REPORT TO:
REPORT NO:
DATE:
LEAD MEMBER:
LEAD OFFICER:
CONTACT OFFICER:
SUBJECT:
WARD: / Executive Board
CLF/22/11
1 November 2011
Councillor Ron Davies
Corporate Leadership and Children (Schools and Safeguarding)
Councillor Arfon Jones
Children (Additional Learning, Families and Support)
Claire Field, Strategic and Performance Director
Dafydd Ifans (Tel:298715)
Roger Davies (Tel:292272)
Changes to the 21st Century Schools Programme Submission Procedure
N/A
1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
1.1 To brief Members on the 21st Century Schools Project and to outline the recent changes to the submission process.
2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.1 In March 2010, the Welsh Assembly Government introduced a long term investment programme that will have an impact throughout the whole of Wales, with the aim of creating a generation of 21st Century Schools. The programme is a longer term strategic approach, aimed at providing investment across the whole school estate in Wales for ages 3 to 19. The 21st Century Schools programme provides a major opportunity for all schools in the maintained sector in Wales to receive necessary investment.
2.2 As part of this new long term investment programme, local authorities were asked to look ahead and produce an initial overview of the changes they wish to implement to their school buildings over a 10 year period. This Strategic Outline Plan or SOP was presented to and approved by Executive Board on the 30th November 2010.
2.3 The approved Strategic Outline Plan was based on the requirement to find a 30% match funding element, and the initial expectation was that once proposals had been submitted and prioritised, projects would be allocated funding in appropriate bands of 3 years duration. However, the Welsh Government has now asked local authorities to review their proposals for funding in band A against a requirement to address issues of condition of the school estate and a reduction of surplus places. It is also now expected that Band A will span six years instead of three with a requirement to find a 50% match funding element.
2.4 The Welsh Government has now asked local authorities to review their proposals for funding in band A against a requirement to address issues of condition of the school estate and a reduction of surplus places. Local authorities are not required to review and re-submit their entire SOP; instead this new submission is an opportunity for Wrexham to revisit the sequencing of their projects in Band A against the new criteria and funding rate.
2.5 It is envisaged that the programme of projects provided in Band A submitted last December will not be substantially altered; particularly the estimated capital need outlined at the time. However, the resubmission is required by the 18th November 2011.
2.6 In order for the submission deadline to be met however, it is proposed that Executive Board accept this report as a means to seek delegated authority to proceed, in consultation with the Lead Members, Council Leader and Deputy Leader, to complete the submission to the Welsh Government by the 18th November 2011.
3. RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 That Members approve this report as a means to seek delegated authority to proceed, in consultation with the Lead Members, Council Leader and Deputy Leader, to complete the submission to the Welsh Government by the 18th November 2011.
REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
The need for meeting the Welsh Government deadline of the 18th November 2011 for the resubmission of the proposals under Band A of Wrexham’s Strategic Outline Plan for C21st Schools.
Clare Field
Strategic and Performance Director
4. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
4.1 In March 2010, the Welsh Assembly Government introduced a long term investment programme that will have an impact throughout the whole of Wales, with the aim of creating a generation of 21st Century Schools. The programme is currently being developed in close partnership between the Welsh Assembly Government and Local Government in Wales, led by the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA); a joint approach which is aimed at driving successful delivery and effective outcomes.
4.2 The aims of the 21st Century Schools Programme include achieving:
· Learning environments for children and young people in Wales aged from 3 to 19 that will enable the successful implementation of strategies for school improvement and better educational outcomes;
· A sustainable education system through better use of resources to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the education estate, and which enhances local public service provision; and
· A 21st Century Schools Standard for all schools in Wales which reduces recurrent costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions.
4.3 The programme is a longer term strategic approach, aimed at providing investment across the whole estate in Wales for ages 3 to 19. The 21st Century Schools programme provides a major opportunity for all schools in the maintained sector in Wales to receive necessary investment. From 2012 and continuing for 15 years or more, funding will be provided in 3 year bands for major elements of long term programmes to be agreed between each local and WAG. The aim is to bring to an end the piecemeal approach to investment of the past and to move away from annual formulaic allocation of funding projects.
4.4 Local authorities were asked to look ahead and produce (with advice and support available from the WAG programme team) an initial overview of the changes they wish to implement over a 10 year period. This overview has been produced and sets out the wider strategies needed to create school improvement and successful outcomes for children and young people, including a review of teaching and learning strategies and the use of information and communications technology; it underpins proposals for the creation of high quality school environments of the right size, in the right places and of the right type for young people in their locality. The production of our Strategic Outline Programme (SOP) identified the initiatives and steps that can be taken in Wrexham to meet the key aims of the national programme. These might involve short, medium or long term change in the configuration of the local school estate, planning effective future provision for children and young people in Wrexham.
4.5 Local authorities are being expected to aim for balance in their proposals between all sectors, be they Welsh medium, faith based or community provision, for children and young people with special or additional educational needs, and to provide supporting information for the preferred options. This balance has been displayed in our Strategic Outline Programme which was approved for submission by the Executive Board on the 30th November 2010.
4.6 The initial expectation was that once proposals had been submitted and prioritised, projects would be allocated funding in appropriate bands of 3 years duration. It was intended that the long term programme would be published in 2011 to enable local authorities and schools to plan with confidence. SOPs would need to be refreshed periodically and re-submission might be on a bi-annual basis to permit re-evaluation of priorities in a changing environment. This was envisaged to be a long term investment programme that requires both WAG and local government to bring together capital resources to achieve national objectives and local priorities.
