Agenda and minutes
Venue: MP701, 7th Floor, Mulberry Place, 5, Clove Crescent, London E14 2BG
Contact: Elizabeth Dowuona, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4207 E-mail: elizabeth.dowuona@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES Minutes: APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Abjol Miah and Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed.
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DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS PDF 64 KB To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992.
See attached note from the Monitoring Officer.
Minutes: In the interest of transparency, the Chair, Councillor Sabina Aktar declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3.2 on the grounds that a number of the schools applied for were in her ward, Stepney Green Ward. She however stated that she was not acquainted with any of the applicants and was able to consider the applications with an open mind.
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To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 September 2015.
Minutes: That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 24th September 2015 be agreed and signed as a correct record.
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REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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LOCAL AUTHORITY GOVERNOR APPOINTMENTS PDF 94 KB The report sets out for Members the details of applicants who have expressed an interest in being appointed to local authority school governor positions at Tower Hamlets schools. The Committee is asked to endorse or reject the nominations for appointments set out in the report.
Additional documents: Minutes: The report was introduced by Hania Franek, Head of School Governance and Information, who advised that this report and future reports would be unrestricted. She explained that the Director of Law, Probity and Governance, Melanie Clay, had directed that in the drive for greater openness and transparency in decision making, the report, setting out the relevant information from individuals' application would in future be published in the unrestricted part of the agenda. She had asked that Ms Franek investigate the possibility of reviewing the application process so that relevant information from individuals' applications currently in the exempt appendix, might also be published in the unrestricted agenda for future meetings.
Members expressed concerns about the possibility of good candidates being deterred by the public nature of the recruitment process and asked a number of questions in relation to the impact of information being in the public domain during the recruitment process.
Ms Franek in response stated that all personal information about applicants would remain confidential. The contents of the application forms were made known to governing bodies and following their appointment, their names were in the public domain.. She agreed that there was a need for further discussions with the Director of Law and Probity and the relevant officers, als and the Council’s education partners to review the process.
Ms Franek tabled an updated report. In her presentation the following points were noted:
Applications to be nominated for re-appointment – 2012 School Governance (Constitution) Regulations
1. Juliana Iwobi had applied to continue serving as the LA governor at Columbia School. The governing body had discussed the skills sets needed and expressed the wish to reappoint Ms Iwobi because of her extensive experience in HR, in schools and the excellent commitment that she had demonstrated throughout her time as governor to the school. She had undertaken her additional link role of Safeguarding Governor at Columbia diligently and regularly. Her application was attached at Appendix 1 of the restricted part of the agenda.
2. Paul Bargery, a former pupil, had been a local authority governor at Langdon Park School since at least 2002. He was vice-chair of governors, chair of the Behaviour and Safeguarding panel and a SENCo (special educational needs co-ordinator) at a school in south east London. He had skills in SEND (special educational needs and disability) and safeguarding which nobody else on the Governing Body had and also had experience of dealing with disciplinary matters and exclusions, both as a committee member and as chair of a committee. The governing body nominated him for re-appointment because of his specialist knowledge. Mr Bargery had attended Prevent training and was a key member of the Governing Body. The application was attached at Appendix 2 of the restricted part of the agenda.
3. Nicholas Paul MBE was the Chair of Governors at Cayley School where he was completing a four-year term of office as the local authority governor. He had applied to continue to serve on the governing body. The ... view the full minutes text for item 4.1 |
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EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC In view of the contents of the remaining items on the agenda the Committee is recommended to adopt the following motion:
“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.”
EXEMPT SECTION (Pink Papers)
The exempt committee papers in the agenda will contain information, which is personally sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties. If you do not wish to retain these papers after the meeting, please hand them to the Committee Officer present.
Minutes: RESOLVED –
That in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that the remaining agenda item contained information defined as exempt or confidential in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.
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LOCAL AUTHORITY GOVERNOR APPOINTMENTS EXEMPT APPENDICES The report sets out for Members the details of applications of applicants who have expressed an interest in being appointed to local authority school governor positions at Tower Hamlets schools.
Minutes: The report was introduced by Hania Franek, Head of School Governance and Information, who advised that this report and future reports would be unrestricted. She explained that the Director of Law, Probity and Governance, Melanie Clay, had directed that in the drive for greater openness and transparency in decision making, the report, setting out the relevant information from individuals' application would in future be published in the unrestricted part of the agenda. She had asked that Ms Franek investigate the possibility of reviewing the application process so that relevant information from individuals' applications currently in the exempt appendix, might also be published in the unrestricted agenda for future meetings.
Members expressed concerns about the possibility of good candidates being deterred by the public nature of the recruitment process and asked a number of questions in relation to the impact of information being in the public domain during the recruitment process.
