Archived decisions
COUNCIL MEETING, 10 JULY, 2008
REPORT OF THE
EXECUTIVE LEAD MEMBER FOR
CHILDREN'S SERVICES (EDUCATION)
AND EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
CHILDREN'S SERVICES PRIMARY CAPITAL PROGRAMME - STRATEGY FOR CHANGE DOCUMENT
1. The County Council is a Pathfinder authority for the Government's Primary Capital Programme (PCP) which is intended to improve a substantial proportion of the primary, infant, junior and primary age special school stock over a fourteen year period. Authorities have been invited by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to submit a Strategy for Change document to them in order to access funding for this. The new initiative is aimed at raising standards in primary schools and specifically those in areas of the greatest deprivation. At the same time, local authorities are expected to reduce the number of surplus places in the primary sector and refurbish and remodel schools to provide facilities suitable for the 21st century. £6.5m is included in the 2008/09 Capital Programme for Children's Services in relation to the Pathfinder in Hampshire initiative. The DCSF has also announced funding allocations of £9.447m in 2009/10 and £11.825m in 2010/11 to support the programme.
2. The Strategy for Change document is required to show how the County Council proposes to invest PCP funding to support the raising of educational attainment, improvements to well-being and centrality of schools to communities. The Strategy needs to include a local perspective for the County Council, which describes key facts about Hampshire; a base analysis of primary school provision and performance; long-term aims for the improvement of primary school education; a plan for investment which prioritises those areas with the highest deprivation and lowest relative school performance and makes clear the approach to change and how the PCP will be implemented.
3. The County Council's Strategy for Change document has been prepared on the above basis and has been widely consulted upon with a variety of stakeholders. This has included schools, governors, children's centres, Church of England and Roman Catholic dioceses, Primary Care Trusts, district councils and local childcare providers. Whilst only a small number of responses were received these were supportive of the proposals set out in the County Council's proposed submission. Discussions with head teachers' and governors' representatives were similarly positive. Some concern was expressed about the position of schools requiring investment which were not located in the highest priority areas. Alternative funding sources, such as schools' devolved capital and New Deal for Schools, will continue to be available in parallel with PCP. The Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) has approved the County Council's Strategy for Change document for submission to the DCSF. A copy of the report on this item, together with the strategy document itself is available in the Members' Rooms.
4. The decision will enable those areas of the County with high levels of deprivation to be identified and show where allocations of funding can be used to improve the environments of Hampshire schools. This supports the Council's Corporate Priorities.
SCHOOLS' AREA COLLABORATIONS
1. Since the advent of Local Management of Schools in 1998, there has been a concentration of decision making powers and accountability at the level of individual schools and governing bodies. More recently, there has been a growing emphasis on the needs of schools and other providers to work together to meet the needs of whole communities. The need for collaboration has been clearly evident in the developments of extended services, 14-19 education, education inclusion partnerships and more recently the youth support strategy.
2. The Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) has considered a report which describes arrangements for schools and other education providers to work together more formally, through joint governance and utilising collaboration regulations. The Collaboration Arrangements (Maintained Schools and Further Education Bodies (England) Regulations 2007, offer a mechanism (the joint committee) for schools and further education providers to pool autonomy and decision making in selected areas of responsibility, in order to meet the needs of students within their geographical areas.
3. A number of groups of Hampshire schools have already begun to use the Collaboration Regulations to meet their needs in particular areas. For example, schools on Hayling Island have established a joint committee to oversee the development of extended services and the local Children's Centre. More recently, following negotiations with local schools, they have put in place area-wide joint decision making around extended services for Hayling Island and the Warblington Schools. Similarly, discussions are taking place with schools and potentially, further education and other providers in the Fareham and Gosport, Leigh Park, East Hampshire and Basingstoke, and other areas, to develop models for common decision making.
4. The collaborative area boards which are likely to be known by a variety of titles, are in tended to provide a means by which schools and other education providers can contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of the education strategies for their area, with each other, and the Local Authority; enable effective area wide collaborations which support the development of every child's potential; enable system leadership and collaborative decision making within an area; promote the integration of education provision across an area and throughout the age ranges to provide a coherent service for all users and enable the Children and Young People's Plan to be informed by the aspirations of the communities of Hampshire. Workshops for headteachers and Chairmen of governors are taking place across the County.
5. Collaborative area boards could, working with the County Council, develop and implement area-wide strategy and joined-up decision making whenever necessary. The success or failure of partnership working and collaborations rests not on the mechanisms of organising boards and committees and their operating principles but on the expectations and behaviours of those who take part. The Collaboration Regulations require each school or college participating, to agree the terms of reference of the joint committee. They do not require every participating institution to be represented in membership. It would be for the school and college governor members to determine the clerking arrangements for the joint committee. Although the County Council will consider supporting administrative arrangements where necessary. Minutes would be public documents, subject to the normal rules of confidentiality. The Executive Lead Member supports the development of increasingly collaborative decision making and governance arrangements in schools and colleges across Hampshire. A copy of the report on this item is available in the Members' Rooms.
6. The decision aims to help schools and colleges improve outcomes for children and young people in Hampshire. This supports the Council's Corporate Priorities.
DAVID KIRK PATRICIA BANKS
Executive Lead Member Executive Member
for Children's Services (Education) for Children and Families
8fR86608