Minutes

The Director: Learning, Skills and Culture submitted a report considering the re-appointment of a suitable candidate to serve as a local authority (LA) governor on the governing body of Wootton St Andrew’s CE Primary School, and the nomination of suitable candidates to serve as LA governors on the governing bodies of Holme Valley Primary School and Messingham Primary School.

Governing bodies were the key strategic decision-making body for schools. It was the governing body’s role to set a school’s strategic framework and to ensure that all statutory duties were met. The Department for Education identified three main duties, which were:

·       ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction

·       holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff

·       overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money was well spent

Local authority governors must have:

·       an interest in the future education and wellbeing of all children

·       the skills and desire to make a difference

·       a willingness to accept responsibility

·       an ability to work in a team, ask questions, listen and learn

·       time and commitment to undertake governor duties

·       a commitment to fulfil the Nolan principles which related to Standards in Public Life.

When a LA governor vacancy occurred, the relevant governing body identified the necessary skills, knowledge and experience that would be required of the successful candidate(s). All potential applicants (including re-appointments) were required to complete an application form identifying their skills, knowledge and experience. The LA nominated suitable candidates to the school and the governing body decided whether the nominee met their requirements. The governing body may choose to reject or appoint the candidate accordingly.

Resolved – (a) That the proposal to nominate for appointment to the governing body of Wootton St Andrew’s CE Primary School, the applicant detailed in Appendix 1, Table 2 to the report, be approved, and (b) that the proposal to nominate for appointment to the governing bodies of Holme Valley Primary School and Messingham Primary School, the applicants detailed at Appendix 1, Table 3, be approved.

The Director: Governance and Partnerships submitted a report seeking approval to change the current process regarding the selection and nomination of local authority (LA) governors.

Following changes to the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) latest revision of the Governance Handbook, the report set out the need to revise the current process regarding the appointment of LA school governors.

The DfE’s statutory guidance for governing bodies made a number of explicit requirements regarding the process, which must be considered by the bodies responsible for the appointment of governors. The guidance must be incorporated into the process for nominating suitable candidates for consideration of appointment by the relevant governing body.

The report gave details of the requirements of the DfE’s statutory guidance, which needed to be incorporated into the council’s nomination process.

In view of this, it was proposed that there was an alteration made to the current appointments process, which was summarised at Appendix 1 to the report. The key changes proposed were as follows:

·       Governor Services matched the skills of the applicant to the LA vacancies for which they had applied to be nominated and nominated successfully matched applicants for consideration by the governing board.

·       The internal mechanism for recommending an LA governor to a school was delegated to an officer decision, which was taken in consultation with the lead member for children.

Resolved – That the new appointment process for local authority governors, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

The Director: Children and Community Resilience submitted a report providing a summary update to the Cabinet Member on the Independent Reviewing Officers Service Annual Report 2020/21, and seeking approval to publish the report as per statutory guidance.

The work of the Independent Reviewing Officers was a statutory function as detailed in the Independent Reviewing Officer Handbook 2010. The Independent Reviewing Service delivered the following functions to all Children in Care within North Lincolnshire:

·       To undertake an initial Child in Care review within 20 working days of a child entering care

·       To undertake further Child in Care reviews within 3 months and thereafter 6 monthly

·       To determine if a review was required following any significant change in a Child in Care’s circumstances

·       To undertake visits to Children in Care to ascertain their understanding of their care plan and to gather their views, wishes and feelings

·       To ratify care plans and offer independent advice and recommendations

·       To fulfil records and decisions distribution requirements 

The Annual Report 2020/21 followed a standard format and set out a range of information about the service, including the extent to which it complied with regulation and best practice, and what the service helped the council to learn about the broader provision for Children in Care. Key points were detailed in the report.

The Annual Report also set out the areas of focus for future work and development in 2020/21.

Resolved – That the key points in the Independent Reviewing Officers Service Annual Report 2020/21 be noted and the report published as per the statutory guidance.

The Director: Children and Community Resilience submitted a report presenting the annual North Lincolnshire Adoption Business Report 2020-2021.

The Adoption Annual Business Report provided information and assurance regarding the effectiveness of adoption in North Lincolnshire and the outcomes achieved for children.

The report provided an overview of the performance and management of the service and outcomes achieved over 2020/21. The agency also worked to the Adoption National Minimum Standards 2014.

It was a requirement of the above standards that an annual adoption business report was produced detailing the management, outcomes, key developments, populations, financial position, challenges, opportunities and plans of adoption in North Lincolnshire. The report was also produced in the context of membership of the Family Adoption Links Regional Adoption Agency.

Resolved – That the positive progress made and further plans for continued development, as set out in the Adoption Annual Business Report 2020-21, be noted.

The Director: Children and Community Resilience submitted a report presenting the annual North Lincolnshire Fostering Business Report 2020-2021.

The report provided information and assurance regarding the effectiveness of the fostering service in North Lincolnshire and the outcomes achieved for children.

The Fostering Service operated within the Fostering Services Regulations 2011, Care Standards Act 2000 and The National Minimum Standards (NMS) for Fostering.

It was a requirement of the above standards that an annual fostering business report was produced. The Fostering Annual Business Report 2020 – 2021 reported on the management, outcomes, key developments, populations, financial position, challenges, opportunities and plans of the fostering service in line with the Fostering National Minimum Standard 25.7.

Resolved – That the positive progress made and further plans for continued development, as set out in the Fostering Annual Business Report 2020-21, be noted.