Agenda, decisions and minutes

Resolved:

The Committee confirmed the appointment of Cllr John Paschoud as Chair and Councillor Brenda Dacres as Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Resolved:

The Committee confirmed the appointment of Cllr John Paschoud as Chair and Councillor Brenda Dacres as Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Resolved:

The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2014

Resolved:

The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2014

There were none.

Resolved:

The Committee agreed the addition of the work programme items as listed above into the 2014/2015 work programme for the Committee, subject to the suitability of dates for these items.

Andrew Hagger, Scrutiny Manager, introduced the work programme report, highlighting the terms of reference of the Committee, the different types of scrutiny available, suggested topics for the work programme and the draft work programme.

Councillor Paul Maslin, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, addressed the Committee, highlighting the following key points:

·         Three of the main priorities for Children and Young People outlined in the Lewisham Labour Party manifesto for 2014 were:

o  Improving secondary schools performance by 10%

o  Making sure that schools ensure our disadvantaged pupils get the most out of their education

o  Increasing primary school places

·         Lewisham has met the challenges provided by the need for places so far; however it is now more difficult as some of the easier solutions have been pursued. There are limited sites for expanding schools, especially at sites where there is high demand. Additionally there is a funding gap of around £20m.

·         A key pressure is the current overspend in the budget, with increasing budget pressure from people with no recourse to public funds presenting themselves in the borough.

·         The Council’s role as corporate parent continues to be of high importance.

In response to questions from the Committee, Cllr Maslin and Frankie Sulke, Executive Director for Children and Young People, provided the following information:

·         Further details on how the 10% increase in achievement will be delivered and measured will be developed. The approach will be to improve performance across the board, and improving results for those on the pupil premium will form an important part of improving results.

·         The Mayor is committed to apprenticeships and recognises that there is a need for high quality vocational routes and qualifications.

·         The focus of the pupil premium is on those with the biggest disadvantage. OfSTED holds schools to account for how pupil premium money is spent, and this is a key part of the Local Authority’s challenge to schools.

·         Schools are autonomous and it is not the Council’s role to second guess how schools spend their money.  However the Council does hold schools to account for their performance, including achievement gaps with pupil premium children.  The Council is able to influence schools through strong leadership.

·         Raising the Participation Age is a very important issue.  From last September, all 17 year olds had to be in education or training and Lewisham has done well. The challenge now is for all 18 year olds to be in education or training by September 2015, which is a much harder challenge.

·         Support is given to parents where it is needed, such as through early intervention and family support.

·         Lewisham’s primary school results were the 4^th best in the country last year. Part of Lewisham’s success has been through changing the levels of aspirations that people, whether parents or teachers, have for their children.

Frankie Sulke then addressed the Committee, providing some background to the Children and Young People’s Directorate:

·         The directorate deals with matters concerning those aged 0-19 in the borough and its aim is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

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