Location / The Professional Centre, Winchester
Held on / Thursday 11th May 2017, 6.00pm –7.15pm
Present: / Charlotte Bailey / Andrew March
Mark Barlow / Keith Norman
Caroline Edmondson / Trevor Pitman
Robin Gray / Andrew Turk
Peter Higgs / Simon Walker
Andrew Minall (Head of Education Finance Services) / Mandy Parsons (Head of Governor Services)
Helen Hardy (clerk)
Apologies: / Julie Amies / Shirley Nellthorpe
Michael Anderton / Sylvia Vine
Martina Humber / Dave Wright
Amy Mossop
No / Note / Action
1 / Welcome and apologies
The Chair welcomed all members to the meeting. Apologies were received and noted as above.
2 / Schools Forum Issues
Independent Appeals Service Funding
The proposal is to hold a small amount centrally in the overall admissions budget rather than expecting a small number of schools to pay for it from their own budget. A governor asked ifit includes schools which are their own admissions authority but have opted for Hampshire to manage the process? Yes it will and it is mainly an issue in primary schools.
Elective Home Education
This prompted the most debate at HT Resources Committee. The number of children being electively home educated has more than doubled in the last 4 years. The challenge is that there is very little knowledgeof the quality of education and if the child is safe. There could also be children who never even enter the system so the Authority doesn’t know they exist. The reasons for home educating are broad. The aim of the service is to try and re-integrate these children into “normal structured” schooling. Some children do return to school just before exams and vice versa. The paper proposes re-directing some funds from the High Needs block to develop this service to be more effective. Tangible measurements about the impact of the service will be hard at this stage as the service does not yet know the children. It should provide more information around safeguarding and in the longer term provide data against which impact can be measured. A governor asked if there is no statutory duty for EHE children but the LA has a duty of care to all children in Hampshire, it is failing to fulfil its duty and will this funding provide enough for a visit to each child once a year, for example and is the government aware of the numbers of EHE children? The message from Dave Harvey is that the aim will be visibility and presence where required but it is unlikely to be as structured so that every child receives a visit. It will be tailored to need with other types of intervention also provided. Governors expressed concern about the safety of these children in this black hole. AM suggested raising these queries at Forum where Tracey Sanders and Dave Harvey will be better able to answer the questions. A governor asked if pupil place planning identifies those missing children? It is unlikely. Andrew March reported that this also came to the Children and Young People’s Committee and he will share the report with the clerk for circulation. There are some children with effective systems and support groups in place who are receiving a good education and others at the opposite end of the spectrum.
County Supplies Forthcoming Framework Agreements Schedule Affecting Schools
This is an update to the current contracts to provide awareness for Schools Forum. County Supplies have a good relationship with schools and run consultation groups for example with admin officers. A governor asked how these new contracts compare with the last? AM will ask Nigel Lacey for a comparative value for these contracts at Schools Forum and noted thatcontract rises may be due to either cost rise or increased demand.
Schools Budget – 2016/17 and 2017/18
Detail on the 2016/17 budget will follow at the July meeting. Keith Norman raised a query about some of the budget figures which have changed from the March Schools Forum meeting and Andrew Minall will look at it. Governors expressed surprise that the overspend is nearly £1m in Early Years. Andrew has gone back to the EY service to understand why it has changed significantly and this will be reported at the July meeting.
A governor asked about the reasons why the deficit on closure due to an amalgamation was met by the contingency funding. Andrew explained that there were exceptional circumstances in this amalgamation.
SENSA pilot – schools are taking it up and a detailed report will come to the July meeting. Schools are finding it very useful but it hasn’t had the impact on reducing the number of EHCPs requested.However it is not clear whether EHCP requests would have been even higher without it. A governor asked if there was an overspend on the cap? Andrew explained that the cap is £6000 per case and the number of requests is in line with predictions and the budget. A governor asked if requests were turned away at the end of the financial year? This did not happen, there was £1.5m set aside for it. Is it the number of applications for EHCPS and the number granted that is going up? Yes. There is a challenge around understanding what would warrant an EHCP.
There is an uncommitted balance in DSG reserves of about £3.3m.
Detail on school balances will be provided at the July meeting along with school’s three year plans. Governors asked if it could show those schools in deficit and those with surpluses separately. Balances have fallen by about 14%. There are also increasing deficits in some schools. The £20m forecast budget that remains unspent has remained static over the last number of years. A governor asked if the list includes schools saving for capital projects? Yes it does, however some schools are having to revisit those plans if they are now forecasting a deficit budget. Budget revision should be the point at which projects are more accurate. Governors asked if it would be possible to get budget revisions later in the year, e.g. in month 9 which would perhaps highlight some areas of underspend which could be used within the remaining months of the final year and not be a carry-forward. Some schools may well be holding onto funds at this point to cover future projected deficits.
