Agenda and decisions

These will be recorded in full in the minute.

This will be recorded in the minute.

(i)       in relation to article 7(i), to note that the Clerk would re-share the information circulated from officers on the outline process for the work set out in the Northfield Primaries report with Councillor Blake; and

(ii)       to approve the minute as a correct record.

(i)       to agree to remove items 10 (Inspection Reporting – Inspection of Regulatory Care Services); 32 (School Estate Plan - Victorian Schools - feasibility study & options appraisal); 58 (School Estate Plan - Harlaw Academy Improvements - feasibility study); and 59 (School Estate Plan - Ferryhill School - feasibility study) for the reasons outlined in the planner; and

(ii)       to otherwise note the planner.

(i)       to note that officers would circulate the Queen’s Cross Nursery action plan to Members outwith the meeting;

(ii)       to note that the link at section 3.8 of the report was broken and that officers would circulate a new link to Members after the meeting;

(iii)      to note the content of the report; and

(iv)      to instruct the Interim Chief Officer – Education and Lifelong Learning to continue to support Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings and schools to implement continuous improvement in keeping with the Quality Improvement Framework agreed at Committee in July 2023.

to note the report.

(i)             to note that Mike Paul could present learning to the Committee on the trial Bucksburn Academy were undertaking;

(ii)            to note the content of the report;

(iii)          to instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to work with Trade Unions to co-deliver the Action Plan in Appendix B;

(iv)          to delegate authority to the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to make any amendments necessary, in consultation with Trade Unions, following the publication of the National Behaviour Plan and update Members of any changes through Service Update;

(v)           to instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to update on progress against the Action Plan through the established performance management reports;

(vi)          to acknowledge the challenges related to children's wellbeing, which can impact the behaviour of children and young people in school settings;

(vii)         to thank education staff for their flexibility in supporting children and young people with impaired wellbeing and acknowledge how challenging this can be;

(viii)       to thank the EIS, GMB and others; for their continuing constructive engagement with Aberdeen City Council on improving our school environments to create safe and nurturing settings for all;

(ix)          to instruct the Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to continue constructive engagement with Unions and others; such as those with an interest in the provision of supports for those with additional support needs including local organisations and the Northfield Advisors, to allow a continuous improvement journey in all of our schools;

(x)           to instruct the Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to review the adequacy of the current allocation of pupil support staffing and provision of specialist placements across the city;

(xi)          to further instruct the Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to consider the output of (ix) and (x) and report options for consideration back to the Education and Children’s Services Committee within three cycles;

(xii)         to instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to include in the annual School Estate Plan update a workstream to evaluate the physical ASN provision in individual settings and include a timescale within the plan on when recommendations on potential space for future ASN purposes could be brought forward;

(xiii)       to instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to continue to work in collaboration with Trade Unions to deliver and evaluate the impact of the agreed Action Plan on children, young people and staff;

(xiv)       to note that Head Teachers remind staff of agreed school behaviour policies and procedures on the first in-service day;  and instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to seek assurance from Head Teachers of the percentage of staff given the opportunity to engage with this;

(xv)        to instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to report the number of staff who complete the Maybo training as part of the regular update on progress against the Action Plan;

(xvi)       to note that Aberdeen City Council was leading the way on driving innovative positive change in various areas within Education  ...  view the full decision text for item 10.1

(i)       to note that officers were considering issuing communication to parents around social media and the use of devices, similar to the attendance communication which had previously been issued;

(ii)       to note the content of the report and the data shared within Appendix A;

(iii)      to instruct the Interim Director Families and Communities to consider the findings of the report and plan next steps as part of work being taken forward through the Children’s Services Plan and associated National Improvement Framework Plan;

(iv)      to instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to report the findings of the next Health and Wellbeing surveys to Committee within one calendar year;

(v)      to thank all involved in the ongoing work to support children and young people in achieving better health and wellbeing;

(vi)      to note and welcome the considerable amount of positive interventions in place which were effectively helping and nurturing young people in the city;

(vii)     to note and welcome the significantly increased participation from young people in the latest annual SHINE surveys and instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to work with Head Teachers to encourage participation in future surveys;

(viii)    to note and welcome the continued signs of improvements in indicators relating to loneliness, body image, general health, self-harm, low mood;

(ix)      to note the value of the Family Stress Model in identifying emotional, economic and social pressures which affect the wellbeing of children and young people in their home, local and learning environments; and

(x)      to note with concern evidence that indicated that the current cohort of S4 girls were generally outliers in the improvement journey; and, therefore, instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to give this issue special focus and undertake further targeted work on supportive solutions; with information on actions and outcomes reported back in the agreed report at (iv).

(i)       to note the progress made in delivering Phase 1 of ABZ Campus and advanced plans for Phases 2 and 3 which aim to further broaden the curriculum offer for young people in the Senior Phase in Aberdeen City Council schools;

(ii)       to instruct the Interim Chief Officer – Education and Lifelong Learning to support the roll out of Phase 2 and 3 of ABZ Campus;

(iii)      to instruct the Interim Chief Officer - Education and Lifelong Learning to report back on progress including a full review of the impact of Pathways Advocates within one calendar year;

(iv)      to note that officers would however investigate the possibility of bringing an interim evaluation of the impact of Pathways Advocates to Committee, or potentially bringing the full evaluation at an earlier stage than 2025;

(v)      to instruct the Interim Chief Officer – Education and Lifelong Learning to report back with a method for providing an overview of participation and achievements in ABZCampus; and

(vi)      to welcome and congratulate the innovative, effective outcomes reported in Phase 1 of ABZCampus and thank all staff and partners for working together positively on increasing learning opportunities for young people as Phases 2 and 3 are developed.

(i)       to request that officers invite Aberdeen for a Fairer World to either give a presentation to Committee or provide a workshop to Members;

(ii)       to note that officers were giving consideration as to how to encourage applications from all secondary schools for the roles of Youth Climate Change Presidents and Vice Presidents;

(iii)      to note the summary of events that took place in schools to educate children and young people about Climate Change, Biodiversity and the drive towards Net Zero in session 2023-24;

(iv)      to note the work of the Youth Climate Change Group;

(v)      to instruct the Interim Chief Officer - Education and Lifelong Learning to report back on progress via committee report within one calendar year;

(vi)      to express sincere thanks to the Youth Climate Change Group and all involved in school-based green projects for their important contribution towards achieving net zero targets and environmental wellbeing;

(vii)     to instruct the Interim Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning to continue to support the Youth Climate Change Group and all environmental activities in school settings by developing the partnership work with the Hutton Institute, Keep Scotland Beautiful, Aberdeen For a Fairer World, and others and report back on progress in the above-mentioned report; and

(viii)    to agree to recommend to the Youth Climate Change Group that, in consultation with the Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning, they allocate funding contained in the 2024/25 Council revenue budget, across the eleven ASG localities; with the requirement that each ASG reports back within seven months to the Chief Officer Education and Lifelong Learning with an evaluation that details how funds have been spent, comments from participating pupils and teams about the biodiversity, sustainability and outdoor learning aims that their projects have aimed to address, photographs and comments from pupils on how they think green projects and outdoor learning should develop in the future in their area and in the city.

(i)       to note the update of progress and the Scottish Government grant award for 2024/25 to support delivery of our Bairns Hoose;

(ii)       to instruct the Chief Officer, Children’s Social Work and Family Support / Chief Social Work Officer to provide an update on progress as appropriate during 2024/25; and

(iii)      to instruct the Chief Officer, Children’s Social Work and Family Support / Chief Social Work Officer to arrange a visit for Elected Members to view the Bairns Hoose upon completion of the build.