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LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM

CABINET

Report title New Cultural Enrichment Offer for Newham’s Children and Young People

Date of Meeting 04 June 2019Lead Officer and contact details

Terry Reynolds, Director of Education020 3733 6623 / [email protected]

Director, Job title Elaine Redding, Interim Director of Children’s ServicesLead Member Cllr. Julianne Marriot, Cabinet Member for EducationKey Decision? Yes Reasons:

Spend over £500,000 and significant impact on communities in two or more wards

Exempt information & Grounds

No Grounds:

N/A

Wards Affected All

Appendices (if any)

1. Stakeholder Engagement Summary Report

2. Ceasing Every Child Programme and impact on Every Child (Achieving their Potential) Ltd – additional information

3. Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA)

1 Executive Summary

1.1 The Mayor and her administration are committed to delivering a new cultural and creative enrichment offer for children and young people in Newham that will place Newham as a leader across London in cultural engagement. The new enrichment offer will create a step change in how the Council provides a broad range of cultural enrichment activities to children and young people.

1.2 The purpose of the new enrichment offer is to enable Newham’s children and young people to experience and take full advantage of the richness of Newham’s already vibrant and diverse creative and cultural enrichment opportunities. In addition, the new enrichment offer will support children and young people to discover and develop their individual talents, pursue excellence, seize opportunities, and to have fun growing up in Newham.

1.3 From 2022, several of the world’s leading arts and cultural institutions will begin moving into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (East Bank) and the Mayor intends to incorporate these organisation’s world-class enrichment offers into the new enrichment offer (as they become available), which will further cement Newham’s offer as a beacon across London.

1.4 Following from the Cabinet report on 5 February 2019, this report sets out:

1.4.1 Proposals for a Pilot Cultural Enrichment Offer – September 2019 to August 2020. The pilot will focus on developing and delivering a grant programme for schools to support music enrichment and test innovative approaches, measured against an outcomes framework. The grant will also provide for transitional support for those schools which need it following the withdrawal of the Every Child a Musician offer, in line with the Cabinet decision of 5 February. Certain elements of the existing Every Child offer will continue where they have been demonstrated to show value for money and are valued by schools and young people (theatre and chess programmes).

1.4.2 The Council’s intentions for the development and implementation of Phase 2 – New Cultural Enrichment Offer, including an outline of the proposed delivery model. The Council will continue to work with key stakeholders to develop the new enrichment offer for implementation from September 2020, learning from the pilot year.

1.4.3 The process for decommissioning the existing Every Child Programme (as agreed by Cabinet in February 2019) and the consequent process to begin to winding up the Every Child (achieving their potential) Ltd company. The new enrichment offer is substantially different in order to effectively support schools in delivering music enrichment in particular and the Company is not a suitable option to facilitate the new offer. The Company submitted a proposal to deliver a revised enrichment offer, however it was not in line with feedback from schools and other partners.

2 Recommendations

2.1 For the reasons set out in the report and its appendices, Cabinet is recommended:

2.1.1 To agree to the proposed pilot enrichment provision for children and young people across Newham, which will be implemented during the 2019/20 academic year, as set out in this report (section 4.8). A report on the pilot year will be brought back to Cabinet early in 2020 before plans are finalised for the 2020/21 academic year.

2.1.2 To note that Every Child (achieving their potential) Ltd (the “Company”) is not a suitable vehicle for delivering the new enrichment offer, and consequently to agree to winding up the Company, noting the associated costs in section 8 of this report.

3 Background

3.1 This report follows the previous Cabinet report on 5 February 2019, which proposed changes to the Every Child Programme and for a new enrichment offer for children and young people. The report can be accessed at

https://mgov.newham.gov.uk/documents/s125953/EC%20Review%20-%20Cabinet%20report%20V11.pdf

3.2 The Council currently funds a music offer to children and young people in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the borough, as part of the Every Child Programme delivered by Every Child (Achieving Their Potential) Ltd under a contract for services. The Company is one of the Council’s “small businesses” and was externalised as a wholly owned Council company limited by guarantee in March 2018.

3.3 The Every Child Programme was established to provide opportunities to complement and support schools’ core curriculum and pupil attainment, and give children in Newham access to wider cultural and educational opportunities. It has four elements:

3.3.1 Every Child a Musician: The Every Child a Musician Programme (ECaM) provides free musical tuition and instruments for children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Newham’s Primary Schools. It reaches around 12,500 children per year. The instrument is the student’s to keep at no cost to their parents or carers and is intended to be an incentive to continue musical progression and learning later in life.

3.3.2 Every Child a Theatre Goer: Newham’s Every Child a Theatre Goer Programme provides opportunities for around 16,000 young people annually in Year 6 and aged between 11 and 15 to attend theatre productions by the block purchase of tickets and discounted prices.

3.3.3 Every Child a Sports Person: This programme offers the opportunity to try 20 different sports. Annually around 4,000 children from year 7, from 18 different secondary schools participate in the Every Child a Sportsperson programme.

3.3.4 Every Child a Chess Player: This programme aims to give children in Newham in years 2 to 5 the opportunity to learn how to play chess which helps them develop their skills outside of traditional learning (up to 1,700 children every week).

3.4 The Mayor requested a review of the Every Child Programme as part of a wider process of service area and programme review following the election in May 2018, so that investments made by the Council supported the delivery of manifesto pledges made.

3.5 The review looked at performance including research evidence, feedback from schools, costs and value for money, and the range of current services offered. This included reference to the Mayor’s priorities for children and young people.

3.6 The review’s outcome was proposals for the restructure of the Council’s cultural engagement and participation programme and strategy for children within schools and other environments, including the future of the Every Child Programme. The vision was for a programme delivering cultural and creative enrichment opportunities which will place Newham as a leader across London

in cultural engagement. Children and young people’s views and contributions would be central to the design of a new enrichment offer.

3.7 A public consultation exercise was undertaken on the proposals, from 14 December 2018 and closed on 20 January 2019. The report of the consultation can be accessed at: https://mgov.newham.gov.uk/documents/s125954/Appendix%206%20-%20Consultation%20Report.pdf

3.8 Having carefully considered the results of the consultation, it was proposed that the Council continued with the proposals consulted on. The proposals provided for a wider range of cultural enrichment opportunities developed with young people, schools and our cultural partners; and which also provided better value for money thereby freeing up funding for other key programmes including proposals to fully fund Eat for Free. A commitment was made that the specific suggestions were taken into account in the design of the new cultural enrichment offer.

3.9 Cabinet on 5 February 2019 approved the following recommendations:

3.9.1 To consider and take into account the outcome of the consultation process.

3.9.2 To agree to develop and deliver an enhanced enrichment provision for children and young people across Newham, which will be implemented during the 2019/20 academic year [as set out in that report at para 4.28]. It will improve the personal and social development of children and young people in Newham and support them in later life. It will be designed in line with the needs of Newham’s children and young people, as well being responsive to what they say they want.

3.9.3 To end funding the current Every Child Programme from the start of the school year commencing in September 2019, providing a saving of 50% of the current Every Child funding (£1,101,190 for 2020/21 financial year), in order to deliver the saving set out in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

3.9.4 To begin a process of engagement with children and young people, schools, and other key stakeholders, including Every Child Ltd to inform the design of a new creative and cultural enrichment offer that includes music.