Ms Franek in response stated that all personal information about applicants would remain confidential. The contents of the application forms were made known to governing bodies and following their appointment, their names were in the public domain.. She agreed that there was a need for further discussions with the Director of Law and Probity and the relevant officers, als and the Council’s education partners to review the process.
Ms Franek tabled an updated report. In her presentation the following points were noted:
Applications to be nominated for re-appointment – 2012 School Governance (Constitution) Regulations
1. Juliana Iwobi had applied to continue serving as the LA governor at Columbia School. The governing body had discussed the skills sets needed and expressed the wish to reappoint Ms Iwobi because of her extensive experience in HR, in schools and the excellent commitment that she had demonstrated throughout her time as governor to the school. She had undertaken her additional link role of Safeguarding Governor at Columbia diligently and regularly. Her application was attached at Appendix 1 of the restricted part of the agenda.
2. Paul Bargery, a former pupil, had been a local authority governor at Langdon Park School since at least 2002. He was vice-chair of governors, chair of the Behaviour and Safeguarding panel and a SENCo (special educational needs co-ordinator) at a school in south east London. He had skills in SEND (special educational needs and disability) and safeguarding which nobody else on the Governing Body had and also had experience of dealing with disciplinary matters and exclusions, both as a committee member and as chair of a committee. The governing body nominated him for re-appointment because of his specialist knowledge. Mr Bargery had attended Prevent training and was a key member of the Governing Body. The application was attached at Appendix 2 of the restricted part of the agenda.
3. Nicholas Paul MBE was the Chair of Governors at Cayley School where he was completing a four-year term of office as the local authority governor. He had applied to continue to serve on the governing body. The ... view the full minutes text for item 4.3 |
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PREVENT WORK WITH CHILDREN AND SCHOOLS PDF 128 KB This report provides information on the range of work undertaken with schools through the curriculum to challenge radical and extreme views and to promote community cohesion and positive values. It also describes the range of safeguarding work undertaken with children and young people identified as being vulnerable to radicalisation or extremist views.
Minutes: The report was introduced by Debbie Jones, Interim Corporate Director for Children’s Services and Sarah Williams, Senior Lawyer, Legal Services who outlined the range of work undertaken with schools through the curriculum to challenge radical and extreme views and to promote community cohesion and positive values. Ms Jones described the range of safeguarding work undertaken with children and young people identified as being vulnerable to radicalisation or extremist views. The report also highlighted some of the challenges facing this work.
The main points in the report were outlined as follows:
· That the Counter Terrorism Local Profile (CTLP) placed Tower Hamlets as a high risk area and as a result the Council had to respond to a number of incidents under the Terrorism Act, increasing concern about radicalisation and the implementation of the “Prevent Duty” July 2015. · The Council’s work on preventing violent extremism developed out of existing partnerships, approaches and programmes and worked on the principle that “Safeguarding vulnerable people from radicalisation was no different from safeguarding them from other forms of harm.”. · work on preventing violent extremism was delivered through a multi-agency “Triangle of Intervention” which provided three tiers of intervention: namely preventative teaching approaches, targeted early interventions and specialist responses. · There had been ongoing development work in schools over a long period of time using a range of teaching resources and support materials as part of its ongoing commitment to all schools. A mapping tool has also been designed to support schools in identifying which aspects of the curriculum could support PREVENT and Community Cohesion aims in each year group.
· Guidance and training had been provided for schools on their role in preventing extremism, amending their safeguarding policies and highlighting vulnerable young people The guidance included sections on: o Safeguarding policy o Staff training and awareness raising o Reporting o Interventions with individuals o Prevention through the curriculum and pastoral work o Visitors policies and use of school premises o Commissioning practice o Responsibilities, including governors o Internet security o Triangle of intervention
· There had also been an ongoing programme of central training for school safeguarding governors and designated Child Protection leads and tailor made training is available for all schools including independent schools. This included the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent programme (WRAP) and sessions on policy guidance and referrals. These types of training sessions had created opportunities for discussions leading to practical solutions to difficult issues. An example was the dangers of online radicalisation which resulted in schools running assemblies highlighting the risks of on-line grooming.
· Head teachers were briefed regularly about PREVENT issues through Heads Bulletins and in the Director’s meetings which led to follow up support to Heads and a checklist for all schools to ensure that their safeguarding policies now met the Prevent guidance and the new “Prevent Duty” (July 1st 2015)
· There had been targeted work with individuals and schools through the Social Inclusion Panel (SIP), a senior level multi-agency panel to support vulnerable children and families requiring early intervention, ... view the full minutes text for item 4.4 |
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS WHICH THE CHAIR CONSIDERS URGENT Minutes: There were none.
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