Archived decisions
ITEM 1
AT A MEETING of the EDUCATION POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 19 March 2002.
PRESENT:
M.J. Kendal (Chairman); Mrs S.E. Allbright; D.J. Belfield; F.J. Bright; P.R. Brown; Mrs E.M. Byrom; M.F. Cartwright; K.G. Chapman; Ms R. Clarke; C. Connor; B.D. Dash; J.J. Dawson; R.J. Ellis; Mrs J.K. Frankum; J.K. Glen; Mrs K. Heron; Ms P. Howe; Mrs M. Humber; Jo Kelly; Mrs C.A. Leversha; Rev. R.A. Lindley; Mrs A.M. McNair Scott; Mrs P.G. Peskett; G.W. Porter; Mrs E.M.F. Randall; J.G.L. Wall; Mrs P.A. West; D.F. Wright.
Also present:
Councillor D.G. Allen, Executive Member for Education.
44. MINUTES
Subject to corrections to eliminate the duplication of the line at the top of page 20 and at the bottom of page 20/top of page 21, the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 22 January 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
45. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
The Chairman reported the retirement at the end of the Spring term of John Adam as Headteacher of Crookhorn Community School and also as one of the co-opted members. With the leave of the Committee, Councillor D.G. Allen, Executive Member for Education, spoke of the major contribution to Education made by John Adam, particularly over the past 20 years as a Hampshire headteacher. He made specific reference to his remarkable record in staff development, as a result of which no fewer than 12 of his deputy headteachers had gone on to become headteachers or acting headteachers at other Hampshire schools. The Committee expressed their thanks to John Adam for his contribution to their work as a co-opted member and wished him a long and happy retirement. The Chairman went on to draw the Committee's attention to the fact that their meeting on 21 May would be considering the future organisation of primary education in South West Basingstoke, with several other significant items expected on the agenda. He therefore informed Members that the Education Policy Review Committee's meeting would on this occasion begin at 11.00 a.m. to allow adequate time for deputations and discussion. He also reminded Members of the visits to the schools involved which were programmed for 9 and 10 April. Finally he referred to the arrangements made this year to notify all schools of their budget shares electronically. He welcomed an offer by Councillor Brown to use networks available to him for the dissemination of information on early years, and the County Education Officer would be in contact with Councillor Brown in order to pursue this option.
46. DETERMINATION OF SCHOOL ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS 2003/04
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 4 in the Minute Book) on the outcome of consultations relating to the admission arrangements to community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools for 2003/04. This report represented a key decision, which would be taken by the Executive Member for Education on 22 March 2002. Members noted with regret that recent court decisions and DfES advice both militated against the option of reserving places to accommodate children whose families moved into a school's catchment area outside the normal admissions round; they felt that the County Council should make further representations to allow places to be reserved in appropriate cases. In response to questions it was explained that the policy continued to allow governing bodies the freedom to choose how they measured distance - either by means of a straight line or by nearest walking route using roads and public footpaths. That flexibility could be used to reflect governors' perception of local circumstances.
RESOLVED:
That the Executive Member for Education be advised as follows:
That the revised school admission policy, as set out in the Appendix to the report, be adopted by the County Council for community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary school admission arrangements for the school year 2003-2004.
47. EXCLUSIONS FROM SCHOOL: CONSULTATION PAPER
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on consultations undertaken by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) as part of the proposed review of guidance on exclusions from school. Paragraph 3.1 (i) was corrected to read "first offence" and the word "violence" was inserted in the first bullet point at the top of page 3. In discussing the report and guidance, Members drew attention to:
· the need for clearer definitions as to what the phrases "sexual misconduct" and "offensive weapon" are intended to mean.
· the financial implications of increasing numbers of exclusions: educating a child in a pupil referral unit cost £9,000 per annum as against £2,700 in a mainstream school. A total of £220,000 had been allocated in the 2002/03 budget to accommodate the costs of educating excluded pupils for 25 hours per week as required by legislation; that cost would rise to £365,000 in a full year.
· Members expressed doubts at the appropriateness or practicality of lunchtime exclusions since these might simply transfer the problems posed by disruptive pupils from inside to outside school. Where suitable accommodation and staffing existed, internal isolation at lunchtime was felt to be a useful sanction.
· Members endorsed the further development of pre-emptive work with pupils at risk of exclusion and effective behaviour management strategies, in order to create an environment where aggression or misbehaviour were kept under control.
· Members pointed out the vital role of partnership with parents in the promotion of good standards of behaviour.
· Members asked that representations should be made to the police, and to the Police Authority, praising the work of police liaison officers in schools.
RESOLVED:
That the Executive Member for Education be advised as follows:
(i) That a response be made to the Department for Education and Skills on the consultation paper "exclusions from school", such response to incorporate the observations set out above and any other comments which emerged from the consultation process.
(ii) That a copy of the response as eventually agreed be notified to Members of the Education Policy Review Committee.
48. HAMPSHIRE EDUCATION ICT STRATEGIC PLAN
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the strategic plan for the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) throughout Hampshire's Education Service. The report would be referred for adoption to the Executive Member for Education on 22 March 2002. Members received an informative presentation on the subject of ICT and endorsed the vital importance of effective training and technical support; an element of standardisation to ensure that schools' systems were compatible with each other and with the Education Service generally; and the need for Hampshire to keep in touch with national developments. The way forward was for schools to collaborate on the development and extension of integrated networks whereby they could share services and resources, to the benefit of staff and pupils of all abilities. The elements of standardisation and integration proposed would lead to economies of scale and resultant cost savings.
RESOLVED:
That the Executive Member for Education be advised as follows:
That the Hampshire Education ICT strategy, as set out in the Appendix to the report, be adopted by the County Council and that managers throughout the service be encouraged to adopt its principles and directions.
49. REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING 2001/02
The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer and the County Education Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the Education Revenue Budget for the current year.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee notes that the latest budget monitoring indicates that Education current expenditure for 2001/02 will be contained within the cash limit.
50. PROPERTY AND CAPITAL FUNDING ASPECTS OF EARLY YEARS PROVISION
The Committee considered the report of the County Education Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the capital implications of the early years provision on County Council sites and noted that the report would be referred for decision to the Executive Member for Education on 22 March 2002. Further to his report, the County Education Officer circulated an updated version of Appendix 1 which showed that across the County there were now 83 registered providers of pre-school education and childcare using maintained school sites and/or premises.
During the course of the ensuing discussion, the County Education Officer confirmed that criteria were in place to ensure that future buildings established on school sites by third party early years and childcare providers were highly energy efficient and that as far as practicable, natural materials were used in their construction. In response to Member concerns, the Chairman emphasised that the replacement of substandard temporary buildings by replacement temporary buildings was undertaken in cases of emergency only.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
51. BEST VALUE PROGRAMME - YEAR 3
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the reviews relating to education welfare services, and education services for vulnerable children and those educated out of school, or excluded.
RESOLVED:
That the following Members be appointed to participate in the Year 3 Best Value review of education services for vulnerable children and those educated out of school, or excluded:-
Councillor M.F. Cartwright
Councillor Mrs J.K. Frankum
Councillor Mrs K. Heron
Councillor Mrs P.G. Peskett
(Reserve: Councillor K.G. Chapman)
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