Agenda and minutes

The Committee were advised that Scott Gardner, one of last year’s S6 pupils at Old Machar Academy who had deteriorating eyesight since primary 3, was a runner up in the Scottish Qualification Agency’s Star Awards School Candidate of the Year Award.  The Committee were also advised that the Lord Provost had recently visited Charleston School and had been informed that Dean Sutherland, a primary 7 pupil, had been asked to represent Scotland at the Kick-boxing World Championships held in Huelva in Spain and was now World Champion in the under 35kg full contact section.

The Committee noted that St. Machar ASG had been short listed for Curriculum Initiative of the Year, by a UK wide sustainable transport organisation in relation to the Go for Gold Project, which had run for two years at St. Machar Academy and its ASG Primary Schools.  The project was explained as a month long walking initiative with a road safety conference held in the run up and into the transition events for primary 7 pupils.  In relation to the new schools at Cults and Bucksburn, the Committee noted that they were now open and that the schools were of a very high standard and that the politeness and manner of the pupils had also been complimented.  The Committee also noted that the Linx Ice Arena was now open to the public.

With regards to the Ron Mueck Exhibition at the Art Gallery, the Committee were advised that the Exhibition had been a huge success and that 49,286 visitors had attended the exhibition and that this was more than twice the number of visitors as had visited the gallery in the same period in 2008.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the successes and achievements of the schools, individuals and organisations; 

(ii)        to write to Scott Gardiner and his family to congratulate him on his achievement;

(iii)       to wish St. Machar ASG the best of luck in the Curriculum Initiative of the year award; and

(iv)       to congratulate Eleanor Shepherd on her appointment as Head Teacher at Mile-End School.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 8 October, 2009. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that Councillor Jennifer Stewart and Kirsty West’s declarations in relation to article 6 were in relation to the Northern Lights Project, not Peacock Visual Arts;  and

(ii)        to otherwise approve the minute.

Councillor Reynolds declared an interest in the subject matter of the   following article by virtue of his appointment by the Council to    Aberdeen Foyer but did not consider the nature of his interest required     him to leave the meeting during consideration of the matter.

The Committee had before it a statement of Committee Business and a Motions List prepared by the Head of Democratic Services.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to remove items 1 (Review of Community Learning and Development in North Aberdeen), 6 (Community Based Adult Learning Partnership – Aberdeen College), 7 (Inclusion Policy Review), 11 (Reporting School Performance Measures) and 13 (Interim Evaluation Report on the Reading Bus Project) from the business statement; 

(ii)        to request officers to provide a date for a future report on item 2 (Northfield and Cummings Park Sports Facilities); 

(iii)       to note that a report on item 4 (INEA2 Action Plan) would be submitted to the next meeting;

(iv)       to note that information on item 5(f) (Usage Levels at Indoor Sports Facilities) would be circulated before Christmas and that local members would be kept up to date in relation to item 5(g) (Tullos Swimming Pool);

(v)        to note that a report on item 8 (Quality Improvement Framework Part 1 (Schools)) would be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee as part of the performance report and that a report also be provided on the impact of Aberdeen Works and of partnership working with local firms;

(vi)       to note that the Chair of the short-life working group relating to item 10 (SQA Examination Results, Attendance, Exclusions and Violent Incidents in Aberdeen City Schools) was now Councillor May;

(vii)      to note that a briefing on item 14 (Curriculum for Excellence) had been arranged for 8 January, 2009;

(viii)     to transfer item 16 (Peacock Visual Art Centre/Northern Lights) to the business list for the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee;

(ix)       to request that a report on item 22 (Property Sales Investigation – Follow Up Report) be submitted to the January Committee;

(x)        to note in relation to item 25 (Health Inequality Studies) that a report on the education aspect of the issues would be submitted to a future meeting of this Committee and that this item would be transferred to the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee Business List;

(xi)       to note that a report would be submitted in January in relation to item 26 (Walker Road Primary School Refurbishment Contract); and

(xii)      to otherwise note the statements.

With reference to article 4 of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Strategy (Education) Committee of 9 June, 2009, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which advised of the actions and progress which had been undertaken in relation to the motion which Councillor Cormack had submitted with regards to parental involvement in education.  The report noted that as requested, officers had looked into support for parents and parent councils in relation to various issues, namely the existence and nature of arrangements for engaging, liaising, consulting and involving parents and parent councils;  development of a Council website for parents;  training issues;  and communication issues such as between the Council and parent councils.  The report went on to note that consultation with other Councils had been undertaken, with 12 responses received and the results of the consultation were attached as an appendix to the report.  The main findings of the consultation were that there was a variety of practice across various councils and that there were also a variety of types of representative forum in place.

