Agenda item

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which provides Members with a briefing on the review of 14-19 education  and training provision in Leeds

  The Board received a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which updated Members on the progress made in relation to the review of 14-19 education and training provision in Leeds. The report also invited the Board to consider the formal proposals for the reorganisation of Further Education (FE) in Leeds, which were to be published by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

Appended to the report was the statement of the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services) entitled,’14-19 Review of Education and Training Provision in Leeds’ which had been published by the Board in April 2007, in addition to a report approved by Executive Board on 17^th October 2007 entitled, ‘Transforming Secondary and Post-16 Provision in Leeds’.

Councillor Richard Harker, Executive Member with responsibility for Learning, Dirk Gilleard, Deputy Chief Executive, and Gary Milner, 14-19 Strategy Co-ordinator, both of Education Leeds, in addition to Cristina George, the Learning and Skills Council’s Partnership Director for Leeds, were all in attendance to answer Members’ questions.

Having noted that the LSC’s formal proposals were yet to be published, the LSC’s Partnership Director for Leeds provided the Board with a verbal briefing on the proposals. A question and answer session then ensued. The main areas of debate were as follows:-

Issues Concerning the Proposals for the Reorganisation of FE Provision in Leeds

Ÿ  Members acknowledged the levels of support for the proposals, and enquired about the impact upon those institutions which were not involved in the reorganisation. In response, the Board noted that when a model for reorganisation had been agreed, the various sources of funding available to assist with the process would be fully utilised, in order to ensure that the most appropriate FE provision was delivered to all young people in Leeds;

Ÿ  In response to Members’ enquiries, the Board noted that schools’ sixth forms would continue to play an important part in FE provision, however greater emphasis would have to be placed upon schools delivering such provision in partnership with other institutions;

Ÿ  Following Members’ enquiries into the FE provision which would be available for learners with Special Educational Needs (SEN), the Board was told that such young people were comprehensively covered within the proposals, and that every child needed an individual learning plan, in order to maximise their chances of success;

Ÿ  Members received a brief summary of Education Leeds’ response to the LSC’s proposals;

Ÿ  The Board noted the proposed timescales in which the reorganisation of FE provision in Leeds would be delivered;

Ÿ  Members discussed the revised post-16 funding methodology which was being established, and the impact that the revised funding methodology would have on the various institutions throughout Leeds.

Issues Relating to Consultation

Ÿ  Following Members’ enquiries, the Board was informed that parents were part of the consultation process relating to the proposals, and that learners’ views would be sought via organisations such as the Youth Council. Members were assured that the education and training of our young people would not be disrupted, as the reorganisation was delivered;

Ÿ  Members discussed the potential geographical locations of Academies which may be established in the future, in relation to clustering arrangements.

General Observations

Ÿ  Members acknowledged the increasingly mixed economy of education provision in Leeds, and raised concerns in relation to the differing conditions of employment for staff delivering such provision. In response, Members noted that this issue needed to be addressed nationally, as such matters could not be approached on an individual institution basis;

Ÿ  The Board discussed the extent to which there would be democratic accountability in respect of the partnerships which would be established as part of the arrangements for delivering education provision in the future.

In conclusion, it was proposed that as the LSC’s proposals were yet to be published, the Board could not directly comment upon them, therefore Members gave their general support towards the concept of the proposed merger, as an element of the overall review of 14-19 provision in Leeds, and it was

RESOLVED -

(a). That the report and information appended to the report be noted;

(b). That in light of the fact that the LSC’s formal proposals are yet to be published, the Board’s statement entitled, ‘14-19 Review of Education and Training Provision in Leeds’, which had been published in April 2007, following the Board’s earlier consideration of the 14-19 review, be re-submitted to Executive Board for consideration, and that the Board recommends that Executive Board satisfies itself that the issues raised in the statement have been adequately addressed in responding on behalf of the council to the LSC’s formal proposals.

(Councillor Murray declared a personal interest in relation to this item, due to his position as Chair of Governors at Thomas Danby College)

(Councillor Lancaster left the meeting at 12.33 p.m., during the consideration of this item)