Agenda and minutes

The Convener advised the Committee that it was his intention to defer consideration of this item for two cycles and to not consider this item at this meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to defer the item for two cycles, to allow officers more time to consult with relevant groups and to thank officers for the work which they had undertaken to date;

(ii)        to request that a report be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee outlining the issues which the local groups would be consulted on;   and

(iii)       to request that all public meetings and consultations be advertised widely and to note that officers were willing to meet with any local group who wished to discuss the issues.

The Committee had before it requests for deputations from (1) Mr. Ian Fryer of the Portal Community Centre;  (2) Mr. Paul O Connor on behalf of Inchgarth Community Centre;  (3) Ms. Jennifer Butler on behalf of Ashley and Broomhill Community Council;  and (4) Mr. David Henderson on the subject of Woodside Library.  These requests related to article 1 and had been submitted in accordance with Standing Order 10.  A further request had also been submitted by Mr. Gregor McAbery and Mr. Lewis Bainbridge of Ruthrieston Community Council, which had been received after the deadline. 

A further request had also been received from Mr. Paul O’Connor on behalf of Inchgarth Community Centre in relation to article13, which had been submitted in accordance with Standing Order 10.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         not to hear the deputations relating to article 1 due to the item being deferred and to convey apologies to the individuals in attendance at the meeting for the purposes of requesting a deputation;  and

(ii)        to hear the deputation relating to article13 of the minute, at the appropriate point in the meeting.

The Convener highlighted aspects of the Education, Culture and Sport Service ebulletin, and drew the attention of Members to the Committee Information Bulletin which contained a number of informative reports.

The Committee also agreed to view a short film, produced by the Community Learning Team which highlighted areas of good practice in relation to young people, sport, adult learning and capacity building.

The Committee resolved:-

to instruct officers to ensure that all Members of the Council received the Service ebulletin.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of
24 November, 2009. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that in relation to article 1, the new Head Teacher at Mile-end School was Eleanor Shepherd; 

(ii)        to note that the school referred to in article 8 was Oldmachar and not St. Machar; 

(iii)       to request officers to ensure that the capital bid for the repair of heating and ventilation at Oldmachar Academy would be included in discussions at the forthcoming budget challenge meeting;  and

(iv)       to otherwise approve the minute.

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 defer the oral update relating to item 7 (SQA Examination Results) until the next meeting of the Committee, as the recent school closures resulting from snowy weather had prevented officers from obtaining the necessary information;

(ii)        to remove items 9 (Curriculum for Excellence Implementation) and 18 (UK City of Culture) from the Business Statement;

(iii)       to note that the report on the current agenda relating to item 11 (Review of Branch Libraries) had been deferred for two cycles;

(iv)       to request that a detailed report be brought back to the Committee on item 16 (Tied Tenancies) after officers in the  Education, Culture and Sport and Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure services had confirmed which property account the properties were aligned to, and that a short report explaining the background on tied tenancies also be submitted;

(v)        to note that in relation to item 21 (Additional PE Needs in Schools) the reduced provision of PE at Walker Road had been due to the refurbishment work taking place at the school, and that officers would advise Members of the date on which PE would be fully provided again;

(vi)       to note that in relation to Councillor Cormack’s motion on parental involvement, consultation with parent councils was due to begin next week;  and

(vii)      to otherwise note the statements.

“In the light of the restoration and reuse of Marischal College, the second largest granite building in the world, and in recognition of the central role that the granite industry has played in the city’s economic development and in its cultural identity, that this Council agrees to the production of a report with options on how the Council and its partners can properly acknowledge the key contribution that the use of granite has made to the built environment of Aberdeen and the wider North East region.”

Background report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport.

Please note that a colour copy of the leaflet on Aberdeen’s Granite Trail has been circulated to Members separately.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

During consideration of the following item Councillor Cormack declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of Aberdeen City Heritage Trust, but did not consider it necessary to withdraw from the meeting.

Reference was made to article 15 of the minute of Council of 18 November, 2009 wherein the undernoted motion by Councillor Cormack had been referred to this Committee for consideration:-

“That in the light of the restoration and reuse of Marischal College, the second largest granite building in the world, and in recognition of the central role that the granite industry has played in the city’s economic development and in its cultural identity, that this Council agrees to the production of a report with options on how the Council and its partners can properly acknowledge the key contribution that the use of granite has made to the environment of Aberdeen and the wider North East region.”

