Mr D Mackay
Mr G M Smith
Mr D W Briggs
Mr B Barclay
Mr J Laing
Mr W Fulton

Officials in attendance:

BUSINESS

APOLOgies for absence

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr R W Durham, Mr D Chisholm, Mr P Corbett, Mr T MacLennan and Rev A J MacDonald.

2.       

SUCCESSES

The Committee NOTED the following list of recent successes and AGREED that their congratulations be conveyed to those concerned:-

·       Upper Achintore Primary School Choir had been the only Scottish representative in their class to be invited to the finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth at the Royal Albert Hall in London in July. 

·       Dingwall Leisure Centre had achieved the nationally recognised “Health Choices” award for the work and good food served in their splash café.

·       The Cultural Co-ordinator team had been awarded £20,000 by the Scottish Arts Council “Championing Culture in Scottish Schools” challenge fund for an arts and heritage project with primary schools.

·       Dalwhinnie Nursery had been awarded £1,200 from the New Opportunites Fund towards playground improvements.

·       P6 pupils from Ardersier Primary School had been involved, along with some Nairn Academy pupils, in the Inverness Airport Gateway Arts Project.  The children had worked with a writer and their poems had been published in a book which would be in all the Highlands and Islands airports for travellers to read while waiting for their plane.

·       Michael Aitchison, Invergordon Academy, had been selected to represent Masterclass at a prestigious conference in New Orleans in June because of his innovative Paperless Higher Maths Project which made use of tablet PCs and wireless networking.  Michael would also represent Highland at SETT in September.

·       Cauldeen Primary School (Primary Stages Skene Award) and St Clements School (Inclusive Education) had won through to the Final of the Enterprise in Education National Awards.

·       Pupils from Inver and Cauldeen Primary Schools had won prizes in the UK wide D-Day and Beyond competition.  Their prize consisted of a trip to London in June to participate in the events surrounding the 60th anniversary commemorations of the D-day landings.

·       Sheena MacGillivray of Nairn Academy had been selected for the Global Teacher Support Team to go with the Global Teachers to the Eastern Cape in the summer.

·      Eden Court Outreach Team “Out of Eden” had been invited to represent Scotland in a gathering of youth theatre groups from all over Europe for an international festival of youth theatre in Grenoble in July.

·       The Gaelic CD set produced by Highland Council’s Mairi Mhor Gaelic Song Fellowship in October last year had been so successful that it had now sold out and a second run was available for distribution.  All schools in the Highland area had received a complimentary copy.

·       Inigo Garrido, former Black Isle Media Artist in Residence and his young filmmakers, while not winning any prizes for their animations at the Leeds Film Festival, had now had another film selected for the KidsForKids Festival, a worldwide festival for young filmmakers, taking place in Athens in June. 

·       Struan (S3) and Leuan Scott-Woodhouse (S4) of Glenurquhart High School had been selected to play for Scotland at Under 16 level in hockey.

·       Glenurquhart High School had represented the North of Scotland in the World Wise Scottish Geography Quiz Finals 2004 and had taken third position overall.

·       Charleston Academy Young Enterprise Group, Fully Charged Industries, had won Best Overall Company at the recent Highland finals and would represent Highland at the Scottish Final in Edinburgh in June.

·       Newtonmore Primary School shinty team had recently won the MacKay Cup.

·       Following a successful merge of the Floral Hall and Horticultural Training Centre, the bi-annual grading visit of Visit Scotland/Tourist Board had noted a marked improvement in many areas and had re-graded the facility from 2 to 3 star status.

·       The New Opportunities Fund had now issued authorisation for the Community Sports Facility at Nairn Academy to proceed.   The project would cost a total of £1.34m, with £796,000 of that sum being secured from external funding bodies, and work should start on site within the next 4 to 6 weeks and be complete by spring 2005.

HIGHLAND ARCHIVE STRATEGY

There had been circulated Report No ECS35/04 dated 10 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport outlining progress in implementing the Highland Archive Strategy, summarising the recommendations contained in the final report of the consultants appointed to advise on the proposed Highland Archive Centre, and reporting on visits made to best practice archive centres by members of the Portfolio Holders Group.

(iv)       that reports be submitted to Area Committees on the development of the Area Archives.

4.       

 REVENUE BUDGET

There had been circulated Report No ECS26/04 dated 11 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on Revenue Expenditure on the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1 April 2004 to 30 April 2004.

