• Agenda

Minutes of Meeting of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee held in Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday, 9 November 2006 at 10.30 a.m.

 

 

Mr A Anderson in the Chair

 

Business

 

An asterisk in the margin demotes a recommendation to the Council.  All decisions with no marking in the margin are delegated to the Committee.

 

Preliminaries

 

Rev A Glass opened the meeting with prayer.

 

1.           Apologies for Absence

 

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr G Rimell, Mr P Corbett, Ms K MacNab, Mrs I McCallum and Mr J N Matheson.

 

2.           Successes

 

The Committee NOTED a list of recent successes and AGREED that their congratulations be conveyed to those concerned:-

 

·         Rogart, Farr and Broadford Primaries had been awarded their first Eco Schools Green Flag Award. Tore and Kirkhill Primaries had achieved their Bronze and Silver Awards respectively.

·         Highland Libraries were to receive £51,000 from the Public Library Quality Improvement Fund for eight projects aimed at improving public library services across Scotland.

·         S5 pupils Thomas Riley, Nairn Academy and Alasdair MacLeod, Alness Academy were to attend the NASA Space Camp in Houston, Texas next year with fellow S5 pupils Zoe Forsyth and Catriona Fraser selected to attend the 2007 Scottish Space School Summer Camp in Glasgow.

·         Fifteen organisations planning arts projects had been awarded £250,000 through the Highland 2007 Arts Capital Fund for arts equipment and small building costs.

·         Raigmore Primary had come second in the Healthy Living Category at the UK Teaching Award Finals in October.

·         A number of employees, pupils and local choirs had been winners at the Mod.

·         First Minister Jack McConnell had visited Central Primary in early October.

·         Over 60 Junior Golfers from the North of Scotland had attended the Highland Junior Golf Championships at the Spey Valley Golf Course, Aviemore in October.

·         Highland projects had received awards totalling over £370,000 in the latest round of “Awards for All” Grants.

·         Youth Link had awarded Muir of Ord SkatePark Group £30,000 and Dingwall Youth Café £8,000.  Also, £20,000 had been awarded towards a minibus and trailer for use mainly at the new Outdoor Education Facility at Badaguish. 

·         At the “School Food Trust Cook for Success” Conference in Newcastle, Diana MacKay, Head Cook at Alness Academy had given a presentation on how the school had moved forward with a variety of healthy eating initiatives.

·         Roy Shepherd, S4 Alness Academy had won Bronze in the 55kg section in the British Judo National Championships in Sheffield.

·         In the Loo of the Year Awards, 9 further establishments had received 5 star gradings.  Overall, 84% of the Service’s entries had been graded to receive a 4 or 5 star award.

·          Quality Award Winners were Fortrose Academy (Representing the Highlands – The Global Dimension in the Curriculum), Parents on the Ball (Working with Communities and Partners), Highland Libraries (Delivering Services Effectively – using ICT) and Donald MacAskill, Dingwall Community Centre (Employee of the Year).

 

3.           Blas 2006 Festival

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 59/06 dated 30 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport providing Members with a performance overview of Blas, the Festival celebrating Highland Music, which had taken place in September 2006, and which detailed the considerable advances and developments made by Blas in its second year.  Mr Arthur Cormack, Director of Feisean nan Gaidheal gave a presentation explaining that Blas was a partnership between the Council, Feisean nan Gaidheal and the Promoters’ Art Network.  Outlining the history leading to the creation of Blas, he explained that the Festival’s aims were to:- celebrate and strengthen traditional Highland Music and promote Gaelic, involve communities as proactive participants and to develop new audiences, involve young people from the Highlands, to be an international event including visiting artists from Nova Scotia and to be innovative and exciting.  He detailed how this had been achieved which included the continued support of the five Feis Ceilidh Trails.  Overall, audiences and feedback on the Festival had improved and he expressed appreciation to the funding partners for their support.  Blas 2007 was to be a particularly special event with Inverness and the surrounding area included for the first time.

