Issue - meetings

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that the Chief Officer – Education would advise Members when there was any update on the more limited risk-based schedule of inspections which was awaited from the Care Inspectorate / Education Scotland;

(ii)       in relation to Secondary School Pupils who meet the eligibility criteria for free school meals, to instruct the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to provide detail of the steps being taken to identify how we can engage with eligible pupils and families to maximise uptake; and include that in the Free School Meals report due to Committee in June 2021; and

(iii)      to otherwise note the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which presented an update on the status of key performance measures relating to the Education Operational cluster.

The report recommended:-

that Committee –

note the report and provide comments and observations on the performance information contained in the report Appendix.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that the Chief Officer – Education would advise Members when there was any update on the more limited risk-based schedule of inspections which was awaited from the Care Inspectorate / Education Scotland;

(ii)       in relation to secondary school pupils who met the eligibility criteria for free school meals, to instruct the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to provide detail of the steps being taken to identify how we could engage with eligible pupils and families to maximise uptake; and include that in the Free School Meals report due to Committee in June 2021; and

(iii)      to otherwise note the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would circulate information to Members outwith the meeting on how looked after children had been faring throughout the pandemic, whether in kinship, residential or foster care;

(ii)       to note that non-attendance due to concerns around COVID-19 was far lower in Aberdeen than in other parts of the country and to congratulate all education staff for the work undertaken to ensure that parents and children felt safe;

(iii)      to note how data had informed the Education Service’s COVID-19 response and was presently being used to track critical aspects of education provision, aligning with the terms of the Council’s current National Improvement Framework priorities;

(iv)      to note the current limitations around attainment and achievement data availability, and that a future report would, where possible, offer expanded analysis from the 2019/20 academic year around data tracking of the Education Improvement Journey; and

(v)      to request that the Chief Education Officer prepare a future service update with any further information that was available, for example, on any changes to education provision as a result of the data gathered.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services and Chief Operating Officer which provided information on data used to inform the initial and current Education Service COVID-19 response.  The report also outlined the present position in regard to data availability from the 2020 SQA exam diet and national analysis of the 2019/20 Curriculum for Excellence outcomes.

The report recommended:-

that Committee –

(a)      note how data had informed the Education Service’s COVID-19 response and was presently being used to track critical aspects of education provision, aligning with the terms of the Council’s current National Improvement Framework priorities; and

(b)      note the current limitations around attainment and achievement data availability, and that a future report would, where possible, offer expanded analysis from the 2019/20 academic year around data tracking of the Education Improvement Journey.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would circulate information to Members outwith the meeting on how looked after children had been faring throughout the pandemic, whether in kinship, residential or foster care;

(ii)       to note that non-attendance due to concerns around COVID-19 was far lower in Aberdeen than in other parts of the country and to congratulate all education staff for the work undertaken to ensure that parents and children felt safe;

(iii)      to request that the Chief Education Officer prepare a future service update with any further information that was available, for example, on any changes to education provision as a result of the data gathered;  and

(iv)      to approve the recommendations.