Agenda and minutes

Minute of the meeting of 24 September 2015 to be approved and signed by the Chairman. (Copy attached).

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of 24 September 2015.

DECISION

NOTED for signature by the Chairman.

Update on the decision of the Petitions and Deputations Committee of 1 October 2015. (Copy of Minute of meeting attached).

            With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of the Scrutiny Committee of 24 September 2015, Members noted that following a request by Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council to include the Great Tapestry of Scotland in the programme of Scrutiny Reviews, the Scrutiny Committee had deferred its decision until after the Petitions and Deputations Committee had considered the matter at its meeting on 1 October 2015.  Copies of the Minute of the Petitions and Deputations Committee of 1 October had been circulated and it was noted that the decision by the Petitions and Deputations Committee at that time was that no further action was required.  Members went on to discuss whether or not any further scrutiny of the process was required.  Councillor Cockburn proposed that in view of the public disquiet over the decision making process that a working group should be set up to examine this process and ascertain if there were any lessons which could be learned for future projects.  Councillors Nicol and Torrance, who were Chairman and Member respectively of the Petitions and Deputations Committee considered that the matter had been fully discussed at the meeting on 1 October and therefore no further action was required.

VOTE

         Councillor Cockburn, seconded by Councillor Cranston, moved that a working group should be set up to examine the decision making process in respect of the Great Tapestry of Scotland Project and ascertain if there were any lessons which could be learned for future projects.

         Councillor Nicol, seconded by Councillor Archibald, moved as an amendment that no further action was required.

        On a show of hand Members voted as follows:-

         Motion                            -        3 votes

         Amendment                   -        3 votes.

        There being an equality of votes the Chairman exercised his casting vote in favour of the Motion which was accordingly carried.

          Following discussion regardingthe possible membership of the Working Group, it was agreed that the appointment of Members to the Group should be deferred until the next meeting of the Committee to allow all Members to participate in the decision.  It was further agreed that the Director of Corporate Transformation and Services would prepare Draft Terms of Reference for the Working Group for consideration at the next meeting scheduled for 26 November 2015.

DECISION

            AGREED:-

(a)      to form a Scrutiny Working Group to examine the decision making process in respect of the Great Tapestry of Scotland Project and ascertain if there were any lessons which could be learned for future projects;

(b)     to defer the appointment of Members to the Scrutiny Working Group until the next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee when it was hoped that all Members of the Committee would be present to participate in the decision; and

(c)     to consider and agree the draft terms of reference for the Working Group.

Presentation by Service Director Children and Young People.  (Background papers attached).

3.1       With reference to paragraph 6(a) (i) of the Minute of 26 March 2015, the Chairman welcomed Ms Donna Manson, Service Director Children and Young People and Ms

Gillian McKenzie, Senior Education Officer who were present at the meeting to give a presentation on the Religious Observance Policy in schools across the Scottish Borders. There had also been circulated copies of background information relating to the Religious Observance Policy and the provision of religious and moral education in non-denominational schools and religious education in Roman Catholic schools.  Ms McKenzie explained that there were key documents which had been fundamental in the development of Religious Observance nationally and across the Scottish Borders.  These included the Curriculum for Excellence – Provision of Religious Observance in Schools and a Briefing on this from the Scottish Government and the SBC Religious Observance Policy.  Within primary schools, religious observance events took place at least 6 times a year and in some cases, the Chaplain attended every week of term.  All Chaplain-led events were mainly Christian but they also contained a universal moral message and the pupils were regularly involved in preparing and presenting assemblies.  It was noted that parents were aware of the option for their children to opt out of these events although few actually did so.  In some cases, children could attend some aspects of assemblies and opt out of others and there were a range of learning tasks to be completed. A similar arrangement was in place for secondary schools.  Again, religious events took place at least six times a year.  These were either on a whole school or a by year basis with few pupils opting out and in some cases Chaplains supported the delivery of religious, moral and philosophical studies in the senior phase.  It was noted that in cases where pupils did opt out, alternative and supervised activities were provided.  An example of a religious observance programme was included in the presentation.  Ms McKenzie explained that within the curriculum, enjoyment was considered to be a design principle and was therefore reported to Education Scotland, adding that available evidence demonstrated that pupils did enjoy their religious observance events.

3.2       The Curriculum for Excellence and Religious and Moral Education explained that this was a process for children and young people to engage in a search for meaning, value and purpose in life.  This involved the exploration of beliefs and values and how these were expressed.  There was a strong focus on knowledge, understanding, skills, attributes and capabilities of the children and young people.  Within the broad general education spectrum for 3 to fifteen year olds, there were a range of outcomes and experiences up to fourth level covering Christianity, world religions selected for study and development of beliefs and values and the presentation included an example of these.  Religious and moral education was a statutory subject with the Curriculum for Excellence and materials had been developed to support schools delivering the subject within the senior phase.  Certified courses Religious,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Presentation by Service Director Children and Young People (Background papers attached).

