Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence and to note the attendance of any substitute members.

There were no apologies for absence

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests and the nature of that interest, including the existence and nature of the party whip, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting. Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days. Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting. There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

Cllr Smith declared an interest as his spouse is employed as a teacher at a school in the Bracknell Forest.

To receive submissions from members of the public which have been submitted in advance in accordance with the Council’s Public Participation Scheme for Overview and Scrutiny.

No submissions had been made by members of the public.

Discuss and agree the scope for the review into transition so this can be presented to the overview and scrutiny commission on 17 October for approval. 

The chair of the education, skills and growth overview and scrutiny panel introduced the reasons for the review into transition.  This was to investigate if children and young people have support to make good and timely career choices after secondary school.  It was anticipated that the review could investigate whether adequate apprenticeships were available in the borough and that sufficient and relevant information about them was available to young people.  Discussion about the scope focussed on the following points:

·        Head of Standards, Education and Learning provided some participation data for year 12 and 13 pupils and the number of young people taking up apprenticeships was discussed.  A question was raised about the varying percentage of people taking up apprenticeships across the two cohorts.  It was agreed that this would be worth looking into during the review.

·        The different levels of apprenticeships and their availability were discussed and it was noted that understanding what the marketplace in this area was like would be a worthwhile point to look into further.  There was a concern raised that the different levels of apprenticeships weren’t always being differentiated in terms of teaching provision.

·        It was agreed that it was important that the review looked into the most vulnerable pupils in the borough and it was suggested to interview the Elevate Team who support some of these pupils.

·        A question was asked about whether there was a sixth form heads meeting.  Head of Standards, Education and Learning confirmed that there used to be a network that the local authority was involved in, but this no longer exists.  Liz Cook, the headteacher at Kings Academy Easthampstead Park is the headteacher representative for secondary schools during meetings with the local authority.  An action for Head of Standards, Education and Learning was to follow up if there was a forum or a way that the panel could engage with Liz Cook regarding transition.

·        Further data around post 18 destinations was requested and taken away as an action for Head of Standards, Education and Learning.

·        Student satisfaction data for the whole cohort of pupils was not available.

·        A breakdown of apprenticeship data to show what fields young people went into was requested. 

·        A previous scrutiny review into apprenticeships, completed in 2021, was discussed and it was agreed that a review of the recommendations from this would form part of the transition review.

·        Looking into what influences a young person’s decisions around career pathways was discussed with a focus on the most vulnerable. It was felt that some young people may be overlooked and end up in a cash economy working for family or friends. This point was added to the scope as one of the objectives with a focus being on how young people make good choices.

·        In addition to obtaining the view of young people it was proposed that that scope also considers obtaining the views of parents.

·        The scope was agreed and unanimously voted on and would be presented at the overview and scrutiny commission on 17  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.