 

Members expressed appreciation of Blas as a high quality event and hoped its success would continue as it encouraged young people to take part in traditional music and was an excellent example of partnership working.  The contribution of volunteers was also recognised.  It was suggested that linking events and holding workshops around evening concerts merited investigation as was promoting the Festival through the establishment of a “Blas Day”.  With the National Mod returning to the Highlands every three years there was scope to develop a Mod fringe, particularly in 2007 when Blas would be the flagship of the Highland Year of Culture celebrations.  Voting for the Traditional Music Awards was currently taking place and Members and staff were encouraged to vote to support local artists.

 

The Committee NOTED the presentation and congratulated the Blas Board for the excellent work done in two years to bring the festival to its current state.

 

4.           Revenue Budget 2006/07 Mid Year Review and Monitoring

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 60/06 dated 18 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on Revenue Expenditure in the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1 April to 30 September 2006.  A projected overspend of £0.494M was reported together with a potential shortfall of £0.399M in the 2006/07 savings target of £6.8M.  Furthermore, some schools were likely to breach the 3% deficit carry forward on their devolved school budget.  To address these pressures the on-going management actions being taken were detailed and there was a continuation of the policy to deliberately underspend certain sectors of the budget to off-set demand led budgets and to help achieve the 2006/07 savings target.  School rolls were however falling and work was underway to calculate the financial impact of this.

 

The Committee:-

 

                          i.            APPROVED the actions to manage the projected overspend; and

                        ii.            NOTED that a further progress report would be brought to the Committee’s next meeting by which time there would be greater clarity in relation to the achievement of the savings target figure.

 

5.           Capital Expenditure 2006/07 – Monitoring

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 61/06 dated 26 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport providing capital monitoring information on the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1 April to 31 October 2006, the status of the PPP1 programme and progress on the PPP2 programme.  Members were also informed of the repairs required to return Golspie Swimming Pool to service.

 

In relation to the school grass pitches, Members were assured that the problems that had arisen during PPP1 had been taken into account in the PPP2 agreement.  Maintenance programmes were in place to ensure pitches remained playable and it was pointed out that any costs incurred would not be borne by the Council.  It was also reported that a Steering Group had been formed for the Inshes Primary School currently under construction and the developers had invited the Group to tour the site at an appropriate time, a move which was welcomed.  Members also asked that they be kept informed on progress with the PPP2 programme.

 

The Committee NOTED the report and AGREED:-

 

                          i.            regular updates be made to Committee on how PPP projects were progressing; and

                        ii.            to homologate the decision to progress repairs to Golspie Swimming Pool.

 

6.           Service Capital Programme Review 2006/07-2010/11

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 62/06 dated 30 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport providing detail of a proposed review of the Education, Culture and Sport Service Capital Programme against the background of Corporate and Service Capital Expenditure Management requirements.  The report also suggested a bid to the Budget Working Group for additional flexibility funding for year 5 of the programme (2010/11).

 

Currently agreed Service Capital Funding was set out with details of the School Building Improvement Fund (SBIF) monies allocated to the Council by the Scottish Executive and the potential of additional income being available due to agreed PPP2 Programme facility handover dates.  All projects previously agreed remained in the programme but with adjustments to timing to take into account updated costings, project phasing, cashflow and the move towards Corporate management of capital expenditure.  In particular, it was necessary to achieve agreed underspends in both 2006/07 and 2007/08 and, while project development in the current Programme would achieve the necessary savings, it was proposed that the commencement of the Acharacle Primary replacement project be delayed until March 2007 to generate an underspend of £1M in 2007/08.  To address cashflow problems, as both projects were scheduled to start on site in November/December 2007, it was suggested either the new Aviemore Primary or the replacement Maryburgh/Conon Bridge Primary be targeted for on site start in the third quarter of financial year 2008/09 with the final decision being taken once full information on progress with each project was available.  It was further proposed that Lochaline Primary be targeted for site start in October/December 2009 as opposed to Spring 2008.  A bid to the Budget Working Group for additional funding for 2010/11 was also detailed.   
The proposed uses, together with approximate costings, of the SBIF were for the implementation of the Scottish Schools Digital Network (SSDN) and the enhancement to school dining and servery provision with the remaining balance allocated directly to schools, excluding those in the PPP programme, for improvements to building fabric calculated on the existing Devolved School Management funding formula.