3.10 Following approval of the Cabinet report, officers have proceeded to engage with a range of stakeholders including children and young people to support design of the new enrichment offer. The discussions have been guided by the following design principles, which were described in paragraph 4.27 of the February Cabinet report:

3.10.1 Supports schools to provide a broader, high quality enrichment offer, including music education which meets the aims of the proposed new Ofsted inspection framework for schools1;

3.10.2 Provides opportunities for children to experience a variety of creative and cultural offers, including music, from the earliest years of education. This will be led by schools so that it fits in the best possible way into children’s learning and is not an add on;

3.10.3 Supports sustained engagement by children and young people with music education through both school and youth provision, so that those who are passionate about music can continue practising into adulthood;

3.10.4 Provides the value for money, so limited resources are used most effectively in better achieving these aims.

3.11 Officers have held several meetings with Every Child (achieving their potential) Ltd and discussed the role that the Company might take in delivering the new enrichment offer, including consideration of a proposal from the Company. However, the proposal submitted was not viable as it did not meet the requirements for the new enrichment offer, which provides a step change in how Newham delivers and facilitates cultural and creative enrichment opportunities for children and young people in the borough. The Company’s proposal was to retain a significant allocation of direct service delivery, which would further reduce available funding to be spent on enrichment opportunities for children and young people by schools themselves.

4 Key Considerations & ProposalsOutline framework for cultural enrichment offer

4.1 Building on the stakeholder engagement and consultation that took place prior to the Cabinet decision in February 2019 and incorporating the agreed four design principles, an outline cultural enrichment offer framework was developed (Figure 1). The framework provides the basis for the ongoing development of the new cultural enrichment offer and a structure to consult on with a broad range of stakeholders.

Figure 1 - Outline Framework for cultural enrichment offer

Summary of key stakeholder engagement

1 www.gov.uk/government/news/chief-inspector-sets-out-vision-for-new-education-inspection-framework

Music Enrichment

Core Principle Support the learning of music into adulthood and utilise music technology

to reach a wider demongraphic.

Extra Enrichment OpportunitiesCore Principle

Provide a variety of high quality horizon

broadening opportunities for CYP.

Enrichment Directory

Core PrincipleProvide a directory of

enrichment opportunities available to

CYP/schools.

4.2 The Council recognises the importance of working in partnership with key stakeholders to develop the new cultural enrichment offer in line with the needs of children and young people. The Council committed to a thorough consultation and stakeholder engagement process from the outset.

4.3 Since February 2019, the Council has continued to engage with key stakeholders, particularly children and young people, providers and schools to ensure their views and requirements are considered in the development stage. Below is a summary of the stakeholder engagement activity that has taken place to date. A more detailed overview of the stakeholder engagement activity and the main findings is included in Annex One.

Key Stakeholder Group

Summary of views Council response

Children and Young People

Want to see:

more opportunities which support them into adulthood

more opportunities for cross-borough events and interschool performances / showcasing opportunities

Views on the outline framework (Figure 1):

happy music remains part of the offer

would like to see more adventurous enrichment opportunities included

We are:

developing a flexible offer and working with providers / the market to develop more enrichment opportunities which prepare young people for adulthood

encouraging providers to develop enrichment offers which include inter-borough / cross-borough events and competition / ensembles

providing a directory of enrichment activities to share knowledge and information of the broad range of opportunities that exist already, or will exist in the future

Existing Providers

Want to see:

a broadening of the current music offer and enrichment activities

greater links to arts and cultural partnerships already in existence in the borough

commitment to continuing some aspects of the current offer, at least in the immediate future

Views on the outline framework:

We are:

expanding the current enrichment offer to include a wider range of music and horizon broadening activities

exploring opportunities to work in partnership with local cultural and creative organisations

retain elements of the existing offer which demonstrated value for money and are valued by schools and young people

broadly supportive of the outline framework and the principles

Want to see:We are:

developing the new offer to have greater flexibility to through grant funding methods and including a wider range of opportunities

including provision for quality assurance, monitoring and reviewing provision

flexible approach to delivery which supports more providers delivering a new offer

Other Providers

commitment to quality assurance of a new offer



Want to see:

Schools

a new offer to move away from direct delivery of music and music tuition

more of a focus on horizon broadening opportunities, with a consensus from schools that they did not require direct support from the Council to deliver music education


We are:

committing to a delivery model which does not involve the direct delivery of music and music tuition

expanding the number of opportunities on offer through a mixed model of grants and commissioned services


Implementing the new cultural enrichment offer4.4 The proposed new offer represents a substantial change in delivering and

facilitating enrichment opportunities for children and young people. Reflecting the feedback from schools, other key stakeholders as well as young people, the focus will be on enabling schools and other providers to test innovative approaches rather than a one-size-fits all model, as well as retaining some aspects of the previous programme which are valued by schools and young people and represent good value.

4.5 A resounding message from children and young people who have participated in the stakeholder engagement sessions so far is a very strong aspiration to showcase talent and have the opportunities to engage in interschool events. Responding to this, the new enrichment offer will seek to work with schools and providers to facilitate the use of grants in the best possible way to meet

children and young peoples’ aspirations. For example, ensembles and productions involving children and young people could be specific outcome requirements for some grants.

4.6 The implementation of the new cultural enrichment offer will be delivered in two phases:

4.6.1 Phase 1 will be a pilot offer in 2019-20 which will provide an opportunity for testing new cultural enrichment opportunities, particularly in regards to music. It will also provide a transitional offer, which will maintain stability within schools where needed following the withdrawal of the existing Every Child a Musician Programme.

4.6.2 Phase 2 will be the implementation of the new cultural enrichment offer from September 2020. During the pilot year, the development of the new cultural enrichment offer will continue and be refined in greater detail, drawing on feedback received from stakeholders.

4.7 The emphasis will be much more on measuring progress through outcomes rather than counting inputs and a standardised offer as before. The first step following approval of these proposals will be to develop a draft outcomes framework (with schools and key partners) against which enrichment opportunities, particularly grant funded projects, can be measured and held accountable. The outcomes frameworks will be developed further during the pilot period to ensure it is fit for purpose when applied to the new enrichment offer.

Phase 1 - Pilot Cultural Enrichment Offer (September 2019 to August 2020)

4.8 The Pilot Cultural Enrichment Offer:

Figure 2 - Pilot Cultural Enrichment Offer

4.8.1 Pilot Year Outline Specification

nTransitional Strand Purpose / How it will be delivered

Indicative Budget Allocatio (Sept 201– Aug 2020)

School Music Grants

PurposeSupport schools to transition away from music tuition delivered by the existing offer and support music progression in children and young people

How it will be deliveredGrants will be made available to schools who require transitional funding to retain and improve music provision in the interim period before the new enrichment offer’s music element is established from September 2020. Grants can also be used for the development of innovative approaches to music enrichment in schools.Grants will have monitoring, reporting and

£700 k (total available for music grants to schools)

specific conditions to ensure they are used effectively*. A prototype outcomes framework will be developed working with schools and key stakeholders to provide clear but simple outcomes expectations.

Pilot Music Cluster Offer

PurposeCluster of primary and secondary schools working together (with a nominated school leading) to support the learning of music into adulthood and utilising music technology to reach a wider demographic, while also building on existing good practice in music education in the borough.

How it will be deliveredThe precise details would be determined following a negotiation with the successful lead school(s) and the Council.

The pilot cluster could include the following:

Provide a programme of regular after-school and weekend music activities at other schools in the cluster for young people including:- Music technology workshops- Use of recording studios- Song writing workshops and production

support- Cross-school and cross-phase orchestras

and bands- Performance opportunities in Newham and

beyond, including wide range of pupils performing at Music for Youth Proms at Royal Albert Hall

Support young people’s music education in school through:- Instrumental teaching programme in primary

and secondary schools, with emphasis on skills being developed and sustained through transition from primary to secondary- Core programme to support whole class

instrumental teaching in years 5 and 6 (up to 6 primary schools in 2019-20, could extend to 5 further primary schools in 2020-21)

- Opportunity for 1 additional secondaryschool to take on programme in first year,

with aim to extend to 4 secondary schools within first 3 years

- Support for primary school music teachers to develop early years music activities, through visiting teacher programme and teacher training; these programmes to be available to all primary schools which wish to access them

Linking to world of work, and providing access to a wide range of professional musical pathways through engagement in events working alongside music professionals (recording producers, broadcast industry etc.).

