• Agenda

Minutes of Meeting of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee held in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday, 20 September 2007 at 10.30 a.m.

 

Present:
Mr W Fernie Mr B Gormley Lady Thurso Mr D Bremner Mrs D Mackay Mrs I Campbell Dr A Sinclair Mrs J Urquhart Mr M Finlayson Ms M Smith Mrs M Paterson Mr C Fraser	Mr E Hunter Mr D Hendry Mr H Wood Mrs B McAllister Mr R A C Balfour Mrs G Sinclair Mr L Fraser Ms J Douglas Rev A Glass Rev D C Meredith Mr J McDonald Miss G Slider
Non-Members also present:   Mr G Farlow Ms L Munro Mr R Rowentree Mr D Mackay Mr J Rosie Mr G Smith Mr J McGillivray Mr M Rattray	Mr A Rhind Dr D Alston Mr B Barclay Mrs I McCallum Mr H Fraser Mr B Clark Mr A Henderson
In Attendance:   Mr H Fraser, Director of Education, Culture and Sport Mr B Alexander, Head of Integrated Children’s Services, Education, Culture and Sport Mr D MacDonald, Head of Education, Education, Culture and Sport Mr R MacKenzie, Head of Support Services, Education Culture and Sport Mr I Murray, Head of Community Learning and Leisure, Education, Culture and Sport Mr B Hemming, Estate Strategy Manager, Education, Culture and Sport Mr T McCulloch, Quality Development Manager, Education, Culture and Sport Ms N Murray, Catering and Cleaning Manager, Education, Culture and Sport Ms E Johnston, Policy Officer, Education, Culture and Sport Mr M Jones, Senior Youth Development Officer, Education, Culture and Sport Ms M McCarrell, Quality Development Officer (Strategic Initiatives), Education, Culture and Sport Ms S Beckley, Archivist, Education, Culture and Sport Mr R Campbell, Project Manager, Housing and Property Services Mr J Allison, Principal Administrator, Chief Executive’s Office Miss J Maclennan, Committee Administrator, Chief Executive’s Office
Also in Attendance:   Mr C MacSween, Head Teacher, Charleston Academy Mrs S Barr, Charleston Academy Parent Council

 

 

Mr W Fernie in the Chair

 

 

Business

 

 

An asterisk in the margin denotes 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 A M Millar, Dr M E M Foxley and Mr A Park.

 

 

2.           Successes

 

The Committee NOTED a list of recent successes in the Education, Culture and Sport Service that had been circulated at the meeting.

 

 

3.           Appointment of Representatives to Outside Bodies

 

AGREED as follows:-

 

i.             Highland Football Academy Trust:-  Mr C Fraser (SNP) and Mrs M
        Paterson (Independent) be appointed but that an approach be made to
        the Trust with a view to the appointment of an additional representative
        who would be from Caithness/Sutherland.

 

ii.           Highland Sports Development Association

 

 

*    iii.    Highland Disability Sport:-  to recommend to the Council that
                 Mr D Fallows (SNP) be appointed but that a request be made to
                 Highland Disability Sport for increased Council representation and in
                 the event of this being granted Mrs E McAllister be the nominee.

 

iv.         Blàs Board:-  Dr M E M Foxley (Liberal Democrats) be appointed to the
        Board as the Council’s third representative, Mr H Fraser (Independent)
        and Mr J Finnie (SNP) having being appointed to the Board at the
        Committee’s last meeting.

 

 

4.           Tourism Project Group

 

At its meeting on 15 August 2007 the Planning, Environment and Development Committee appointed its Chairman, Mr D Hendry, and Mrs I McCallum to the Tourism Project Group and invited the Transport, Environmental and Community Services and Education, Culture and Sport Committees to appoint one nominee each to the Group.

 

The Committee AGREED that Ms J Douglas be appointed as its representative on the Tourism Project Group.

 

 

5.           Revenue Budget 2007/08 – Monitoring

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 31-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which set out the Revenue Budget monitoring position for the period 1 April to 31 July 2007 and which showed a projected overspend of £0.382m.  The budget pressures and financial issues which could have a detrimental impact on the budget were highlighted together with the proposed action to address these.  Members were also advised that if a solution could not be found in relation to the forecasted overspend in the Out of Authority budget, a request for supplementary funding to the Resources Committee might be necessary in line with the agreed protocol.