The Committee had before it a background report on the motion by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which, in summary, advised that (a) the Aberdeen granite industry had developed since the 18^th century, and throughout the 19^th century the industry had expanded and became a world-renowned producer of granite, (b) the industry was very important to the local economy with much of the city constructed from granite (c) many granite quarries existed in and around Aberdeen and the industry had employed 2500 men and boys in 90 firms during the peak of the trade in 1900; and (d) many buildings in Aberdeen were made from granite with Marischal College being the second largest granite building in the world.

The report went on to advise that many books had been produced on the impact of the granite industry in the North East of Scotland and work had been carried out by the Council in regards to bringing the granite trade to the attention of the public.

Attached to the background report was information on the granite trail which detailed the buildings around Aberdeen that had been built using granite.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to agree the terms of the motion; and

(ii)        to note that a full report would be submitted to the next meeting which would contain details of the potential links with local geology, oil companies and the Curriculum for Excellence and would look at partnership working with Aberdeenshire Council to promote the history of granite in the wider area.

Please note that colour copies of all colour pages of the performance report have been circulated to Members separately.

With reference to article 6 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 October 2009.  Attached as an appendix to the report was a performance scorecard for the original 23 key performance indicators, together with three additional measures of performance.  The scorecard showed recent performance trends as at October 2009, in relation to areas of resoures 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 positive feedback from HMIe and Care Commissions inspections as well as feedback on attendances at sports facilities, reflecting a downturn in relation to day facilities although swimming pool admissions were expected to meet targets.

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, an analysis of what each performance meant and recommended actions to be taken for improvement.

Sarah Gear then provided the Committee with additional information in relation to the ranking of the Education, Culture and Sport Service in respect of specific statutory performance indicators, and indicated that targets would be reviewed in due course.

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 Sports Public Performance Reporting Framework.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request officers to ensure that the outturn 2008/09 figures were reflected in the next report and that the current position also be provided;

(ii)        to request that officers use primary colours in the pie charts in future performance reports; and

(iii)       to note that all targets were to be reviewed.

With reference to article 7 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 year revenue budget performance to date and also advised on any areas of risk and management action required.

The report noted that at the present time, areas of risk and potential overspend had been highlighted as:-  Out of Authority Placements; Pupil Support Assistants; Pupil Roll Changes; the Sports Trust; and Sports Income.  The forecast overspend, combining these three areas, was £1.528m, an increase of £177,000 since the last report.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       consider and note the report and the information on management action and risks; 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 officers ensure that the additional staffing resources for accounting in relation to Education, Culture and Sport be put in place as soon as possible and that the Committee be advised when this exercise had been completed; and

(ii)        to request that officers advise Committee members in writing on the Out of Authority placements outturn for 2009/10.

With reference to article 8 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 an update on 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 Projects which provided the spend to date to the end of October, 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 at Appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to thank officers for including the total spend for each project in the report;

(ii)        to note that the overspend on Music School accommodation was due to unforeseen land contamination issues and to support officers in their proposed action to resolve the matter;

(iii)       to note that the overspend in relation to the 3Rs furniture was due to the initial budget allocations being low;

(iv)       to request that a report on the Bucksburn/Newhills new school be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee; and

(v)        to request that a report be submitted to a future Committee on the revenue spend in future years on the 3Rs schools.

The Committee had before it, upon a remit from the Social Care and Wellbeing Committee of 1 December, 2009 (article 9 refers), a request for approval of additional teaching staff within the Education, Culture and Sport service as part of the establishment of an Intensive Community Support and Learning Service for young people as a direct alternative to residential care.  The initiative had been approved by the Social Care and Wellbeing Committee, with the revenue and capital costs for the project subsequently approved by the Finance and Resources Committee  on 10 December, 2009 (article 11 refers).  The report which had been before the Social Care and Well Being Committee was again before members and indicated that four posts of Teacher would be established as part of the project, at a cost of £168,598.

The Convener moved:-

            that the Committee approve additional staffing of four teaching posts within the Education, Culture and Sport service.

Councillor Cooney moved as an amendment:-

that the revenue costs associated with the teaching posts be sanctioned only after the accuracy of the figures quoted, by way of expenditure and savings, had been shown to the satisfaction of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee to be realistic.

The Convener, upon advice from the Head of Democratic Services, and the Directors of Education, Culture and Sport and Social Care and Wellbeing, ruled that this was not a competent amendment.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the establishment of four posts of Teacher within the Education, Culture and Sport service, as part of the intensive community support and learning initiative.

