Councillor J. Kent, Leader of the Council, directed Members to the report in the agenda and reiterated that no matter what the status of a school was in the borough, the Council remained determined to work with everyone at that place of learning and offer help where required to ensure that school was as good as it could be.

Councillor J. Kent briefly commented on:

•           Thurrock Education Alliance - excellent progress in developing strong partnership work both between schools of all types and the Council.

•           Thurrock Education Awards - how pleased Councillor J. Kent was to see so many Members at the awards in November which were a true celebration of the success of the Council schools.

•           Early Years - Continue to improve and shows a further rise in pupils achieving a Good level of Development.

•           Key Stage 1 - At, or very close, to the national average.

•           Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) – Confident that each NEET in the borough is known to the Council and that the number of under 16s is below average.

•           Continuation of the Arts and Cultural Entitlement – There were now 28 schools involved in the pathfinder programme commissioned by the Royal Opera House.

•           GCSE Results – Saw a dip locally and nationally following the change in grade boundaries.

Councillor Ojetola left the Council Chambers at 9.30pm

Councillor Gledhill stated that 1 in 5 jobs were logistically based in Thurrock and asked the Leader of the Council what help was available to re-train adults or those later in life to find logistic or non-logistic employment. Councillor J. Kent stated that the Council was working with the Thurrock Business Board and industrial experts in the borough, including the Ports, to get a logistic academy up and running to enable adults to re-train.

Councillor Halden asked what plans were in place in helping smaller schools or those schools that standalone to help nurture relationships with each other.

Councillor J. Kent stated there were some small schools in close proximity to each other which some have already federated but stated that it would be a real mistake for the Council to be prescriptive about the right size of a multi academy trust. The Council would offer any help, guidance or support for those schools that would like to merge.

Councillor S. Little asked with INSPIRE what specific schemes were available for Thurrock care leavers. Councillor J. Kent referred to a scheme promoted by The Prince’s Trust who work with all care leavers; the Princes Trust had invited Members to see The Prince’s Trust in action and would encourage all Members to do this.

Councillor Kerin asked for information on the regional school commissioner responsible for raising standards in the Academy in Thurrock. Councillor J. Kent stated that academies were not accountable to local authorities or to the minister but accountable to the regional school commissioner for the east, Tim Culson, based in Cambridge who had been invited to join the education alliance to drive up standards in academies.

Councillor Gupta thanked Councillor J. Kent for an excellent report and asked if a school that was not achieving high standards what help was given by the Council to that school. Councillor J. Kent commented that this depended on the school’s individual circumstances and that generally support was provided by the education alliance and various sub-groups also the PEER groups between schools.