 

The Committee:-

 

i.             APPROVED the continuing policy of financial restraint and other
        management action in order to achieve a balanced budgetary position by
        the end of the financial year;

ii.           NOTED the progress being made in relation to the achievement of the
        2007/08 budget savings target; and

iii.         NOTED the issues raised in relation to the National Grid for Learning and
        Pathfinder/GLOW and that, in particular, corrective actions were being
        undertaken in relation to the Out of Authority placements budget.

 

 

6.           Capital Expenditure 2007/08 – Monitoring

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 32-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on Capital Expenditure in the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1 April to 31 July 2007 and which showed a projected overspend of £178,784.  The report also provided information on the progress on the Public, Private Partnership schools contract, details of the process for the provision of additional accommodation at Spean Bridge and Inshes Primary Schools and set out the position with respect to the costs of Nairn Community Centre and the phasing of grant income.

 

In relation to the classroom extension at Spean Bridge Primary reference was made to a meeting to be held with Roy Bridge Primary School parents who were seeking the retention of their school rather than its amalgamation with Spean Bridge.  Any decision taken to proceed with the Spean Bridge Primary extension would not, it was emphasised, prejudice the outcome of this parents’ meeting.  In addition, reference was made to the success of wraparound childcare provision within Schools such as Inshes Primary and a report was sought on how this would be extended to other schools.

 

The Committee NOTED:-

 

i.             the content of the report and the capital position;

ii.           that a revised 5-year Capital programme would be submitted to the
        Education, Culture and Sport Committee on 8 November 2007;

 

and AGREED:-

 

iii.         the preferred funding mechanism for the extension at Spean Bridge
        Primary, namely, the making of a one-off payment of £399,231 from the
        existing Education, Culture and Sport Service Revenue budget and that
        the project be progressed to the detailed planning application stage and,
        on the basis no additional costs were incurred at this stage, to
        commence with the project;

iv.         that officials progress the development and costings for the proposed
        extension to Inshes Primary School and bring back a further report to
        the Education, Culture and Sport Committee on 8 November 2007;

v.           a further report be brought forward on the additional income sources for
        the new Nairn Community Centre;

vi.         given the demand for wraparound childcare in the Council’s area a report
        be submitted to a future meeting on the extension of this provision; and

vii.       that a report back to a future meeting of the Committee be made on
        those areas of weakness highlighted by Performance Indicators.

 

 

7.           Initial Report on Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
        Performance

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 33-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which outlined key information arising from the SQA examination diet of 2007.  At this stage the results were subject to alteration following appeals and other modifications of data.  This related to the Council’s Programme for Administration which sought to continue to raise levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy in pre-school, primary and secondary provision and improved outcomes for pupils in externally accredited courses.

 

Schools and pupils were congratulated on the excellent results obtained.  It was, however, thought beneficial for a study to be made of the outcomes of the range of other assessments now available as part of the curriculum.  Previously, it had not been possible to identify particular trends in Highland but it was now possible for further more detailed analysis to be carried out and reported back.  It was recognised that confusion existed over the different types of qualifications available and, although discussions were taking place on a revised qualifications structure, it would be useful for Members and employers to be able to gauge how various alternative assessments related to the mainstream Higher and Standard grade examinations.

 

The Committee NOTED the outcomes of the SQA examinations and AGREED:-

 

i.             further reports be prepared on the performance of pupils and on the
        wide range of assessments they were undertaking, with particular
        reference to SEN;

ii.           further detailed analysis be carried out on the SQA results which would
        then be made available to Members; and

iii.         when the Annual National Priorities Progress Report was submitted to
        Committee, consideration be given as to how qualifications could be
        presented in an accessible and understandable manner and that a similar
        approach be adopted in discussion with businesses and employers.

 

 

8.           The Education of Pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties/
         Dyslexia

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 34-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport presenting the policy document “The Education of Pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties/Dyslexia” and which sought endorsement of this policy.  The policy contributed to the Council’s Programme for Administration and would contribute to raising levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy and the government policy of “Getting It Right for Every Child”.

 

Following discussion surrounding the allocation and use of resources, the Committee NOTED the report and APPROVED the policy “The Education of Pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties/Dyslexia”.