With reference to article 9 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 one application from the Council’s Grant Support for Interim Travel Arrangements, as follows:-

The report outlined that should the application be approved, a total of £14,840 from the annual travel grants budget would now be allocated, leaving a balance of £10,160.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the travel funding application.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to article 12 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 was advised that due to the current time of year and the snowy weather conditions, the school was unable to greatly reduce the number of buses being used, although a reduction from four to three had been implemented, and officers were optimistic that further reductions would be possible as the school year progressed.  The Committee was further advised by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport that she was continuing to undertake interviews with relevant members in relation to this matter and that the financial details relating to the use of the buses would be confirmed and reported to the Committee at its next meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information.

Please note that appendices relating to this item which contain exempt information are listed as item 7.1 on this agenda.

With reference to article 13 of the minute of its meeting of 8 October, 2009, the Committee had before it a report on the outcome of consultation which had been undertaken on options for improved support for leased community centre management committees and also clarification of their relationship with the Council.  The report advised that there were 23 community centres in Aberdeen which were leased to their respective management committees in a variety of different ways and on leases that, by modern standards, were very out of date.  It was noted that of the many hundreds of property leases granted by the Council to third parties, none were similar to the present leases to community centre management committees.  Unusual features of the current leases were highlighted as being that the Council paid all heating and lighting bills and that the Council also paid all line rental charges for telephones.

The proposed new model community centre lease, which was attached as appendix A to the report, had been devised after taking the advice of Brodies, and was a much more comprehensive legal document including many terms and conditions not included in the original community centre leases.  The report advised that the new model lease was similar to the Council’s standard Full Repairing and Insuring lease (FRI) which would require individual management committees to have legal responsibility for fully repairing and insuring their community centre and to meet all normal property costs, including utilities bills.  The report went on the advise that with this model lease, it was intended that each community centre management committee would receive an annual grant from the Council to cover the property costs of their lease plus provide further funding for their core community centre activities through a development grant

The report advised that a consultation had taken place with leased centre management committees in October to outline the content of the report and to obtain views from the community centre management committees.  Various areas for concern had been expressed at the meeting, namely that leased centres and community learning and development centres were two very different centres;  leased centres wanted minimum changes;  and that centres cannot operate as businesses and therefore a commercial lease and financial model were seen as being inappropriate.  A full repairs and maintenance lease was not seen as being an option and so as a result of this meeting a further meeting had been arranged and an alternative lease had been prepared by officers for further consideration.  At a further meeting, the community centre management committees had agreed that the new version of the lease (version B) was a great improvement which would be acceptable with some other changes which were requested at the meeting, however concern was raised with regards to volunteers being required to take on responsibility for maintenance of fire safety equipment and public liability insurance, and the issue was raised as to whether or not the Council could take this on and act on behalf of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

A copy of the Aberdeen City Council Outdoor Learning and Educational Excursions policy and guidance is available in the Members’ Library.  The document can also be viewed using a link at the bottom of the adventure aberdeen webpage – www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/adventureaberdeen

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which advised that two existing Council policies, namely Safety and Good Practice in Outdoor Education and Aberdeen City Council Educational Excursions Policy had been combined to form a new “Aberdeen City Council Outdoor Learning and Education Excursions Policy and Guidance”.  The report explained that the Council’s Safety Policy for adventurous activities had not been reviewed for 10 years and therefore required updating to reflect current best practice and developments in outdoor activities.  Whilst the review of this document was being undertaken, it became apparent that updating and incorporating the Council’s Educational Excursions Policy (2003) at the same time would be beneficial as this would remove any confusion and duplication between the two policies.  The importance of outdoor learning and educational excursions to young pupil’s learning was highlighted in the report, however it was noted that there had been a reduction in the amount of activity over recent years, for a variety of reasons including concerns about health and safety, liability and cost. 

The report advised that the new policy aimed to underline the benefit of outdoor learning and education excursions, and that the associated guidance provided positive support for staff and establishments which would help them build staff confidence and also provided detailed advice and guidance.  It was also intended that the policy would help to simplify the administrative process which was associated with running excursions and therefore make it easier for establishments to provide activities and experiences away from the classroom.  Attached as appendices to the report were (1) the draft introductory pages of the policy document which set out its purpose, aims and rationale; and (2) the draft contents page of the policy and guidance document.

