Agenda item

Councillor Pauline Coakley Webb: Funding of nursery settings

Councillor Coakley-Webb introduced her Members Item in relation to funding for Barnet’s nursery schools, referring to the attached appendices from Barnet Early Years Alliance (BEYA). The Chairman confirmed he has written to both the Chancellor and the Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, Vicky Ford, regarding the importance of long term funding for Barnet’s maintained nurseries who do not receive the funding other nursery settings may get. The Chairman expressed that he is confident that there is funding expected soon.

Councillor Byers asked to put on record how grateful the Committee is for the work that BEYA does and the contribution it makes to outcomes for children in Barnet.

The Committee and Officers discussed the issue and confirmed that there is a finance report on the agenda for the January meeting of the Children, Education and Safeguarding Committee which will include details on maintained nursery schools and at that point there will be further clarity about government funding. The Chairman noted that he could not guarantee what the government funding will be and therefore suggested Councillor Coakley-Webb should raise a motion at the January Committee meeting, if the issue has not been resolved.  

It was therefore AGREED that the issue be further discussed at the January meeting of the Children, Education and Safeguarding Committee if required.

Councillor Nagus Narenthira: Child poverty in Barnet

Councillor Narenthira introduced her Members Item and highlighted that children who were digitally poor were suffering more during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their lack of access to learning if they could not be in school.

The Chairman noted that these were the types of issues which would be covered in the Life Chances Strategy which is currently out for consultation. He encouraged all Members to feed into the consultation and noted that they would also get to comment on the Strategy when it comes to the next meeting of the Children, Education and Safeguarding Committee on 11 January 2021.

It was therefore AGREED that Members noted the opportunity to feed into the consultation of the Life Chances Strategy and that the Strategy would be further discussed at the next meeting of the Committee.

Councillor Anne Hutton: Diversity on school governing bodies

Councillor Hutton presented her Members Item and asked the Committee to encourage governing bodies of all schools and colleges in the London borough of Barnet to specifically consider including governors from black and/or minority ethnic communities on their Boards when considering nominating new governors, in order to reflect the ethnicity of the students and their families. She also asked if a survey of governing bodies could be undertaken to assist the Barnet Equalities Allies with their data collection in assessing equality of opportunity for Barnet residents.

The Committee discussed the various approaches which were currently being undertaken to encourage people from all backgrounds to feel confident in putting themselves forward to be a school governor, whether it be a Local Authority, parent or co-opted governor.

The Chairman suggested that the Barnet Equalities Allies could draft a relevant questionnaire and collate the results.

It was therefore AGREED that Councillor Hutton would work with the Barnet Equalities Allies to produce a survey which officers could share with the chairs of school governing bodies across the Borough.

Councillor Anne Clarke: Impact of food poverty on children

Councillor Clarke noted that the questions in her Members Item were answered in the Covid-19 Winter Grant Scheme report and that she was happy to discuss the issues alongside that item later in the meeting.

It was therefore AGREED that the questions put forward in the Members Item would be addressed during the discussion of Item 10 – Covid-19 Winter Grant Scheme report.