The report provided background information in relation to the Council’s implementation of the Parental Involvement Act and the Parental Involvement Strategy, noting that developing parental involvement would work to enhance the strategy.  Two proposals for enhancing parent representation were set out in the report and were as follows:-

Proposal 1 -   the Service either organises Parent Council elections to establish a new body of 12 to 24 ASG (Associated Schools Group) members, or simply invites each ASG to nominate one or two representatives to form such a body. The Service would support development of this representative body. The Council would need to ensure that the group of 12-24 people included representatives of, for example, parents whose children had additional support needs, including those with additional work with English as an Additional Language, and others.

Proposal 2 -   as Proposal 1, with the new body also having representation on the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

The report went on to advise that officers had held discussion sessions with Parent Council Chairs and representatives to discuss representation and other matters set out in the report.  Feedback from the second session was attached as an appendix to the report and it was noted that 17 Parent Councils, represented by 19 people, had attended the meeting.  The report noted that a clear message from the consultation was that whilst Parent Councils would be in favour of further representation, that they would wish the assurance that the Council would continue to consult on all important matters with all Parent Councils.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       endorse the need to enhance parent representation in Education, Culture and Sport Services;

(b)       agree to the establishment of a representative forum of parents as set out in proposal one in the report;  and

(c)        consider whether it wishes a further report on parent representation on the Education, Culture and Sport Committee,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Committee had before it by way of a remit an extract of the minute of meeting of the Gordon Highlanders Commemorative Statue Working Group of 1 October, 2009.

The Working Group had considered a report which covered various issues, namely the specification of the information pack and procurement brief as well as discussions relating to potential location of the statue; the method by which the artist for the statue would be selected and the proposed composition of the selection panel; the options open for the selection of the statue; the contracting of the artists; communication and publicity; and the public unveiling of the statute.

The Gordon Highlanders Commemorative Statue Working Group had resolved:-

amongst other things, to request that the Education, Culture and Sport Committee:-

(a)       agree the use of the procurement brief (which was attached as an appendix to the report) to form the basis of the information pack for circulation to artists interested in making a submission; 

(b)       agree to the establishment of a selection panel as detailed in the report, with the exception of the Council’s Arts Education Co-ordinator, Annette Murray, being invited to join the Selection Panel due to the original candidate declining the invitation;  and

(c)        agree that the recommendation of a preferred statue be found by using the preferences of the Selection Panel and that the Working Group be authorised to approve the finalist, noting that school pupils would not be involved in the selection process, and would only participate in the project as part of a wider arts education programme on the understanding that this incurred no cost from the allocated budget of £125,000 for the statue and did not present any complications for the project.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations of the Working Group, subject to the membership of the Selection Panel being the same as the membership of the Working Group.

With reference to article 4 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which provided an update on the performance of the service as at September 2009.  Attached as an appendix to the report was a performance scorecard for the original 23 key performance indicators and the three additional measures of performance which had previously been agreed.  The scorecard showed recent performance trends as at September, 2009, in relation to the areas of resources management, impact, business processes and organisational development and also provided targets, where available.  The report provided details of the highlights of the month’s performance report which included sickness absence which was considerably lower than targeted and all targets for reductions in violent incidents against school staff in 2008/09 having been met. 

Attached as a further appendix to the report, was more detailed information in relation to the targets noted on the performance scorecard which provided a definition of each measure, graphical representation of the performance, longer term trends of performance, analysis of what each performance meant, and recommended actions to be taken for improvement.  In relation to target setting, the report noted that as part of the normal management of performance, it was appropriate to formally review the service target set for the key performance measures for the 2009/10 year and beyond.  It was noted that the review of targets would follow the principles of SMART and that each target would be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the trends in performance;  and

(b)       instruct that quarterly reports be presented to Committee as part of the Education, Culture and Sport public performance reporting framework.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request that a target be set in relation to item 6.1 (% of Internal Audit recommendations completed);

(ii)        to note that in relation to item 7 (The Proportion of Schools Receiving Positive Inspection Reports) reports on inspections would be submitted as and when inspections were carried out, and requested that information on inspections be split into primary and secondary;

(iii)       to request that the target for item 1 (Average Number of Days Lost Through Sickness Absence) be altered to 10, in line with the target of other Committees;

(iv)       to note that a briefing relating to item 10 (Primary and Secondary Pupil Attainment for Reading, Writing and Maths) was taking place on 7 December, 2009;  and

(v)        in relation to item 12 (Proportion of School Leavers in Positive and Sustained Destinations) to request that reasons be provided for those who were not in positive and sustained destinations and that a breakdown by ASG also be included.

