Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M Deakin and M Grant.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2019

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2019.

RESOLVED

1.    That the minutes of the meeting be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

2.    That the reasons for children being missing from education be circulated to the Committee.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To provide an opportunity for Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the agenda

There were no whipping declarations.

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.

Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research, it would be helpful if members of the public contacted the Scrutiny officer listed at the foot of the agenda, at least one working day before the meeting to provide brief details of the matter to be covered.

There were no members of the public present wishing to speak

To receive a case study on education in Cheshire East.

A case study was outlined to the Committee about a boy who had moved in with his grandparents. He suffered from neglect,  anxiety, struggled to form attachments and was violent at school. As a result, he was excluded from school and referred to Cornerstone. Staff at cornerstone worked to understand his needs, build his resilience and confidence and helped him to understand the consequence of his behaviour. The boy had now returned to mainstream school and had settled well.

To give consideration to the annual education report 2017-18

Consideration was given to a report and presentation on the performance of schools and work of the local authority in terms of support, challenge and interventions with schools. The report provided a breakdown of the outcomes for Cheshire East leaners across all stages of education, children missing from education and the new Ofsted inspections.

RESOLVED

That the Annual Education Report for 2017-18 be received.

To receive an update on the SEND Reforms Task and Finish Group recommendations

The Committee received a presentation on the response to the recommendations submitted to Cabinet in relation to the SEND Reforms Task and Finish Group.

In relation to recommendation 5 – that a Cheshire East accredited Educational Psychologist system be introduced to deal with and accept private report, it was noted that the code of practice stipulated that Educational Phycologists should normally be employed by the local authority and not from the private sector. Therefore locums had been employed to address the backlog of assessments.

In relation to recommendation 13 – that Cheshire East explores an equipment store to be used by all schools, it was noted that the recommendation was accepted in principle, however further consideration would be given to take this forward including a fully costed business case.

RESOLVED

1.    That the response to the recommendations be received.

2.    That an update on progress be received in 12 months time.

To receive a presentation on the Sustainable Modes of Transport Strategy

Consideration was given to a presentation on sustainable travel to school. The presentation detailed:

·         The background

·         The SMOTS Strategy and links to other strategies

·         Engagement with Schools

·         Assessing the impact of schemes

·         Projects

·         Funding and Timescales

RESOLVED

That the presentation be received

To give consideration to the areas of the forward plan which fall within the remit of the Committee.

Consideration was given to the areas of the forward plan which fell within the remit of the Committee.

RESOLVED

That the forward plan be received.

To give consideration to the work programme

Consideration was given to the work programme. It was agreed that the meeting scheduled to be held on 24 June 2019 be moved to 20 June 2019.

As this was the last meeting of the 2018/19 municipal year, the Chairman thanked the Committee for its hard work during the year. The Committee also thanked the Chairman for all her hard work during her time as Chairman.

RESOLVED

That the meeting scheduled to be held on 24 June 2019 be moved to 20 June 2019.