Draft minutes

a.     The Chair welcomed those in attendance and led introductions.

b.     The following apologies were noted

                      i.     The Youth Mayors

                     ii.     Tom Sperlinger (UoB)

                   iii.     Jo Midgley (UWE)

                   iv.     Esther Deans (REEG)

c.     The following were welcome to their first meeting

                      i.     Andy Forbes (CoBC)

a.     Alison Hurley, Director of Education & Skills addressed the board on the outcome of the SEND inspection.  The service was not permitted to share the outcome during the election period but had published the findings on the 20^th December a few days before the deemed published date of the 23^rd December.  This was to ensure that the principle of transparency continued in that the report would not be overshadowed by Christmas.

b.     The findings did identify areas of strength but overall noted five areas of significant weakness in Bristol’s practices.  The service must deliver to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) a Written Statement of Action before the 27^th March 2020.

c.     The findings report reflected the self-assessment investigation undertaken by the service and provided to the Inspector.  The observation from this was that it enabled all parties involved in the inspection to come to the table, with less tension, creating an atmosphere that allowed participants to be open and transparent during the assessment process.

d.     The required action plan must be co-produced, to ensure it is fit for purpose as it forms a binding agreement, with actions that must be delivered over an 18 month period to address the weaknesses in Bristol’s practices.  Included in the action plan are the necessary checks and balances incorporating; 3 monthly reviews; monthly data monitoring; leading to the review, of the promised outcome from the action plan, sometime during October/ November 2021.

e.     The following was noted from the discussion.

f.      Members asked what fundamental changes were necessary to ensure improvement over the 18 month time period? What funding was available to support the Written Statement of Action?

g.     The service intended to increase the size of assessment team, with additional 23 team members; to ensure that teams have the right resources to deliver service provision; work towards ensuring that families have a voice in the process, to element the ‘done to’ feeling that currently exists amongst families involved in the service; to ensure that Bristol, with its particular requirements are properly reflected in the way the service provision is delivered;  £1.3 million had been allocated to support the written statement of actions; the service is also working on a project known as ‘test & learn’ that will assess what is needed going forward, that brings with it an additional funding stream.

h.     The question was then posed on whether SEND should be a priority for the Board.  Members considered SEND of such importance, that it should be a standing item on the agenda, as it was integral to all areas of learning. The Director Education & Skills addressed the Board on this question;

i.       The action plan was dependent on the delivery of a complex package of support that must be delivered jointly with local Health Partners; SEND currently sits and is reported on at the SEND partnership group and to the Children Improvement Board to name two; it was proposed that the board will receive quarterly review reports and in this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2a

a.     The Chair provided an overview of the intention of the OCP; that it was a plan for the city that extended beyond the term of any political office; that the LCP priorities had been adopted by the plan; the One City gathering allowed for shared conversations across all sectors of the City with the intention of unlocking City Challenges.

b.     The question was posed on whether the CEOs of the Multi Academy Trusts were present in the room and involved in this wider discussion and the need for this to be the case to enable priority issues in this sector to be raised to the highest level.

c.     Chair invited all partners to be involved in the wider discussion and to attend future events.

d.      Tommy Jarvis will be setting up a number of focus groups over the next year to take a more considered approach to refining the LC priorities for the next refresh at the end of 2020. Board members will be required to support this process going forward.

a.     The Chair reviewed the outcome of the Board since its inception, covering for the benefit of newly appointed partnership members the original vision of the Board and how it adapted to tackle the identified priorities across Bristol.

b.     The driver was the need to solve the issues of the mismatch between learning and those skills required by City Businesses, to find a way for them to recruit from the residents of the city and to bridge that gap with necessary training.

c.     The education journey was peculiar in that a number of education establishments across the City produced students with good GCSE’s but that did not equate to those same students having the right employability skills for city businesses. 

d.     Chair took the opportunity to thank Chris Curling for his many years of dedication to the priorities of the Board and his contribution to establishing the WORKs programme.

e.     All Members were invited to email Thomas Jarvis with comments on the future Terms of Reference of the partnership

a.     Jane Taylor, Service Manager for Education & Skills provided the Board with an update on the strategy drawing particular attention to the links with SEND.

b.     Highlighted the Raising Aspiration Event at UWE 4/5 February 2020, an opportunity for Year 9 students to meet employers and engage in workshops on various topics; WECA had been approached to fund the transportation cost of students, from areas deprivation, to the event that met its criteria in the area of ‘action research’.

c.     Provided an overview of; the work being done to ensure funding for the provision of data around those in the SEND & NEET category; the ‘roll on and roll off’ agenda that is concerned with giving students some flexibility as when courses are started; The Works programme continues for all including SEND participants.

d.     The interim report was well received and a request was made to share the Raising Aspiration Event with Special Schools.  Action: JT to action.

a.     Debbie Miles, (Reading Recovery Teacher), provided a brief overview and update on the Cloakroom Library project listing those that have been recently launch and in which setting.

b.     The ambition for Phase 2:

                I.          Set up another 6 ‘Cloakroom Libraries’ (locations to be confirmed)

              II.          Hartcliffe Nursery School and Children Centre

            III.          Ilminster Avenue Nursery School

            IV.          Filton Ave Children’s Centre

              V.          Avonmouth Children’s Centre

            VI.          Longcross Children's Centre

          VII.          Cashmore Early Years Centre – research pilot (Jane Carter UWE)

        VIII.          Create Reading City Hubs in 4 locations across the City led by Reading Specialist Teachers and Reading Ambassadors

c.     Board was asked to note progress and asked to liaise with their areas as to possible future locations.

a.     The Chair addressed the briefing report that was shared in the meeting.

b.     For the benefit of those members not aware of the importance of this priority an overview was provided as to why the discipline of non-school attendance carried over to other areas of student’s life.

c.     The Board was asked to note progress and that funding had been secured to enable the post holder to continue for this academic year.

a.     Tommy Jarvis provided members with an overview of the concept of the festival.  That the event would take place from the 30^th March to 5^th April 2020.  There are 55 organisations involved, providing 205 external events during the course of the week. 

b.     Communication:  The ask is for all partners to support the promotion of the festival via their own communication channels; participants will be able to book to join a learning experience via a web based booking form; information cards are to be designed to send out to schools in areas of deprivation. 

c.     Events:  Partners are welcome to offer learning experiences but they must be fully developed and supported by that setting.

The actions and notes from the previous meeting were noted.

Next Meeting will be held on 23^rd March 2020 @ 4.30pm at a location to be agreed.