Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2024.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 17 January 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interest which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interests were declared:-

Personal Interests

To consider call-in items (if any).

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Director of Education, Work and Skills.

The report provides the details relating to the Work and Skills Plan which is fundamental to establishing more sustainable, inclusive and a diverse economy that benefits everyone and has been drafted to complement the ambitions articulated in our other key strategies including our One Stockport Borough Plan, Economic Plan and Schools Strategy.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to comment on and note the development of this work and skills plan.

Officer contact: Christopher Harland | 0161 521 1707 | christopher.harland@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Education, Work & Skills submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) outlining the Work and Skills Plan which was fundamental to establishing more sustainable, inclusive and a diverse economy that benefited everyone and had been drafted to complement the ambitions articulated in our other key strategies including the One Stockport Borough Plan, Economic Plan and Schools Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education (Councillor Wendy Meikle) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The Plan was not yet in its final form, and was intended to start the process of consultation with a view to the finalised document being resubmitted to the scrutiny committee in June.

·         It was noted that there was a disparity in the figures within the report where data was being obtained from a number of sources including population data derived from the census and that around the number of Stockport jobs and employers.  The was made complex by the movement of people between boroughs for work purposes.

·         The Plan was written from the position that Stockport wanted all children to do better in school and not that we would accept that some children will not succeed.

·         Free career advice was provided to all vulnerable young people and a buyback service was offered to local schools for a universal information and advice service.

·         There was a demand for post-16 places that may not be being met within Stockport with significant numbers of young people travelling out of borough.  This had implications, particularly for the most vulnerable, who would be least likely to be able to access education and training provided out of borough.

·         More work needed to be done to understand whether the 32% of Stockport students who access post-16 places outside of Stockport were making a positive choice to do so, or whether this was driven by insufficiency of appropriate places in Stockport.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Director of Education, Work, and Skills.

The report provides details relating to the school investment plan and sets out how we will carry out our responsibility, in line with the commitments made in the Borough Plan and School Strategy to ensure there are sufficient places in good and improving local inclusive schools at the heart of the community that children and families want to go to.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to:-

a)    Endorse the terms outlined in the strategy and the associated investment detailed in the Education Asset Management Plan (Appendix 2).

b)    Recommend to Cabinet to delegate authority to the Director for Development and Regeneration, in consultation with members of the Local Authority’s Capital Board to procure the works and services, and subsequently determine the outcome of any contract award process for any project specified in the asset management plan.

c)    Recommend to Cabinet to delegate authority to the Director for Education, Work, and Skills to enter into funding agreements with schools and to release basic need funding to schools who are working with the Local Authority to create additional mainstream or resource base places as specified in the 2023/24 asset management plan approved by Cabinet in January 2023 and the 2024/25 asset management plan in Appendix 2 of this report.

d)    Recommend to Cabinet to delegate authority to the Director of Education, Work, and Skills to determine the allocation of up to £2m of basic need funds to schools who work with the Local Authority to create additional mainstream or resource base places in the secondary phase.

e)    Recommend to Cabinet to delegate authority to the Director for Education, Work, and Skills to enter into funding agreements with schools determined in the above and to release basic need funding to those schools.

Officer contact: Christopher Harland | 0161 521 1707 | christopher.harland@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Education, Work & Skills submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing how the Council would carry out its responsibility, in line with the commitments made in the Borough Plan and School Strategy to ensure there were sufficient places in good and improving local inclusive schools at the heart of the community that children and families wanted to go to.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education (Councillor Wendy Meikle) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         There was a significant shortfall in funding which limited the Council’s ability to address the challenges within the school estate.

·         It was known that children thrived within good environments, and the report clearly demonstrates the ability of schools to organise flexibly diminished as problems arose with the condition of buildings.

·         There was a need to maintain sufficient available capacity within the school place system to provide the necessary flexibility so that the system could operate effectively.

·         Increasing costs of labour and materials was reducing the scope of what could be achieved with the available finance.

·         The 150 additional school places previously planned to be introduced at Bramhall High School had now been secured elsewhere following the discovery of reinforced, aerated, autoclaved concrete at the school.

·         It was noted that demand for places in the primary sector had now levelled off and work needed to be done to ensure that schools remained viable.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Director of Education, Works & Skills.

The report provides an update on the current position and context of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Stockport. The report also provides an update in Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan Timeliness, pupils with Social, Emotional, And Mental Health (SEMH) needs, Alternative Provision (AP) and the SEND Inspection Framework.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to comment on and note the information and the current actions and to address distinct issues.