Chess in Schools and Theatre Tickets

Retained from existing offer and no changes proposed to the delivery during the pilot year, as these offers represent value for money and are valued by schools and young people.

£130 k


PurposeProvide schools, cultural, arts and youth organisations with an online directory of enrichment opportunities to showcase the richness and diverseness of the borough’s cultural and creative opportunities.

How it will be deliveredCommission third-sector support to begin the development and partnership work required to set up the online enrichment directory and tap into existing partnerships.

This will include joining up any existing or future work being undertaken by the Council to map and coordinate cultural and creative opportunities for residents.

£50 k

Contingency (additional enrichment / programme management)

PurposeThe intention is to secure additional borough- wide enrichment or large group opportunities using a similar model to the theatre tickets approach, which will increase the number of opportunities on offer during the Pilot year 2019- 20.

Initial programme management and quality assurance costs would also be met through this budget.

How it will be deliveredOfficers are in the early stages of discussions with a number of providers of enrichment

£221 k

opportunities and reviewing draft outline proposals which could be put forward as extra enrichment opportunities to pilot.

Additional extra enrichment opportunities for the pilot year will be assessed for suitability against specific criteria (to be defined in consultation with key stakeholders) before being considered for inclusion in the pilot year. Any extra enrichment opportunities will need to be delivered within the available budget.

TOTAL (Full Academic Year) £1,101 k **

* The use of grant funding by schools and or organisations will be subject to strict grant conditions and will include an expectation that any staff engaged through the use of the grant will be paid the London Living Wage, in line with the Council’s commitment to be a London Living Wage Employer.

** 2019/20 (Sept 19 – Mar 20) £686 k + 2020/20 (Apr 20 – Aug 20) £415k

Considerations and next steps for Pilot

4.8.2 Attributed costs for each of the strands of the pilot cultural enrichment offer are indicative (for the period September 2019 to August 2020) and subject to change in line with ongoing developmental work.

4.8.3 Programme management of the offer will be delivered in-house in order to minimise administrative costs and reflecting that the new offer will be much more devolved to schools and other providers to deliver through a grants programme. This light-touch management and oversight by the Council will include monitoring and reviewing the programmes against an outcomes framework, administration of grants, commissioning of enrichment activities, maintaining subcontracting arrangements and managing the allocation of resources.

4.8.4 Following approval by Cabinet of these proposals, a further meeting will take place with the headteacher working group and key stakeholders early in June to agree criteria for the allocation of grants. Expressions of interest will be invited from all schools so that decisions can be taken on allocation of grants before the end of the summer term (July 2019).

Phase 2 – New Cultural Enrichment Offer (September 2020 onwards)

4.9 The new enrichment offer will boost the number of enrichment opportunities available to children and young people and offer a much more diverse range of enrichment opportunities. It has been designed to develop into a dynamic

and flexible offer, which responds to children and peoples’ needs and takes into account the views of stakeholders.

4.10 As an agile and responsive new offer, it will be able to fit in and align to the Council’s new Cultural Strategy, which is currently being planned, and provide a delivery vehicle to support the Council in its ambition to be cultural beacon across London.

4.11 The new enrichment offer delivery model (subject to change, confirmed early 2020):

Figure 3 - New Enrichment Offer Delivery Model (draft)

Considerations to note:4.11.1 The Council will continue to work with key stakeholders to develop

the new enrichment offer for implementation in September 2020 using learning from the pilot year. A report on the pilot year will be brought back to Cabinet early in 2020 before plans are finalised for the 2020/21 academic year.

Proposed Delivery / Management Model4.11.2 Programme management of the offer will be delivered in-house. This

will include monitoring and reviewing the programmes, administration of grants, commissioning of enrichment activities, maintaining subcontracting arrangements and managing the allocation of resources.

4.11.3 New enrichment offer strand descriptions

Strand Brief Outline (subject to change – confirmed early 2020)

School Music Enrichment Grants

Direct grants to schools to provide outcomes- focused and quality assured music enrichment, which are will be required to support some or all of the following objectives: music progression, sustained musical interest at key transitional point

and support for schools to expand music curriculum in schools. *

Specialist Enrichment Grants

Direct grants available to schools, youth organisations and third-sector cultural and creative organisations to develop a range of opportunities for children and young people in Newham to participate in and reach their potential. *

Commissioned Enrichment Opportunities

Expanding the current delivery model for existing commissioned opportunities to include a wider variety of events/productions which may be available to whole school year groups, youth groups or targeted cohorts of children and youngpeople.


An online quality assured directory of local enrichment activities for children and young people, expanding the types and number of opportunities for children and young people in Newham to access. Potentially delivered inpartnership with local third-sector providers.

Programme Management / Monitoring / Quality Assurance and Evaluation

Programme management will be provided in- house and funded through the core budget with a remit to provide/arrange monitoring, quality assurance and evaluation of the offer.

* The use of grant funding by schools and or organisations will be subject to strict grant conditions and will include an expectation that any staff engaged through the use of the grant will be paid the London Living Wage, in line with the Council’s commitment to be a London Living Wage Employer.

Sports Enrichment4.12 Every Child a Sports Person will not form part of the new cultural enrichment

offer and will instead be reviewed as part of the Council’s development of a Sports and Leisure Strategy.

4.13 The Council is committed to working with schools in the borough to provide sports enrichment to children and young people and sports enrichment remains a priority of the Council. For example, the Council is currently working with the Newham Schools Sport Partnership, hosted by Southern Road Primary School, and Langdon Academy’s sports programme.

Links with the Newham Show, 20194.14 The Newham Show, the Council’s annual community festival seeking to bring

residents together to and deepen our community bonds, will be evolving in 2019 to become a programme showcasing the Borough’s cultural and creative talent as well as offering a fun, family friendly weekend. In response to what young people in our borough have told us, we’ve opened more opportunities for them to develop and showcase their talents and demonstrate their skills. The Borough’s Youth Zones and Youth Movements network of young people

are already involved in programming the main stage so that the diversity of our local talent can shine. There’ll also be a youth studio offering DJ and music production workshops throughout the weekend.

4.15 From 2020, the Newham Show will build on these changes and be shaped by the borough’s new cultural strategy. It’ll mean a programme of more events, entertainment and enrichment opportunities spread across the borough over the summer months. By working with a range of cultural and creative partners that are coming to Newham, and those who have already made our borough their home, next year’s Newham Show will also reflects the promise made by Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz to put residents at the heart of everything Newham Council does. Residents including our young people will be involved in producing a summer programme which promotes Newham’s diverse cultural and creative talent in enriching ways.

Ceasing the current Every Child Programme and winding up the Every Child Company

4.16 Following discussions with officers, the Company submitted a proposal to deliver a revised enrichment offer. The offer mapped to the headings in the new framework, however it was not in line with the feedback from other partners including schools as it continued to focus on direct delivery of music support to schools rather than an enabling approach to support schools in delivering their own music enrichment provision.

4.17 Ceasing the delivery of Every Child Programme and the funding to the Company, is likely to mean the Company will have to be wound up, as the business will not be viable without the contract for services (Every Child Programme) it receives from the Council.

4.18 Winding up the Company is likely to result in one-off unfunded liabilities in 2019/20 of £887k, which is not funded through the identified budget. The net cost to the Council when taking into account the one-off windup costs for 2019/20 is £1,298k which means the MTFS savings target for 2019/20 would not be achieved. For 2020/21, there are likely to be costs in respect of liquidation. For subsequent years from 2021/22, the full MTFS saving is achieved; this was highlighted to Cabinet in the February 2019 report.