With reference to article 5 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a joint report by the City Chamberlain and the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which provided information on the current total service budget and the current year revenue budget performance to date and advised on areas of risk and management action.

The report noted that at the present time, areas of risk which had been highlighted were:-  Out of Authority Placements;  Pupil Support Assistance;  Free School Meals;  Pupil Role Changes;  the Sports Trust;  Transferred Budgets from other Services;  and Sports Income.  In relation to current year savings, a reduction in overall staff costs for Bucksburn Academy, Mile End, Heathryburn and Manor Park Schools, which were 3Rs new and combined schools, would result in savings for 2009/10 of £185,000 from school rationalisation to be accrued by reduction in teaching and non-teaching staff costs.  The projected out-turn however was estimated to be  £94,000, which was a shortfall of around £91,000, largely due to the Mile End new school completion date being delayed from August 2009 to February 2010 due to the refinancing which had to be undertaken.  Other contributing factors included Heathryburn completion being delayed by three weeks and the appointment of the Head Teacher at Bucksburn Academy 1.5 months earlier than anticipated.  In relation to making up the shortfall, the report noted that the recruitment of a Depute Head Teacher at Mile End following retirement would be deferred until 2010, and the rest of the balance would be offset against the uncommitted budget from the general learning and leisure budget account.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       consider and note the report and the information on management action and risks contained within it; and

(b)       instruct that officers continue to review budget performance and report on service strategies as required to ensure a balanced budget.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request that a report on the pooling of the Education, Culture and Sport and Social Care and Wellbeing Budgets in relation to Out of Authority placements be submitted to the Committee in January, with a full report including options on how to provide suitable facilities within Aberdeen to be submitted to the Committee in February;

(ii)        to request that details of the 7.7% projected variances in the budget of the Operational Support Manager be circulated to the Committee by the end of the week; 

(iii)       to request details of how projected variances in the 2009/10 budget were to be dealt with be submitted to the next Committee;  and

(iv)       to otherwise approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 6 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport and the City Chamberlain which provided an update on the progress being made on the various projects within the Non-Housing Capital Programme, which were aligned to Education, Culture and Sport Services.  Attached as an appendix to the report was a detailed list of the Non-Housing Capital Programme Project which provided the spend to date to the end of September, 2009, including forecast outturn, for each project in the budget for 2009/10.

The appendix contained information on projects which were divided into separate categories, namely schools estates; schools – ICT; schools – other equipment; sports; culture and leisure; parks; and other.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee consider and note the content of the report in relation to the projects outlined in appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request that the total spend for each project be included in all future reports; 

(ii)        to note that a report on any projected overspend, including details of the causes and any mitigation required, would be submitted to a future meeting and to request that officers ensure that all figures being reported were accurate and up-to-date;

(iii)       to note that costings for the repair of heating and ventilation at Old Machar Academy were currently being calculated and that a capital bid would be submitted in due course;  and

(iv)       to otherwise note the information.

With reference to article 11 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which brought forward seven applications from the Council’s Grant Support for Interim Travel Arrangements, which were set out as follows:-

The report outlined that should the applications be approved, a total of £2,100 from the annual travel grants budget would now be allocated, leaving a balance of £10,460.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the travel funding applications.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which brought forward applications for financial assistance from sports organisations within the city.  The report advised that should the recommendations be approved, a balance of £37,526 would remain in the sports budget for the year 2009/10.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to award funding of £1,400 to St. Machar School of Football to support the cost of swimming pool hire for the provision of hydrotherapy sessions once a week as part of the school of football programme;  and

(ii)        to award funding of £500 to Granite City Badminton Club in order to offset some of the costs incurred in the development of the youth section of the badminton club. 

With reference to article 13 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee received an oral update from the Communities Manager on the consultation which had been undertaken with stakeholders in relation to the community learning hubs and review of community centres and community learning and development activity.  The Committee were advised that trade unions, staff, community centres, community groups, community centre management committees and consultations with leased community centres had all been undertaken in the past few weeks.  It was noted that there was to be one additional consultation session in the following week where a revised version of the community centre lease was to be discussed.  The Committee were advised that the feedback which had been received had been a mix of positive and negative comments, in addition to alternative options being proposed throughout the consultation process.  A briefing for the Civic Forum was also scheduled to take place in the next week and a briefing for elected members had been held the previous day. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the information and the extensive consultation which had been undertaken;  and

(ii)        to thank the officers for their work.

