To provide General overview and scrutiny committee with the opportunity to review and comment on the progress made in developing a schools capital investment strategy, including considering a presentation of evidence at the committee meeting.

The Chairman reminded the committee that a presentation on the council’s approach to the strategy had been received at the 10 March 2015 meeting and invited officers to update the committee.

The Assistant director commissioning and education introduced the item with the following comments:

i.             The strategy was being prepared in the context of the council’s priorities: to keep children and young people safe and give them a great start in life; enable residents to live safe, healthy and independent lives; and invest in projects to improve roads, create jobs and build more homes. 

ii.            The strategy was an important development for Herefordshire and the schools capital estate. 

iii.          The council was working with a range of school and community leaders with a bottom-up approach.

iv.          The draft principles, identified in Appendix 1 to the report (page 21 of the agenda), were essential to the development of the strategy.

v.           The committee was invited to comment on the principles, the presentation, and the approach being taken.

vi.          The strategy would be put forward to Cabinet in early November 2015.

The Head of educational development gave a presentation on the background, the principles and applying the principles.  The key points made under each slide are summarised below:

Where we are in the process…

a.           The work was in phase 4, the phases were: phase 1 - project set up; phase 2 - data collection; phase 3 - verification and analysis; phase 4 - consultation and development of strategy; phase 5 - agreement of high level outcomes of the strategy; phase 6 - detailed development of a strategy and agreement; and Council approval and implementation.

b.           Officers had been consulting with various groups, including governors, local communities, and diocesan boards.  Discussions with school clusters had been productive, with further sessions to be held during term time.

c.           With the emergence of academies and free schools and different governance arrangements, the role of the council was changing and thought needed to be given to the types of environment that the authority wanted to see for children.

d.           There was a spectrum in terms of the quality of buildings but this was not the only factor, particularly as there were some outstanding schools in less than outstanding buildings.  Consideration needed to be given to how such schools could be supported and how education and schooling could be presented in the best light, particularly to ensure that Herefordshire was a place where businesses wanted to invest and people wanted to live and work.

Principles

e.           In addition to being detailed in the appendix, the draft principles were summarised as:

1)           Schools serving the community

·             right amount of places in the right place

·             meet parental preference

2)           High quality learning environments

·             good condition - maintenance up to date and not disproportionate to  value

·                     suitable buildings and grounds

·             supportive of curriculum delivery

·             not in temporary classrooms

·             energy efficient

·             accessible to all

3)      Expansion of high quality popular schools

4)      Consolidation and all through school opportunities

5)      Plans  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28