4.7 It was envisaged that there will then be a process of negotiation and adjustment leading to the creation of the long term national investment programme. It was initially intended that funding will be released in 5 or more bands of spending, each of 3 years duration, in a sequence that would provide funding reasonably spread across Wales in each 3 year band. For planning purposes, it is being proposed that this spread of funding should be on the regional groupings of local authority education consortia recognised by ADEW (Association of Directors of Education in Wales), with the aim that no region is without investment for a significant length of time.
4.8 The Welsh Government has now asked local authorities to review their proposals for funding in band A against a requirement to address issues of condition of the school estate and a reduction of surplus places. It is also now expected that Band A will span six years instead of three with a requirement to find a 50% match funding element. Our SOP was submitted with an assumption of a 30% match funding element from Local Authorities.
4.9 Local authorities are not required to review and re-submit their entire SOP. This new submission is an opportunity for authorities to revisit the sequencing of their programmes/project(s) in Band A against the prioritisation criteria and the application of the 50% grant intervention rate. It is envisaged that the programme of projects provided in Band A submitted last December will not be substantially altered; particularly the quantum estimated capital need outlined by each local authority. It is only the phasing, and/or re-sequencing of those projects within Band A that is being requested against the prioritisation criteria and on an affordability basis. Local authorities however, are able to bring forward projects from subsequent bands where they feel that they would better align with the new priorities set by the Welsh Government.
4.10 Wrexham LA’s SOP submission called for £23.5m of spending over the envisaged 3 years of the first band of funding. The council’s 30% contribution of £7m was to be made up of £5m from capital receipts and £2m already agreed from General Capital Funding. With a six year timescale a 50% contribution could be met were the council minded to approve a further four years of funding at £1m per annum, through the General Capital Fund.
4.11 It is envisaged that Wrexham LA’s submission will not radically alter to that previously put forward, though we may need to be more specific about how we will reduce any surplus capacity at the schools being targeted.
4.12 We may approach the Diocesan Authorities in order to seek their views on bringing forward projects which were envisaged to be within Band B of the plan. This would be done on the basis of not incurring additional costs for the Local Authority.
4.13 Following the release of guidance the submission (and the subsequent new form), will need to be made to the Welsh Government by November 18th. This has given the local authorities a period of five weeks to submit their proposals. A decision regarding the future allocation for Band A is subsequently expected from the Welsh Government sometime in December 2011.
4.14 In order to comply with the tight timescales set by the Welsh Government for submission, the project team that worked on the original SOP has been reformed and has begun to work on this positively and creatively.
4.15 In order for the submission deadline to be met however, it is proposed that Executive Board accept this report as a means to seek delegated authority to proceed, in consultation with the Lead Members, Council Leader and Deputy Leader, to complete the submission to the Welsh Government by the 18th November 2011.
4.16 Following submission, the project team will then bring a retrospective report to the Executive Board outlining the changes made to the Band A submission. During this period, the Member Officer Project Board for the Programme will also be reformed and the proposals shared with them.
4.17 Whilst this reporting route is proposed, the Project will remain a corporately significant project and will continue to have a project manager and project sponsor assigned to it.
5 CONSULTATION
5.1 The original Strategic Outline Plan for Wrexham County Borough Council has been approved by both SMT and Children and Young People's Scrutiny Committee. Wider consultation with elected Members has also taken place through two all Member workshops.
5.2 Consultation on Wrexham's SOP has also been undertaken with Teachers through the Chair of WASH (Wrexham Association of Secondary Heads), and the Chair of the Primary Heads Federation. Teachers Unions have also been represented on the Programme Board and ongoing consultation has also been carried out with the Diocesan representatives.
5.3 The implementation of the first phase of the work has demonstrated the success of the modern, open planned approach in terms of team cohesion and improved use of space. The key is to maintain the momentum in order to improve working practices, update working environments and make significant efficiency savings.
5.4 Full consultation will also take place on the re-submission of Band A proposals through the Member / Officer Project Board.
6 SCRUTINY COMMITTEE COMMENTS
6.1 The original SOP was presented to Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 17th November 2010. Scrutiny endorsed the recommendations and added a further recommendation requesting that Executive Board consider the inclusion of comments with regards to capital works required for the maintenance of the wider education estate, over the long term.
7 IMPLICATIONS
7.1 Policy Framework – It is a requirement of the Wales Programme for Improvement that the Council identifies and delivers on its priority and improvement areas. Progressing the 21st Century Schools Project as a project will facilitate the delivery of change and improvement in Better Education Skills for Employment Council Priority and contribute to the reducing Carbon emissions Council Priority.
7.2 Budget – There are future budgetary implications in this report as the recommendations request that Members of the Executive Board consider the affordability of projects on the basis of 50% match funding once the outcome of the bids is known.
7.3 Legal – There are no legal implications in the report.
7.4 Equalities – The package of Council Priorities were equality impact assessed during their development. Equality Assessments of the 21st Century Schools Programme will be undertaken at the relevant points during implementation.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
/LOCATION
/ WEBSITE INFO.CLF/07/10 - Process for Development and Implementation of 21st Century Schools Project