With reference to article 19 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee received an oral update from the Head of Service (City-wide Lead for Schools) on the transporting of pupils as a result of the Kaimhill School to Braeside School decant.  The Committee were advised that transportation by bus from Garthdee to Braeside was continuing to be popular and that this was unlikely to change during the winter season.  The Committee were advised that the promotion of walking to school was continuing and there would be a particular emphasis placed on this during spring, as the weather improves.  The Head of Service advised the Committee that details were available in relation to the times, routes and usage levels of the buses and that this would be circulated to the Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that the information on routes, times and usage levels would be circulated;  and

(ii)        to note the information.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which advised that the job matching in schools procedure, which had been agreed by the Policy and Strategy (Education) Committee on 29 April, 2008, (article 7 refers) made reference to an agreed protocol to determine the future deployment of any staff placed on the excess staffing list.  The report which the Committee were being asked to consider was recommending a protocol for the management of excess teaching staff.

The report noted that where possible, excess teaching staff would be transferred into vacancies within other schools and that where this was not possible, voluntary means of reducing the workforce would be sought.  If no other options were available, it was noted that the protocol allowed for compulsory redundancy to be applied.  The report advised that full consultation had been carried out with the teaching trade unions and the draft of the policy had been discussed at the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers.  The report advised that the teachers’ side of the LNCT had agreed the draft protocol, subject to agreeing the managing redundancy procedure.

A copy of the protocol on the management of excess teaching staff was attached as an appendix to the report.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the protocol on the management of excess teaching staff.

The Convener moved, seconded by the Vice-Convener:-

            that the recommendation in the report be approved.

CouncillorLaing moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Cooney:-

            that the Committee do not approve the protocol on the management of teaching staff until such time as the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers reach agreement in respect of the Managing Redundancy Procedure.

On a division, there voted:-  for the motion (12) – the Convener;  the Vice-Convener;  and Councillors Corall, Cormack, Leslie, McCaig, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, Kevin Stewart and Kirsty West;  and Peter Campbell;  for the amendment (8) – Councillors Allan, Boulton, Collie, Cooney and Laing;  Mumtaz Abdullah, Grant Bruce and Stewart Duncan;  declined to vote (1) – Councillor Farquharson; and  absent from the division (1) – Councillor Wisely.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the terms of the motion.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which provided a background on the Concordat commitment to expand pre-school education entitlement from 475 hours to 570 hours.  The report advised that the Scottish Government had indicated its intention to amend the Statutory Order which currently governed entitlement, so that the Council would have a statutory duty to implement the increase in August 2010.

The report set out the approach which the Council would take to implement the increase in hours, by increasing from 2.5 to 3 hours per day and offering families either 5 morning or 5 afternoon sessions. Three staffing options were also set out in the report to provide this cover and were as follows:- 

Staffing Option 1 – This option would base pre-school nursery staffing on the current arrangements, which were to have a teacher and a nursery nurse in all nursery classes with two adults for every 20 children and it was considered that this option would deliver the best outcomes for all children in all schools.  It was noted that 17 additional teachers would be required for this option. 

Staffing Option 2 – This option would include reducing the number of teachers and replacing them with a nursery nurse where settings allowed for this change and it was noted that this model would create a differential across primary schools and the nature of both teaching staff and nursery nurse jobs would change.  This could result in nursery nurse staff requesting a fresh job evaluation, as this would result in a significant change in their job role and the model would also require a reduction in the number of teachers by 12.5 FTE but an increase of 25 nursery nurses.  Overall, this would be a complete change to the way pre-school nursery is delivered and would require careful management, additional staff training and an appropriate lead in time.

Staffing Option 3 – This would involve retaining the current staffing arrangement of a teacher and nursery nurse in each class in all schools, in addition to the provision of additional nursery nurses to cover non-contact time over three sessions.  This option would also result in a significant change in nursery nurse job roles and would require a fresh evaluation. It was noted that this model would change the way in which current delivery of pre-school education was undertaken but would mean that the authority would be taking a consistent approach across all schools.  This option would require 17 additional nursery nurses, training for those recruited to the new posts and revised management arrangements in schools for shared staff, and would therefore entail careful management and lead in time.

The financial implications of all three staffing options were detailed in the report, and details of the implementation of the new proposals in relation to partner provider pre-school provision were also provided.  The report advised that the Council would be required to increase the amount which it issued to partner providers from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which detailed an increase in the number of children and young people receiving free school meals, as a result of changes to entitlement which had been introduced in August, 2009.  The report advised that the Council had a statutory duty under the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Scotland Act 2007, to provide free school meals to all those eligible in primary, secondary and special schools in the city.  The report advised that from August 2009 pupils became entitled to free school meals if their families received various types of Income Support or met other requirements as set out by the government.  The introduction of free school meals for all primary 1 - 3 pupils was included in the Concordat as part of the negotiated settlement between the Scottish Government and all Local Authorities in November 2007, and the report advised that it was not a statutory requirement and it was for Local Authorities to decide if they were able to offer this additional entitlement.  The report advised that the COSLA Leadership Board remained committed to the joint agreement to introduce the free school meals to primary 1 - 3 pupils within the terms of the Concordat, and that COSLA was continuing to work with the Scottish Government to resolve any difficulties that some Local Authorities had identified they would have in implementing the policy as a result of the recent economic downturn and local budget pressures. 