 

During discussion the following points were made:-

 

·         clarification was required on the phasing of the sports facility projects in Caithness;

·         that, as a result of cost rises, projects which it had been hoped would be included in the Capital Programme for 2010/11 would now not appear and assurances were sought that scoping work for those projects previously discussed, including the refurbishment of Cromarty Primary, would be completed and reported to the Committee’s meeting on 16 March 2007;

·         the batching together of projects and asking contractors to phase expenditure over a three year period had potential to reduce costs and maximise resources;

·         partnership arrangements being put in place with construction companies for long term projects but with a proviso that the use of local contractors was also maximised;

·         the need for flexibility in the Capital Programme to take advantage of opportunities when they arose, for example the purchasing of land when it became available and to progress other projects if construction costs fell;

·         there was potential of further additional Scottish Executive funding which would allow some of the projects subject to slippage to be brought forward;

·         the benefits of community schools was highlighted and there was concern in communities, such as Bower, that the new school had not been included in the current programme;

·         details were sought as to the degree of cost variations between estimated project costing and prices received; and

·         the need for contingency arrangements for those schools unable to use Broadband in relation to the implementation of SSDN.

 

In addressing points raised, the Director explained that it had not been possible to extend the Capital Programme to include those projects previous discussed due to increases in costs.  These projects would however be brought back to Committee for agreement for further scoping work with a view to them being included in the Programme for future years.  He stressed the importance of ensuring value for money and informed Members that discussions were taking place in relation to a review of procurement practices.

 

Thereafter, Committee AGREED:-

 

                          i.            the revised Capital Programme;

                        ii.            the bid to the Budget Working Group for £0.5M for potential cost rises for the Lochaline Primary School replacement project, £1.5M for a cost rise contingency sum for the Lochaber High School refurbishment project and £1M to continue the current programme of essential maintenance and upgrade of Community Learning and Leisure facilities; and

                       iii.            the uses of the additional School Building Improvement Fund monies with finalised allocations being agreed by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee once final costings were known.

 

7.           Education, Culture and Sport Statutory Performance Indicators 2005/06

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 63/06 dated 26 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport outlining the Statutory Performance Indicators for the Service, comparing the figures with previous years, and the key issues arising from the 2005/06 performance data.

 

The Committee:-

 

                i.            NOTED that the annual Education, Culture and Sport Quality and Standards report would be considered by the Committee early in 2007;

              ii.            NOTED the Service’s Statutory Performance Indicator outcomes for 2005/06; and

             iii.            AGREED a further report on the Education, Culture and Sport Service’s national benchmark position of 2005/06 be submitted following the publishing of data by Audit Scotland early in 2007.

 

8.           Outcome of Statutory Consultation on the Proposal to transfer Gaelic Medium Secondary Education from Millburn Academy to Inverness Royal Academy

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 64/06 dated 12 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which detailed the outcome of the statutory consultation to consider the transfer of Gaelic Medium secondary education from Millburn Academy to Inverness Royal Academy.

 

*     The Committee AGREED the recommendation to the Council to:-

 

                          i.            transfer secondary Gaelic Medium education from Millburn Academy to Inverness Royal Academy, starting with pupils entering S1 for Gaelic Medium education from August 2007; and

                        ii.            continue the provision of secondary Gaelic Medium education at Millburn Academy for those pupils who started secondary education prior to August 2007 until such as time as these pupils completed their secondary school education.

 

9.           Education, Culture and Sport Service Structure Beyond April 2007

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 65/06 dated 31 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on the proposed management structures for the Education, Culture and Sport Service from April 2007.  The report reflected the need to restructure so that the Service could position itself to deliver services at Ward, Area and Highland wide level and proposed a timescale for the various stages of the review of structures. 

 

It was important that a robust management structure was in place to respond to the various influences that would arise from April 2007 with responsibility for service delivery devolved as far as possible.  Some services would be cross-ward with others Highland wide and the proposed structures for each were outlined.  The directorate would be strengthened by extending it to include three Area Education, Culture and Sport Managers and a Quality Assurance and Development Manager and, in the three Operational Areas, in addition to the Service Manager, specialist staff would be in place and structures aligned alongside Children’s Services in Social Work to allow the delivery of the Integrated Children’s Services agenda.  Significant points of presence in main settlements were required given the geographic nature of the Highlands. The timescales involved were outlined and it was hoped the revised structure would generate a reduction in Management and Administrative costs of about £250,000 in 2007/08.