Financial Year

Programme Delivery

Cost£’000

MFTS Saving Target£’000

Windup Cost£’000

2019/20(Sept to March)

686 686 1,298

2020/21 1,041 1,101 602021/22 1,101 1,101 0

4.19 See Section 8 Financial Implication for detailed financial breakdown and analysis.

5 Policy Implications & Corporate Priorities

5.1 The proposal to develop an ambitious new cultural and creative enrichment offer reflects the Mayor’s belief that every young person in Newham has the ability to excel and contribute to the place they call home. The offer will ensure that each young person has the opportunity to discover and develop their individual talents, to pursue excellence and seize opportunities, and to have fun. The proposals outlined in this paper have involved children and young people and schools in the design of the new offer are part of a broader effort to put residents at the heart of everything the Council does, and build on a programme of engagement (including Citizens Assemblies and Youth Assemblies) which began in May 2018 and is ongoing.

Corporate Priorities5.2 The recommendations within this report support the Council to deliver the

following Corporate Priorities:

5.2.1 Priority 1 - Bright Futures: supporting children and young people’s aspirations, keeping them safe and removing barriers to success

5.2.2 Priority 3 - Community Wealth Building: a strong economy that supports local businesses, nurtures talent and provides opportunities for all

6 Alternatives considered

6.1 Alternative options were considered following the Cabinet decision in February 2019 to decommissioning the Every Child Programme in its existing form. These options were:

6.1.1 Do Nothing / Remain ‘as is’– This option was not suitable as it would not provide children and young people in Newham with diverse mix of horizon broadening opportunities to support them to reach their potential and have fun growing up in Newham – a key aspiration of the Mayor. The option to do nothing also would not support the Council in its efforts to support children and young people’s aspirations (Corporate Plan – Priority One), or nurture talent and provide opportunities for all (Corporate Plan – Priority 3).

6.1.2 Repurpose the Every Child Company and/or commission their proposal – This option was not in line with feedback from schools and other partners on delivering a new enrichment offer to children and young people as it continued to focus on direct delivery of support to schools.

7 Consultation7.1 Name of Lead Member consulted: Councillor Julianne Marriot

Position: Cabinet Member for EducationDate: 2 May 2019

7.2 Consultation undertaken to date as part of the redesign of cultural and creative enrichment opportunities offered to children and young people in Newham is as follows:

Public consultation via online and hard copy questionnaire sent on request– between 14 December 2018 to 20 January 2019. Report was published with February Cabinet report.

School Council meetings and Youth Assembly – range of meetings from March 2019 to May 2019.

Working group with headteachers – 7 March 2019 Meeting key stakeholders with an interest in cultural enrichment – range of

meetings from March 2019 to May 2019. Meetings with Every Child Ltd – 26 February 2019, 26 March 2019 Meetings with Mayor – 10 April 2019, 2 May 2019 Education Partnership Board – 10 May 2019

7.3 Further consultation to take place:

Continuing to meet with groups of children and young people via School Council meetings.

Continuing to meet with key stakeholders with an interest in cultural enrichment

Headteacher survey June/July 2019

8 Implications

Financial Implications8.1 Ceasing the delivery of Every Child Programme and the funding to the

Company, is likely to mean the Company will have to be wound up, as the business will not be viable without the contract for services it receives from the Council.

8.2 The budget for 2019/20 agreed by Council in February 2019 was £1.666 million. For 2020/21 the budget will reduce further to £1.101 million.

8.3 Winding up the Company is likely to result in one off liabilities in 2019/20 which may result in delay of the full realisation of the savings until the 2020/21 financial year. These costs are unavoidable given the Company is already externalised, and its wind up is necessary in order to introduce a new approach to enrichment which reflects the feedback from young people, schools and other stakeholders. The following table summarises the potential costs of winding up the Company alongside the costs of delivering the new (pilot) enrichment offer:

2019/20 (Sept to March)

£’000

2020/21 (full year)£’000

Redundancy costs 228 0Pension fund liability 854 0Solicitor/liquidation costs 0 60Ongoing running costs 16 0Cost of delay (assuming staff continue to be paid until end Sept 2019)

200 0

TOTAL 1,298 60

Cost of delivering new offer (Sept 19 to March 20) 686 1,041

TOTAL COSTS 1,984 1,101Potential contribution from the Company post tax profit (411) 0

Net COST before the Company Contribution 1,573 0

Budget after MTFS saving of (50% reduction) 686 1,101

ADDITIONAL COST 887 0

8.4 It will be important to act promptly following any Cabinet decision, subject to call in procedure, as currently the Company costs approximately £200,000 per month to run (although It is likely that the actual cost will reduce as activity declines). Any balances remaining within the Company could be utilised to reduce the cost to the Council. The draft final accounts for Company for the year ending 2018/19 show a pre-tax profit of £508k (£411k post tax). This can be used to reduce the cost to the Council. The additional cost of this programme above available budget is estimated to be £887k.

8.5 CYPS has identified £537k of the additional cost for 2019/20 which can be met from its budget. The remaining sum of £350k is to be reported as a pressure which CYPS will attempt to manage in year. If this is not possible it will be a call on corporate resources.

8.6 It is possible the Company may trade at a profit for the 2019/20 financial year and any post tax surplus would be able to be used to reduce the cost to the Council.

8.7 The net cost to the Council when taking into account the one-off windup costs for 2019/20 is £1,298k which means the MTFS savings target for 2019/20 would not be achieved, and there would be an additional cost of £887k (after allowing for the company’s expected post tax profit). For 2020/21, there are likely to be costs in respect of liquidation. For subsequent years from 2021/22, the full MTFS saving is achieved.

Financial Year

Programme Delivery

Cost£’000

MFTS Saving Target£’000

Windup Cost£’000

2019/20(Sept to

Mar)686 686 1,298

2020/21 1,041 1,101 602021/22 1,101 1,101 0

8.8 The Company has traded for a full financial year, and their current management accounts indicate a forecast pre-tax surplus to the end of the financial year 2018/19 of £411k. This could be utilised to meet the Company

commitments up to the point where the Company ceases trading, provided the Company had sufficient cash to do so.

8.9 The Company would need to pay off its creditors including HMRC and the Council including any loan outstanding. Any balance remaining, could be used to offset other costs such as redundancy and pension costs.

8.10 The proposal to cease the current contract is likely to lead to redundancies and to the pension fund guarantee agreed by Cabinet in December 2017 being required.

8.11 Redundancy costs are estimated at £228k, although this may be mitigated by TUPE should any staff transfer to the Council.

8.12 In respect of the Pensions guarantee, an actuarial report will be required on termination of the contract to establish the liability. This will depend on length of service of members of the fund, and on whether staff have left or joined the pension fund since the Company was formed. The liability will be assessed on the cessation arrangements from the fund by the Actuary once the date of potential redundancy is known. The latest available assessment (March 2018) assessed the liability at £854k, above the £749k identified in the Cabinet Report in December 2017 (where the decision to externalise Every Child was taken). A further valuation will reflect another year’s membership of the scheme and the impact of any members joining or leaving the scheme since the valuation was made.

8.13 Newham provided the Company £250k of working capital. Recoupment of these funds would need to be factored into any closure arrangements. This would be paid from cash that Company has at the point of closure.

8.14 Experience with the cessation of other external companies indicates that the process can take many months (and sometimes over a year) and could cross the Financial year (in which case a provision could be raised). Based on previous liquidations undertaken by the Council (Newham Homes, Newco, Newham Legacy Investments) and depending on the length of time required to complete the closure, costs could be up to £60k. These would relate to formal liquidation, publication of any statutory notices required, any insurance and employment liabilities etc. These costs are likely to be incurred once the formal liquidation process has commenced and are likely to be incurred in 2020/21.

8.15 Currently the operational company costs approximately £200k per month. It is likely that the actual cost will reduce as activity declines, although expenditure and income will continue to be incurred beyond the point where the Company ceases to provide the service, with invoices (e.g. in respect of VAT, PAYE suppliers and income) will received after this date. The current lease on property rented from the Council would be due and would cost £16k from October 2019 to March 2020. There may be other costs (e.g. utilities), however if the building were re-let before April 2020, these costs could be contained.