As agreed by the Resources Management Committee on 16 June, 2009 (article 23 refers), a number of initiatives had been implemented by the Council to improve the uptake of free school meals, including the production of a new leaflet, advertising on the council website and the Dialogue Youth website and publicity in local press and schools identifying and encouraging parents who they think would be eligible to apply.  Analysis which had been carried out in September 2009, suggests that 120 additional primary and 146 secondary pupils registered for free school meals as a result of the increase in entitlement but it was noted that these figures were significantly lower than the 1500 projected uptake which had been reported to the Resources Management Committee. The report went on to note that as a result  of research which had been carried out with schools when consulting on the report, some parents were still not aware of the change in entitlement and it was agreed that further work would be required to advertise the changes and improve uptake.  The report further advised that based on the early indications, the numbers were lower than predicted in the June report and that therefore the additional costs to meet the change in the statutory entitlement from August 2009 would be met from within the existing free school meals allocation from the Scottish Government.

The report advised that Facilities Management had carried out a detailed review of current school meals provision in primary schools, where the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which set out the options for the Council to meet the commitment set out in the Concordat between the Scottish Government and COSLA which included a commitment to “as quickly as possible, reduce class sizes in primary 1-3 to a maximum of 18”.  The report advised that the Scottish Government had announced in September 2009 that Local Authorities were to be given the legal protection to limit primary 1 class sizes to 25 from the start of the next school year in 2010.  It was noted that the Scottish Government was establishing a Class Size Review to examine the variety of rules and regulations which governed individual class sizes across primary and secondary levels, and on how to make them more coherent, giving consideration as to whether primary legislation was required.  Details of the existing arrangements for regulation of class sizes were provided in the report and it was advised that the efficient configuration of classes within each school, based upon the number of pupils in each year group, was carried out using software licensed to Aberdeen City Council.

The two main implications of reducing class sizes and the resultant increase in the number of classes in schools were the requirement to increase teacher numbers and the requirement to provide additional accommodation.  The report noted that seven different options had been put forward and that the financial implications of options 1-4 had been calculated and were also included in the report.  The impact of staffing if city-wide implementation was carried out was also provided for options 1-4 and it was noted that across all schools, the additional classes in options 2 and 3 could be accommodated within the existing buildings in approximately 40 of the 48 schools and that 8 schools would require additional accommodation.  Under option 4, approximately 20 schools would require additional accommodation to be provided.  The impact of staffing if the options were implemented in regeneration areas was also provided in the report for options 1, 5, 6 and 7 and it was noted that of the 10 schools included in the regeneration areas the additional classes set out in options 5, 6 and 7 could be accommodated within existing buildings in 6 of those schools.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report and associated papers;

(b)       confirm Aberdeen City Council’s implementation of a maximum class size of 25 at primary 1 stage and commitment to working towards class sizes of 18 in primaries 1, 2 and 3 as soon as possible i.e. Option 1 as set out in the report;  and

(c)        instruct officers to investigate the likely cost of commission development of the software to allow the efficient configuration of class sizes.

The Committee resolved:-

to refer the report to the budget process.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which advised of the Government’s commitment that all pupils in publicly funded schools should receive two hours or more of good quality physical education every week.

The report noted that physical education was a key element in the education of all children and young people in developing physical literacy and the skills and motivation to lead active healthy lifestyles in the future.  The report advised that Aberdeen City schools had made significant progress towards the two hour target over the last few years, but that there was still work required and that there were still schools struggling to deliver enough physical education in all years for all pupils.  Barriers for delivery in many primary schools included limited access to specialist staff, limited access to equipment and restrictions in timetabling or limitations of space.  In secondary schools, it was noted that less progress had been made than in the primary sector, but that an improvement could be seen for all year groups, with barriers to progress mainly being due to timetabling and competing curricular priorities. 

The report noted that it was important that the Council was clear in the expectations on schools in relation to the two hour target, and it was therefore being recommended that an Aberdeen City Council statement was agreed detailing what was expected of schools and that there were no additional resources available to help schools meet the target.   The wording for the statement was suggested as follows:-  “Aberdeen City Council aspires to provide two hours of quality physical education each week for all pupils.  Schools will work towards this, as they are able within existing resources.”