During discussion Members sought further detail on how service delivery would be achieved at Ward level.  The merits of the proposals were explored in detail and clarification was sought in relation to specific issues of implementation.  It was acknowledged that the restructuring offered an opportunity to examine how services were managed and delivered.  The focus of project delivery at Area level was supported as it provided a local point of contact for Members and communities.  There was a need, however, to progress as quickly as possible so that long term employment security was maintained.

 

The Committee AGREED:-

 

                          i.             to adopt the Education, Culture and Sport Management Structures outlined from April 2007; and

                        ii.             that the Director report to Committee early in 2007 to bring Members up to date with the review of Management Structures, to include the Quality Development and Support for Learners Teams, the Capital Projects Team, Community Learning and Leisure, and service delivery at Ward level.

 

10.       Administration of Medicines in Schools

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 66/06 dated 26 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport describing the work of a multi disciplinary, multi agency Steering Group and which made recommendations regarding the policy and procedures for NHS Highland and the Highland Council with regard to the administration of medicines in schools.

 

In welcoming the approach and recognising that the policy would apply in establishments involving both the Council and NHS Highland, the Committee AGREED to:-

 

                          i.            adopt the Scottish Executive Health Department guidance document as policy within the Highland Council;

                        ii.            support, where necessary, the development of additional processes and documentation within the Highland Council; and

                       iii.            support the current work plan for the multi disciplinary, multi agency Steering Group.

 

11.       National Youth Work Strategy Consultation

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 67/06 dated 16 October 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport seeking homologation of the Council’s response to the National Youth Work Strategy Consultation, issued by the Scottish Executive, and which had closed on 1 November 2006.

 

The Committee AGREED to homologate the response to the consultation but that the Scottish Executive be informed of the need for additional resources being made available for the Council to resource adequately Youth Work if the National Strategy was to be delivered.

 

12.       Scottish Schools Digital Network

 

Mr Tony McCulloch, Quality Development Manager made a presentation to Members illustrating the potential of Glow, the name for the Scottish Schools Digital Network, which was to be rolled out to Highland schools over the next two years.  Glow was a national schools internet, digitally linking Scotland’s 800,000 educators and pupils.  It was funded by the Scottish Executive and managed by Learning and Teaching Scotland in partnership with Research Machines.  Teachers and learners were at the heart of Glow which provided a set of powerful online tools so pupils and teachers could work together and securely at any location or time.  It included a virtual learning environment where teachers could prepare, review and plan lessons and deliver them online.  Teachers, pupils and families could also use the social software to interact with each other.  In delivering a Curriculum for Excellence it was hoped to develop, through Glow, successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.  Examples of the courses Glow provided was shown to Members.

 

Members welcomed Glow recognising the uses that could be made by smaller secondary schools and those living in rural areas.  It also improved the quality of teaching and there was potential for it to be used in other facilities such as Day Care Centre for the elderly where it could reduce the sense of social isolation.  However, it was important that the discussion forums which formed part of Glow were adequately monitored to avoid misuse and that pupils did not lose the ability of communicating face-to-face.  

 

The Committee NOTED the position.

 

13.       Minutes of Meetings

 

The Committee dealt with the following Minutes of the Meetings, copies of which had been circulated, as follows:-

 

                          i.             NOTED  EducationTransport Appeals Committee 21 September 2006

                        ii.             APPROVED  Annual General Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff; Ordinary Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff 25 October 2006

                       iii.             NOTED Education Transport Appeals Committee 25 October 2006; and

                      iv.             APPROVED Duncraig Castle Working Group Minute 25 October 2006

 

Arising from the Duncraig Castle Working Group Minute, assurances were sought that the £650,000 capital reserve would continue to generate sufficient interest to permit the intended disbursement of scholarships/grants in the future.  Also, the proposal for the remaining £143,349 being used to fund a project at Plockton High School was questioned as it was felt the purpose of the bequest was to benefit children throughout the Council area.  It was argued however that the generosity of the Hamilton family, who had gifted the Castle to the Council, should be commemorated. 

 

The Committee NOTED the position.

 

The meeting ended at 1.35 p.m.