EFS staff are noticing the pressures in schools already and there are other larger-scale projects such as the Affordable Curriculum. A governor asked if there has been a delay in getting the primary project on affordable curriculum? This project is taking longer but the School Improvement Managers are looking to engage with the primary areas and small clusters of primaries are already working together to look at what they can do, sharing ideas and practice. HIAS are undertaking work comparing with other LAs because there are very different practices and expectations in other areas and this will be necessary to provide a toolkit for HTs and governors. The aim is to get the project ready for September.
A governor sought clarification around funding for academies on page 12 of appendix 2. This relates to places commissioned / bought at special academies and Pupil Referral Units. The LA pays £10k per child for either academy special or maintained special schools. / Andrew March / Helen Hardy
Andrew Minall
3 / Notes of 9 March 2017 meeting
These were approved.
4 / Matters Arising
There were none.
5 / County Governor Forum Agenda
The meeting will be postponed due to the appointment of the new Cabinet which is on the same date.The new date will be advised as soon as possible. Governors requested a presentation on the Apprenticeship Levy. / Helen Hardy
6 / Local Forum Items
North East –there wasdiscussion around pressures on teacher workload; teaching staff acting as social workers, however the message is that it isn’t going away but perhaps is not getting worse. There was more discussion around different governing body structures, payment for governors,and apprenticeship schemes with some schools reporting that they are growing their own.
Western –Sue Savory shared a presentation about how schools can deal with parents use of social media which was followed by a long discussion. It would seem there is no magic answer to this.
Governors were sceptical that it is possible to phone the IBC to get support. Staff report that they don’t find this works and they are being told to log issues and wait the five days.
South East – The Landscape Architecture Team presented about their work. There was discussion around school improvement and school self-evaluation. Jo Pryce-Jones gave feedback on the latest news from GS.
7 / HGA Representatives Feedback from Meetings
NGA (National Governance Association)
There was a long discussion around funding, West Sussex governors threatening to go on strike, governors felt there was a need to put a positive spin on messages, it is quite right to ask for better quality education but that this requires money. There was also discussion around meetings with ministers; the impact of grammar schools in those areas where they do exist. The main message from all professional bodies is that the government should focus on evidence-based research and practice in education. The new name of the organisation is to reflect that clerks can now be members, as well as work and support for MATs and other governance structures.
Admissions Forum
Sylvia Vine was not at the meeting to report back.
Schools Forum
Previous minutes were circulated with the papers.
Hampshire Children’s Trust Board
The next meeting is on the 30th June 2017.
Children and Young People’s Select Committee
The next meeting is the 14th June 2017.
8 / Chairman’s Items
The LGA has commissioned a research project in relation to Children’s Services, how they deliver services and the pressures they are facing, along with school improvement and future plans. They are working with 8 LAs and Hampshire is taking part. The initial meeting was in January with officers and a range of HTs looking at School Improvement Services. In March, they looked at vulnerable children, children in care and governance. Mandy Parsons and other members of Governor Services met with the researchers followed by a group of governors. They asked governors about school improvement and how it worked in Hampshire with the different services working together; particularly about Governor Services and the difference it makes and how it compares with other areas. Governors were very supportive of Hampshire’s services and support for schools. A governor asked if the report will be published? Yes, but it’s not clear when at this point. There is some upheaval at LGA. The other authorities taking part includeTower Hamlets, Wigan, Dorset, Gloucestershire.
9 / Correspondence
There was no correspondence.
11 / Any other business
Mandy provided an update onGovernor Services. The contract with the NCTL ends in July. Mandy has been to meetings shaping the new offer. DfE funding is being directed at “opportunity areas” of which there are not many in the south of the country. Funding will be directed to those areas and to failing / coasting schools. Bidding for licences is possible but the work is unlikely to be in this area. The development work with chairs will no longer be universal. The clerking competency framework has been published.
There are changes to legislation coming in in the Autumn which will give governing bodies the power to remove elected governors. However it is hoped that this will be used proportionately and sensibly.
Future Meeting Dates
HGA / Schools Forum / County Governor Forum
SUMMER 2017
11 May 2017 / 16 May 2017
12 July 2017 / 25 May 2017 – to be rearranged
AUTUMN 2017
12 October 2017
7 December 2017 / 17 October 2017
11 December 2017 / 2 November 2017
SPRING 2018
11 January 2018 / 16 January 2018
5 March 2018 / 29 March 2018
HGA Minutes 2017-05-11Page 1 of 5