Mr F D S Black sought information on the current moratorium on the replacement of visiting teachers, referring in particular to the significant cuts which had taken place in PE provision in schools in the Grantown area.  The Director pointed out that the Council had adopted a policy on visiting teachers which established a baseline level for all schools.   The Council were also, however, currently enhancing staffing for all primary schools as a result of the McCrone Agreement and Headteachers would have the opportunity to set their own priorities for this enhanced staffing.  He undertook to discuss the position with Headteachers in the Badenoch and Strathspey Area and with the Area Education Manager and indicated that once the budget position became clearer he would report back on the possible lifting of the moratorium.

CAPITAL REPORT

COMMUNITY USE OF SCHOOLS: PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

There had been circulated Report No ECS28/04 dated 4 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which recommended the co-ordination of the current varying approaches to the management arrangements of community facilities within schools and the relationship with school boards and management committees.  A working group had been established to devise three documents which would make clear the Council’s commitment to community use.  These were Community Use of Schools – Principles of Operation; a Management Agreement between the Council and the local Management Committee; and a sample Constitution for use by local management committees.  The Principles of Operation paper was attached, together with an extract from the sample Constitution showing the proposed composition of a management committee. 

(v)       a report be submitted to the relevant Committee on the roll-out of Broadband and opportunities presented to co-locate businesses and schools.

YOUTH MUSIC INITIATIVE: PHASE 2

There had been circulated Report No ECS29/04 dated 5 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sought approval to submit an application for further funding under the Scottish Executive’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI).  In Year 1 of the initiative the Council had contracted Feisean na Gaidheal to deliver a 3 year programme of traditional music tuition in schools in five Council Areas and an instrumental project in Grantown Primary School.

(v)       make a Strategic Development Funding application to address rurality issues in a remote primary cluster (£30,000).

ADULT LITERACIES

There had been circulated Report No ECS30/04 dated 7 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which summarised the significant progress made by the Adult Literacies Team through the additional funding allocated by the Scottish Executive following the publication of “Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland” in 2001 which stated that as many as one in five adults in Scotland might have difficulties with basic literacy and numeracy.   The funds were disbursed through local partnerships, details of which were given, with Highland Council’s Adult Basic Education Service being the leading provider for adult literacies within the Community Learning Strategy Partnership.  The report outlined the projects funded, professional development and awareness raising training provided and future developments. The Scottish Executive had committed increased funds for adult literacies until 2006.  Funding after that date would depend on the success demonstrated by partnerships and the commitment of local authorities.

(v)        consideration be given to further publicising the availability of Gaelic literacy courses and information be provided on national trends in adult literacy.

CONSULTATION ON THE FUTURE OF AGE AND STAGE: REGULATIONS FOR NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

There had been circulated Report No ECS31/04 dated 6 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport giving details of a consultation on the future of Age and Stage Regulations relating to Standard Grade and other national examinations and detailing a proposed response on behalf of the Council.  The report set out the current position, and recent developments designed to encourage greater flexibility in the curriculum and provide a more flexible approach tailored to the needs of individual pupils.   It was suggested that it was appropriate that arrangements for national examinations matched this flexibility.  The consultation invited comments on five options, details of which were given together with comments on them.  Following consultation with schools and discussion within the Assessment Review Group, the Service had taken the view that Option 4, to replace the age and stage regulations with guidance, would be the most appropriate action.

After hearing the Head of Education Services, the Committee APPROVED the draft response to the consultation paper, indicating that Option 4, which would replace the current age and stage regulations with guidance, would be Highland Council’s preferred option.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF A LIFELONG LEARNING SOCIETY: COLLABORATION BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND FE COLLEGES IN SCOTLAND 

There had been circulated Report No ECS32/04 dated 20 April 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which outlined a proposed response to a Scottish Executive consultation paper on collaboration between Schools and Further Education Colleges in Scotland.  The report detailed the issues for the Council in developing closer joint working with colleges and employers in delivering lifelong learning in the challenging context of Highland.   These issues were already being addressed through the implementation strategy for “Determined to Succeed”, the Vocational and Enterprise Education Initiative.   The report outlined specific points which might be made in the Council’s response in relation to the labour market, funding, support for pupils, student safety, the college environment, choice and selection, accreditation, monitoring and quality assurance, staff development, opportunity and strategic planning.

The Committee APPROVED the draft response to the consultation paper on “Building the Foundations of a Lifelong Learning Society – Collaboration between Schools and Further Education Colleges”.

