The Committee NOTED the following and AGREED that congratulations be conveyed to those concerned:-

Overall: Avie Watson age 11, Badcaul Primary School
Cat. 1 Class 1-4: Eleanor Hodges, age 8 Lochcarron Primary
Cat 2 Class 5-7 Kat McMillan, age 10, Lochcarron Primary
Cat 3 Secondary 1-2 Shaun Knapper, age 12 Kingussie High
Cat 4 Secondary 3-6 Peter Johnson, age 15, Culloden Academy
Cat 5 Special Needs: Lewis Macleod age 10 Muirtown Primary

Representatives of Lyreco, Pentel & Co and Brother presented the prizes to the winners, and to teachers representing the schools, at a later stage in the meeting.

The Committee congratulated those involved and thanked the representatives of the companies for their sponsorship of the competition and attendance at the meeting.

3.

 

There had been circulated the following reports on Revenue Expenditure

(a) Education, Culture and Sport Revenue Expenditure 2002/03 – Monitoring

Report No ECS1/03 dated 3 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on Revenue Expenditure on the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1st April to 30th November, 2002 and on the projected year end position. The report showed that the projected overspend had now reduced to £295,000.

After some discussion, the Committee NOTED the current position and APPROVED the continued actions outlined in the report.

(b) Allocation of Care and Support Service Budgets

Report No ECS2/03 dated 10 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which set out criteria for the allocation of Area budgets for family resource care and support services with effect from April, 2003. The criteria included weightings for population, deprivation and rurality.

The Committee APPROVED the proposed criteria for the allocation of Area budgets for family resource care and support services.

Arising from the discussion, the Committee also AGREED that:-

(i) reports to be submitted to Area Committees give consideration to how to reflect the needs of small schools which suffered deprivation within a larger catchment area; and

(ii) a report be submitted to a future meeting on possible other indicators which might be used e.g. unemployment figures and areas of low wages and seasonal unemployment.

4.

There were circulated the following reports on Capital Expenditure:-

(a) Capital Programme 2002/03 – Monitoring

Report No ECS3/03 dated 15 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on expenditure on the Education, Culture and Sport Service Capital Programme for the period 1st April to 30th November, 2002.

The Committee:

(i) NOTED the content of the report; and

(ii) APPROVED the continuation of the partnership working with ESA Mackintosh on Science Laboratory Refurbishment and the progressing of refurbishment works to Kingussie High School and Invergordon Academy.

(b) Property Developments with regard to Early Years Provision

Report No ECS4/03 dated 6 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport seeking endorsement of proposed priorities for property developments with regard to early years provision taking into account the projected fall in the number of 3 and 4 year olds in many Highland communities, the funding position, and proposed developments over the next 10 years as part of PPP2. The criteria would be used to prioritise provision for the small number of communities where accommodation did not exist or where it was not appropriate for long-term use.

In discussion, reference was made to the need to consider the wider issue of childcare and after school provision through community planning; to set clear standards of provision for outside play areas and to have further discussions with the community about the development of nursery and other provision in Tain. In reply to a question the Local Member also gave clarification of the position with regard to the accommodation used by the playgroup in Conon Bridge.

5.

It was recalled that there were a number of proposals within the 21st Century School Improvement Programme (PPP2) where the site for a new school had not been identified in the original consultation exercise. Officials had, however, now identified sites for the proposed new schools and it was necessary to commence formal consultations.

In light of the timescale and as it was hoped to submit the results of the consultations to the March meeting of the Committee, the Committee AGREED that there be a departure from the normal procedures whereby consultative papers were approved by the Area Committee and that in relation to the proposals within PPP2 where the site for a new school had not previously been identified, it be remitted to the Director in consultation with the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Area Education Portfolio Holder and Local Member to approve the consultative papers prior to their being issued.

In discussion, points raised included the following:-

6.

There had been circulated Report No ECS5/03 dated 7 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which updated Members on the development of the Nursery Clusters pilot project during the current school session. There were at present 12 nursery clusters operating across Highland, details of which were given, each being designed to meet local needs in terms of the number of council nurseries and voluntary or private centres involved and the number of pupils on the roll. As it was unclear whether this model of nursery clusters could be extended fully across Highland, it was proposed that the second phase of the development progress the Nursery Co-ordinator Teacher model in a further 15-20 clusters, subject to local discussion, negotiation and planning.

After some discussion, the Committee AGREED:

(i) to note the current developments in relation to the Pilot Programme for Nursery Clusters;

(ii) that consultation with stakeholders on the development of phase 2 be progressed; and

(iii) that officers progress these developments according to the timescales in the report in order for implementation to take place in school session 2003/04.

7.

There had been circulated Report No ECS6/03 dated 14 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on the Standards and Quality report which provided the Committee and school boards with an overview of the progress that Highland schools were making in terms of standards and quality of education provision and identified points for action. The report was structured to provide information on the five improvement themes of the Education, Culture and Sport Service Plan which also reflected the National Priorities for Education.

