Education & Lifelong Learning Committee

Tuesday 26 August 2003 at 3.00 pm

Present:  Councillors Forbes, Gallacher, McCabe, McKenzie, Mitchell, Robertson, Snoddy and White, Father T Boyle and Rev C McGranaghan, Church Representatives.

Chair:  Councillor Mitchell presided. 

In attendance:  Director of Education Services, Director of Finance, Mr H McNeilly (for Director of Legal & Support Services) and Mr A Gerrard (for Head of Property Services).

Apologies:  Councillor Tucker and Rev J Miller.

The following paragraphs are submitted for information only, having been dealt with under the powers delegated to the Committee.

559

Revenue Budget 2003/04 - Period 4

559

There was submitted a report dated 15 August 2003 by the Director of Finance on the position of the Revenue Budget 2003/04 as at Period 4 (23 July 2003).

Decided:

(1)   that the current position of the Revenue Budget 2003/04 be noted;  and

(2)   that it be noted that Officers within Education and Finance Services are continuing to review the position in order to keep the budget on target.

560

Capital Programme 2003/04 to 2004/05 - Progress

560

There was submitted a report by the Director of Education Services on the progress of the Capital Programme 2003/04 to 2004/05.

Noted

561

Follow-Up to the Inspection of the Education Functions of Inverclyde Council

561

There was submitted a report dated 11 August 2003 by the Director of Education Services advising of the arrangements made for a follow-up by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and the Accounts Commission to the inspection of Education Functions of Inverclyde Council carried out in 2001.

Decided:

(1)   that it be noted that HMIE and the Accounts Commission will re-visit Inverclyde Council in the week beginning 29 September 2003 to assess and report on the progress made by the Council against the Main Points for Action in their report published in September 2001;  and

(2)   that the actions taken by the Director of Education Services to provide the information required by HMIE for the purposes of the follow-up inspection be noted.

562

Scottish Executive Allocation of Funding to Support Disabled Access in Education Establishments

562

There was submitted amended report by the Director of Education Services (1) advising of the funding made available by the Scottish Executive to improve disability access to education establishments and (2) seeking permission for the Director of Education Services to use the funds for projects agreed between Education and Property Services.

Decided:

(1)   that it be noted that Inverclyde Council has received funding from the Scottish Executive of £152,000, £287,000 and £287,000 in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06 respectively to improve disability access to education establishments;

(2)   that approval be granted to the Director of Education Services to allocate funds for 2003/04 on projects agreed in consultation with the Head of Property Services;  and

(3)   that it be noted that the funding for years 2 and 3 will be included in the Schools Estates Strategy which will cover disability access.

563

Expansion of Support for Families with Very Young Children Through Sure Start Funding

563

There was submitted a report dated 11 August 2003 by the Director of Education Services (1) advising of an increase in Sure Start Funding over a three year period and (2) seeking approval for a range of developments in 2003/04 targeted to meet the needs of very young children in Inverclyde.

Decided:

(1)   that the Committee note Inverclyde Council's Sure Start allocation of £417,000, £631,000 and £902,000 in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06 respectively;

(2)   that the developments detailed in paragraph 3 of the report be approved;

(3)   that it be remitted to the Head of Personnel Services to report to the Corporate Business Committee with a view to establishing the required posts;  and

(4)   that the funding implications for 2004/05 onwards be remitted to the Policy and Strategy Committee for consideration.

564

The Development of Gaelic Medium Primary Education in Inverclyde

564

There was submitted a report dated 11 August 2003 by the Director of Education Services (1) on the progress of Gaelic Medium Education in Inverclyde and (2) seeking approval of proposals in relation to the transport of pupils to the Gaelic Medium Primary Unit located within Highlanders Academy, Greenock.

Decided:

(1)   that the developments achieved and those reasonably anticipated in respect of Gaelic Medium Primary Education in Inverclyde be noted;

(2)   that approval be given to the provision of free transport to children who are in receipt of free schools meals regardless of where they live in Inverclyde;  and

(3)   that it be remitted to the Director of Education Services to report to the Committee on the financial implications of extending the provision of free school transport to all children attending the Gaelic Medium Primary Unit.

565

School Holiday Arrangements 2004/2005

565

There was submitted a report by the Director of Education Services seeking approval for the setting of school holidays for session 2004/2005.

Decided:  that approval be given to the school holiday arrangements for session 2004/2005 as set out in Appendix 3 to the report.

566

Funding for Teachers' Agreement:  Job Sizing and Management Restructuring

566

There was submitted a report by the Director of Education Services advising of Scottish Executive funding of £244,000, £205,600 and £530,200 made available to the Council in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06 respectively for the implementation of the National Agreement, "A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century" in respect of job sizing and management restructuring.

Noted

It was agreed in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the grounds that the business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 6, 8 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

567

"Cashless" Catering System

567

There was submitted a report by the Director of Education Services seeking approval (1) to appoint CRB Solutions as sole supplier of the pilot project of the "Cashless" Catering System within St Columba's High School  and (2) to authorise the tendering of the proposed roll out programme of the "Cashless" Catering System to all secondary schools using a specification written to take account of the results of the pilot scheme.

Decided:

(1)      that agreement be given to the appointment of CRB Solutions as the sole supplier for the initial pilot project of the "Cashless" Catering System within St Columba's High School;

(2)      that the tendering process for the remaining school systems be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities;  and

(3)      that a report be submitted to the Committee on the general progress of this initiative and also the "Hungry for Success" programme.

568

Contracting for Speech and Language Therapy

568

There was submitted a report by the Director of Education Services advising of (1) the statutory requirement placed on Inverclyde Council and Education Services to provide speech and language therapy services to children who require this, (2) the fact that such services may be defined for an individual child through his or her record of needs and (3) the need to re-negotiate an agreement between Inverclyde Council and Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care NHS Trust to ensure the delivery of a sufficient level of speech therapy service for Inverclyde children.

Decided:

(1)   that the Director of Education Services be authorised to enter into a three year contract with Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care NHS Trust for the delivery of speech and language therapy for pupils with special needs;

(2)   that agreement be given to increase the current provision available to Education Services over three years in order to meet the actual contract costs of the service;  and

(3)   that agreement be given to the increased cost in fees over the three year term of the contract and it be noted that these will be contained by using Scottish Executive funding for Inclusion.

569

Transport Facilities for Children with Special and/or Medical Needs - Result of Tenders for Contracts 2003/2004

569

There was submitted a report by the Director of Education Services advising of the use of the powers delegated to the Chief Executive to award tenders for transport facilities for children with special and/or medical needs which were due for renewal from session 2003/2004.

Decided:

(1)   that the use of the powers delegated to the Chief Executive to authorise the Director of Education Services to accept the tenders as set out in Appendix 1 to the report be noted;

(2)   that the details of the tenders for transport facilities for children with special and/or medical needs for the three year period from school session 2003/2004 be noted;  and

(3)   that it be noted that the Director of Education Services will seek tenders from transport operators included in the Council's Standing Restricted List for those contracts where no tender was submitted and for any future transport requirements during the next three school sessions and will award the contracts in line with the Council's Standing Orders relating to Contracts.