 

 

9.           National Entitlement Card in Education, Culture and Sport

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 35-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport detailing progress towards the Programme for Administration’s commitment to introduce a single status smart card (National Entitlement Card) to all young people giving access to leisure, libraries, arts and culture activities, youth information and school meals by 2008.  To date, six of the Council’s twenty nine secondary schools had moved over to National Entitlement Cards (NEC) compatible systems and, as funding allowed, the systems in the remaining twenty three schools would also be adapted.

 

The Committee NOTED that:-

 

i.             the process of moving from multiple cards to a single NEC was well
        underway;

ii.           further funding required to be sought for the upgrading of equipment to
        enable the NEC to be used for cashless catering in all secondary schools;

 

and AGREED:-

 

iii.         in the first instance, to utilise any underspend in the roll out of the NEC
       to bring cashless catering to additional schools.

 

 

10.      Highland Archive Strategy

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 36-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which detailed progress towards the implementation of the Highland Archive Strategy and the delivery of the Programme for Administration’s commitment to provide a state of the art Archive, Family History and Registrar’s Centre by 2009 as the hub of a network of local area archives.

 

Disappointment was expressed at the recent Scottish Government announcement that the National Tartan Archive was to be based in Edinburgh.  However, while still stressing Highland was the proper home for the collection, a working arrangement with the National Archive would be pursued to allow access to this and other important documents especially through the use of modern technology.

 

The Committee NOTED progress towards the implementation of the Highland Archive Strategy and AGREED:-

 

i.             to further detailed partnership discussions with the University of the
        Highlands and Islands both about the possibility of a local Archive Centre
        in Sutherland and the potential for partnerships around storage,
        interpretation and development of new projects relating to oral history;

ii.           that the Highland Archive Centre continue to be promoted as the
        appropriate home for the National Tartan Register and any potential
        partnerships with the National Archive be pursued;

iii.         arrangements be progressed for ceremonies at an appropriate time to
        mark the opening of the Lochaber Archive and the start and
        continuation of the construction of the Highland Archive Centre;

iv.         that arrangements be progressed to implement the next stage of the
        staffing structure detailed in the contract with the Heritage Lottery
        Fund; and

v.           that the Records Management Strategy be reviewed following the
        appointment of the Records Manager with a further report being
        submitted to a subsequent Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

 

 

11.      Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 37-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport advising Members on progress with regard to the new Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act.  The report described procedures for local parental consultation which complied with the Programme for Administration’s commitment: “We will adopt a meaningful and realistic approach to consultation which adopts the National Standards of Community Engagement”.

 

The transition process from School Boards to Parent Councils was explained and Mr C MacSween, Head Teacher of Charleston Academy provided Members with a history of School Boards pointing out both their strengths and weaknesses.  Mrs S Barr, Charleston Academy Parent Council outlined how the new Parent Councils were working in practice.

 

Whilst acknowledging the benefits of involving pupils in Parent Councils, it was also important to bear in mind the positive impact of Pupil Councils.  Furthermore, with the removal of the bureaucracy involved in the administration of School Boards, there would be efficiency savings and it was important that, as a general principle, these were highlighted.

 

The Committee NOTED the report and AGREED that:-

 

i.             the proposed way ahead for implementation of the Parental Involvement
        Act within Highland included the development of a Parental Involvement
        Strategy, the holding of a parental conference and the provision of
        training;

ii.           a report be submitted to a future meeting on how Pupil Councils were
        progressing; and

iii.         efficiency savings be highlighted alongside policy development reports in
        future.

 

 

12.      Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition)(Scotland) Act 2007

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS 38-07 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which outlined the new legislation which placed duties on Education Authorities in relation to health promotion and the nutritional content of snacks and meals in schools, nurseries and hostels.  The legislation directly linked to the commitment in the Programme for Administration to secure Healthy Living Status for all Highland Schools.

 

In discussion, the importance of stressing healthy eating and nutrition to wraparound childcare providers in general, and not just in schools, was highlighted.

 

The Committee NOTED the new legislation which related to health promotion and nutritional standards for schools, nurseries and hostels and AGREED to highlight to the Care Commission the importance of emphasising healthy eating to the providers of wraparound childcare.

 

 

13.      Minutes

 

There had been circulated and NOTED the Minutes of the Education Transport Appeals Committee held on 2 August 2007.

 

The meeting ended at 12.45 pm.