Draft minutes

Alison Hurley extend apologies from Cllr Anna Keen and took the Chair.

The following apologies were noted:

·       Jacqui Jackson

·       Sandra Meadows

·       Youth Mayors

Invited members to reflect on the impact of COVID19 in their setting.

Discuss the future of the Board and its role and engagement with the One City Plan.

The LA in the preceding 6 months:

·        COVID 19 impact of the service; it has dominated time and focus whilst the authority continues to focus on the issues of safeguarding , attendance  and the needs of the most vulnerable.

·        Continues to meet the expectations set out by Ofsted that we keep centred on those vulnerable and vulnerable communities.

·        The LA is progressing well with the work to meet the SEND milestones and to deliver on the targets set out in the statement of action.  The service continues to forecasts for the next few terms on matters pertaining to vulnerability; inclusion; inequality;  post 16 offer.

Board Members provided an overview of the position settings during the lockdown;

Andy Forbes, Principal and Chief Executive City of Bristol College

·        The setting continued to manage the ongoing situation making adaptations to its service provision.  Moving service deliver to on-line provision; staff had worked throughout the summer months; alternative arrangements devised and implemented; that there were many unknowns; consideration had to be given to the impact of the virus on the setting for an extend period of time and at same time plan for next intake; the need to manage staff wellbeing and exposure to the virus; that the teaching staff had been positive and worked hard to maintain service which in turn encouraged the whole team to move forward.

David Barrett, University West of England

·        The teaching day had been extended to accommodate students and this impacted staff who have to extend their working day to facilitate the new structure; the move to online teaching had exposed the issue of digital poverty; that other areas of development have slowed or have been parked because of the time needed to manage delivering the core business; that there were many courses that still require specialist equipment and facilities that had to be delivered in a classroom setting.

Jo Hill, Co Chair Bristol Special Schools Partnership

·        Was impressed with the resilience of staff across all settings; the difficulty faced by teaching staff waiting for coronavirus test & results; that it was important to consider those students with medical needs that are vulnerable to the virus.

Darrew Ewings, Co Chair Bristol Special Schools Partnership

·        Specialist Schools faced additional pressures with all children on roll classed as vulnerable; reiterated the concerns about the testing system and its impact on staffing levels; that the service had the additional burden of working to ensure that it meets all legal requirements in respect of its care and service provision.

Esther Deans, Chair Race Equality in Education

·        The climate in which schools now operate is now impacted by those students looking to settings to change in line with the principles brought to the public attention as a result of the Black Lives Matter campaign.  That all continue to prepare as they are looking at an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The Role of the Board

The Chair, shared the contents of a letter from the Mayor with the Board that read:

Dear Learning City Partnership Members

At today’s session I understand you are talking about some of the changes occurring to the One City structure. I wanted to personally write and set out some of the thinking behind these proposals – and most importantly to thank you for your work to date and your ongoing support for education and lifelong learning in the city.  

The current iteration/structure of One City was formed in January 2019 and it has always been our intention to review and evolve as it becomes more embedded in the city. These draft proposals have been discussed with the Chair Cllr Anna Keen but I am keen to hear your feedback as well.

As announced at the City Gathering in June, we are going to be setting up a Children and Young People’s Board. This is in the early stages of development and will be chaired by Cllr Helen Godwin. This board will focus holistically on the experiences of children and young people in the city. While children and young people were featured across many of the themes of the One City Plan, specifically in terms of education and schooling in the LCP theme, it was felt that more concentrated focus was required, and this was echoed by Ofsted.

A Shadow Young People's board, formed of young people drawn from across different communities in the city, will also be created to inform the board's direction and ensure young people are at the heart of its decision-making.

To avoid a proliferation of themes across the One City Plan, we are proposing that the learning and skills theme then be embedded across the new children’s theme and the economy theme. This will link schools and young people’s education closer to the wider children’s agenda in the city as well as linking education and learning with the economic work in the city. We feel this link is vital given the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. In effect this will mean the LCP will work closely with the two boards to ensure learning is a core thread throughout both those themes but will not have its own individual theme in the plan.

I want to be clear that I view this as a way of embedding learning much more closer with the economic and children’s work in the city and see this a way to enable that much further.

To ensure that skills remains a key priority, the economy strand will be labelled Economy and Skills to maintain the profile of learning and skills.

I am eager to hear your reflections on this and welcome your feedback.

A discussion followed on the role of the board and how best to define the board’s remit;  Which position should it take that of Governance or Operational or Project Board or Oversite on key agenda issues.

The following was noted from the discussion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.