Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Young People’s Services will attend the meeting to give a verbal update on the work within her portfolio area. The Chair of Learning City will also be in attendance to give an annual update.

The Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Young People’s Services provided information on her priorities and challenges for this municipal year, explaining she had only returned to the role of Cabinet Member in December 2011, part way through the budget process, and therefore still had to develop a clear forward plan. She spoke briefly on the following areas:

·        Early Years Provision in education and children’s services is hugely important – need to work closely with health services to identify, as early as possible, families who may be unable to adequately care for their children due to problems such as alcohol, drug misuse or relationship issues. Important to maintain early intervention budget. Wants to work closely with children’s centres. Need to consider how to best reach “hard to reach” parents. Needs cooperation of health visitors and GPs.

·        Children’s Front Door – pulls together different professionals including health workers, social workers, educational social workers, police etc. Referrals all come to one place. Impressed with work and opportunity it provides. Also need to look at how to support schools with absentee rates.

·        Education – Consultation process regarding Burnholme School in now underway. Careful consideration needs to be given on how to manage the process. A meeting for parents has already taken place and was attended by many headteachers which hopefully gave parents confidence that CYC will continue to provide a good quality education for children in that community. Parents need to understand that small secondary schools will always face challenges in providing a diverse curriculum. Acknowledged the need to ensure that students from Applefields who currently attend Burnholme for some mainstream curriculum continue to receive the opportunity.

·        Education Partnership – Election of independent chair has made a difference to the quality of partnership, which now has sense of independence rather than just an authority run organisation. Will provide way of maintaining community of schools and offer opportunity to network with colleagues.

The Chair of Learning City York was also in attendance at the meeting and provided information on the work of  Learning City York, York’s Lifelong Learning Partnership. She provided a briefing paper and an overview of the work of Learning City York including its background and core purpose, vision, current priorities, interventions & performance Measures (2011), membership of the Board, ways of working and funding of Learning City York Partnership and Secretariat. She explained what activity had taken place during 2011 against their four strategic priorities: Sustainable Economic Growth; Enterprise and an Enterprising Culture; Employability and Economic Inclusion; and Personal, Social and Community Development. She responded to particular issues raised by Members. A full copy of the briefing paper has been attached to the online agenda on the council’s website.

RESOLVED:             (i)         That the information provided by the Cabinet        Member for Education, Children and Young      People’s Services be noted.

                                    (ii)        That the Committee receive a future briefing on   “Children’s Front Door”

                                    (iii)       That the information provided by the Chair of        Learning City York be noted.

REASON:                  To ensure that Members are kept informed of work within the remit of the Committee.