The report went on to advise that there was currently work underway to meet the two hour target and to improve the quality of physical education provision in Aberdeen schools.   It was explained that Basic Moves for staff, a programme devised by the Developmental Physical Education Team at the University of Edinburgh with the aim of the ten hour course was to equip teachers with the knowledge and understanding of how to deliver a developmentally appropriate physical education experience for young children, was being undertaken by teachers across the City.   In the primary sector, it was noted that the Council had been heavily involved in a post graduate 3-14 specialist physical education course in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh.   There were currently 19 teachers either in the programme or who had recently completed the course.   The original pilot group of two teachers were now delivering the physical education programme in their schools and it was noted that where schools did not have a specialist, it was often the case that the graduate or student on the course had an increased responsibility for the delivery of the physical education within the schools.  

The report went on to advise that Fit for the Future, the Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for Aberdeen had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which advised of pupil roll numbers for nursery, primary, secondary and special education sectors for the school session 2009/2010 and their relative impact upon schools teaching staffing entitlements.  

The report advised that provisional school staffing levels for the following school year were calculated each spring, using the estimated number of pupils for the forthcoming session as the baseline.   Adjustments to provisional figures could subsequently be made throughout the summer term as information on projected pupil numbers changed.   The report noted that as part of the annual Scottish Government census, in the primary and secondary sectors the actual roll for the current school session was confirmed in mid-September.   In relation to the number of nursery classes and teachers, this was determined by the annual nursery admissions process managed jointly by the Education Service Managers, and the Strategist for Early Years, Family Support and Child care.  

The report noted that due to the number of primary schools in which a small change in pupil roll impacted on the class configurations in 2009, the criteria which had been agreed in 2007 were now felt to need refinement.   Therefore, from school session 2010, it was proposed that changes to teacher numbers from the estimated staffing figures would only be made if there was a change in the pupil roll from the estimated roll of either 4% of the total roll or ten pupils, where this was possible.   It was noted that this amendment would reduce further disruption to pupils.   The report advised that in the Special Education sector, the pupil numbers may be moderated by Service Managers to take account of variable demand across the year.   Information relating to changes within nursery pupils, the primary sector and the secondary sector were all provided in the report and it was noted that there had been an increase of 4.5 fte in nursery teachers, a reduction of 7.07 fte for primary teachers and a reduction of 4.55 fte in the secondary sector.   In relation to excess staff, the report noted that there would no excess teachers resulting from the adjustments in teaching entitlement in the primary sector and that there were currently 3.4 fte excess teachers within the secondary sector.   The report also provided details of the teacher numbers in relation to the English as an Additional Language service and relief teachers and also noted that in response to consultation of the report, the GMB union had asked that reference be made to the effect of adjustments to the teaching numbers upon staffing formulae for school administrative, clerical and technical staff.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the 2009/2010 pupil roll numbers for the nursery, primary, secondary and special education sectors;

(b)       approve the teaching staffing entitlements for the session 2009/2010 as follows:-

With reference to article 8 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which brought forward an update on the UK City of Culture feasibility study which was currently being undertaken. 

The report outlined that the proposal for Aberdeen was developed by a working group composed of officers and partners from across the city who were all experts in their chosen field and following the submission of the outline proposal, feedback was received which indicated that Aberdeen had the capacity to deliver a UK City of Culture standard programme.

The report went on to advise that the draft initial bid was being developed and was to be presented to the Finance and Resource Committee on 10 December, 2009 for consideration.  The draft initial bid was being developed in order to determine the feasibility of submitting an initial bid and highlighted that the process had already brought a series of benefits to Aberdeen, including increased partnership engagement with organisations and individuals.  The report explained that by developing a bid it had increased the level of public debate and consultation on culture in Aberdeen and local and national coverage had resulted in Creative Cultures Scotland establishing social networking sites with discussion points.

The report concluded by outlining the role of a bid champion as someone who would lead the development of a bid and provide a public voice, and would have the capacity to handle any media engagements.  The report further outlined that should Aberdeen’s bid be short listed in January, the role of the bid champion would develop and involve heading up a senior level strategic team, which would ensure the full engagement of all relevant local, national and international partners in developing a full bid.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       endorse the work completed to date and instruct officers to formally contact external partners in order to finalise the draft initial bid;

(b)       note that a draft initial bid with resource and other implications would be presented to the Finance and Resources Committee of  10 December, 2009;  and

(c)        identify a potential bid champion to lead the bid and endorse offering the position to the appropriate individual.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve recommendations (a) and (b).

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented a request for grant funding for the Aberdeen Visual Arts Awards.  The report outlined that the Aberdeen Visual Artists Awards Scheme was a partnership between the Scottish Arts Council and Aberdeen City Council and the Scheme was established in 2000 to support the work of outstanding Aberdeen-based artists by awarding grants towards the cost involved in researching and creating new work.

