback from the consultation be presented to the Executive Member for consideration at the Decision Session in January 2010 to ensure that the new formula is in place by the statutory deadline of April 2010².

(iii)That the feedback to the Executive Member include details of the proposed formulas for neighbouring authorities.

REASON:      To enable the views of providers of Early Years Free Entitlement to be considered when the new formula is agreed.

This report gives details of a new stream of funding from the Department of Children, Schools and Families that aims to support the government’s “Narrowing the Gap” and “Improving Well-being” agendas.

RESOLVED:  (i) That the decision to use the following cluster to pilot the subsidy in year 1 be noted:

                                    Cluster for Year 1 – 2009/10

York High School, Hob Moor Community Primary, Westfield Primary Community and Woodthorpe Primary Schools.

(ii)               That a further report be brought to the Executive Member in February 2010, prior to citywide roll out of the subsidy in year 2, identifying the clustering arrangements across the city and including data on the take-up from the pilot project of both term-time and holiday activities.

REASON:      To support corporate and national objectives to narrow the gap in outcomes for disadvantaged communities.

The Executive Member considered a report that provided an update on a new stream of funding from the Department of Children, Schools and Families that aimed to support the Government’s “Narrowing the Gap” and “Improving Well-being agendas”.  The report informed the Executive Member of the cluster of schools (York High School, Hob Moor Community Primary, Woodthorpe Primary and Westfield Primary) chosen to pilot the subsidy for the period Summer 2009 through to August 2010 (year 1) and the rationale behind this decision.

It was noted that the pilot project addressed one of the recommendations of the Extended Schools Scrutiny Review.

The Executive Member asked officers to give further details as to how the schools had been selected for inclusion in the pilot.  Officers explained that the funding received totalled £82,000 and it had been necessary to identify a cluster of schools to pilot this initiative.  The following factors had been taken into account in selecting York High School, Hob Moor Community Primary, Woodthorpe Primary and Westfield Primary schools:

• Although there were no formal cluster arrangements in place in York, these schools recognised themselves that they formed a cluster and they already worked together on a range of initiatives.
• These four schools had the greatest number of Looked After Children and children eligible for free school meals than any other comparable cluster. York High School had the highest number of Looked After Children of any secondary school in York.
• Inclusion in the project was consistent with the schools’ involvement in other initiatives such as the work that was taking place on transition and involving the community in the life of the schools.

Details were given of the ways in which children were benefiting from involvement in the project, including free participation at activities held at Oaklands Sports Centre. 

The Executive Member asked officers if children were involved in choosing the activities.  Officers confirmed that this was the case and that information on take-up would be collected.

The Executive Member asked if there were plans to explore other indicators of economic disadvantage to enable more children and young people to participate, in addition to those who were eligible because they were in receipt of free school meals or were Looked After.  Officers confirmed that this was an issue that would be considered during the pilot but that it was important not to make the eligibility criteria too complex.

The Executive Member asked officers how cluster working was being developed in York.  Officers stated that consultation would be taking place with schools regarding this matter.  One option would be to consult with schools on the possibility of retaining centrally some of the extended schools budget in order to appoint cluster workers.  Any such appointments would need to be on a temporary basis because of the uncertainty regarding the level of future funding. 

RESOLVED:  (i) That the decision to use the following cluster to pilot the subsidy in year 1 be noted:

                                    Cluster for Year 1 – 2009/10

York High School, Hob Moor Community  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.