4.1       With reference to paragraph 6(a) (ii) of the Minute of 26 March 2015, the Chairman welcomed Ms Donna Manson, Service Director Children and Young People and Ms

Helen Ross, Senior Education Officer who were present at the meeting to give a

presentation on Faith Schools in the Scottish Borders. There had also been circulated copies of background information relating to religious education in Roman Catholic schools, including Curriculum for Excellence Principles and Practice; Experiences and Outcomes; a Charter for Roman Catholic Schools in Scotland; a briefing from the Scottish Government on the provision of religious observance in schools; and the Scottish Borders Council Schools Admissions Policy.  Ms Ross explained that separate denominational schools had been established as a result of the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 and that there were three Scottish Episcopal and one Jewish school in Scotland.  The other denominational schools were Roman Catholic which were funded by the Scottish Government and administered by the local authorities.  There were also specific legal provisions to ensure the promotion of a Roman Catholic ethos in these schools.  In terms of recruitment, applicants for teacher and promoted posts did not require to be of the Roman Catholic faith but the applications did have to be approved by the Catholic Church authorities in Scotland.  There were 366 Catholic schools in Scotland with four primary schools in the Scottish Borders – St Margaret's in Hawick, St Joseph's in Selkirk, St Margaret's in Galashiels and Hayrude in Peebles – and it was agreed in 2012 that one headteacher be appointed to these four schools.  Ms Ross explained that for Roman Catholic children, proof of entitlement, in the form of a Certificate of Baptism, was required for admission and for non-Roman Catholic children, a placing request was necessary.  These requests would be dealt with in the same way as in the general education schools and Ms Manson advised that during the current year, all placing requests had been granted.

4.2       The current rolls at the Roman Catholic schools were small, ranging from 14 at St Margaret's in Hawick to 81 at Halyrude in Peebles and this had presented a number of challenges eg in the delivery of the curriculum in one and two teacher schools with multi-composite classes; recruitment and retention of teaching staff which was due, in part, to the small number of Roman Catholic recruits and the need for approval, the perception by some teachers that there were limited opportunities for development in small schools, the lack of recruitment from outside the area and a sense of isolation within smaller schools.  With regard to the approval process for teachers in Roman Catholic schools, there were a number of requirements.  When seeking approval, a teacher had to demonstrate how his/her personal “religious belief and character" enabled him/her to undertake the duties of the particular teaching post within the context of a Catholic school, with its particular mission, values and ethos, as outlined in a ‘A Charter for Catholic Schools in Scotland’; teachers were also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Update on Subjects included in the Future Scrutiny Review Programme.  (Copy attached).

With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of 24 September 2015, there had been circulated an updated list of subjects which the Scrutiny Committee had been asked to review and which included the source of the request, the stage the process had reached and the date, if identified, of the Scrutiny meeting at which the information would be presented.  In addition, Members were also asked to consider further subjects for inclusion on this list for presentation at future meetings of the Committee.  When deciding whether subjects would be reviewed by the Scrutiny Committee, Members required a clear indication from the initiator of the request as to which aspects of the subject they wished to be reviewed.  This would enable the Committee to determine whether the subject was appropriate for consideration.  It was agreed that guidance should be made available to ensure that requests for Reviews contained sufficient information to enable the Committee to make its decision.  Following discussion, Members agreed that a presentation on the impact on Scottish Borders Council of the Community Empowerment Bill, requested by the Liberal Democrats Group, be brought to the next meeting of the Committee on 26 November 2015 and that Councillor Nicol, on behalf of the Group, would provide further information on specific aspects of the Bill to be included in the presentation.  It was agreed that Protection of Private Water Supplies requested by Councillor Bhatia would be added to the list of Reviews and that this would be presented to the Scrutiny Committee at a future date.  With reference to the Review of the budget for roads repairs and maintenance, Members asked why this had been scheduled for 28 January 2016.  An explanation as to the timing of this Review would be presented to the Committee at its meeting on 26 November 2015.  Consideration whether or not to conduct a review of the financing arrangements for the Transport Interchange would also be decided in November.

DECISION

AGREED the proposed list of subjects for review by Scrutiny Committee, as appended to the Minute, and any further actions detailed against particular reviews.

The next Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday, 26 November 2015.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee would take place on Thursday 26 November 2015.