Contact: Gerry Price, Area Director (Education & Inclusion), telephone 023 8081 6127, email [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report summarises the comments made during an informal consultation on a draft policy statement for education entitled `Maximising well-being through education'. The final version is attached as an appendix.

1.2 This policy statement reflects the County Council's corporate priorities. It recognises the high correlation between well-being and achievement and encourages all those engaged in the education of children and young people to develop learners' understanding and appreciation of their role in society and their capacity to contribute.

2 Recommendations

2.1 The following decisions are sought:

a) That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) recommends to Cabinet that the policy statement be adopted as the County Council's policy for education.

b) That this policy is reviewed in October 2010.

3 Outcomes of consultation

3.1 The County Council does not have a clear statement of its policy for education that takes account of recent changes in legislation and the reorganisation of the former education and social services departments into the Children's Services Department. Key partners have expressed a wish for a clear lead from the County Council in respect of its vision and objectives for education in the context of the Children Act 2004 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006. A draft policy has been consulted upon widely and has been received favourably.

3.2 34 written responses to the consultation document were received, mostly from headteachers or governing bodies, but also from the Learning and Skills Council and from two local strategic partnerships. Additionally, more than 60 suggestions for minor re-wordings were received as a result of discussion groups of primary and secondary heads. Key features of the responses are summarised in the remainder of this section.

3.3 There was unanimous support for the broad thrust of the policy with many welcoming the decision to have a new policy statement for education.  This is true across the spectrum - for instance one college principal described it as a 'very good document with much to admire in the tone and values of the vision' and a primary head described it as an 'Excellent document . . very clearly written . . . agree with vision and principles'. A few thought that the vision statement could be even more visionary.  However, the vision outlined is felt to represent a challenging agenda if it is to be applied to every child in Hampshire.

3.4 Some respondents, especially post-16 sector, felt the document needed to be less 'school-centric'. Amendments have been made to accommodate this point.

3.5 There was almost unanimous agreement that the County Council's commitment to excellence is expressed clearly.  One felt that the document was too wordy to communicate this commitment.  Another felt it was too narrowly focused on attainment and needed to be more explicit in valuing excellence across a range of disciplines and skills.  A few sounded a note of scepticism as to whether the words would be reflected in deeds.

3.6 There was almost unanimous agreement that the County Council's commitment to inclusion is sufficiently clear.  One respondent felt it was better expressed in other County Council documents.  Another felt it was weak in respect of specific groups, especially post-16, who may need a greater commitment to their educational inclusion.  A view was expressed that there should be more explicit reference to 'entitlement' to education and training.  Some responses questioned the emphasis on children in care as a specific group, feeling that this undermined the inclusion of all vulnerable groups. Some minor changes to the text have been made to emphasise the County Council's commitment to the educational inclusion of all vulnerable groups.

3.7 There was unanimous support for partnership working.  A few respondents emphasised the need for this to be strategically planned.  Some pointed to resource and time constraints.  Partnership with parents and the voluntary sector were identified by individual respondents as needing more emphasis. This point has been taken account of in the final version. Some re-wording has been made throughout the document to ensure that its tone matches the intention of partnership working.

3.8 Many respondents pointed to the need to ensure resources were sufficient to achieve the vision outlined.  All those responding accepted the responsibility on schools to deploy their resources in the best interests of children.  Many looked for a similar commitment from the County Council to sustain its longstanding policy of maximising funds available for education. An additional sentence has been inserted indicating the County Council's commitment to continue to endeavour to ensure that resources are adequate to achieve the aspirations of this policy statement.

3.9 A significant minority felt that the document was too long and over-wordy.  They expressed a preference for more bullet pointed statements rather than paragraphs of text.  One group of primary heads suggested that the section 'A commitment to the community of Hampshire' should be separate from the main document, possibly as an appendix or a web link. While some of the content of this section will be very familiar to schools, this policy statement is intended for a wider audience. In the light of this it is felt that this section should remain as part of the main policy statement. The text has been substantially edited to take account of justified criticism that some paragraphs were over-wordy or repeated earlier content.

3.10 A group of secondary heads suggested that the policy should be automatically reviewed every two or three years. It is recommended that the policy is reviewed in September 2010.

4 Links to corporate strategy

4.1 The adoption and promotion of a County Council policy for education fulfils its responsibility to lead education thinking and practice in Hampshire. Key partners have expressed a wish for a clear lead from the County Council in respect of its vision and objectives for education in the context of the Children Act 2004 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

4.2 The proposals in this report are expected to support the County Council's corporate priorities as follows:

"Making Hampshire safer and more secure for all" - by reinforcing to schools and other education providers the importance of education in enabling citizens to feel safe and secure

"Maximising well-being" - by promoting the importance of a high quality education in enabling children and young people to achieve well and to be equipped with the values, knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to live life to the full.

"Enhancing our quality of place" - by making explicit the County Council's commitment to excellence with responsibilities shared between learners, parents, educational providers and other public and voluntary organisations.

4.3 It also supports all five outcomes of the Children Act (Being healthy; Staying safe; Enjoying and achieving; Making a positive contribution; Economic well-being) since the proposed policy for education explicitly promotes eight principles that reflect these aims and makes explicit the County Council's commitment to working in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure that these are reflected in educational practice throughout Hampshire.

5 Consultation

5.1 All partners were invited to respond to a draft of the policy statement. Meetings to discuss the draft were held with head teachers and governors and informal discussions were held with a range of interested parties.

6 Legal implications

6.1 None.

7 Financial implications

7.1 None.

8 Personnel implications

8.1 It is intended to include the policy statement with all recruitment material for heads of schools with a view to ensuring that those who are appointed to lead Hampshire schools are clear about the quality of education that the County Council commissions its schools to provide. Teachers' and head teachers' professional associations were invited to respond to the consultation.

9 Impact assessment

9.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

10 Crime prevention issues

10.1 This policy statement sets out the County Council's aspirations for all children and young people to experience a high quality, well-rounded education, which prepares them as responsible citizens. It therefore has the potential to contribute the promotion of attitudes that eschew criminal behaviour.

11 Views of the Local County Councillor

11.1 At this stage the views of local county councillors have not been sought in relation to these proposals.

12 Conclusion

12.1 The policy statement in the Appendix enjoys wide support from all key partners in the provision of education for Hampshire children and young people. They have welcomed the County Council's lead in stating its policy for education and share its commitment to making the policy a reality.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None.