Agenda item

1015

Roy Leach, Strategic Lead for Education Sufficiency and Access will attend to present a report (ESC6) on an overview of the practical implications of the future arrangements in education agreed by cabinet on 23 February 2016

The Education Scrutiny Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the practical implications of the future arrangements in education agreed by Cabinet on 23 February 2016.

Roy Leach, School Organisation Planning Manager, together with Chris Malone, Foundation Years Manager, Sarah Varnom, Schools & Learning Manager and Janet Johnson, Learners with SEN Manager attended to present a report on an overview of the practical implications of the future arrangements in education agreed by Cabinet on 23 February 2016. They also outlined recent developments at national level including the White Paper: Educational Excellence Everywhere.

During questions the following points were raised:

1.         Should all schools become academies as proposed in the White Paper there was uncertainty about how continuing school improvement would be achieved and the role of the local authority. It was noted that from September funding in this area would end.

2.         Concern was expressed for the future of small rural schools under the White paper proposals which to be effective would encourage the growth of Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs). Roy Leach confirmed that Councillor Tilley, Cabinet Member for Children, Education & Families had already expressed those concerns. There was support for locally grown MATs as the most likely to support the needs of schools in Oxfordshire including small rural schools.

3.         Queries were raised about cost implications for Oxfordshire of the academisation programme. Highlighted were the fairer funding review, the effect on the school transport costs and queries over the implications on costs of school staff in the Local Government Pension Fund.

4.         There was discussion of the respective roles of the authority and the Regional Schools Commissioner with regard to failing academy schools.

5.         With regard to schools places there was a mixed picture with applications for reception and transfer to secondary schools being to the local authority and following a process involving the academies there is a co-ordinated allocation with all children getting the offer of one place. Outside these years it is open to academies to deal with parents directly. However in Oxfordshire most academies choose to continue to allow the local authority to do it. Under the White Paper the local authority would co-ordinate admissions to all years.

6.         Officers confirmed that there was a continuing role for Scrutiny to play in education and referred to work being done to provide a challenge to all schools on attendance figures. It was noted that some academies did not provide the necessary data and the Committee noted that this was an issue they would raise with the Regional Schools Commissioner when he next visited the Committee. The Committee emphasised the need for clarity over what their and the County Council’s future role would be.

The Chairman proposed and by a show of hands by 9 votes for to 1 against it was:

AGREED:     

(a)       Given the policy for all schools to become academies the Committee strongly supports encouragement of locally grown multi-academy trusts to meet the needs of both large and small schools in Oxfordshire; and

(b)       that the Cabinet Member be requested to write to local MPs to ask them to find out the costs for Oxfordshire of academisation and the fairer funding review in order to ensure that it not be to the detriment of children’s education in Oxfordshire.