Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director – Children and Young People’s Service.

Purpose of the report:  To inform Members of the local educational landscape, educational achievement and the financial challenges which affect schools in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area.

Considered:  The report of the Corporate Director – Children and Young People’s Service which provided information on:-

·       The numbers of maintained and academy schools across North Yorkshire and within the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency.

·       School standards, ie: Ofsted judgements; the uneven impact of the pandemic on 2021/22 performance data; overall attainment; attainment at the early years foundation stage and at key stages 2 and 4; and the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

·       The numbers of suspension incidents and permanent exclusions.

·       The reshaping of targeted mainstream SEN provision in the constituency during the 2020/21 academic year.

·       SEN statistics for the constituency area.

·       Elective home education.

·       School finances, ie: 2021/22 school revenue balances; school budget projections based on 2022/23 start budgets; school finance and funding issues; local authority support for schools in financial difficulty; and the financial position of schools in the constituency area.

·       The planning of school places, ie: current and future pupil rolls; provision for primary stage in the Boroughbridge, Harrogate West, Harrogate Outer, and Knaresborough town areas; provision for secondary stage; and provision for the new settlement at Maltkiln.

The report was introduced by Sue Turley (Strategic Planning Officer) who, together with Sally Dunn (Head of Schools High Needs Early Years), Jane le Sage (Assistant Director Inclusion), Amanda Newbold (Assistant Director Education and Skills), and Howard Emmett (Assistant Director Strategic Resources), responded to Members’ questions.

Members thanked the officers for providing a thorough and excellent report and asked questions.  Additional information provided in response to questions included the following:-

·       A survey was being undertaken to gather information on actions which schools were taking to address the impact of increasing electricity and gas prices.  Once the survey results were available, they would be shared with Committee Members.

·       Regarding school performance, the results for the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area were above averages across the county, and sometimes nationally.  Members expressed concern that some performance across the county was below the national average.  Officers advised of the actions which the local authority was taking to improve performance of local authority schools and could take regarding Academies.

·       Further information was provided about the detailed work undertaken to plan school places to ensure capacity for new and future housing developments.  Members commented that: -

(i)             they would prefer a secondary school to be provided straight away to serve the proposed Maltkiln development and reduce home to school travel by car or bus.  The officers advised that land within the Maltkiln development was safeguarded for secondary provision, should it be required in the future.  However, Boroughbridge High School was being expanded and would have sufficient capacity to serve the Maltkiln community; and

(ii)            having all secondary schools, and no sixth form, on one side of Harrogate was increasing traffic congestion.  Members suggested that a secondary school was needed in the Bilton/New Park area of Harrogate.  Members suggested that the local authority was at risk of making pragmatic decisions rather than considering climate change issues which would create problems in the longer term.

·       Elective home education in North Yorkshire had increased significantly since the pandemic began, reflecting the national situation, but was now slowing down slightly and was on par with national averages. Elective home education was a matter for parental choice and should be made for a positive reason to benefit the child.  The local authority’s powers were limited regarding elective home education.  However, where elective home education was being considered by a parent, due to a breakdown in the relationship between the school and the parent, the local authority tried to broker the situation.

·       When a child came off school roll or was missing education (or had “disappeared”), the school notified the local authority.  The local authority then followed a statutory process to ensure it could track that child.

·       The target opening date for the new primary school in Knaresborough had been revised to September 2024 due to infrastructure delays which were beyond the County Council’s remit.  Sue Turley undertook to provide further detail to County Councillor Matt Walker.

·       A Member described the Targeted Mainstream Provision work, intended to help the local authority meet demand for full time education provision for children with SEND and who had an EHC Plan, as “excellent”.

The Chair asked Members to email the officers with any further questions.

Note: During discussion, County Councillor Paul Haslam advised that he was a school governor but this was an unpaid position.

Resolved –

That the report on educational factors in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area be noted.