Agenda item

Rebecca Morton (Executive Projects Manager) will be in attendance to provide the committee with an update on the Education and skills agenda within the District.

Debianne Messenger (Work Based Learning Manager) will also be in attendance to provide the Committee with an update regarding vocational opportunities and skills training available for young people in the District.

The following Officers from Essex County Council have been invited to attend the meeting to provide the Committee with information on Education, Economy and Skills:

Clare Kershaw (Director of Education)

Stephen Chynoweth (Head of Education & Early Years)

Kevin Wilby (School Organisation Officer).

The Council’s Work Based Learning Manager (Debianne Messenger) gave a presentation on Apprenticeships which included information on “What is an Apprenticeship”, Education and Skills Funding Agency, Ofsted Monitoring Visit and current successes.

Following Members questions, the Work Based Learning Manager was thanked for her presentation and the Committee congratulated the team for their successful apprenticeship provision.

Claire Kershaw (Director of Education), Stephen Chynoweth (Head of Education and Early Years) and Kevin Wilby (School Organisation Officer) all from Essex County Council also attended the Committee and gave a presentation to the Committee which included an analysis of the performance of schools in the District of Tendring against other Districts in Essex and England Averages.  This also included statistics on Early Years (Good Level of Development at 5 years old), End of Primary School (KS2 RWM outcomes for 11 year olds) and End of Secondary School (KS4 English and Maths 16 years old).  The Committee looked at the statistics for Tendring against the rest of Essex and England.  The Director of Education explained the reasons behind those figures.

There was also information was also provided regarding the South Tendring Primary Partnership, the Harwich Education Partnership, the Mid Tendring Education Partnership, the Colne Cluster (East Tendring) and the Stour Education Partnership, where schools were grouped into areas and worked in partnership with each other in order to lead their own improvements.

Further information was submitted regarding school organisation in respect of school places and about the way that the County Council was dealing with expanding schools where needed.

It was also noted that the current 6^th Form at Clacton County High School would be moving to the Tendring Education Centre (former Bishops Park School) in Jaywick from September.  This would then create room at Clacton County High School for expansion.

Members asked questions regarding extra school places being needed in areas of the District where house building was prolific, especially in the Kirby and Walton-on-the-Naze areas and were assured that the Education Team had undertaken a study whereby they could gauge what provision would be needed going forward and that they were already planning for expansion in various schools across the District.

Following questions and discussion, Clare Kershaw, Stephen Chynoweth and Kevin Wilby were thanked for their presentation and their time.

The Council’s Executive Projects Manager (Rebecca Morton) then provided an update report to the Committee on the Education and Skills agenda within the District.

Members were aware that the Council’s Corporate Plan 2020-2024 placed Community Leadership at the heart of everything and within that context a number of projects were being undertaken by the Council to support children and young people and their families in the District.  Whilst Essex County Council had the statutory responsibility for Education, the report aimed to summarise key work supported by the Council which included work undertaken/supported by officers in the People, Performance & Projects, Health, Community Safety and Regeneration teams.

Education

The priority had been to ensure that partnership working continued to be effective and that the Council continued to provide support, encouragement and commitment to working collaboratively with schools to improve school attainment levels and raise aspirations and opportunities for children and young people across the District. 

The work being undertaken to support the Education agenda also supported both the Essex and Tendring Children & Young People’s Strategy 2016 and Tendring’s Delivery Plan 2019/2020.  Tendring’s priorities were:-

The Executive Projects Manager also provided the Committee with an update on the following items:-

1.         Education – Start Well, Raising Aspirations and Positive Futures

2.         North East Essex Teacher Training

3.         Teach First

4.         IntoUniversity

5.         School Places

6.         Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

7.         Start Well/Stay Well – Mental Health & Wellbeing

Following discussion it was RECOMMENDED TO CABINET that:

Members consider becoming School Governors as it provides both support for schools and also an opportunity to develop a greater understanding of schools and education.