The school performance data on the performance of Highland schools in 5-14 national tests, SQA examinations and on pupil absence rates, which the Authority was statutorily required to publish on an annual basis and which appeared in individual school brochures, was tabled. This would form an appendix to the Standards and Quality report.

Following a presentation by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, points raised in discussion included the following:-

The Committee ENDORSED the Standards and Quality report and AGREED that copies be distributed to school boards, schools and libraries for their interest.

It was also AGREED that:-

(i) advice be given to primary headteachers on how and when best to do tests and on the targets set;

(ii) parents be reminded of the need to ensure that children attended school regularly; and

(iii) the issue of the role of school boards in relation to attainment be raised through the Area Education Forums and other means.

8.

There had been circulated Report No ECS7/03 dated 6 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on a proposed partnership arrangement with the UHI Millennium Institute to support the implementation and evaluation of the development of better integrated children’s services in Highland, including the roll-out of the New Community Schools Approach. The proposed partnership arrangement, which had been endorsed by the Joint Committee on Children and Young People, would support the Council’s own evaluation processes.

9.

There had been circulated Report No ECS8/03 dated 13 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, together with accompanying paper which outlined some of the key challenges facing the Highlands in relation to Health. It identified how well placed the Education, Culture and Sport Service was to play an influential role in helping to address matters. The paper included proposed targets for the sort of long term, generational change required and asked for a holistic, planned and co-ordinated approach to improving the health of the Highlands.

The Director introduced the following partners in promoting health in the Highlands:- Dr J Wrench, Director of Public Health and Health Policy NHS Highland; Ms C Steer, Health Promotion, NHS Highland; Ms L Graham, Health Promoting Schools Development Officer; and Ms C King, of the Wellbeing Alliance. He then gave a presentation setting out the background to the paper, the challenges to be faced and developments already taking place in the Highlands. He stressed that the targets were long-term and would only be achieved in partnership with other agencies.

In discussion, points raised included the following:-

Dr J Wrench and Ms C Steer spoke in support of the report indicating the willingness of NHS Highland to work with the Council and provide resources as appropriate in promoting better health in the Highlands. They pointed out that the policy complemented work being carried out by NHS Highland and referred to some of these developments and to major issues affecting health.

The Committee AGREED to:

(i) take on board the comments made by Members on the Paper "Towards a Healthier Highland";

(ii) support the targets set out in Section 4 of the Paper;

(iii) support an inter-agency promotional campaign to raise awareness of the need for Health Improvement and Lifestyle Change;

(iv) seek an end of year review in December 2003 on the progress towards the improvements; and

(v) consider a joint launch of the paper with the annual NHS report on Public Health.

10.

Members were referred to item 6 of the agenda for the meeting of the Housing and Social Work Committee on 22 January, 2003 which was a report by the Director of Social Work outlining the findings of the National Child Protection Audit and Review. It was proposed that the findings of the report be considered by the Child Protection Committee.

11.

There had been circulated Report No ECS9/03 dated 7 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport updating Members on discussions with the Board of Caledonia Community Leisure Limited (CCLL) on implementing the findings of the Genesis Consultant’s Study on the management and operation of the Inverness Sports Centre and Aquadome. The report recommended that the implementation of a "Service Support" option had made progress, along with the implementation of a revised staffing structure and changes to the make up of the CCLL Board. The report also advised Members of the additional levels of subsidy required for CCLL in financial years 2001/02 and 2002/03.

Following discussion, during which it was suggested that a recommendation relating to delegated approval of future subsidies be deleted, the Committee AGREED:-

(i) to confirm its agreement to the conclusion of discussions with CCLL;

(ii) to the progressing of the staffing structure changes;

(iii) that the changes to the Board coincide with the Council elections in May 2003;

(iv) to approve £49,113 additional subsidy to CCLL in respect of financial year 2001/02; and

(v) to refer to the Budget Working Group the issue of approving additional subsidy to CCLL totalling £350,000 in the current financial year.

12.

There had been circulated Report No ECS10/03 dated 7 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented the ten proposed new targets for the National Strategy for Sport, Sport 21. It included initial comments, based on points raised at a public meeting on 10 December, 2002, which had been returned to sportscotland by the deadline of 17 January 2003 and sought Members’ comments for additions or changes to the initial submission.

13.

There had been circulated Report No ECS11/03 dated 13 January, 2003 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which set out the latest position in implementing the McCrone Agreement on teachers’ pay and conditions and identified some issues which required further action. The report provided information on the underfunding of the McCrone Agreement, McCrone Newsletters, the Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff, the Induction Scheme for Teachers, the 35 hour week, reducing workload, promoted post structures, job sizing and the winding down scheme.

14.

The Committee NOTED:-

(i) Minutes of Meetings of Inverness Highland 2008 held on 23rd October and 9th December, 2002; and

(ii) Minutes of a Meeting of the Education Transport Appeals Committee held on 14th November, 2002;

and APPROVED

(i) Minutes of Meeting of the Gaelic Working Group held on 7th November, 2002; and

(ii) Minutes of the first Annual General Meeting and ordinary meeting of the Highland Council Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff, both held on 26th November, 2002.