Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room 3 - Civic Centre

Contact: Emily Goodwin, Democratic Support Officer  Tel: 023 8083 2302

Items
No. Item

14.

Apologies and Changes in Panel Membership (If Any)

To note any changes in membership of the Panel made in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.3.

Minutes:

The Panel noted the apologies of Councillor Laurent and Catherine Hobbs.

15.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting (including matters arising) pdf icon PDF 63 KB

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 January 2017 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 5th January, 2017 be approved and signed as a correct record.

16.

Declarations of Personal and Pecuniary Interests

Minutes:

Councillors Keogh and Taggart declared a pecuniary interest in the following item, and stepped aside from their positions of Chair and Vice Chair of the Panel during its consideration.  They remained for the discussion, they are employed by educational establishments.

 

COUNCILLOR O’NEILL IN THE CHAIR

17.

Post 16 Education and Training pdf icon PDF 135 KB

Report of the Service Lead for Employment, Skills and Business Engagement outlining the position in Southampton with regards to Post 16 education and training, attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered the report of the Service Lead, Employment, Skills and Business Engagement outlining the position in Southampton with regards to Post 16 Education and Training.

 

Councillor Lewzey, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care; Sarah Stannard, Principal, Southampton City College; Andrew Ball, Quality Manager, Itchen College; Hilary Brooks, Service Director, Children and Families; Denise Edgehill, Service Lead, Employment, Skills and Business Engagement; Amanda Percy, Post 16 Adviser, SCC; Paul Overton, Head of 6th Form, Bitterne Park; Lyn Bourne, Head Teacher, St. Anne’s and James Rouse, Deputy Head Teacher, St. Anne’s, were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

 

Alice Wrighton, Principal of Richard Taunton’s 6th Form, was also invited to attend, she was unable to attend due to an Ofsted Inspection.

 

 

The Panel particularly noted the following points:-

·  November 2016 data showed that Southampton is a net exporter of students for both years 12 and 13;

·  Marketing of 6th form provision and of pathways to work in the City, via college courses, had led to an increase in student applications.

·  16-18 attendance rates tended to be poor, there were no formal sanctions for students or their parents for poor attendance, other than withdrawal from a course.

·  The scheme that subsidised student travel to Southampton providers ended last year, this may be a contributing factor to the rise in the number of students studying outside the City.

·  Access Southampton was a website for young people and parents which provided information on education, training and employment options.

·  Post 16 providers would like to improve outcomes for students resitting Maths and English GCSE’s.

·  The biggest challenges for post 16 providers over the next 3 years were funding, recruitment and retention of staff, especially in STEM subjects.

 

RESOLVED:

  (i)  To consider additional steps that could be taken to link colleges and students to the major developments in Southampton.

  (ii)  For the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to correspond with the MP’s representing Southampton to lobby Government to introduce sanctions for non-attendance by students at post 16 education, bringing it into line with pre 16 education.

  (iii)  For the Panel to be provided with an update on Apprenticeship success rates in Southampton and the percentage of students that complete their apprenticeship.

  (iv)  To consider the support that could be offered to make travel to colleges in the City easier, more affordable and to incentivise post 16 students to choose to study at a Southampton college or school.

  (v)  For an event to be held in Southampton to promote progression to higher education by Southampton residents.

  (vi)  For the Panel to be provided with destination data identifying where students go post 18.

  (vii)  For the Council to recognise the importance of key worker housing to support the recruitment of teachers.

 

 

COUNCILLOR KEOGH IN THE CHAIR

18.

Children and Families - Performance pdf icon PDF 67 KB

Report of the Service Director, Legal and Governance providing an overview of performance across Children and Families Services since December 2016, attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered the report of the Service Director, Legal and Governance providing an overview of performance across Children and Families Services since December 2016.

 

Hillary Brookes; Service Director, Children and Families; Phil Bullingham; Service Lead, Safeguarding, Improvement, Governance and Quality Assurance, Children's Services and Jane White, Service Lead, Children’s Social Care, were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

 

The Panel noted the following points:-

·  February dataset, circulated at the meeting, showed improvement across a range of indicators.

·  The Panel noted a significant decline in the number of child protection conferences being completed within 15 working days, which was a concern when the number of children on S.47 Child Protection Investigations had decreased. The Panel expected to see an improvement in performance.

·  The Panel recognised the improved performance and the contribution staff had made to improve the outcomes.

 

19.

Monitoring Scrutiny Recommendations pdf icon PDF 60 KB

Report of the Service Director, Legal and Governance relating to recommendations made at previous meetings of the Panel, attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered the report of the Service Director, Legal and Governance relating to recommendations made at previous meetings of the Panel.