Issue - meetings

The Chair welcomed Steve Belbin, Head of Service School Improvement; Mel Ormesher, Head of Service Asset Management; Debbie Ormerod, Admissions Manager; Alison Mitchell, Schools Advisor; David Graham, Head of Service SEND; and Kevin Smith, Financial Advisor; to the meeting.

The report presented provided an overview of the key services involved in the situation where there was a school causing concern. The majority of Lancashire's 631 schools were successful and were self-managing with strong leadership. 91% of Lancashire schools were judged to be good or better and were above the national average as well as the North West average and placed Lancashire second against its statistical neighbours.

However, it was reported that there were a number of reasons why a school might be in difficulty. These were typically due to concerns about standards of achievement, school finances, personnel reasons, a fall in the number on the school roll, or those raised by parents. In the rare instances where these issues could not be resolved internally, the Local Authority reacted proactively to address matters, working with Governors, head teachers and senior leaders.

LCC had five categories of criteria for support which were used to identify schools requiring improvement.

Members were advised that there were a growing number of secondary schools judged to require improvement and a growing number of schools facing financial difficulty and subsequently required personnel support.

Members enquired what measures were in place for schools to make sure the support they had received was successful and if concerns had been raised to the School Leadership Team (SLT) and governors, what powers did LCC have to intervene at that level to overcome these issues. It was reported that LCC had a statutory duty to intervene and could discover concerns through head teacher appraisals. There was also a Standards Intervention Challenge Board which monitored the performance of all schools.

There were concerns raised over what was being done to support ethnic minority children especially those whose first language was not English and what support there was for teachers. Members were reassured that there was a team in place which dealt with ethnic minority achievements. There was various support in terms of language, on-line resources, and training for the schools. There was also a team of bilingual consultants to work with the groups. It was suggested that students who studied a second language at university could work voluntarily with schools. This would assist the schools and enhance the education of the students.

The Committee was informed that there was a bespoke programme of support for each school. The authority was mindful of each schools needs and the capacity each school had to handle the support provided. An advisor was appointed to work with a school and work with it during its journey of provided support and make sure the right support was in place. Consultant support was provided to work with individual teachers.

Members were informed that primary schools were good at transition planning to secondary schools for children with Education and Health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4