Members will be asked to consider any issues raised by schools.

Two separate matters were raised.

The Chair asked the Deputy Director, Education and Learning, for the Council’s plans for the replacement of the Education and Learning Strategic Manager who leaves at the end of the summer term. The Deputy Director confirmed that the Council was currently looking at options; the intention being that this post will be retained within the structure and will be recruited to in a timely way. It is hoped to be able to share further information with schools in the coming weeks. The Chair wished to record the Forum’s thanks to the Education and Learning Strategic Manager for her years of service and dedication to Bradford’s schools.

Primary Behaviour Centres

The Chair reported to the Forum the communication that has been received from the Headteacher Member representing Maintained Primary Schools setting out her concerns regarding the position of the Primary Behaviour Centres. This communication has been written on behalf of the four centres. The Chair invited the Member, who was in attendance at the meeting, to present her communication. Discussion on this matter extended into agenda item 6.

The Member reported that the Centres have been told by the Council that they will close and that dual registered pupils will not be funded from September; the Centres have not been consulted on this; this change produces a number of immediate vulnerabilities (financial, staffing, recruitment) for the Centres and the host schools; it appears to be assumed that the Centres will either convert to resourced provisions or will close; there are some pupils that do not fall into the permanent exclusion or EHCP categories, currently supported by the Centres, and it is not clear what will happen to these; in addition, there is confusion (and a lack of consistency of message) about any transition of pupils, financial support for the host schools to manage this change, timescales, and the strategy for provision for permanently excluded children going forward. Another Headteacher Member representing Maintained Primary Schools stated that he did not feel that he understands, or has been appropriately consulted on, these changes and that there needs to be fuller discussion on the strategy going forward for provision for primary-phase children that are permanently excluded.

The Deputy Director, Education and Learning, responded to accept that the Member raises some legitimate concerns and that these need to be addressed quickly. The Council will meet with the Centres to do this (agreed before the headteachers of the four centres meet on 10 June). The Council is moving to the position where provision for permanently excluded pupils is delivered by the PRUs. The Strategic Lead – Admissions added that the plan is for the Centres to convert to resourced provisions if they wish to do so, but that there is no plan to leave the Centres as they currently operate. Funding is currently in place until March 2020 (so it is not planned for the Centres to ‘close’ at September). One of the key purposes of meetings with the Centres now will be to determine whether the Centres wish to convert to resourced provisions. Another will be to discuss transition.

At the end of the discussion (which was at the end of agenda item 6), Members continued to express concerns about lack of clarity of the Council’s plans. The Chair asked that meetings are now quickly arranged to address these concerns and that the outcomes of these meeting be reported to the next Schools Forum meeting.

Resolved –

That the actions, as recorded in the minutes, on the matters raised by the Primary Phase Maintained Schools Headteacher Member concerning the Primary Behaviour Centres be taken forward and reported back within the next SEND / SEMH progress update to be presented on 10 July.