Agenda item

– Report of Mr Roger Gough, Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform and Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director of Education learning and Skills)

(1)     Cabinet received a report, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the review of Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and Alternative Curriculum (AC) Provision and a summary of the consultation with stakeholders on the proposal to establish 8 new delivery hubs across the County for PRU and AC Provision. The report sought recognition of the changes to provision required by changes to national policy and approval of the changes to provision delivery described.

(2)     TheCabinetMemberforEducationandHealthReform,MrGough,introducedthe report.  Hereferred, inparticulartothefollowing:

(i)      Thatthereporthadbeensubjecttoconsiderableconsultationincluding consideration  by  the  Education  Cabinet  Committee  in  June  where  the proposeddecisionwasendorsed.

(ii)  That,whilechangestopolicyhadoccurredata nationallevel,KentCounty Council hadbeenlooking locally for ways inwhichimprovementscouldbe madeforthe groupof vulnerableyoungpeople that access these services.

(iii)       Thatthechangeswouldinvolveconsiderabledevolutionofbothbudgetsand staffing  but  that  KCC  would  retain  oversight  and  responsibility  for  the outcomesof the service.

(iv)               Thattwomodelshademergedfromthereviewandconsultationwhichwould eachbeused intheappropriateareas, namely:

•        Fulldelegation to a Lead PRUwith amanagement committee withfull delegated powers

or

•        DevolutionofFundingtogroupsofschool withina localityand no Managementor PRU provision

(3)     PatrickLeeson,CorporateDirectorofEducation,LearningandSkills,spoketothe item.Headdedthat:

(i)  Someofthechangesmadelocally,asa resultofthechangestonational policy mightappeartechnocratic, for exampledelegatingresourcestoa ManagementCommittee,butthatthescaleofthetransformationprocessin Kent shouldnotbeunderestimated by Members.  Theprojecthadinvolved everyschoolinordertoprovidea newapproachtopupilexclusionandpupils at risk of exclusion.

(ii)  All   new   management   committees   now   had   Secondary   Headteacher representation.

(iii)       Therehadbeena clearcommitmentreceivedfromschoolsnottopermanently exclude unlessit was absolutelyunavoidable

(iv)               Acomplete re-commissioningofthe curriculumavailable had beenundertaken in order to addresstheshortcomingsthat which hadbeen availablepreviously.

(v)   Kentwascommittedtoprovidingsupportforyoungpeopleuntiltheageof18 in orderthattheydidnotbecomeNEETat16ashadpreviouslybeenthe case.

(vi)               InadditionheassuredCabinetthattheKentIntegratedAdolescenceSupport servicewouldcontinueinorderthatalloftheoftencomplexneedsthatthe youngpeoplepresented could beaddressed.

(vii)   This new modelwouldenableservicesforvulnerable,highriskyoung peopletobedeliveredina joined-upandintegratedwayinorder that better outcomes were provided.

(viii) In the futurehe expectedthat theservicesizewouldreduceasmore schoolsbegantotake on workofthiskindwithintheschoolandthe numberof expulsions began toreduce.

(4)     TheLeaderoftheCouncil,MrPaulCarter, referredtothecurrent disparity between levelsofservicewithindifferent areasofthe County and soughtassurancefromMr Leeson  that  the  changes  he  had  described  would  enable  a  more  uniform, consistentlygood, service to beprovided to all of thecounty’syoungpeople.

(5)     Mr Leeson, believed that the reviewprocess hadhelpedto shape attitudeswithin the teachingprofession and hadencourageda genuine acceptance of further responsibilityforthe prevention of expulsions.Changestonationalpolicyhadhelped to compoundthe work undertaken at local level,forexampleschoolswould now remain responsiblefortheexamresultsof ayoungpersonevenwhen theyhadbeen permanentlyexcluded.The result wouldbea betterpathwayforyoungpeople than hadpreviouslybeenthe case.

(6)     The Leader of theCouncil requestedthat progress toward a‘golive’dateforthis strategybemonitoredbythe Education Cabinet Committee andthat thismonitoring continue postimplementation to includedetailsofthenumberof permanent exclusions in the Countyand the success of the hubs.Hewelcomed the report and expressedsatisfactionthattheworkwould also help tostrengthen the work of the governments‘TroubledFamilies’programme,many ofwhomwouldhavechildren also accessingthese services.