To receive apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

No substitutions were made.

To receive any declarations of interest by members.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2017.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2017 be approved as a correct record.

To consider suggestions from the public on issues the committee could scrutinise in the future.

(There will be no discussion of the issue at the time when the matter is raised.  Consideration will be given to whether it should form part of the committee’s work programme when compared with other competing priorities.)

None.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a scrutiny committee meeting subject to the question being directly relevant to an item listed on the agenda below.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than 5.00 pm on Wednesday 3 May 2017 to tbrown@herefordshire.gov.uk)

None.

To consider school performance for summer 2016 and the effectiveness of the Herefordshire school improvement partnership strategy and framework in improving outcomes for Herefordshire’s children and young people.

The committee was invited to consider school performance for summer 2016 and the effectiveness of the Herefordshire school improvement partnership strategy and framework in improving outcomes for Herefordshire’s children and young people.

The head of learning and achievement gave a presentation, a copy of which had been published as a supplement to the agenda papers.  This included additional information on comparative information on performance for 2013 and 2016.

In response to questions the interim director of children’s wellbeing (dcw) and the head of learning and achievement (hla) commented as follows. (references in brackets are to the published agenda papers where applicable).

In relation to the difference in attainment between pupils receiving free school meals at key stage 1 and key stage 2 and pupils at secondary schools the hla commented that one issue might be that primary school pupils were dispersed amongst a number of schools whereas a concentration of pupils in secondary school may make it easier for a school to plan work for a cohort.  It was also possible that some schools were making better use of the pupil premium than others and this was something that might need further exploration.

(p 17 para 5 bp 3) The percentage of five year old children eligible for free school meals reaching a good level of development at the end of the early years foundation stage was 51%.  This remained below regional and national averages.  The hla commented that, although a slight improvement on the previous year, the attainment level was low.  It was a high priority to address this issue.  The early years team was working to increase the take up of two year olds in nursery education funded places and publicise the local offer of the availability of 30 hours of free nursery education.  This could be key to reducing the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers which is evident in Herefordshire data from the reception class.  As part of this approach the early years team was working with nurseries and child minders briefing on the need to improve provision for the disadvantaged.  The aim was to ensure children were as well prepared for school as they could be.

The dcw added that the gap in attainment for pupils eligible for free school meals had not been something upon which schools and academies within the authority had focused upon until a few years ago.  This had now changed and whilst measures took time to take effect early years settings and schools were now much more aware of the focus upon this aspect.  In addition to Children’s Centres the authority was providing outreach services on a multi-agency basis.  However, there were challenges to be overcome.  A number of schools were also developing closer ties with nurseries and even taking on the running of them.

Paragraphs 6 and 18 of the report referred to a presentation the headteacher from Vauxhall primary school in London had given to the Herefordshire Leadership Conference in November 2016.  The conference had focussed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

To consider the committee’s work programme and related scrutiny activities.

The committee considered its work programme and related scrutiny activities.

The Chairman closed the formal meeting noting that an informal session would follow at which John Coleman would outline the plan for the scrutiny workshop on 5 June which will focus on the future work programme.

RESOLVED:  That the draft work programme as set out at appendix 1 to the report be approved, noting that this would be considered at the scrutiny workshop on work programming on 5 June and account be taken of the proposal that a spotlight review of the trend in performance of sponsored academies be proposed for consideration in that work programme session.

The next scheduled meeting is Tuesday 11 July 2017

Tuesday 11 July 2017 (provisional)