Agenda and minutes

Mr Paul Woodhead declared an interest in connection with minutes no. 57in his capacity to work for Entrust on school improvement issues around governors. He had no current contract with them.

RESOLVED- That, with the addition of clarification requested regarding future funding of the Great Swim at minute 48, the minutes of the Prosperous Staffordshire Select Committee held on 17 December 2015 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Report of the Cabinet Member, Learning and Skills

The Select Committee considered the progress of educational achievement in Staffordshire for the period September 2014 to August 2015. Staffordshire showed a positive direction of travel in terms of the percentage of schools judged as Good or Outstanding with the target of 80% of schools receiving these judgements by September 2015 being exceeded (81% of Staffordshire schools received Good or Outstanding judgments). The number of Staffordshire pupils therefore receiving a good or outstanding education had also improved, with an increase of 13% since 2012. Attainment levels and progress in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage (KS) 1 were excellent and continued to outperform national levels of performance.

The focus for 2015/16  was around KS2 and KS4 where although progress had been made, Staffordshire Schools needed to accelerate improvements to gain ground in the rates of progress achieved by Staffordshire’s statistical neighbours and nationally. Work was also needed to help tackle variations in attainment between districts and for different pupil groups, such as those eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) or Pupil Premium (PP). The approach to school improvement had evolved with a range of agencies now pulled in to support change. There were many dimensions to school improvement , with the leadership and management of schools being critical to success.

Further focus  was also required in Post 16 where results at A level and equivalent needed to improve in order to close a widening gap between Staffordshire and national figures. A review of Further Education (FE) was currently being undertaken. Indications showed that there were too many providers with the same or very similar offer and there was a need to get rid of much of this duplication. There also appeared to be too many small school sixth forms only able to offer a limited number of courses. The Select Committee may wish to consider this area in more detail, specifically considering the review findings.

Members asked for clarification on the current status of the Stafford Collegiate Sixth Form. Walton High School had indicated they were leaving the Collegiate to operate their sixth form independently.  Charities and Trust funding supported the use of the Chetwynd Centre by the Collegiate but there had been some concern that this funding, which was intended for general maintenance of the Centre, had not been used for this purpose. Changes to school status, with academies and federations, may impact on the future of the Collegiate. Discussions were also taking place with Wolverhampton University on the possibility of sponsoring a 14-19 school. A review was being undertaken to agree a sustainable way forward for Further Education and it was hoped that details of this would be available within the next six months.

Members asked for assurances that Walton High School would no longer receive Charities and Trust funding intended for the Collegiate. Whilst it was anticipated this would be the case, the decision for  allocating this funding lay with the Charities and Trust Committee.

Members asked for future reports to include comparison figures for statistical  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

Report of the Cabinet Member, Learning and Skills

[Ian Turner, Head of Commercial, Andy Burns, Director of Finance and Resources, Sharon Kelly, Entrust Director of Education and Ian Wilkie, Entrust Commercial Lead, also in attendance for this item]

At the 4 September Select Committee meeting Members had requested a further report on the performance of the education support services commissioning arrangements and contract. The primary provider of Staffordshire County Council (SCC) commissioned education support services is Entrust. Entrust was established on 1 April 2013 as a joint venture between the County Council and Capita Plc.

The shared focus for Entrust and the County Council in 2015/16 was at KS2 and KS4 where Staffordshire schools needed to accelerate improvements, and to do more to tackle the variation in attainment between districts, pupils in receipt of FSM and Pupil Premium funding.

Meetings were held on at least a monthly basis to discuss the Service Level Agreement (SLA). There was recognition that some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) needed changing as the information they gave wasn’t helpful in monitoring the contract. These were being developed alongside discussions on how reporting was undertaken in the future. The KPIs were set three years ago and some were now less relevant and therefore required updating.

Members were aware only some of the KPIs delivered by Entrust were within the remit of this Select Committee, however they were unaware of Corporate Review scrutinising those KPIs that fell within their remit.

The percentage of children achieving 5+A*-C grades at GCSE including English and Maths or equivalent had risen in Staffordshire whilst the figures had fallen according to the England average. Members asked what Staffordshire had done to gain this positive direction of travel. There were a range of different reasons for this including the way in which Staffordshire schools tended to manage their curriculum meaning that they had less of an adjustment to achieve good results in this measure than some authorities.

The Select Committee asked that future reports give an explanation of the percentages included as well as statistical neighbour data to enable comparisons. Members also asked why only 95%of sports equipment testing in maintained schools had been achieved, and whether there would be health and safety implications as a result of this. The 5% schools outstanding would be where the equipment testing company had been unable to access the sports equipment in a specific school on a specific occasion, and these would be addressed.

Members asked why there was a 25% governor vacancy rate. The 25% vacancies were over all maintained schools governing bodies across the County. This had increased from the previous year, however as governing bodies were aware of the requirement for them to reconstitute by September 2015 many had chosen not to fill vacancies until after their reconstitution, particularly as governing bodies were expected to become smaller as a result of this process.

The value for money aspect of the contract was raised in respect of training. Should a school wish to purchase a training course they could purchase from a wide  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

The Select Committee received a copy of their work programme. Members noted the following amendments:

·         Countryside Estate Review be brought to the May Select Committee;

·         a briefing note on the Great War Strategy  be circulated to Members;

·         details of EHE service be added to the work programme;

·         Post 16 Review; and

·         a working group be established to consider the Entrust SDA KPIs within the remit of this Select Committee and what information Members wished to receive to inform their future scrutiny. Membership of this working group was agreed as: Sheree Peaple; Paul Woodhead; Simon Tagg; and Ian Hollinshead.

RESOLVED – That the changes to the work programme be noted.