Wolverhampton City Council OPEN EXECUTIVE DECISION ITEM (AMBER)
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Agenda Item No: 7D Wolverhampton City Council OPEN EXECUTIVE DECISION ITEM (AMBER) Cabinet / Cabinet Panel CABINET Date 17.10.2007 Portfolio(s) SCHOOLS Originating Service Group(s) CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE Contact Officer(s) ROY LOCKWOOD/DAVE RAWLINSON/TIM WESTWOOD Telephone Number(s) 554100/554110/554225 Title BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE (BSF) – STRATEGY FOR CHANGE PART 1 KEY DECISION YES IN FORWARD PLAN YES Recommendations Cabinet is requested: 1. To approve the Strategy for Change Part 1 which sets out the Authority’s proposals for BSF. 2. To authorise the Cabinet Member for Schools to approve further minor textual changes prior to the submission of the document to Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Executive Summary Wolverhampton is in Wave 5 of BSF. The Remit meeting on 4 September marked the Authority’s formal entry to the BSF Programme. The next stage in the BSF approvals process is the submission of the Strategy for Change Part 1 to Partnerships for Schools for assessment. The Department for Children, Schools and Families will consider the SfC Part 1 alongside the PfS assessment, prior to Ministerial approval. The Building Schools for the Future programme will bring £300 million funding to the City, which will be made available to support a continuous programme of investment. Schedule of Background Papers 1. Building Schools for the Future – Lifelong Learning Cabinet Team 2 October 2003 2. Building Schools for the Future (Secondary) - Cabinet 12 September 2006 3. Building Schools for the Future (Secondary) - Cabinet 4 October 2006 4. Building Schools for the Future – Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel 7 June 2007 5. Building Schools for the Future – Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel 27 September 2007 BSF Strategy for Change.doc 1 BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE (BSF) – STRATEGY FOR CHANGE PART 1 1.0 Background 1.1 Wolverhampton has now been confirmed as a Wave 5 BSF Authority and is therefore working to the timetable set out below. The Remit meeting took place on Tuesday 4 September, at which time the Council’s Chief Executive, Richard Carr, and the Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools (PfS), Tim Byles, signed a Memorandum of Understanding which marked the Authority’s formal entry to the BSF programme. Members should note that this was the first Remit meeting for a Wave 5 Authority. The anticipated timetable for a Wave 5 Authority is shown below: Wave 5 Timetable Remit Meeting 4 September 2007 Strategy for Change August 2007 – October 2007 Part 1 Strategy for Change November 2007 – February Part 2 2008 Development of the March 2008 – September 2008 Outline Business Case Aim to sign 2010-11 contracts First schools open 2011-12 1.2 As indicated above, the next stage is to submit the Strategy for Change (SfC), which is the first formal component of the BSF approvals process. The SfC is designed to capture both the local authority’s strategy for 11-19 education and the requirements that strategy places upon the physical school estate. Part 1 is the Key Challenges and Objectives section of the SfC. It will show the scope of the authority’s BSF transformation plan. It is the ‘what is to be done’ component. 1.3 SfC Part 1 contains three sections – (a) A map/table/chart showing ‘before and after’ for each school: • Characteristics and profile: • Pupil achievement: • Governance: • Extended/community provision; (b) A strategic overview of existing school and FE provision and proposals for change; (c) Proposals for the school and FE estate It will be assessed by Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and passed to the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Department (including the Office of the Schools Commissioner) will consider the SfC Part 1, alongside PfS’ assessment, and the document is subject to Ministerial approval. BSF Strategy for Change.doc 1.4 Although the Council is required to submit its SfC Part 1 by 31 October, formal guidance has only recently been received by the Council. Furthermore, detailed work is ongoing with PfS regarding pupil number projections. Authority is therefore requested for the Cabinet Member for Schools to approve any minor changes to the SfC Part 1 before submission. 2.0 Strategy for Change Part 1 2.1 At the Remit meeting officers reached in principle agreement with PfS and DCSF on a number of key issues which had been the subject of intensive negotiation during the preceding weeks. In particular: • BSF will involve establishing two academies, one in the south-east and the other in the north of the City. • The two academies will replace three existing schools – Parkfield High School, Northicote School and Pendeford Business and Enterprise College. • The Council will be a sponsor of both academies. • BSF will involve the establishment of trust, trust-like or federation arrangements across the City to underpin collaboration and support educational improvement. • BSF funding for Wolverhampton will be nearly £300 million and will be made available to support a single continuous programme of investment, rather than two separate programmes of £150 million, with uncertainty about the timing of the second programme. These key areas of agreement are reflected in the attached SfC Part 1, especially Sections 2.4 and 3.2, and are now submitted for Executive endorsement. 