Committees
A meeting of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee will take place in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday 12 January 2012 at 10.30 am.
Webcast Notice: This meeting will be filmed and broadcast over the Internet on the Highland Council website and will be archived and available for viewing for 12 months thereafter.
You are invited to attend the meeting and a note of the business to be considered is attached.
Yours faithfully
Michelle Morris
Assistant Chief Executive
Business
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declarations of Interest
Members are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Member making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.
3. Successes
- Recent successes in the Education, Culture and Sport Service will be tabled at the meeting
- Maritime Skill
- Presentation to Bob MacDougall, Inverness Prison
- Loo of the Year Awards
4. Revenue Budget 2011/12 – Monitoring
There is circulated Report No ECS-01-12 (145kb pdf) dated 20 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sets out the Revenue Budget monitoring position for the period 1 April 2011 to 30 November 2011 and progress with the achievement of the 2011/12 savings targets.
The Committee is invited to:-
i. note the projected outturn for financial year 2011/12;
ii. agree the mitigating actions identified so far to off-set the budget pressures;
and
iii. note the progress with the identification of compensatory savings and
underspends in order to off-set the budget pressures and the continuing
efforts to achieve a balanced budget by the end of the financial year.
5. Capital Expenditure 2011/12 – Monitoring
There is circulated Report No ECS-02-12 (226kb pdf) dated 21 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sets out the Capital expenditure position for the period 1 April 2011 to 30 November 2011, including a progress report on the major Capital projects scheduled for completion within the next three financial years. The report also seeks approval for variations to approved projects and provides an update on the Sustainable School Estate Review and the Lifecycle Investment Programme.
The Committee is invited to:-
i. note progress with the delivery of the 2011/12 Capital programme and the
need to identify alternative approved projects that could be delivered
within the current financial year to off-set the identified programme
slippage;
ii. approve the £0.550m additional expenditure required at Kingussie High
School from the Roll Pressures generic budget heading as detailed in
paragraph 3.1 of the report;
iii. approve the £0.070M expenditure required to replace the timber floors in
the games hall and gymnasium at Culloden Academy from the Life Cycle
Investment generic budget heading;
iv. agree to homologate the £0.072m expenditure on gym equipment to be
funded from the current Leisure Facilities generic budget heading;
v. approve the £0.150m additional expenditure required to rectify defects
identified during an inspection of Craft, Design and Technical equipment in
Secondary Schools from the Life Cycle Investment generic budget heading;
vi. approve £0.100m from the Essential School Roll generic budget heading to
create additional accommodation capacity at Tain Craighill Primary School to
house the Gaelic Medium Pre School pupils who will vacate accommodation
at Tain Knockbreck Primary School in order to create additional
accommodation capacity within that school;
vii. agree, in recognition of the benevolence of the Hamilton family, to name
the new extension to Plockton High School “The Hamilton Wing”;
viii. approve the disposal of the property known as “Marys Flowers” in Ardersier
and instruct the Director of Housing and Property to dispose of the
property in accordance with Council policy;
ix. approve additional expenditure of £0.120m from the Leisure Facilities
allocation on current works to the upper floor of Dingwall Leisure Centre
thereby improving the range and quality of facilities on offer;
x. approve the outright purchase of a disabled access mini-bus to replace the
existing vehicle at Lochaber High School at a cost of £0.048m to be funded
from the Life Cycle Investment generic budget heading;
xi. note the progress with the Life Cycle projects approved by the Education,
Culture and Sport Committee on the 9 August and 10 November 2011, as
detailed in Appendix 3 of the report; and
xii. note the progress with the Sustainable School Estate Review as detailed in
section 5 of the report.
6. Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning
There is circulated Report No ECS-03-12 (134kb pdf)|Appendix 3 (387kb pdf)|Appendix 4 (382kb pdf) dated 23 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provides an update on the role of outdoor learning in Curriculum for Excellence. This will be exemplified by a presentation by Gairloch High School.
The Committee is invited to:-
i. note the progress made in developing outdoor learning; and
ii. agree to endorse the further development of partnerships to help realise
the vision summarised in paragraph 1.2 of the report.
7. Business Support in Schools Review
There is circulated Report No ECS-04-12 (201kb pdf) dated 23 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provides an update on the outcomes of the review, during academic year 2010/11, of the deployment of administrative and clerical support staff in the Millburn Academy, Alness Academy and Farr High School Associated School Groups. In addition, the report proposes that a cross-Service Project Board is formed to create a new structure for business support in schools that will build upon the work progressed to date, taking into account other initiatives relating to support staff functions, both within the Education, Culture and Sport Service and across the Council, that have been progressed during the review period.
The Committee is invited to:-
i. note the activity and findings of the School Support Review;
ii. agree that the findings of the review be taken forward by cross-Service
Project Board;
iii. agree the membership of the cross-Service Project Board as outlined in
Appendix 4 of the report;
iv. agree that there be the appropriate liaison with the Corporate
Improvement Programme team and the Head of Shared Business Support;
and
v. agree that the recommendations from the cross-Service Project Board be
presented to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee on 9 August
2012 for consideration by Members.
8. Commission on Rural Education – Call for Evidence
There is circulated Report No ECS-05-12 (179kb pdf) dated 22 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presents, for Members’ consideration, a draft response to the Call for Evidence to the Commission on Rural Education.
The Director of Education, Culture and Sport will give a presentation on key issues contained in the draft response.
The Committee is invited to consider and agree the terms of the response to the Commission on Rural Education.
9. Devolved School Management – Progress with National Review
There is circulated Report No ECS-06-12 (620kb pdf) dated 21 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provides an update on progress with the national review of Devolved School Management currently being taken forward by a Reference Group and due to report in March 2012.
The Committee is invited to:-
i. note the progress with the national review of Devolved School Management
and that Highland Council will feed into this review during January 2012; and
ii. agree that the Highland Council Devolved School Management Scheme be
formally reviewed when the outcome of the national review is known.
10. Modernisation of Staffing Structures in School Residences
There is circulated Report No ECS-07-12 (59kb pdf) dated 21 December 2011 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sets out a proposal to modernise staffing structures at Portree High School Residence and Plockton High School Residence in accordance with the structures in place at the other High School Residences in Highland.
The Committee is asked to agree to recommend that the Resources Committee approve the revised staffing structures contained within Appendix 1 of the report, with effect from 1 April 2012.
11. Minutes
There will be tabled, for noting, the following Minutes of Meetings:-
i. Annual General Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching
Staff held on 11 November 2011 (31kb pdf); and
ii. Ordinary Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff
held on 11 November 2011 (38kb pdf).