8.16 There are also costs associated with document retention (including records of contact with children). These will be an ongoing cost and it should be possible to absorb these within existing cost for the CYPS commissioner.

8.17 A new delivery model, which provides grants will require administration and these costs will need to be met from within the overall budget for the project.

8.18 Legal Implications8.18.1 The Council as sole Member of the wholly owned Company Limited

by Guarantee is capable of exercising its rights to make arrangements to wind up the Company under Voluntary Arrangements.

8.18.2 Subject to redeployment the employees of the Company are at risk of redundancy as Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 is unlikely to apply with the changes proposed. The result of this has an impact on the Council’s pension scheme which is likely to increase in respect of pension costs. Some of the costs are captured within the details of this report including those which relate to HMRC.

8.18.3 The Council is considered an “associated employer” having control over its wholly owned company within the meaning of s231 Employment Rights Act 1996; s297 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and s79, Equality Act 2010. If an employee leaves the Company and is employed by the Council as an associated employer then continuity of employment is preserved. The periods of employment with both the original employer and the associated employer will count towards the employment period. To mitigate the impact to the individual and the financial impact on the Council s141 Employment Rights Act 1996 allows the Council by way of its redeployment register to provide the Company employees with access to any suitable alternative forms of employment. Offers made within 4 weeks will mean the employees are safeguarded against redundancy. Note any unreasonable refusal will mean that the individual will not be entitled to redundancy payment.

8.18.4 The Working Capital Loan is a registered Charge at the Company in favour of the Council. The Council will rank ahead of unsecured creditors in receiving any monies due.

8.18.5 The voluntary strike off procedure is fairly simple and cost-effective mechanism for a company to have its name removed from the register of companies and be dissolved under s1003 Companies Act 2006 or by member Voluntary Liquidation under ss89 and 90 Insolvency Act 1986.

8.18.6 When a company is dissolved, its liabilities are extinguished and procedural requirements will need to be strictly followed to ensure that there are no objections by interested persons including any creditors. The company assets will have to be identified including properties in which the company has an interest and any contracts that need to

continue to operate will need to be novated to the Council or terminated as appropriate.

8.19 Equalities Implications

8.20 The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 requires the Council, when exercising its functions, to have due regard to:

8.20.1 the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010;

8.20.2 the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share protected characteristics and those who do not, and;

8.20.3 foster good relations between those who have protected characteristics and those who do not.

8.21 ‘Protected characteristics’ under the 2010 Act are age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnerships, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment.

8.22 In meeting its equalities duties, the Cabinet as the decision maker should have regard to the equalities assessment and information before it. The discharge of the duty cannot be delegated to officers.

8.23 Due regard means giving proper and focussed consideration of the impact of the decision on meeting its equalities duties. The focus should be on any adverse equalities implications that will arise from a decision and how they can be avoided and / or how they are mitigated in the decisions. The amount of focus on the duties will vary with each decision and how far they adversely impact on protected characteristics.

8.24 Adverse impact is likely to be indirect, e.g. a decision that has universal application but a disproportionate adverse impact in practice on one or more groups or persons with protected characteristics. Positive impact is relevant but the consideration must be frank and open minded about assessing the adverse impact. For example, a decision may mean that provision to those with protected characteristics may improve in the long term but there is a short term adverse impact, e.g. greater travel times making accessibility more difficult.

8.25 Due regard does not mean that the equality outcomes have to be achieved. It will often be the case that difficult decisions need to be made that have an adverse equality impact but other relevant factors, such as finite budgets, can and will outweigh the Council’s equality duty. This is permissible following a conscientious balancing exercise of relevant factors takes place based on the evidence. In such situations, regard can be had to what mitigating steps are being taken.

8.26 The duty to have due regard must be carried out before a final decision is taken. The duty is also a continuing duty and so considerations may evolve during a decision making process, e.g. before and after a consultation or

engagement process. There is no obligation to have a completed or full assessment until the final decision is made. In practice, the Council will often only prepare an initial or screening assessment at the start of a project or programme. This is permissible.

8.27 Compliance is often demonstrated with the aid of an equalities assessment but this is not a legal duty so long as there is sufficient information to make a lawful assessment, as described, on the evidence. It will be normal to have an equalities assessment at the final stage of decision-making and it must be a conscientious consideration of the equalities impact and not a “tick box” exercise.

8.28 Finally, whilst consideration of equalities impact must be rigorous, decision makers are not expected to explore every last possible differential impact of a proposed decision. If there has been proper consideration of the equality duties, the weight given to different factors in a decision will be Cabinet.

8.29 Cabinet should have regard to the Equalities Assessment at Annex 3 which identifies the following adverse equalities impacts:

8.30 Stopping Every Child a Musician will mean that Year 5/6 Children will no longer be receiving a musical instrument as a gift to keep for themselves. Accessing/purchasing musical instruments by parents/guardians may be a significant challenge.

8.31 As the funding of the new programme will be limited to up to 50% of the current budget, it is likely that the number of participants in the new programme will be lower than currently.

8.32 Newham has the youngest overall population and one of the lowest White British populations in the country. Stopping Every Child a Musician and a potential reduction in participation will mean that a large proportion of the children and young people not receiving a musical instrument will be children and young people from black and minority ethnic groups.

8.33 The Assessment identifies that the following mitigations will take place:

8.33.1 The proposed new programme will target vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children and young people who otherwise are unable to accesses enrichment activities free of charge. The KPIs for this will be considered as part of developing an outcomes framework for the new grants programme to be piloted from September 2019.

8.33.2 We will consider how monitoring arrangements for the new grants programme can provide data on take up of activities by specific groups of children and young people.

8.33.3 The council will work very closely with other creative and cultural enrichment programmes providers, e.g. Newham Music Trust (funded by DfE to deliver music in schools) to ensure any gap in children and young people accessing the new cultural enrichment programme developed by Newham as a result of this review is bridged through

transitional support to schools (in particular through a grants programme).

8.33.4 The Council will continue to engage with BAME children and young people and key cultural partners and schools to develop a meaningful and targeted programme that meets their needs.

8.33.5 There will be clear communications to parents and young people about the changes before the end of the summer term 2019.

8.34 It may be that these mitigations will not be fully effective in maintaining current levels of participation, particularly in the short to medium term. Cabinet, on 5 February 2019, balanced this adverse impact against the countervailing factors identified in that report, such as the need to identify savings given the financial pressures on the Council and to support other priorities such as Eat for Free.

8.35 Positive impacts are identified as:

8.35.1 The proposed creative and cultural enrichment programme will be more flexible and designed to meet the needs of our children and young people. Schools will have a menu of enrichment activities they can choose from/the opportunity to bid for grants to ensure complementary impact with schools’ curricula.

8.35.2 The proposed creative and cultural enrichment programme will be more targeted and enable particular groups of vulnerable young people to access more enrichment opportunities than currently, incentivised through an outcomes framework that will be developed following Cabinet approval of this report.

8.36 Other Implications relevant to this report: HR Implications

8.36.1 Should the Council agree to the recommendations in this report, this would potentially put the employees of Every Child at risk of redundancy due to funding ending from the start of the school year in September 2019 and the Council’s proposed new Pilot Cultural Enrichment Offer, that would run from September 2019 to August 2020, being sufficiently different to the current model of delivery that it does not appear to give these employees any transfer rights under TUPE. Upon externalisation, the Council’s HR policies and procedures also transferred with the Every Child employees under TUPE. Any consultation on redundancies would need to be managed by Every Child using the transferred Change Management Policy.

8.36.2 Employees of Every Child are not employees of Newham Council and, therefore, do not have automatic access to the Council’s Redeployment Register, which provides potential employment opportunities for Council employees who are deemed to be ‘at risk’ of compulsory redundancy. Cabinet is asked to note the advice from Legal Services in section 8.18 of this report in relation to having an ‘associated employer’ relationship with its ‘wholly-owned’

companies. The Council will allow Every Child employees access to employment opportunities within the Council, to mitigate the risk of unfair dismissal, which may arise if it failed to assist with any potential for redeployment.