3.0 BSF Preparatory Work 3.1 The programme governance and management arrangements for BSF are now well established. In particular, • The Local Learning Partnership Board has agreed to take on the role of BSF Stakeholder Board; • There have now been eight appointments to the BSF Project Team; however the capacity of the Team will need to be increased to cope with the demands of a single investment programme of £300 million. • Work is well advanced in procuring external financial and legal advisors. 3.2 A communications strategy is being developed with corporate support. This includes a BSF website, and the appointment of a dedicated BSF Communications Officer. 3.3 A number of BSF work streams are already well underway, including technical (building design and construction) and ICT/e-learning. BSF Strategy for Change.doc 4.0 Financial Implications 4.1 Building Schools for the Future will bring very substantial funding to the City. At the Remit meeting the Authority proposed that BSF in Wolverhampton should be a single programme of £300 million, subject to suitable phasing, not two programmes of £150 million with potentially a significant time gap between them. This proposal has been accepted. 4.2 There will be revenue costs, over 3 years, of up to approximately £3.5 million, associated with BSF planning and procurement. These will need to be met locally. 5.0 Equality Impact Assessment and Environmental Implications 5.1 These are also significant. It is essential that the strategy for change which underpins BSF in Wolverhampton is in line with the Children and Young People’s Plan, and so improves access and opportunity for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. 5.2 Within the BSF programme, there will be 27 ongoing projects which will all have a potential impact on equality and, for this reason, the BSF programme team has identified and requested the key data required at top level to establish the current position and inform the Equality Impact Assessment. 5.3 We are currently waiting for the most up to date pupil information which will be available at the end of October, as pupil movement (in terms of residential address and secondary school attended) can change radically from one year’s intake to the next. 5.4 This will enable us to highlight any existing equality impacts and to model some generic possible future impacts which can then be used in order to further assess, and consult about, the specific impact of individual projects as part of the visioning process with schools. In addition, investment on this scale must give high priority to sustainability, as well as providing flexible and high quality facilities for learning and extended provision. At a recent meeting PfS officers were informed that additional resources would be provided through BSF to achieve a ‘zero carbon footprint’ for all new build. 6.0 Key Decision 6.1 This is a key decision which has been included in the Forward Plan. BSF Strategy for Change.doc WOLVERHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE STRATEGY FOR CHANGE PART ONE 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………...………. 1 2. A Strategic Overview of School Provision 2.1 Overall Strategic Vision …………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 2.2 Where is the Authority now in terms of educational outcomes, diversity of provision, fair access and choice? ....................................................................................................................................... 2 2.3 What added value will BSF investment provide to local education outcomes within and beyond the school day? ………………………………………………………………………………………….………. 2 2.4 How does the Authority propose to ensure choice, diversity and access for all parents and pupils in its schools? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 2.5 How will the Authority ensure robust challenge to schools including strategies for early intervention in the case of underperforming or failing schools? ……………………………………….. 4 2.6 How will the Authority deliver personalised learning to ensure that every pupil is fully stretched and can access a broad curriculum that best suits their needs and talents? ……………….............. 4 2.7 How will the Authority ensure the effective delivery of the 14-19 entitlement in partnership with area LSC teams and local FE providers? ………………………………………………………………… 5 2.8 To what extent is the Authority ensuring effective integration of education and other services through Every Child Matters? ……………………………………………………………… …………….. 6 2.9 How does the Authority propose to champion the needs of all pupils, including those with SEN? 6 2.10 What change management strategies are in place to achieve the authority’s BSF vision? ………… 7 3.