Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - City Hall, Bradford. View directions

Contact: Kanwal Amrez/Farzana Mughal 

Items
No. Item

42.

ALTERNATE MEMBERS (Standing Order 34)

The Director of Legal and Governance will report the names of alternate Members who are attending the meeting in place of appointed Members. 

 

43.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

 

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

 

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

 

Notes:

 

(1)       Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

 

Type of Interest

You must:

 

 

Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Disclose the interest; not participate in the discussion or vote; and leave the meeting unless you have a dispensation.

 

 

Other Registrable Interests (Directly Related)

OR

Non-Registrable Interests (Directly Related)

Disclose the interest; speak on the item only if the public are also allowed to speak but otherwise not participate in the discussion or vote; and leave the meeting unless you have a dispensation.

 

 

 

Other Registrable Interests (Affects)

OR

Non-Registrable Interests (Affects)

Disclose the interest; remain in the meeting, participate and vote unless the matter affects the financial interest or well-being

 (a) to a greater extent than it affects the financial interests of a majority of inhabitants of the affected ward, and

(b) a reasonable member of the public knowing all the facts would believe that it would affect your view of the wider public interest;

in which case speak on the item only if the public are also allowed to speak but otherwise not do not participate in the discussion or vote; and leave the meeting unless you have a dispensation.

 

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

 

(3)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

 

Minutes:

No declarations were received for matters under consideration.

44.

MINUTES

Recommended –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on XXXXX 2019 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

 

(Jill Bell/Kanwal Amrez – 07970 413716/07929 070228)

Minutes:

Resolved –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2023 be signed as a correct record.

45.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

 

(Jill Bell/Kanwal Amrez – 07970 413716/07929 070228)

 

Minutes:

No requests were received to inspect any restricted documents.

46.

REFERRALS TO THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

The following referrals have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda.

 

The Committee is asked to note the referrals listed above and decide how it wishes to proceed, for example by incorporating the item into the work programme, requesting that it be subject to more detailed examination, or refer it to an appropriate Working Group/Committee.

 

Minutes:

There were no referrals made to the committee.

47.

RAISING ATTAINMENT STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 133 KB

The Director of Children’s Services will submit a report (Document “P”) which provides an update on the Raising Attainment Strategy.

 

 

Recommended -

 

That Members accept the reports and note the progress of the Raising Attainment Strategy implementation.

 

 

                                                                        (Sue Lowndes - 01274 432623)

 

Minutes:

The Director of Children’s Services submitted a report (Document “P”) which provided an update on the Raising Attainment Strategy.

 

The Officer reported Raising Attainment Strategy was intended to be a 5-year plan. However, budget constraints had led to much of the work to cease and most would end in July 2023.

 

The Committee heard that £687,000 had been removed from the Early Years Language for Learning programme as part of this year’s budget setting.

The primary school work had spent £260,000 on maths and £116,480 on English work – but the scheme would end this Summer.

£500,000 had been removed from the secondary school scheme due to budget cuts.

£500,000 had been committed to the scheme to tackle persistent absences, but this will only last until July.

The Chair of the Committee expressed disappointment that the whole strategy would end in July 2023 adding that when the report last came to the committee, Members were quite positive and felt that the strategy may have potential.

Members of the Committee were keen to understand how it was decided which elements would be abandoned.

Director of Children’s Services reported that some projects that had not yet begun never started, which was easier than cutting existing schemes.

Members asked if the decision of what to cut was made by officers or if it was a political decision.

The Officer reported that in a situation of budget constraints, officers were asked to put measures forward that would cut costs. Officers looked at several areas and the risks if they withdrew one scheme or another, then a determination was made as to which risks were the least risky.

Members of the Committee were concerned that although a good programme was put together, it would be cut short due to budget restraints. Members felt that a proper evaluation of what was needed was not carried out as Early Years was still not up to standard.

Members sought clarification on engagement levels with families to identify which service they required.

It was reported that Early Years/Health Visitors were trained in family care settings and would help families navigate the system.

A Member of the Committee asked how many schools the Council was working with to tackle attendance issues.

The Officer reported that most schools have internal resources (Attendance Officer) that would assist with absences but at times the schools do not have the time or resources to deal with long term absences.

Members of the Committee commented that the issue of children’s school absence was not being taken as seriously as it should. School’s do not have the correct resources to tackle long term absence therefore, there needs to be further investigation into the issue to gain a better understanding of persistent absences as these families would benefit from a timelier intervention.

The Officer assured Members that there were many families with persistent absence issues but this is short lived due to intervention and support. Sometimes it was particular times of the year where there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

48.

EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS - EARLY YEARS TO KEY STAGE 4 - OUTCOMES OF OFSTED INSPECTIONS pdf icon PDF 229 KB

The Director of Children’s Services will submit a report (Document “Q”) which provides an update on the outcomes from national assessments for primary and secondary pupils for the academic year 2021/22 and updated information on the outcomes of Ofsted inspections within education settings.

 

Recommended –

 

That the contents of the report Document “Q” be noted.

 

                                                                        (Sue Lowndes - 01274 432623)

Minutes:

The Director of Children’s Services submitted a report (Document “Q”) which provided an update on the outcomes from the national assessments for primary and secondary pupils for the academic year 2021/22 and updated information on the outcomes of Ofsted inspections within education settings.

 

The Officer outlined the key issues and explained data provided in the report.  

 

A Member of the Committee asked if schools that work closely with the Local Authority perform better.

 

The Officer reported that was not the case but working with schools allows the LA to identify any issues in good time, provide resources and monitor the situation. Good schools with good leadership work better as this enables good teaching and learning.

 

Members of the Committee commented that the service needed to look at the local communities and recognise issues in order to have an effective model in place to target on focus areas.

Members added that the schools that really make a difference were the ones that were proactive and engaged with the local community.

 

The Officer reported that currently the LA Raising Attainment Strategy was providing intensive support in literacy and numeracy at KS2 through a commissioned partnership with the English Hub and White Rose Maths Hub. To date 19 schools had benefited from the support which was made available to all schools who had a declining or low attainment pattern and who agreed to be involved.

 

Members of the Committee sought further clarification on data provided in the report.

 

The Officer provided a breakdown of the data on page 12 of the report.

 

Members commented that the data presented some encouragement, however it would be interesting to know what schools were doing differently and possibly compare with neighbouring Local Authority.

 

A Member of the Committee added that half of the 62 academies inspected had improved, there is a need to look at non academy schools and see if there was any difference.

 

 

Resolved –

 

The Committee requests that an update report on educational outcomes for the 2022/23 academic year be presented in 12 months and also for Children’s Services officers to scope the content of the report, with the Chair and Deputy Chair, as to how the report can be presented in a more helpful manner for members.

 

ACTION:  Strategic Director for Children’s Services

 

                                                            (Sue Lowndes – 01274 432623)

49.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - WORK PROGRAMME 2022/2023 pdf icon PDF 102 KB

The report of the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny

Committee (Document “R”) includes the Children’s Services Overview and

Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2022/23.

 

 

Recommended –

 

(i)   That Members consider and comment on areas of work included

      in the work programme.

 

(ii)  That Members consider any detailed scrutiny reviews that they

      may wish to conduct.

 

                                                                        (Mustansir Butt - 01274 432574)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Document “R”) was submitted to Members for comment and review of the 2022/23 Work Programme.

 

Resolved –

 

Members discussed and amended the work programme.

 

ACTION:  Overview & Scrutiny Lead

 

                                                                        (Mustansir Butt – 07582 101597)