Property Implications8.36.3 The Company currently has a lease relating to part of Grassroots

Community Centre (E15 3DB), a property owned by the Council. The Contractual Term of the lease is three years and commenced on 01 April 2018. Under the terms of the lease, the Landlord (the Council) or the Tenant (the Company) may terminate the lease on or after the second anniversary of the Commencement Date by serving a Break Notice on the other party, giving no less than six months written notice.

8.36.4 If the recommendation to wind up the Company is approved by Cabinet, the Company or the Council may serve a Break Notice immediately afterwards to terminate the lease from 31 March 2020 – the second anniversary. The Company would remain liable for the remaining proportion of the Annual Rent and any associated bills (in line with the current lease terms) which fall due until 31 March 2020.

8.36.5 Following a Break Notice being served, the Council’s Property Team would carry out an inspection to assess the condition and rental value for marketing purposes in order to secure a new tenant post 01 April 2020. As is standard following an inspection, the Council reserves the right to issue a schedule of dilapidations to the Company if the premises are in disrepair.

8.36.6 If a tenant is in place before 01 April 2020, the remaining proportion of the Annual Rent liability to the Company will reduce.

9 Background Information used in the preparation of this report

9.1 Cabinet report – Proposed Changes to Every Child Programme and for a new Enrichment Programme for Children and Young People. https://mgov.newham.gov.uk/documents/s125953/EC%20Review%20-%20Cabinet%20report%20V11.pdf

9.2 Every Child a Musician: Project Evaluation 2011-2012 by the Institute of Education (see link below for more information) https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/268078265_Every_Child_a_Musici an_Project_Evaluation_2011-2012

Annex 1

Enrichment Offer Stakeholder Engagement Report

1. Executive Summary The new enrichment offer will replace the existing Every Child Programme and will be co-produced with a range of key stakeholders. At the centre of our stakeholder engagement and design of the new offer is children and young people and Newham schools; both of which will be heavily engaged throughout the development, implementation, review stages and ongoing quality assurance processes.

PurposeBy carrying out a through stakeholder engagement process, the Council aims to broaden and maximise the new offer by avoiding duplication of already exiting enrichment offers and identify opportunities to work in partnership with our local providers. The process also acts as a way of managing stakeholders’ expectations, whilst also incorporate stakeholder’s views in the designing of any new offer, and manage the risks associated with decommissioning the existing offer.

2. Stakeholder Engagement Framework In order to structure the Stakeholder engagement process with key stakeholder, a framework was created, which brought together the outcomes of the previous stakeholder engagement activity as part of the work carried out for the Cabinet paper in February 2019.

The framework carried forward the new enrichment design principles that were agreed at Cabinet and provided a brief outline structure of the proposed pilot and new offer; which broke the offer down into the three core deliverables: Music Enrichment, Extra Enrichment, and an Enrichment Directory.

See Annex A for the Stakeholder Engagement Framework Diagram.

2.1 Key Stakeholder Analysis and Summary of Engagement Activity (high level)

Stakeholder Primary Mode of Engagement

Summary of Stakeholder Engagement Activity / Comments

Groups


School Council meetings, Youth Groups meetings

Attended the Youth Assembly on opportunities for young people (c. 80 attendees)

Attended School Council meetings (c. 50 pupils)o 1 x primary schoolo 3 x secondary schoolsNB: All schools were offered the opportunity to invite officers from the Council to attend their school council. All



requested (six) were responded to.

Further Stakeholder Engagement Planned:

Consultation via survey with Youth Movement Group

Possible further attendance at school councils

SchoolsHeadteacher working groups, Education Partnership, other HT groups

1 x Headteacher Working Group (7 HT representatives)

1 x Education Partnership Board (12 HT representatives)


Headteacher survey to seek wider views

Existing Providers

Every Child (Achieving their Potential) Ltd Face-to-Face meeting

Held several face-to-face meetings with the Company, in addition to scheduled commissioning meetings.

Chess in Schools Face-to-Face meeting

Held a face-to-face meeting with provider


Continue stakeholder engagement with provider around existing offer

Stratford Circus Face-to-Face meeting

Held two face-to-face meeting with provider


Continue stakeholder engagement with provider around existing offer and development of future proposals

Stratford East, Theatre Royal Face-to-Face meeting

Meeting scheduled to take place late May 2019



The Royal Shakespeare Company

Face-to-Face meeting Meeting scheduled to take

place early June 2019

Newham Music Trust Face-to-Face meeting Held a face-to-face meeting

with providerNew Providers / Interested Parties

Living Song CIC Email / Telephone and Face-to-Face meeting



Continue stakeholder engagement with provider around development of future proposals

East London Dance Face-to-Face meeting




Aston Mansfield Face-to-Face meeting




Musicians’ Union Face-to-Face meeting


No further stakeholder engagement activity planned.

Internal (LBN)

Councillors and Mayor Face-to-Face meeting

Regular meetings with the Mayor and Lead Cabinet Member for Education. Will continue throughout the design and implementation stages.



Community Neighbourhoods Face-to-Face meeting

Meetings to be arranged post Cabinet approval of proposals

Youth Services Face-to-Face meeting Meetings to be arranged post

Cabinet approval of proposals

Headstart Programme Face-to-Face meeting

Initial discussions taken place, will be continuing to liaise and share knowledge and learning from their Creative and Sports Offer

Leisure and Community Team Face-to-Face meeting

Meetings to be arranged post Cabinet approval of proposals

3. Key Stakeholders’ Feedback and the Council’s Response

Key Stakeholder Group

Summary of views Council Response


Want to see: more opportunities which

support them into adulthood and

more opportunities for cross- borough events and interschool performances / showcasing opportunities

Views on the outline stakeholder engagement framework (Annex 1):

happy music remains part of the offer

would like to see more adventurous enrichment opportunities included

Enrichment opportunity suggestions put forward by CYP to consider:

Competitions / Showcasing opportunities

Cooking skills / making their breakfast

Dancing – various styles

We are: developing a flexible offer and

working with providers / the market to develop more enrichment opportunities which prepare young people for adulthood

encouraging providers to develop enrichment offers which include inter-borough / cross-borough events and competition / ensembles

providing a directory of enrichment activities share knowledge and information of the broad range of opportunities that exist already, or will exist in the future

All suggestions will be considered as the Council moves forward with the development stage. Many of

Singing / Choirs Making own songs Acting DJ-ing Costume Design Opportunities that develop

the providers engaged already through the stakeholder engagement process are specialists in several of the areas CYP have suggested.The Council will continue to engage with stakeholders to ensure the new enrichment offer is diverse and meeting the requirements children and people state they would like.

self-confidence and publicspeaking skills

Opportunities that recognisetalent

Longer music lessons

Want to see: We are: expanding the current

enrichment offer to include a wider range of music and horizon broadening activities

exploring opportunities to work in partnership with local cultural and creative organisations

retain elements of the existing offer which demonstrated value for money and are valued by schools and young people

an inclusive borough and full consideration will be given to all opportunities to ensure they are inclusive for CYP with SEN/D

a broadening of the current music offer and enrichment activities

greater links to arts and cultural partnerships already in existence in the borough

Existing Providers

commitment to continuing some aspects of the current offer, at least in the immediate future

a commitment to providing an inclusive offer

Views on the outline stakeholder engagement framework (Annex A):


Want to see: We are:

Other Providers

flexible approach to delivery which supports more providers delivering a new offer

commitment to quality assurance of a new offer

commitment to ensuring staff engaged by the offer are paid the London Living Wage

developing the new offer to have greater flexibility to through grant funding methods and including a wider range of opportunities

including provision for quality assurance, monitoring and reviewing provision

a London Living Wage employer and would expect




that any providers engaging staff to deliver the new enrichment offer will commit to paying staff the London Living Wage as a minimum

an inclusive borough and full consideration will be given to all opportunities to ensure they are inclusive for CYP with SEN/D