Officer contact: Geraldine Gerrard | geraldine.gerrard@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Education, Work & Skills submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the current position and context of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Stockport. The report also provided an update in relation to Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan Timeliness, pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, Alternative Provision (AP) and the SEND Inspection Framework.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education (Councillor Wendy Meikle) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The proposal to provide additional Educational Psychologists was welcomed.

·         More needed to be done to support those children and families who were waiting for a formal autism diagnosis to ensure that they were ‘waiting well’.

·         Many parents had expressed frustration with the time taken to get an assessment, and it was noted that the longer it took to obtain an assessment, those with more complex needs became increasingly expensive to support once that had been completed.

·         The level of communication with parents and carers, signposting them to other services while awaiting an autism diagnosis was welcomed.

·         It was noted that the cost of external independent provision was significant, and in some cases was not always providing the desired outcomes.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That it be noted that the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education would be writing to the Department for Education expressing concern in relation to the sufficiency of training places for educational psychologists.

To consider a report of the Director of Education, Works and Skills.

The report provides an update on the guidance issued to Local Authorities and responsible bodies relating to the potential risks surrounding the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) within construction of school buildings. It also provides an update on the impact on schools in the borough and on the closure of St Thomas Church of England Primary School, Marriot Street and Bramhall High School.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to note:-

a)    That the Deputy Chief Executive, as an Executive Director of the council, has taken officer decisions in consultation with the Cabinet Member with portfolio responsibility for Finance and Resources in relation to the contracts entered into to provide the services set out above in relation to the spend already incurred at both schools.

b)    That the Deputy Chief Executive, as an Executive Director of the council, take an officer decision in consultation with the Cabinet Member with portfolio responsibility for Finance and Resources (in line with the council’s scheme of delegation) in relation to the contracts for additional works and services set out above which have yet to be entered into.

c)    That an Officer Decision Record is published setting out the decision made.

Officer contact: Tim Bowman | tim.bowman@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Education, Work & Skills submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the guidance issued to Local Authorities and responsible bodies relating to the potential risks surrounding the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) within construction of school buildings.  It also provided an update on the impact on the two affected schools in the borough: St Thomas Church of England Primary School, Marriot Street and Bramhall High School, including updates on actions taken and costs incurred to date.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education (Councillor Wendy Meikle) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         Officers from the Council’s Estates and Asset Management team had worked tirelessly to support St Thomas Church of England Primary School and Bramhall High School since RAAC was discovered in those buildings.

·         The Department for Education had worked closely with the schools and the Council to bring about a resolution to the issues, and the inclusion of both schools in the School Rebuilding Programme was particularly welcomed.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the thanks of the Scrutiny Committee be extended to the Estates and Asset Management team and the Director of Education, Work & Skills for their work in supporting St Thomas Church of England Primary School and Bramhall High School to ensure that the education of young people at those schools was able to continue with as little disruption as possible.

To consider a report of Councillor Janet Mobbs, Chair of the ‘Services for Young People’ Scrutiny Review Panel.

As part of the Scrutiny Work Programme approved by the Council, a review of the ‘Services for Young People’ by the Children & Families Scrutiny Committee was agreed. The review aimed to understand the demographics of the adolescent population across the borough, to scope and map the provision available delivered via the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector and the Council, to understand the infrastructure and connections across the provision, to understand how provision is funded and to identify any areas that would benefit from being strengthened.

The Scrutiny Committee is requested to comment on and approve the report for submission to the Cabinet.

Officer contact: Heidi Shaw | Heidi.shaw@stockport.gov.uk

The Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Committee and Lead Councillor for the Review (Councillor Janet Mobbs) submitted the draft final report of the Scrutiny Committee’s Review of Services for Young People (copies of which had been circulated) that contained the findings and recommendations from the Review.  The Scrutiny Committee was invited to make amendments to the report prior to its submission to the Cabinet on 12 March 2024.

RESOLVED - (1) That the draft Services for Young People Final Report be approved and adopted

(2) That the thanks of the Scrutiny Committee be extended to all those who took part in the Scrutiny Review.

To consider a report of the Assistant Director for Legal & Democratic Governance.

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Charles Yankiah on 0161 474 3206 or email: charles.yankiah@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Assistant Director for Legal & Democratic Governance submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and any relevant Forward Plan items.

It was suggested that the Scrutiny Committee would benefit from receiving a report on the impact of antisemitism and islamophobia in local schools.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Director of Education, Work and Skills be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee in relation to the impact of antisemitism and islamophobia in local schools.