The report also outlined that the Scheme would encourage artists to stay in the city and that the existence of the Scheme would raise the profile of Aberdeen-based artists at a local, national and even international level.

The report further advised that in partnership with Creative Cultures Scotland and the Cultural Enterprise Office, the Council proposed to deliver a funding week which would provide a range of information and practical advice on funding streams.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approves £3,000 in cultural grant funding to the Aberdeen Visual Arts Awards;  and

(b)       approves the allocation of up to £5,000 towards a cultural funding week.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve £3,000 in cultural grant funding to the Aberdeen Visual Arts            Awards;

(ii)        that recommendation (b) be not approved.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided an updated on progress on targets that were to be delivered within neighbourhood community action plans across the 37 neighbourhoods in the city for the period April to December, 2009.

The report highlighted that neighbourhood planning had been undertaken across 37 neighbourhoods in the city prior to July 2009 and operated as three teams based in the former Neighbourhood Service Areas of North, Central and South. The report went on to outline that area committees had agreed to receive updates on the implementation of the Neighbourhood Delivery Programmes and that they would be reported twice yearly, namely by way of a six month review in September and an annual review in March. 

The report provided detailed analysis of the review of progress on Delivery Programme targets in the first six months of the financial year 2009 – 2010 and contained within the report was a table which outlined the delivery against targets for each neighbourhood.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the targets delivered for the reporting period.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)                 to note that work was ongoing to identify where Neighbourhood Community  Action Plans would be placed within the new Committee and Council structure; and

(ii)               to otherwise note the progress to date.

The Committee had before it a business case by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sought to establish a relief pool of casual catering assistants to ensure continuity of service for the public service within museums and galleries. 

The business case outlined that (1) the service had employed relief staff in the past as and when required and had a number of individuals in the pool at any one time, (2) that there was currently a need to add to the pool, as the service currently had to employ agency staff to cover gaps in staffing, (3) the use of casual staff would greatly reduce the requirement to use agency staff to augment the provision of service, (4) the number and suitability of applicants would influence the number of staff employed, and (5) the use of casual staff would enable specific training and inductions to be undertaken to ensure the use of a consistent staffing resource. 

The business case went on to outline that should casual catering assistants be employed as opposed to agency catering assistants, a saving of £1,957 could be made annually.  The casual catering assistant would be based on salary grade GO6 at a rate of £10.29 per hour.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the establishment of a number of permanent Casual Catering Assistants (Relief Pool).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to article 20 of the minute of the previous meeting, the Committee had before it a business case by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which proposed that a permanent Bookstart Co-ordinator post be established within the library staffing structure.

The Business Case advised (1) that Bookstart was a national, Government funded initiative which brought workers together from health visitors to early years professionals; and (2) that Surestart funding, which was specifically for 0-3 year olds had been used since 2002 to support this post; 

The business case went on to advise that BookStart helped raise performance, reduced inequalities and would benefit the Council by promoting partnership working to raise attainment and achievement levels, ensuring children, parents and carers were well informed and actively supported to achieve their full potential, be socially inclusive, allowing children to share a better quality of life and increase opportunities for adults and their children and grandchildren to learn together through development of family learning initiatives. 

The report outlined that the Bookstart Co-ordinator position would be established on a part time basis of 18 hours per week on a permanent basis on the salary scale G9.  The maximum full year costs of the proposal, including the on-costs would be £12,192.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the business case

EXEMPT INFORMATION

The Committee resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in the following paragraphs of Schedule 7(A) to the Act:- article 24 (paragraph 6), article 25 (paragraphs 1 and 2) and article 26 ( paragraph 1).

With reference to article 6 of the minute of meeting of the Culture and Leisure Trust Monitoring Working Group of 5 October, 2009, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which provided summary assessments of the operational structures of two cultural organisations which were currently funded by the Council and provided an overview of core issues relating both to the operation of the organisations and their Boards.  

The report related specifically to Station House Media Unit Limited and City Screen (Aberdeen) Limited and it was noted that both the organisations viewed had been assessed in relation to the following areas, namely, Finance, Risk Management, Governance, Management, Development, Customers and Programme.   Both organisations had been asked to provide evidence of their organisational processes in relation to the seven areas which had been assessed and the report also considered each organisation individually in terms of their processes and fitness for purpose, and also provided recommendations for organisational process improvements which would enhance the sustainability and quality of services for the residents of Aberdeen.     

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report; 

(b)       instruct officers to both highlight and discuss with the respective Boards and Elected Members of the funded organisations, potential areas for improvement as highlighted in the main considerations section of the report;  and

(c)        support the Working Group’s recommendation that future frameworks further develop the monitoring of partner organisations commitment to inclusion, transparency and the City’s strategic objectives.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve recommendations.

