Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

None received.

This Cabinet Member for Education and Cultural Services Decisions meeting will be held remotely in order to conform with current guidelines regarding social distancing.  Normally requests to speak at this public meeting are required by 9.00 a.m. on the day preceding the published date of the meeting.  However, during the current situation and to facilitate these new arrangements we are asking that requests to speak are submitted by no later than 9.00 a.m. four working days before the meeting i.e. 9.00 a.m. on Thursday 4 February 2021.  Requests to speak should be sent to lucy.tyrrell@oxfordshire.gov.uk together with a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails then your views can still be taken into account.

A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9.00 a.m. 2 working days before the meeting.  Where a meeting is held remotely and the addressee is unable to participate remotely their written submission will be accepted.

Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

The Chairman agreed to hear a written statement from Councillor Turnbull.

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member’s delegated powers.

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

Councillor John Howson asked the following question with notice:

“Following the publication of the Serious Case Review into Jacob, what is the current length of time children in care are waiting for a place in a school either after being taken into care or a move of foster or other care placement?”

This was answered as follows:

The average number of days it has taken for all children who have come into care to start on roll at a school (since 1st September 2020) is 5 days.

The average number of days it has taken for children who have had a move of foster or other care place to start on roll at a school (since 1st September 2020) is 2 days.

Current context and process in place:

Each child of school age who is taken into care is allocated a case worker from the virtual school (VS). Each week the virtual school data manager extracts a ‘new into care’ list of children from LCS and the following process followed:

1. The child is allocated to a relevant VS case worker

2. Child is set up on LA Call which is a centralised online portal where stakeholders can access details regarding the child’s education, attendance, attainment and Personal Education Plan (PEP).

3. If the child is able to continue on roll at their current school, links are made with the school, a PEP set up and daily attendance monitoring takes place (i.e. no delay in school attendance).

4. If the child needs to move within OCC schools an ‘in-year’ application to the new school is completed.

5. If the child moves ‘home’ and the placement is

a. out of county

b. too far to travel to their current school 2

c. they do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP); an ‘in -year ’ application to the new LA is initiated. Some LAs have a priority application form for Children We Care For (CWCF), other LAs apply through the usual in-year application process. The Virtual School works closely and rapidly with both social care and admissions teams to process applications and support in selecting schools who are providing good/outstanding education by liaising closely with other virtual school in the LAs.

6. Any drift in application is discussed with Neil Darlington (OCC Access to Learning Team) who supports where required to involve EFSA if necessary. 7. If the child has an EHCP and it is not possible to stay in their current school then a rapid (set up within 2 days) ‘corporate parent meeting’ is initiated with social worker, virtual school caseworker and OCC SEN Officer (SENO) to ensure the ‘belongings regulations' are applied and the relevant paperwork is sent to the correct link in the receiving LA. The receiving LA allocates a SENO to consult with their schools in line with EHCP legislation. Depending on ‘pupil need ’ and locality this can take time and these narratives are shared weekly with Head of CWCF and VS Head to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/129

Contact: Sarah Fogden, Finance Business Partner (Children’s Services) Tel: 07557 082613

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CMDECS04).

The local authority is required to set a funding formula for 2- year old and for 3 and 4-year old provision. The 2021-22 formula proposed is in line with the Department for Education (DfE) national formula introduced in 2017-18.

The Cabinet Member for Education & Cultural Services is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    Pass the funding increase received by Oxfordshire onto providers in full and approve the 2021-22 Early Years funding formula for 3 and 4- year old provision with an underlying hourly rate of £4.18 (excluding the Deprivation supplement, SEN Inclusion Fund and Contingency).

b)   Pass the funding increase received by Oxfordshire onto providers in full and approve the 2021-22 Early Years funding formula for 2- year old provision at an hourly rate of £5.68.

Document considered: Report on Formal Approval of Early Years Funding Formula 2021/22.

A copy is attached to the signed copy of this decision.

Summary of representations made at the meeting

The local authority is required to set a funding formula for 2- year old and for 3 and 4-year old provision. The Cabinet Member for Education & Cultural Services 2021-22 formula considered a report seeking approval to the proposed funding formula, that is in line with the Department for Education (DfE) national formula introduced in 2017-18.

The following comments were received from Councillor Emma Turnbull, Shadow Cabinet Member for Education & Cultural Services.

“I am very sorry for not being able to attend today to discuss the early years funding formula.

Early years funding was in a precarious position even before the coronavirus pandemic. The crisis has increased the levels of uncertainty in the sector.

We know that pre-Covid the poorest children started school already 11 months behind their better-off peers. Quality early years settings, including our nursery schools, play an important role in narrowing the attainment gap. That is why we must do everything possible to support early years settings throughout the county. We do not currently know how many of these providers will be at risk of closure due to the Covid crisis.

Therefore, I think that passing on the full increase in funding that Oxfordshire has received to providers is the right approach, so long as those providers are firmly encouraged and supported to prioritise the needs of vulnerable pupils and narrowing the attainment gap.

Thank you for taking the time to consider these comments.”

Sarah Fogden, Finance Business Partner (Children’s) advised that the Schools Forum had considered the proposals on 4 February 2021 and had endorsed the recommendations. She highlighted one risk in that the funding was based on the January 2021 census day count. The numbers of children in school was low due to covid and were expected to increase. This could lead to a mismatch between funding and what the Council needed to pay.

Cabinet Member’s comments

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Cabinet Member for Education and Cultural Services, thanked Councillor Turnbull for her comments and agreed with the comments made.

Councillor Lindsay-Gale noted that she had received a full briefing and had had time to consider the recommendations and was happy to approve. Thereby, I confirm my decision as follows:

(a)       Pass the funding increase received by Oxfordshire onto providers in full and approve the 2021-22 Early Years funding formula for 3 and 4- year old provision with an underlying hourly rate of £4.18 (excluding the Deprivation supplement, SEN Inclusion Fund and Contingency)

(b)       Pass the funding increase received by Oxfordshire onto providers in full and approve the 2021-22 Early Years funding formula for 2- year old provision at an hourly rate of £5.68