Issue - meetings

To receive the Minutes of the meeting held on 16^th March 2009.

            Resolved - That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16^th March 2009 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Matters Arising  -

Further to Minute 36: -

It was confirmed that a report on the Youth Education Project (YEP) would come to the next meeting of the Schools Forum, following on from the meeting with SASH to discuss their concerns in relation to the project.

Further to Minute 38: -

The Chair read out a statement which had been provided by the Director of Finance stating that the letters advising staff that they were eligible for equal pay had gone out, and that a panel of heads was being called to advise on the practical arrangements for despatch of the second letter and for signing sessions.  Concern was expressed that the letter had not come back to the Schools Forum for approval as requested at the last meeting.  In addition, many members of the panel expressed concern that teachers had been expected to comment urgently or to be involved in the process during the Easter break, which was a legitimate vacation period for head teachers.  Concern was expressed at a number of the proposed arrangements including staff having to come out of schools during the examination periods to signing sessions being held at a central location.  The Forum also expressed the need for provision for bi-lingual translation for key members of staff and for signing and other support.

            Kirsty Cole (Deputy Director of Finance) advised that the proposal for a heads panel had arisen due to the need to receive urgent feedback on these types of practical arrangements within a very tight timescale for implementation of the arrangements.  She advised that the letter had not come for further consultation than for comments with the heads specified, as there was very little flexibility in the letter due to the nature of the legal requirements and due to the urgent need to print the letter in the next few days.  Schools Forum members now advised that they would wish to see the following practical arrangements -

?         signing sessions to be held in school clusters, with the lead secondary school hosting the sessions where available, given the examination period. 

?         interpretation / signers available for members of staff who require them  (head teachers to provide this information on request, if this cannot be established from personnel records held by the Borough)

?         signing sessions for each school stretched over an extended day with evening staff invited during the day and educational support staff invited after the normal school day.

?         that communications on the arrangements are emailed to heads and marked private and confidential to ensure that support staff effected by arrangements are not accidentally seeing communications ahead of time.

The Deputy Director of Finance confirmed that the Borough would seek to put these arrangements in place if the sessions could be accommodated in schools in the timescales required, but that the Borough might have to revert to former timescales if the appropriate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2008.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th October 2008 be accepted as a correct record.