Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED – That Councillor R D Feldman be appointed Chair of the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services) for the duration of this meeting, as Councillor Bale, the appointed Chair of the Scrutiny Board for the 2006/07 Municipal Year had submitted his apologies for absence from the meeting.

(Councillor R D Feldman took the Chair)

To declare any personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 13 of the Members’ Code of Conduct

No declarations were made at this point, however two declarations of personal interest were made at later points in the meeting (Minute No. 122 refers).

To receive any apologies for absence from the meeting

Apologies for absence from the meeting were received on behalf of the Chair, Councillor J Bale, Councillors A Harrison, L Mulherin, K Renshaw, B Selby, Mr C Macpherson, Mr P Gathercole and Mrs S Hutchinson.

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which details a range of information relating to the review of 14-19 education and training provision in Leeds and presents the Scrutiny Board with an opportunity to comment on the review prior to a report being submitted to Executive Board in May

A report was submitted on behalf of the Chief Executive of Education Leeds which provided Members with further information on the 14-19 Review of Education and Training Provision in Leeds, as had previously been requested by the Board. The report from the Chief Executive of Education Leeds had previously been submitted to Executive Board on 24^th January 2007 for consideration.

Appended to the report for Members’ information was an extract from the Review of 14-19 Provision in Leeds, which had been prepared by Cambridge Education in November 2006. A complete version of the Review had been circulated to Members for information prior to the meeting.

Dirk Gilleard, Deputy Chief Executive, and Gary Milner, 14-19 Strategy

Co-ordinator, both of Education Leeds, were in attendance to answer Members’ questions.

Having received an overview of the main points detailed within the report, a question and answer session ensued. The main areas of debate were as follows:-

Sixth Forms

·  Members raised concerns about the impact of the proposed changes in Sixth form funding from April 2008. They agreed with officers that there was an urgent need for a proactive plan to mitigate the effect of these changes and secure continuity of provision for young people;

·  In particular, the Board emphasised the important role of smaller inner city Sixth Forms, stating that such environments had been very beneficial for young people from deprived socio-economic backgrounds who may not have felt confident enough to attend a larger institution.

Proposed Rationalisation of the Further Education Estate

·  Members asked how a proposed centralised Further Education college would operate in practice, and how such proposals would ensure that a wider provision of services was available to all young people residing throughout the city;

·  The Board discussed the tension between the desire to remove duplication and the need to ensure an adequate range of provision in local areas for students to access;

·  Concerns were raised over the ways in which the proposed rationalisation of Further Education provision would impact upon those residing on the outskirts of Leeds, in addition to those who were currently underachieving;

·  Members made reference to the Leeds Learner Entitlement, enquired how the rationalisation of Further Education would enable ‘access to the widest choice of learning pathways’ and asked how attainable the vision for the Learner Entitlement was;

·  The Board raised concerns over the effectiveness of a single Principal overseeing a large number of different sites.

Multi Agency Collaboration

·  The Board stated that the joined up thinking which had been referred to as an outcome of the review was only evident within the realms of traditional education, and highlighted the need to ensure that a wide range of facilities from various agencies were fully utilised when providing education and training to 14-19 year olds, for example youth services, libraries and sports facilities. In response, the Board was advised that negotiations with the Youth Service were currently being undertaken to ensure that an extensive youth offer was developed;

·  Members emphasised the importance of embedding a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122.

Thursday, 19^th April 2007 at 9.30 a.m. in the Civic Hall, Leeds

(Please note that a pre-meeting is scheduled for all members of the Board at 9.00 a.m.)

Thursday, 19^th April 2007 at 9.30 a.m.

(Pre-Meeting scheduled for 9.00 a.m.)

(The meeting concluded at 12.15 p.m.)