Meeting documents

This item will be led by the Council’s Assistant Director Education Partnerships and Skills Amelia Walker.  To consider Report (attached)

(There is a Covering Report, DRAFT Executive Key Decision Report and Appendices 1-5).

Note – the Chair will allow 50 minutes for this agenda item.

Pre Executive item

The Committee considered a report and received a PowerPoint presentation from the Council’s Assistant Director Education and Partnerships and Skills, Ms Walker regarding the proposals for changing the current support offer for Local Authority Maintained Schools.

The Committee held a thorough discussion of the options after hearing from the Executive Member and receiving a presentation to further explain the background for the proposals, noting there had been a yearlong conversation held with Somerset schools.

During the discussion the following topics were mentioned and answered and further details were provided regarding:

·         Changing the financial arrangement between the LA and schools;

·         Giving choice to schools, the base offer and bespoke offer

·         The proposals would not effecting pupil premium

·         Limiting the net increase, in cost, to schools to 60%

·         Maintaining capacity for schools

·         Changes to grant funding

The Committee welcomed the presentation and were generally supportive of the proposed direction of travel and proposals for enhancing the Councils relationship with Somerset Schools. It was noted that all Schools would be able to utilise the admissions service and that a previous underfunding of the school appeals service had been addressed.

The Committee accepted the proposals and endorsed their presentation to the Executive at its meeting on 14 December 2022 by the Lead Member noting the contingency fund for schools is increased from £7k to £17.5k and requested:

·         The committee were generally supportive of the adoption of option 3; and

·         That the proposals be monitored with regular reports to ensure mitigation where necessary and to limit any negative, detrimental impact to Children, Schools and Schools Staff and that an update report be provided 6 months after implementation (October 2023).