Schools

Want to see: a new offer to move away

from direct delivery of music and music tuition

more of a focus on horizon broadening opportunities, with a consensus from schools that they did not require direct support from the Council to deliver music education

Music enrichment which support key transitional points– such as primary to secondary school to sustain musicality into adolescence

the funds spent strengthening statutory service – particularly given the challenges that CYPS Social Care and SEN Services are facing at the moment (view of Primary Partnership Board)




We are: committing to a delivery model

which does not involve the direct delivery of music and music tuition

expanding the number of opportunities on offer through a mixed model of grants and commissioned services

proposing to include a pilot cluster music enrichment offer which specifically supports transitions between primary and secondary, as well providing showcasing opportunities for CYP

acknowledging the challenges facing CYPS Social Care and SEND and have provided additional funding to support the transformation programme. The new enrichment offer is another way the Mayor and her administration are demonstrating a strong commitment to children and young people in Newham

an inclusive borough and full consideration will be given to all opportunities to ensure they are inclusive for CYP with SEND

4. How Will We Use Stakeholder Feedback A significant amount of key stakeholder feedback gained during the stakeholder engagement sessions has already been incorporated into the design of the pilot enrichment offer. We have included a pilot cluster music enrichment offer in response to feedback received from key stakeholders. Other ways we are using key stakeholders’ feedback includes sharing children and young peoples’ feedback with providers to enable them to incorporate the feedback into future proposals and service designs.

Stakeholder engagement will continue throughout the one year pilot enrichment offer and continue to shape the offer.

Annex 1

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Annex A – Stakeholder Engagement Framework

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Annex 1 Annex B – Children and Young People’s Suggestions / what is import to them.

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Annex 2

Ceasing Every Child Programme and impact on Every Child (Achieving their Potential) Ltd – additional information

Ceasing the delivery of Every Child Programme and the funding to the Company, is likely to mean the Company will have to be wound up and the business will not be viable without the contract for services it receives from the Council.

Winding up the Company would mean the likelihood of 11 (10.5 fte) staff affected by redundancies; sufficient notice period will need to be factored in the business change plan/timetable. LBN HR will work closely with the Company to support the process of implementing any staff redundancies.

Below is a high level action plan outlining key activities and timeframe to cease the Every Child Programme and wind up the Company; a detailed action plan will be devised by HR in relation to the Staff consultation and notices:

Actions When Action Lead

Cabinet decision on winding the Company

June 2019 Mayor and Cabinet

Letter to the Company confirming Cabinet decision

June 2019 Access and Infrastructure Team

Company Staff Consultation and Notices

June 2019 – August 2019

HR and the Company

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Annex 3 Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA)

Every Child Programme Review and Enrichment Offer

Version number 2Date last reviewed: May 2019Approved by:Date approved:Next review date: November 2019Saved as:

Management of the EQIAHead of Access and Infrastructure: Peter Gibb School Support Services Commissioner: Simon Whitlock

Oversight of the EQIADirector of Children’s Services: Elaine ReddingDirector of Education: Terry Reynolds

IntroductionThe aim of equalities monitoring is to assist the council to understand whether or not it is meeting the needs of service users / customers to provide services that are not discriminatory to people with different backgrounds and to give an indication of the extent to which the Authority is providing a fair and equal service to all residents.

The Council has a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to give “due regard” to the impact of its decisions in terms of promoting and ensuring equality for ‘protected’ groups. Any specific impact (positive or negative) on a particular group and (if negative) how it will be addressed should be referenced in the EQIA and mitigated where possible.

The Equality Act 2010 requires the council to consider the impact of its policies on reducing inequality, eliminating discrimination and promoting fairness in the delivery of our services for residents for protected equality groups that covers: age, disability, transgender, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender and marriage and civil partnerships.

The following protected characteristics have been considered in relation to the proposals for the Enrichment and Every Child programmes:

Protected Characteristic Reason for this assessment

Disability Accessibility of buildings and equality of access to cultural and sporting activities, including music for pupils with disabilities. This includes parity of quality of experiences.

Socio-economic disadvantage

Reducing socio-economic disadvantage by removing/reducing costs to access cultural and sporting activities.

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Age Affected pupils/students between primary and secondary schools – years 2 to 10; and whether services will be tailored to different age groups.

Race

Equality of access to participating in cultural and sporting activities, including music for students irrespective of race.

Headline figures:➢ The are 34,249 (94.1%) BAME pupils in primary

schools out of 36,375 primary school pupils in total in Newham.

➢ There are 22,831(93.3%) BAME pupils in secondary schools out of 24,447 secondary school pupils in total in Newham.

➢ There are 124 (92.5%) BAME pupils in special schools out of 134 total pupils in total in Newham.

➢ There are 26,674 (%73.3) primary school pupils with English as additional language

➢ There are 15,778 (64.5%) secondary school pupils with English as additional language

➢ There are 86 (64.2%) special school pupils with English as additional language

Religion / belief Equality of access to cultural and sporting activities, including music for pupil/students of different faiths and no faith

Sex Equality of access to participating in cultural and sportingactivities, including music for males and females

Pregnancy and maternity

Equality of access to participating in cultural and sporting activities, including music for students during and after pregnancy.

Sexual orientation Equality of access to participating in cultural and sporting activities, including music for students irrespective of sexual orientation

Transgender Equality of access to participating in cultural and sportingactivities, including music for Transgender pupil/students

Scope of the EQIAThis Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) relates to the plans to cease the Every Child programme and commence a new Enrichment Offer. It updates the previous EqIA provided to Cabinet in February 2019.

The proposals agreed by Cabinet on 5 February 2019 are:

1) To cease funding the current Every Child Programme from the school year starting September 2019.

2) To retain up to 50% of current funding to develop and deliver an enhanced enrichment provision for children and young people across Newham, which will be implemented during the 2019/20 academic year.

Following a process of engagement, on 4 June 2019 Cabinet is being asked to approve a Pilot Cultural Enrichment Offer for the period September 2019 to August 2020. The pilot will focus on developing and delivering a grant programme for

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schools to support music enrichment and test innovative approaches, measured against an outcomes framework. The grant will also provide for transitional support for those schools which need it following the withdrawal of the Every Child a Musician offer, in line with the Cabinet decision of 5 February. Certain elements of the existing Every Child offer will continue where they have been demonstrated to show value for money and are valued by schools and young people (theatre and chess programme).

In the development of the above changes, due regard has been paid to equalities to understand any potential impacts on those with protected equality characteristics.We will work with schools, and other key stakeholders delivering music to ensure any potential gap leading to inequality as a result of these changes is addressed. Addressing equalities will be a key part of the development of an outcomes framework for the new grants programme.

Relevant DataThe Every Child programme was established to give children in Newham access to wider cultural and educational opportunities.

It has four elements:

1) Every Child a Musician: The Every Child a Musician Programme (ECaM) provides free musical tuition and instruments for children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Newham’s Primary Schools. It reaches around 12,500 children per year.

2) Every Child a Theatre Goer: Newham’s Every Child a Theatre Goer Programme provides opportunities for around 16,000 young people annually in Year 6 and aged between 11 and 15 to attend theatre productions.

3) Every Child a Sports Person: This programme offers the opportunity to try 20 different sports. Annually around 4000 children from year 7, from 18 different secondary schools participate in the Every Child a Sportsperson programme.

4) Every Child a Chess Player: This programme aims to give children in Newham in years 2 to 5 the opportunity to learn how to play chess which helps them develop their skills outside of traditional learning (up to 1,700 children every week).

In 2012 the International Music Education Research Centre (iMerc) at the Institute of Education delivered evaluations2 of the programme mainly focused on musical improvement and child well-being. Although the programme did not explicitly focus on reading, writing and English and mathematics outcomes the evaluation did look for possible impacts on KS2 assessments for nearly 800 children relating to reading, writing, English and mathematics.

