Education and Children's Services Committee round up
Education and Children's Services Committee, Thursday, December 5
All agenda papers are available to view by clicking here.
Chair of the committee Cllr David Keating welcomed members to the meeting and began by introducing three new members – Cllrs Tracey Smith, Geoff Crowson, and Ann Ross.
Cllr Keating went on to speak about Parent Council sessions regarding the ECS budget proposals; the active schools and community sports annual report, which has recently been published; a Bikeability event at Inverurie Community Campus and Westhill Primary School pupils appearing on BBC Scotland programme Beechgrove Gardens.
Cllr Keating acknowledged and thanked Helen Cox, a foster carer who is retiring after 50 years of changing the lives of youngsters in care.
Education & Children's Services Financial Performance Report 2024/25
Director of Education Laurence Findlay told committee that whilst ECS remains over budget, the number had reduced by £210,000 since the last report.
Discussion included CLD, teacher numbers, teacher recruitment and Chapelton School within the capital plan.
Aberdeenshire Guidance for Deactivating an Early Learning and Childcare Setting
Committee approved guidance for mothballing/deactivating an Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) setting.
The committee had previously approved guidance for the mothballing of primary schools and had requested reports for similar guidance around secondary schools, additional support needs provision and early learning and childcare be developed.
The guidance states there are three scenarios when the decision to mothball/deactivate an ELC setting might be considered: Mothballing of an associated primary school; Review of cluster delivery models and capacity; Other exceptional circumstances – such as persistent staffing issues, failure to meet standards.
An amendment was proposed that would require the committee to agree any mothballing decisions, making the matter a strategic decision rather than an operational one. This was voted against 11 to five.
Education & Children's Services Mid-Year Performance Monitoring Report - April to September 2024
The committee approved the mid-year performance report which covers the activity from April to September.
The report provides an update on how the Education and Children's Services Directorate is contributing to the council's strategic priorities.
Overall, the report showed that most of the measures updated by ECS during the reporting year are performing within target, with some areas for improvement.
Discussion included Foundation Apprenticeships, Community Learning and Development, and recognising the achievement of care-experienced youngsters.
Scrutiny Referral from Audit Committee - Internal Audit Report 2432 - Children with Disabilities
The report relates to the delivery of social work services on the council's arrangements for arranging care for children with disabilities via contracts and direct payments.
Audit Committee requested Education and Children's Services Committee should address the recommendations within the internal audit report in order to provide further scrutiny.
Out of the 11 recommendations, nine are complete with two to be concluded. Committee agreed to request the Head of Children’s Services to report to Committee with the Stage One Report in January.
National Improvement Framework
The committee approved the Aberdeenshire National Improvement Framework (NIF) Plan for 2024/2025. The NIF Plan builds on the progress made over the last year and captures a combination of key strategic areas for improvement as well as specific aspects of development that will deliver the NIF priorities.
It captures the key elements of a wide range of existing planning approaches across the service to provide a coherent approach to improvement.
Aberdeenshire continues to complete work as part of the Northern Alliance Regional Improvement Collaborative where there has been a key focus since 2024 around ensuring high quality learning, teaching and assessment.
Fostering
Members of the committee had a wide-ranging discussion around Aberdeenshire's Fostering Service which currently includes 92 fostering households caring for 105 children as of March.
The annual report states that the service faces significant challenges, including a declining number of foster carers and increasing demand for specialised placements, particularly for siblings, teenagers, and children with disabilities.
Despite recruitment challenges, Aberdeenshire continues to prioritise supporting foster carers and ensuring stable, loving environments for children in need.
The Scottish Government is currently running a consultation into foster care which is available here.