PAPER A

POLICY COMMISSION MEETING

Meeting	Children and School Results Commission
Ref	CPC 01/11/06
Date	Wednesday, 1 November 2006 18.00 to 19.40
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight
Purpose of meeting	Formal public meeting
Attendance	Commission members – Cllrs Melanie Swan (Commissioner), George Cameron, Gill Kennett, Deborah Gardiner, Muriel Miller, Lady Pigot Apologies – Cllrs Wendy Arnold Cabinet members – Cllrs Dawn Cousins, Patrick Joyce Cabinet Secretary – Cllr David Pugh Officers – Mr Steve Beynon, Mrs Jackie Boxx, Mr Keith Simmonds, Mr Paul Thistlewood Other members present :- Cllrs Geoff Lumley, Roger Mazillius, Erica Oulton, Julian Whittaker
Agenda Items
1. Notes of previous meeting	The notes of the meeting held on 4 October 2006 were agreed.
2. Declarations of interest	Cllr Gardiner declared a personal interest in item 3 due to her employment by Unison and her husband’s employment with Connexions.
3. Investing in the Island’s Future C1/06 – 14 to 19 Strategy	Papers considered :- Briefing paper and powerpoint presentation from Jackie Boxx, General Inspector, Inspection and School Improvement Team :- General points arising :- i. The education requirements of 14-19 year olds will need to take into account the contents of Every Child Matters; The 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper; The Skills White Paper and the Youth Matters Green Paper. ii. Only 50% of Island students left school with 5 A*-C GCSE’s with 6% leaving with no qualifications. iii. All students will have a personalised learning plan to ensure that they are guaranteed a broad learning programme which provides them with a foundation for future education or employment. iv. The plan would enable students to access courses based on their ability and not age. v. 14 specialised diplomas were to be introduced nationally by 2013. vi. The 14 new diplomas would comprise 3 levels. Level 1 would be the foundation level, Level 2 equivalent to GCSE and Level 3 A level equivalent. vii. The first 5 Diplomas would be introduced in September 2008, the next 5 by September 2009 and the remaining 4 by September 2010. viii. Key foundation skills will be required by all students in English, Maths and IT before being able to progress to other studies. ix. The diploma courses would be developed with industry and commerce to take into account the requirements of employers. x. Delivery of the diplomas would involve a range of teaching methods involving classrooms and work based activities. xi. The Island had made a bid to be a pilot area for one of the diploma courses and would know if this was successful by February 2007. xii. New curriculum to cater for students wishing to proceed to Higher Education, Further Education, apprenticeships or employment. xiii. Partnership working between institutions would be the key to the successful delivery of the new diplomas as it would be difficult for one facility to provide the full range. xiv. The One School Pathfinder Scheme would assist in the provision of appropriate facilities at Island schools to enable the new diploma courses to be delivered. xv. School staff would require training to develop the skills to deliver the new diplomas.