Agenda and minutes

There were none on this occasion.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Prosperous Staffordshire Select Committee meeting held on 24 April 2014 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Report of the Cabinet Member,  Children, Communities and Localism

The Cabinet Member, Children, Communities and Localism, explained to Members that the work being undertaken was to future proof the library service in Staffordshire. There was a need to make the library offer more relevant to the different communities it served.

Members received a presentation on the methodology being used to assess the library offer. 

The Library Service had been designated a statutory service following the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. Since then the Library Service had significantly changed the way it operated to take account of differences in the way people access information and learning. It had also successfully delivered £1.1m savings over a 5 year period without any building closures or reductions in opening hours. However there was now a need to find a further £1.325m saving by 2016/17 as part of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). There was therefore a need to remodel the Service to reflect changing needs, meet the County Council’s outcomes and give communities a voice in the future of their service.

On 15 January 2014 Cabinet had agreed the tiered model for Staffordshire’s library offer which included: a virtual (online) offer; a physical offer at a locality/town level; and a physical offer at a community level. A first engagement phase was held during February 2014 and Members heard that there had been immediate and positive feedback from this initial phase.  In response to the feedback received the offer levels were clarified , with the following levels being recommended:

·        Virtually – Library Plus

·        Physically at a locality level – Library Extra

·        Physically at a town level – Library

·        Physically at a community/village level – Library Local

Members received details of the approach being taken to review the Library offer, with the project currently at assessment stage, evaluating each individual library against agreed critical success factors.

Members felt that the importance of reading in promoting self discovery should be included in the critical success factors. There was also a concern that there had been a reduction in new book and DV/CD stocks.  The importance of reading was implicit in the critical success factors, however this could be amended to be more explicit. A strategic decision had been taken to reduce the DVD/CD stocks resulting from a reduction in need, as people were now accessing films and music differently, through downloads. The new book stock fund had been maintained and Officers were surprised at the perception that there were less new books on the shelves. The savings had been gained from reducing back office staff rather than any reduction in new book purchasing.

The online offer had increased with the provision of e-books and emagazines which could be accessed from a residents own home.  One of the commitments of the Service was to enhance the virtual online offer, giving greater access to e-books and magazines.

Libraries were a vital part of the community, contributing positively to the mental and physical health of Staffordshire residents and helping to combat loneliness. Whilst accepting that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

Report of the Cabinet Member, Learning and Skills

The Cabinet Member, Learning and Skills,  introduced the Learning and Skills Strategy 2014-16.  The Strategy  set out the Council’s expectations and gave a plan for providing a good education which was far wider than simply being able to deliver under exam conditions. Education had changed significantly, with more schools being independent in some way, and continuing to work within financial constraints. It was important to  adapt to this changing environment.

The Cabinet Member said he was very proud of the Strategy and the immense amount of work that had gone into this. He thanked Anna Halliday, Commissioner for Education and Wellbeing, and her team for this work and felt it gave a good foundation over  the next five years.

The Commissioner for Education and Wellbeing told the Select Committee that this Strategy helped identify the main pillars for a good start in life. A good education underpinned the ability for an individual to fulfil their future potential.

There were seven key components to the learning and skills system in Staffordshire, each of which was critical to delivering the Council’s aims.  Throughout January and February 2014 meetings had been held with head teachers and chairs of governors considering the strategy.

Staffordshire had a great variation in school type and this diversity of schools could be a strength if the whole system worked together. It was essential that every education provider was the best they could be.

The role of Governors was critical in ensuring self-supporting and sustainable school governance. It would be necessary to work differently with governing bodies and work would be done to consider carefully how the commissioning strategy could be used to help support governors. Members shared examples of where Governors worked with teachers to challenge and improve performance.  It was important that Governors were equipped to ask the challenging questions. A self help network had been set up following one of the January meetings. This network gave an opportunity to share good practice, with the local authority supporting these meetings.

Members indicated that head teachers seemed to be positive about this document. However they felt there was a long way to go and gave examples of a number of schools in the Stafford area whose Ofsted judgement had fallen. Concern was expressed at the ability of Entrust to support Staffordshire schools effectively in their improvement.

Between 75/76 percent of Staffordshire schools were judged as good or outstanding, however there was a target set for 90% of Staffordshire schools to be within these top two Ofsted judgements and the challenge this presented was recognised. The offer provided by Entrust would need to be relevant and high quality and schools had the autonomy to choose alternative providers if they were not happy with the Entrust offer. Staffordshire had a good track record in supporting failing schools to improve. However this was an ever increasingly raised bar, being incrementally more difficult to reach the good or outstanding thresholds.

The recent investigations by the working group on the Ofsted inspection of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

The Scrutiny and Support Manager updated Members on their work programme, as follows:

·        Mr Tittley had met with Mary Ann Raftery in connection with the Freight Policy. It was anticipated this policy would be developed further and come back to the Select Committee following amendments;

·        there were a number of carry-over items for the Select Committee to consider including on their work programme in the new municipal year;

·        a briefing note had been offered on Higher Level Education, this could be circulated in July;

·        the Minerals Local Plan Working Group had met on Friday 9 May and produced a report on their findings. This would be circulated after the Select Committee and forwarded to the Cabinet Member, Economy and Infrastructure;

·        in light of the comments made by the Cabinet Member, Learning and Skills, Members requested a briefing note updating them on the outdoor education centres.

RESOLVED – That the amendments to the work programme be agreed.