The report highlighted that most stakeholders (children, tutors, parents, head teachers) were very positive about their experiences and the positive impacts it had at individual, school and family levels. However a comparison between instrumental

2 https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/268078265_Every_Child_a_Musician_Project_Evaluation_2011- 2012

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learning and Key Stage 2 assessment data for Year 6 pupils found children’s academic achievements are not linked to their levels of instrumental learning and no significant relationships were observed between ECaM progress and children’s wider sense of happiness and wellbeing.

ConsultationConsultation undertaken to date as part of the redesign of cultural and creative enrichment opportunities offered to children and young people in Newham is as follows:

Public consultation via online and hard copy questionnaire sent on request – between 14 December 2018 to 20 January 2019. Report was published with February Cabinet report.

School Council meetings and Youth Assembly – range of meetings from March 2019 to May 2019.

Working group with headteachers – 7 March 2019 Meeting key stakeholders with an interest in cultural enrichment – range of

meetings from March 2019 to May 2019. Meetings with Every Child Ltd – 26 February 2019, 26 March 2019 Meetings with Mayor – 10 April 2019, 2 May 2019 Education Partnership Board – 10 May 2019

Annex 1 of this Cabinet report summarises stakeholder feedback and provides the Council response including how we have incorporated feedback into our proposals.

Impact on protected groups and recommendations for action.The impact of the proposal on each of the protected groups and recommendations for action where appropriate are shown overleaf.

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Assessment of Impact and RecommendationsProtected characteristics / Assessment of Relevance

Issues taken from evidence Judgement (positive / negative)

Recommendations

Disability

HIGH

Any children and young people not attending a school will not have access to the new programme- whilst the majority of students with SEND are placed in mainstream provision, some young people are awaiting a school place. These young people and those that are residing out of Newham, home educated and children missing education may be affected.

The activities within the new programme will need to be designed to accommodate students with SEND, including Equality Act compliance. It will be fully accessible and all pupils attending schools in Newham will be able to access the activities.

Positive / some challenges

Activities to incorporate disability/mobility compatibility during planning/as part of grant conditions.

Venues to be fully accessible for all children and young people with SEND accessing the new provision, including expectations that grant funded providers will make reasonable adjustments.

The new programme will target vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children and young people who otherwise are unable to access enrichment activities free of charge.

Class /and Socio-economic disadvantage

HIGH

Whilst Newham has moved from 2nd most disadvantaged Borough in England to 25th, issues of social disadvantage remain.

Accessing/purchasing musical instrument as an additional activity by parents/guardians for children they are responsible for could be a significant challenge


Ensure appropriate activities are on offer with no additional cost for parents/guardians of children and young people to take up.

Create a closer partnership with Newham Music Trust and schools to bridge any potential gap as a result of this change, in particular through the development of an outcomes framework for the grants programme during its Pilot year.

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Protected characteristics / Assessment of Relevance

Issues taken from evidence Judgement (positive / negative)

Recommendations

Age

HIGH

Currently the programme offers:Music to year 3 – year 6 pupils Theatre Goer to year 6 – year 10 Sports to year 7 studentsChess to year 2 – year 5 pupils

The proposed 50% funding reduction may result in children and young people receiving less activities within the new programme.

There are approximately 85,000 children and young people (0-18 years old) residing in Newham.

Future population forecasting has been undertaken and will be kept under regular review.


The new programme will have more flexibilities, it will cater for the wider and different age group, ranging from early years to end of secondary school age.

Schools should be able to choose activities and apply for grants according to the needs of the school and their pupils for maximum impact and effectiveness of delivery

Race

HIGH

Newham has a diverse population with a large number of ethnic groups represented.The make-up of the population is changing, children arrive part way through their education.Schools are concerned about gang related activity, which disproportionately affects black students.

Newham has the youngest overall population and one of the lowest White British populations in the country. Stopping Every Child a Musician and a potential reduction in participation will mean that a large proportion of the children and young people not receiving a musical instrument will be children


The new provision should support the Council’s social integration agenda.Ways to mitigate the risk of students being drawn into gang activity should be considered, including working more closely with the youth service and the youth offending team.

The Council is engaging with BAME children and young people and key cultural partners and schools to develop a meaningful and targeted programme that meets their needs, based on an outcomes

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and young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.

framework. The results of the engagement so far are summarised in Annex 1 of this Cabinet report.

Religion / Belief

MEDIUM

Newham’s diverse population includes people of a wide range of faiths and none.

Positive Ensure all activities in schools are available and accessible by all sections of the population.

Sex

MEDIUM

Current programme is open to boys and girls. Neutral Ensure all activities on offer in schools are open to boys and girls.

Pregnancy and MaternityLOW

School places are kept available for students to return following childbirth and /or outreach education is offered if appropriate.

Neutral None specific to this proposal.

Sexual Orientation MEDIUM

Take up of the new programme by gay or lesbian young people may be low as a result of bullying in school or may be disproportionately higher as a means of accessing opportunities for self- expression

Neutral Council to work closely with schools in addressing any homophobic or potential homophobic issues

Activities to promote understanding and mutual respect will be considered as part of the development of an outcomes framework.

Transgender MEDIUM

Guidance is emerging regarding provision for transgender students and will be kept under review.

Neutral Create flexible and adaptable spaces and take account of any accommodation guidelines which may emerge in this regard in future.

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Conclusion and Next Steps

In summary, this equalities impact assessment has identifies the following adverse equalities impacts:

Stopping Every Child a Musician will mean that Year 5/6 Children will no longer be receiving a musical instrument as a gift to keep for themselves. Accessing/purchasing musical instruments by parents/guardians may be a significant challenge.

As the funding of the new programme will be limited to up to 50% of the current budget, it is likely that the number of participants in the new programme will be lower than currently.

Newham has the youngest overall population and one of the lowest White British populations in the country. Stopping Every Child a Musician and a potential reduction in participation will mean that a large proportion of the children and young people not receiving a musical instrument will be children and young people from black and minority ethnic groups.

The following mitigations will take place:

The proposed new programme will target vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children and young people who otherwise are unable to accesses enrichment activities free of charge. This includes disabled children and young people. The KPIs for this will be considered as part of developing an outcomes framework for the new grants programme, to be piloted from September 2019.

We will consider how monitoring arrangements for the new grants programme can provide data on take up of activities by specific groups of children and young people.

The council will work very closely with other creative and cultural enrichment programmes providers, e.g. Newham Music Trust (funded by DfE to deliver music in schools) to ensure any gap in children and young people accessing the new cultural enrichment programme developed by Newham as a result of this review is bridged through transitional support to schools (in particular through a grants programme).

The Council has engaged with and will continue to engage with BAME children and young people and key cultural partners and schools to develop and implement a meaningful and targeted programme that meets their needs.

There will be clear communications to parents and young people about the changes before the end of the summer term 2019.

It may be that these mitigations will not be fully effective in maintaining current levels of participation, particularly in the short to medium term. Cabinet, on 5 February 2019, balanced this adverse impact against the countervailing factors identified in that report, such as the need to identify savings given the financial pressures on the Council and to support other priorities such as Eat for Free.

Positive impacts are identified as:

The proposed creative and cultural enrichment programme will be more flexible and designed to meet the needs of our children and young people. Schools will have a menu of enrichment activities they can choose from, including the

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opportunity to bid for grants to ensure complementary impact with schools’ curricula.

The proposed creative and cultural enrichment programme will be more targeted and enable particular groups of vulnerable young people to access more enrichment opportunities than currently, incentivised through an outcomes framework that will be developed following Cabinet approval of this report.

This is a live document and needs to be reviewed as the new offer develops from the Pilot and updated accordingly. This will next be carried out in November 2019.

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Microsoft Word - Enrichment Cabinet Paper FINAL€¦ · Web viewThe new enrichment offer is...

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