With reference to article 17 of the minute of meeting of Area Committee (Central) of 19 November, 2008, and article 40 of the minute of meeting of the Resources Management Committee of 25 November, 2008, the Committee had before it a joint report by the Directors of Education, Culture and Sport and Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which discussed the future of Causewayend School and Causewayend School Lodge.  

The report advised that following the decisions at the previously mentioned Committees, the Council had appointed Ryden LLP to prepare a planning brief for the Causewayend site, which specifically considered the potential effect on the market value of the site with regards to the exclusion or inclusion of the school lodge.   On the basis of the report by Ryden LLP, it was recommended that the whole Causewayend School site, including the school lodge, be declared surplus to the requirements of the Education, Culture and Sport Service.  

By way of background, the report advised that the Causewayend School Lodge was currently occupied by an employee of the Council by virtue of the nature of their employment, and that the tenancy of the lodge was not a Scottish secure tenancy due to the fact that it was occupied to allow the employee to ensure the better performance of their duties and because it was also within the boundaries of a building held by the Council for non-housing purposes and consisting of non-housing accommodation.   A background to the tenancy of the Lodge and the potential implications of moving the tenant were included in the report.  

The report went on to advise that the Planning Brief could not be taken forward or opened to consultation until a conclusion on the site had been reached and the Lodge vacated.   The report also noted that as part of the implementation of the Council’s School Estate Strategy, Causewayend School had been closed on 4 July, 2008 and other services that had also been located within the school had now been relocated.  The Education, Culture and Sport Service, therefore, had no identified use for the school.

Attached as an appendix to the report was a map of the Causewayend School and Causewayend School Lodge site.  

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       declare the whole Causewayend School site (as identified in the appendix to the report) as surplus to the requirements of the Education, Culture and Sport Service, with effect from 1 March, 2010; 

(b)       note that suitable alternative tied accommodation for the tenant of Causewayend School Lodge had been identified and that the tenant had expressed an interest in moving to this property;

(c)        consider the situation of the tenant of Causewayend School Lodge and, given the unique circumstances, consider the allocation of a dedicated budget to facilitate the vacation of Causewayend School Lodge before 1 March, 2010, with these costs being met from the existing 2009/10 Education, Culture and Sport budget;  and

(d)       refer this report to the Finance and Resources Committee with the recommendations that:-

            (i  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

The Committee had before it a business case by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which set out details of proposed changes to the Museums and Galleries Service in relation to the budget proposals which had been agreed by Council at its meeting on 17 December, 2008 (article 21 refers).  

The report advised that the Council had agreed to reduce staffing numbers in the Museums and Galleries Service by the equivalent of five full time posts, to achieve a saving of £100,000 in 2009/10.   It was noted that the Museums and Galleries Service had already reduced public opening hours and operational budgets for activities such as exhibitions in 2008/09 and had considerable fixed expenditure on utilities, rates and running costs connected to ensuring that the key historic and cultural venues from which the service operated remained fit for purpose.  It was therefore noted that further savings could now only be achieved through service redesign and a reduction in professional costs.   The report advised that the structure currently operated at ten teams with two individual posts reporting directly to the Art Gallery and Museums Manager, and details of the current structure were attached as an appendix to the report.  

The report advised that the requirement to reduce salary costs would facilitate an opportunity to modernise the Museums and Galleries staffing structure further and create a robust organisation.   It was noted that the redesigned structure ensured continuity of service and also ensured a capacity to respond effectively to users, partners and community groups.   The report proposed that the number of teams be reduced to five, which would result in fewer numbers of staff at a senior level which would result in various benefits including the closer working relationships within new groupings and improved workforce succession planning.   The report further noted that two posts in the proposed structure would remain unfilled in the current financial year, as there was the potential for aspects of these posts to be delivered by the wider Education, Culture and Sport Service and that this would be reported to a future meeting of the Committee.  The report went on to note that seven staff, an equivalent of 4.1 fte, had left the service by 31 March, 2009, through voluntary severance and early retirement and that this had allowed some flexibility in redesigning a new structure and existing vacancies had not been filled to allow a greater degree of flexibility.  

Details of the formal consultation which had been undertaken with staff and trade unions was detailed in the report and it was noted that this had begun in January, 2009 and that there had been substantial consultation and staff engagement through staff briefings, discussions and meetings since that time.  

The report advised that four structural options had originally been developed and considered and that one option had then been chosen to develop further.   Details of the proposed structure, were attached as an appendix to the report.   The report advised that the proposed structure had 67.17 fte  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.