Archived decisions
ITEM 2
AT A MEETING of the EDUCATION POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 15 October 2002.
PRESENT:
M.J. Kendal (Chairman); Mrs S.E. Allbright; Mrs A.E. Bailey; F.J. Bright; P.R. Brown; Mrs E.M. Byrom; M.F. Cartwright; K.G. Chapman; Ms P. Clarke; C. Connor; T. Coupland; B.D. Dash; J.J. Dawson; Mrs P.M. Devereux; Mrs J.K. Frankum; Mrs M. Humber; Mrs R. Jenkins; S.W. Juniper; Jo Kelly; R. Kimber; Mrs P. Lerew; Mrs C.A. Leversha; Mrs A.M. McNair Scott; D. Mewes; G.W. Porter; M.L. Sheehan; Rev. D.M. Turner; J.G.L. Wall; D.F. Wright.
Also present: Councillor D.G. Allen, Executive Member for Education.
65. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Pursuant to the Code of Conduct, Councillor K.G. Chapman declared an interest as a governor of a school and Councillor Mrs A.E. Bailey declared an interest as a member of the Admissions Forum. The Chief Executive advised that in neither case did these interests amount to a personal prejudicial interest and that there was no need for them to withdraw from the meeting whilst these items were under discussion.
66. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 21 May and 12 June 2002 were confirmed as correct records and signed by the Chairman.
67. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Mr T. Coupland, who had recently been elected as one of the parent governor representatives; he replaced Mrs L. Hodges as the secondary sector representative. The Chairman also welcomed Mr D. Mewes, Headteacher of Holbury Junior School, as one of the teacher representatives; he took the place of Mr J. Adam. The Chairman also referred to the fact that the Adult Learning Section had recently received a Quality Award, and all staff were warmly congratulated on this achievement.
68. DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations notified.
69. NEW EDUCATION FUNDING SYSTEM
The Committee considered a report of the County Treasurer and County Education Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the response agreed by the Cabinet to the Local Government Funding Review, with specific reference to the implications for the Education Service. The County Treasurer gave a detailed presentation on the operation of the possible formulae and the various options, which were likely to result in an adverse financial impact on Hampshire. In general terms Members endorsed the detailed response and specific points made by the Cabinet and set out in paragraph 5.4 of the report, and highlighted the following points in particular:
· The consultation proposals did not reflect the Government's previously declared aim to fund authorities for significant deprivation.
· The introduction of "unmet need" for funding additional education needs and the proposed levels of thresholds for deprivation had the effect of reducing the base entitlement per pupil and redistributing education funding away from authorities like Hampshire.
· It was felt to be wrong in principle for any Local Education Authority, and for Hampshire in particular, to lose funding as a result of proposed changes: implicit in that was the assumption that education was already "over-funded" which Members felt was unacceptable and demonstrably untrue.
· More resources were needed for education, not a re-distribution away from areas such as Hampshire.
· Potential knock-on effects on other services if it proved necessary to protect funding for schools whilst at the same time reducing overall budgets.
· Early announcements of government funding levels were essential in order for sensible budget planning to proceed for next year.
· None of the options proposed in the consultation met the key principles of fairness and simplicity.
RESOLVED:
That the Policy Review Committee supports the response submitted by the Cabinet, in particular that outlined in paragraph 5.2, and notes the significant implications the proposed changes could have for education funding.
70. SCHOOL REORGANISATIONS POLICY AND PRACTICE
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the issues involved in managing the growing numbers of surplus places in primary schools and on the opportunities offered by local reviews to rationalise and improve provision. There was a trend towards falling primary school rolls in Hampshire, which mirrored the national trend. That meant that the County Council must deploy resources effectively to ensure that school places were available in areas where pupil numbers were buoyant or growing, whilst at the same taking action to remove surplus places where pupil numbers were declining. This would entail difficult decisions being taken in the future on school closures or amalgamations in some areas, but there were also opportunities to redesignate accommodation for specialist purposes. The Committee felt that the following principles should be borne in mind in preparing a report for decision by the Executive Member for Education in November 2002:
· Consultations with dioceses in review areas where church schools were involved.
· Early liaison with other County Council departments to achieve solutions which made best use of corporate resources.