THE HIGH LIFE LEISURE SCHEME

There had been circulated Report No ECS33/04 dated 7 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on the High Life Leisure Scheme.  This now included all Council leisure facilities and work was underway to bring Lochaber Leisure Scheme and High Life together.  Membership entitled access to all participating facilities on a reciprocal basis and this had been extended to other community pools, including the Aquadome in Inverness.  The Director commented on the increase in participation at the Council’s leisure facilities since the introduction of the scheme, on its contribution towards social inclusion and on the increase in income whereby in 2003/04, for the first time, a small surplus of income over set targets was predicted.  He outlined future developments for the expansion of the use of the High Life card across more facilities and services and pointed out that, for this to reach its full potential, a single central file server and database for the system must be established.   The implications, costs and benefits to all Council Services from improvements in the network were currently being investigated by the Council’s IT Service.

(iii)       that reports be submitted to Area Committees on the operation of the scheme and regular updates be presented to the Committee.

MEMBERSHIP OF SIGMA

There had been circulated Report No ECS34/04 dated 8 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sought approval for the Council to renew its membership of the European Forum for Culture and Proximity (SIGMA).   The European Forum was an organisation with membership taken from the regions of Europe and was dedicated to promoting, within the European Union, a “Europe of the Regions”.  The Council had joined SIGMA in 2001 for a period of 3 years.  It was considered that with 2007 in the pipeline it was particularly important that the Council benefit from European thinking and planning on cultural development.  The Council also had a role in shaping thinking, particularly on the issue of minority languages.

(ii)       HOMOLOGATED the decision of the Chief Executive in consultation with the Convener and Vice-Chairman, to authorise the attendance of the Chairman at an additional SIGMA meeting in Barcelona on 3rd May, 2004.

NORTH HIGHLAND LEADER + PARTNERSHIP: YOUTH PROGRAMME

There had been circulated Report No ECS36/04 dated 7 May  2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which gave details of the wide range of projects supported to date by the North Highland LEADER + Partnership Youth Programme and recommended priorities for the next phase of the project in 2004.  The project aimed to improve the quality of life for young people in the North Highland area.  Appendix 1 to the report detailed the projects supported by the programme in 2003.   As the project was externally funded there were no resource issues for Highland Council arising from the priorities identified for 2004.

The Chairman pointed out that this would be the last meeting attended by Mr W F MacPherson, Community Learning and Leisure Manager, who would be retiring from Highland Council in the near future.   The Committee joined with the Chairman in expressing their appreciation of the work undertaken by Mr MacPherson over the years.   Mr MacPherson replied in suitable terms.

MUSEUMS AND HERITAGE SERVICE LOANS POLICY

There had been circulated Report No ECS37/04 dated 7 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which proposed that the Council adopt a Loans Policy for its museum and heritage services.    At present no standard procedure was in place to deal with loans, nor specified standards to protect both the material and the organisations involved.   The proposed Loans Policy would apply to all museum collection loans to and from Highland Council.

HIGHLAND COUNCIL TENDERS FOR FOODSTUFFS AND PROVISIONS

There had been circulated Report No ECS38/04 dated 10 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which gave details of the recent tendering exercise carried out by the Education, Culture and Sport Catering Services on behalf of the Council’s Corporate Food and Beverage Procurement, outlined the “Food for Life” principles and indicated that the Council wished to participate in a school catering pilot in Strathpeffer Primary School, and proposed a change in purchasing policy to include organic produce within the supply chain to complement the existing supplies and to assist the implementation of the “Food for Life” pilot. 

(ii)        the change to purchasing of organic carrots for Education, Culture and Sport Catering Services.

NORTHERN PERIPHERY PROGRAMME: PARTNER REQUEST

There had been circulated Report No ECS39/04 dated 10 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sought approval to be involved in a European funded research project entitled “The Community Active School as an Innovative Force in Rural Development”.   The Council had been approached by the Nordland Research Institute, Norway and a local authority in Iceland to develop the project which would investigate the effect of community schools on their local area.  The Council was currently involved in other research involving northern periphery countries and the Finance Service was commissioning works on the cost of supersparsity in order to influence the Scottish Parliament’s spending review 2004.  Other ongoing research which would be complemented by the project was the research commissioned to review the implementation of the New Community Schools Approach.  Partners to the project would contribute mainly in kind through the time involved by staff and initial costs for the first part of the project were estimated be no more than £2,500.   Expenses for the second phase although not calculated were not expected to be significant.

The Committee APPROVED the involvement of the Service in the research project.

RESTRUCTURING OF THE BOARD OF HIGHLAND FOOTBALL ACADEMY TRUST

There had been circulated Report No ECS40/04 dated 4 May 2004 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which informed Members of the restructuring of the Board of the Highland Football Academy Trust (HFAT) and sought two nominations for Members  to sit on the Board.

MINUTES OF MEETINGS

The meeting ended at 1.25 p.m.