Minutes:
5.1 An update was given by the Assistant Director of Education who informed the Committee that the Schools White Paper Bill had been withdrawn from parliament and provided an update on the elements that, despite this, the DfE was still progressing including legislation on a register for children not in school, and attendance duties.
5.2 The Assistant Director informed the Committee that the Department were preparing for new statutory duties on attendance including through a reorganisation of the team, working with colleagues in Early Help and social care and the creation of a new attendance support team to work directly with schools. A new Level 2 Early Help Key Worker post would be working with severely absent children (children attending less than 50% of school and who were not involved with other services) and providing a whole family approach to support the most vulnerable children.
5.3 The Committee heard that academisation was still an ambition for government and the Department were working with the DfE, schools and the diocese to look at the options for trust development to create a strong network of schools across the county, as well as reviewing sustainability for smaller schools. The Department was continuing to work with primary and secondary boards and reported some increased movement with primary schools joining existing trusts. The DfE had provided some Trust Capacity Fund (TCF) funding to support new schools and existing trusts to set up / grow trusts and the Department anticipated there would be continued interest in academisation which they would support, particularly partnerships which delivered greater inclusion and outcomes for children.
5.4 Going forward the Department would continue to share information with schools and governors on the financial and governance implications of joining a trust and to make sure the local authority’s views were clear that any proposals around academisation should be in the best interests of children. They would continue to showcase where successful partnerships were working well and how.
5.5 The Committee welcomed the update and discussed the following:
• Academisation – The Committee asked for more information on the federation of schools that were interested in becoming MATs. In response, the Committee heard that there were several primary federations in East Sussex and that to work well, federations needed to be of right size (at least 3 or 4 schools) to get the benefit of working together. In response to the Committee’s question on the Council’s views on academisation, the Director of Children’s services responded that MATs could be a strong vehicle for supporting the life chances of children, providing they were committed to inclusion and had a strong value set. The Director clarified that the Council was neither able to force nor prevent schools from becoming academies, and that this was decided through regional DfE teams, however it was noted that the views of the Department were sought by the regional DfE teams.
• Meeting need with limited resources – The Committee asked how the Council could meet increasing need with fewer resources and a deficit within the Department. The Assistant Director explained that this was a challenge, with schools seeing increasing complexity of need and pressures on families. The Department had worked with schools to understand how they could support schools to support families and get the best out of the resources they have. Partnership working, including federations and MATs was highlighted as an area that could achieve positive outcomes by sharing resources and through joint work on the curriculum. The Lead Member for Education and ISEND reiterated the challenge for the Department, as a demand led service, and noted that as part of the RPPR process this would be looked at.
• Attendance – The Committee enquired as to why attendance figures had not returned to pre covid levels and how this issue could be prioritised within the Department. The Assistant Director explained that the reasons for low levels of attendance were wide and complex but that the Department was talking to schools to gain a greater understanding and had heard that the pandemic was still having an impact, including on speech and language development of children in early education. They had also seen an increase in children’s mental health needs. The Assistant Director stated the responsibility of school attendance needed to cut across schools, the Council and families but that where there were trends, more targeted work was needed, and this was supported by the Department and other professionals to offer consistent support. The Director reflected that lockdowns during Covid had undermined the “social contract” between schools and families across the UK. The Committee discussed other issues around attendance including the role of social media, the need for children to be motivated to attend school and the importance of the opportunity for children to catch up on lost learning if they have been absent. The Assistant Director noted that schools had a responsibility to support pupils to catch up on work and that it was often the most vulnerable children who were most affected, including children with SEND, on Free School Meals etc. The Committee heard that there had been additional funding from the government through the national tutoring programme and a focus from the Department on support for children transitioning from primary to secondary school.
• Elective Home Education (EHE) - The Committee were encouraged by the work of the Department to build resilience in children and their families and noted that sometimes there was a reluctance from families for children to attend school. In response, the Director stated there had been an increase in EHE and the Department had expanded the team that supports and challenges families on this, but this was difficult as they had no right of entry unless there were safeguarding concerns. The Lead Member for Education and ISEND informed the Committee he had received a reply, from his letter to the government on this issue, which said they were still looking at it; the Lead Member noted it was a source of ongoing concern and he would continue to communicate to the government about it. The Committee asked if the Department had any concerns about families who were deliberately choosing to keep their children out of school because they are not happy about their allocated school. The Director responded to say there is detailed legislation which sets out how school admissions run and keeping a child at home cannot be used as a means to improve a family’s chance of securing a place at their preferred school. Overall a very high proportion of families in East Sussex secure one of their preferred schools.