· Release of resources to provide better opportunities for both children and the community, by removing surplus places, disposing of surplus property and reusing capital receipts.
· Clear benefits to be shown from any closures or amalgamations, for example by use of resources to achieve improved facilities at other schools.
· Early involvement by Education Policy Review Committee Members, and local County Councillors, in reorganisation proposals.
· Make use of all funding streams, from central or Local Government and any other suitable sources, so that there are real and visible benefits to children and the wider community in a review area.
· Fair and sensitive treatment of teachers and all other staff affected by any closure or reorganisation.
· Effective communication with the media.
Members accepted that efforts should be concentrated in those areas where there were significant numbers of surplus primary places, and noted that the areas referred to in paragraph 10.1 were not in any order of priority.
RESOLVED:
That the Executive Member for Education be advised that the Committee
(i) Notes the increasing numbers of surplus places in primary schools and endorses a programme of locally based reviews to tailor provision to future needs and, as far as possible, enhance mainstream, early years and community provision.
(ii) Notes the areas for review set out in 10.1.
(iii) Requests the Executive Member for Education to submit the report to Cabinet, in view of the importance of the corporate issues it raises.
71. EDUCATION ACT 2002: GOVERNANCE, ADMISSIONS, SCHOOLS FORUM
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on various aspects of the Education Act 2002, in particular governance; admissions; and the establishment of a Schools Forum. With regard to governance, Members were disappointed that the Government had not incorporated provision for minor authorities (district or parish councils) to make nominations to governing bodies as of right. They were advised that the Hampshire Association of Parish and Town Councils had received a response from the Government, to the effect that district or parish councils could still be nominated, but to the categories of community or Local Education Authority representatives. It followed therefore that there was reduced scope and flexibility to include the various categories of people who might make effective contributions to school governing bodies. In general terms, the overall impact of the changes set out in the 2002 Act were that school governing bodies would in future contain more parents and fewer Local Education Authority governors.
With regard to the Schools Forum, the Committee welcomed the fact that the Government had responded positively to allow the flexibility requested in the running of the Schools Forum. The new Forum would provide the opportunity for concerted consultations with partners on financial and budgetary issues, with its views being channelled through the Executive Member for Education, Cabinet and on to the County Council.
72. VALUING GOVERNORS - POLICY REVIEW
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) setting out suggested ways in which the role of governors might be further recognised. Members reasserted the importance they attached to the valuable voluntary public service carried out by school governors, which they felt should receive appropriate recognition by the County Council. Among the additional ideas which they put forward for consideration were:
· A suitable governor's badge.
· Recognition for employers who allowed staff paid time off to fulfil the role of governor.
· An experienced governor to act as a mentor for a new governor.
· A scheme whereby either the County Council, Governor Services or individual school governing bodies could put forward individual governors for outstanding service awards.
RESOLVED:
That the Executive Member for Education be advised to approve the following priorities for the recognition of school governors:
(i) That certificates recognising 4 and 8 years' service be sent automatically.
(ii) That Outstanding Service Awards be issued on the nomination of governing bodies/or by the County Council to recognise additional service to governance beyond the individual school.
(iii) That Outstanding Service Awards be re-launched and given improved visibility in the County.
(iv) That the Executive Member for Education be requested to host occasional invitation events for Outstanding Award recipients.
(v) That further consideration be given to the suggestions summarised above as additional means of valuing governors, in particular:
· a "Hampshire Hog" badge for governors, to reflect lengths of service.
· recognition for employers who allow staff paid time off to fulfil the role of governor.
73. SUMMER 2002 EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS AND NATIONAL CURRICULUM ASSESSMENTS
The Committee considered a report of the County Education Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on results obtained in GCSE and Key Stage national curriculum assessments by pupils in Hampshire schools. The Committee also had before them a summary sheet setting out the GCSE results in all Hampshire secondary schools (Item 9A in the Minute Book). Attention was drawn to the fact that boys had managed to improve their performance relative to girls this year, although they still had some way to go before they reached the same levels of achievement. Taken overall, there was once again evidence of a steady overall improvement in standards and results, which was welcomed by the Committee.
RESOLVED:
That pupils, teachers and those who support them be congratulated for their continued hard work and achievement in national examinations and assessments.
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