Agenda item

Strengthening safeguarding in schools (centrally retained Schools Block 2016/17)

Minutes:

 

Sharon Scott left the meeting at this point.

 

Krutika Pau reported on the work that Sharon Scott had carried out, looking at potential options for the delivery of school improvement after the end of the Cambridge Education contract. Her report has been circulated to schools and is to be discussed at SSEF. The initial scope of her work was school improvement but headteachers had raised a range of issues and these were included in the report.

 

The report contains robust messages for the LA, a number of which had been referred to earlier in this meeting in respect of the SBC finance team and the positive response was noted.

 

Following feedback from the initial report a final report will be drafted.

 

Whilst the school improvement aspects are longer term, beyond the Cambridge Education contract, the LA is keen to move ahead.  Krutika Pau proposed that Sharon Scott continue for up to three months for four days a week to implement some of the actions, pending the permanent recruitment of a Head of Education Services. She proposed that SBC funds two days and that centrally retained funding previously agreed by Schools Forum be used by the LA to fund the other two days a week, as there is some slippage in that budget.

 

Kathleen Higgins asked if the full £20k previously agreed by Schools Forum to fund the initial work had been used in full and asked what the maximum cost of the proposal would be. It was stated that the £20k had been used and it was agreed that the maximum cost would be circulated as soon as possible.

 

The proposal was agreed.