The report recommended:-

(a)       that the Aberdeen City Council Outdoor Learning and Educational Excursions Policy and Guidance be adopted and implemented in all City Council educational establishments for excursions taking place after 1 April, 2010;

(b)       that the Committee agree the policy statement that:-

                        ‘Aberdeen City Council believes that all children and young people should have experience of the outdoors and that, within the purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence, learning outside and excursions beyond learning establishments are key elements of the curriculum’;  and

(c)        that the Council actively encourages educational establishments and learning providers to expand the amount of outdoor learning and educational excursions provided, taking account of available resources.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which detailed a revised methodology to evaluate capacities in primary schools and the preferred option from a range of potential methodologies to evaluate capacities in secondary schools.

The report advised that occupancy was a measure of pupil numbers divided by the capacity of each school and converted to a percentage.  Currently the capacity of each school had been evaluated using an Aberdeen City Council methodology which had been derived from (1) The School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations, 1967;  (2) Management Circular No 19, Glasgow City Council, January 1999;  and (3) Circular 3/2004 - Guidance on Determining School Capacities - Scottish Executive, Education Department, 10 December, 2004 (Appendix 1).

The report noted that the implementation of a Curriculum for Excellence was likely to impact upon the current models, as more flexibility would be required and so the proposed methodologies for Primary Schools and the recommended methodology for Secondary Schools allowed for flexibility.

In relation to primary schools, the report advised that the current methodology was not appropriate for delivering a modern curriculum, as it was based on an equation which identified a minimum room size for a maximum class size.  All primary schools had been visited in June 2009 to establish an accurate evaluation of available space, and details of how the capacity and occupancy figures of each individual school had been calculated were attached as an appendix to the report.  Also attached as an appendix to the report was a blank pro forma used to record the identified spaces within the schools as well as completed pro formas for each school, other than those in the 3Rs Project.  The aspirations which were trying to be achieved in investigating the capacities of schools included ensuring energy efficiency, disability awareness and community involvement.  Details of the guidelines for building new schools in the briefing framework for primary school projects (Building Bulletin 99) were also included in an appendix to the report and expanded on the aspirations detailed in the report.  Due to the wide range of factors which needed to be taken into account for calculating capacity in primary schools, it was not possible to provide a straightforward equation for calculating capacities.

In relation to secondary schools, the report advised that the functional capacity of a secondary school was the number of pupils for whom it could provide adequate and suitable accommodation for an appropriate range of educational experiences bearing in mind the pupils’ curricular, vocational and social needs.  Details of how theoretical capacities and functional capacities for secondary schools were calculated were set out in the report and it was noted that for a school with a theoretical capacity of 1,000, this would mean that an acceptable functioning efficiency would be 61%.  Various methodologies which the Council could implement were set out in the report and the proposals which the Council were being advised to accept included (a) each secondary school being provided  ...  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 a protocol to guide for all stakeholders on the format and arrangements for ceremonies to commemorate events such as the opening of new buildings by formal and/or informal ceremonies.  It was noted that the protocol could also be used in ceremonies to commemorate the closure of establishments, as and when this was deemed as being appropriate.  A copy of the protocol was attached to the report and guidance on the timing, format and programme, guest list, pupil participation, additional participation, invitations, adherence to corporate protocols and notifications for both formal and informal events were included in the procedure.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report and the protocol contained within it; and

(b)       endorse the implementation of the protocol with immediate effect.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         that officers amend the protocol to ensure that members of relevant reference groups should be invited to all opening and/or closing ceremonies as well as group leaders;  and

(ii)        to otherwise approve the recommendations.

The Director will provide an oral update at the Committee on action from the service to address poverty.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of meeting of the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee of 10 September, 2009, the Committee had before it, by way of remit, a copy of the Anti-Poverty Strategy “Achieving Our Potential:  Tackling Poverty and Income Inequality in Aberdeen City”.  The report advised that whilst the strategy had been considered by the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee, all service committees had been requested to consider and comment on the strategy. 

The Director of Education, Culture and Sport, provided an oral update to the Committee in relation to the Directorate action on addressing poverty and the strategy in general.   The Director advised that various on-going initiatives within the Education, Culture and Sport Service would help to take forward the Anti-Poverty Strategy, namely (1) closing the gap;  (2) on-going joint working with Social Care and Wellbeing with the most vulnerable families;  (3) the development and provision of the learning strategy;  (4) ensuring access to learning and community development;  (5) the review of the inclusion policy;  and (6) the review of the indicators and performance reports.  Overall, the Director emphasised that the statutory indicators of multiple deprivation figures were strongly affected by education training and attainment and that this was a key target for improvement in the draft learning strategy and for the service as a whole. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that officers would ensure that the Anti-Poverty Strategy was central to the work of the service, as overseen by the Committee;  and

(ii)        to note the information.

- ANDREW MAY, Convener.