Key information
Decision type: Assistant Director
Reference code: ADD2109
Date signed:
Decision by: Amanda Coyle, Interim Assistant Director, Health and Communities
Executive summary
To provide interim cover for Senior Policy Officer unfilled post in the Education & Youth (until July 17) team to enable progression of time critical priorities including completion of the bidding process for Getting Ahead London, completion and delivery of the sub-contracted research into teacher supply within the capital and the required processes for accessing match funding for school improvement and support for capacity building within the system.
Decision
That the Assistant Director of Health and Communities approves:
i. Expenditure of up to £30,000 to ensure timely progression of Getting Ahead London grant, develop bids for match-funding money from Department of Education and support activity to secure joint funding for strategic school improvement activity for London.
ii. A related exemption under the GLA’s Contracts & Funding Code from the requirement to procure services competitively
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
Education and Youth Team require short term support to ensure the team can meet specific deadlines and progress time-critical projects. This work focusses specifically around ensuring future years of the Mayor’s leadership development programme “Getting Ahead London” and that new work can be progressed on school improvement activities in 2017-18.
A single source exemption will be sought on the grounds of the provider’s previous involvement in a specific current project or continuation of existing work which cannot be separated from the new project/work.
Short-term interim cover was approved through a DAR January 2017 for 20 days work at a cost of £10,000 to take forward the procurement for the school leadership programme Getting Ahead London between January and March 2017. The interim cover Lin Seeds was procured from Promus Services Ltd. The priority for the work has been the preparation of the documentation for the next phase of Getting Ahead London ready for procurement in early 2017-18.
The team currently have two unfilled posts; the allocated staffing budget for one of these, (1 x Grade 9) will be used to cover the costs for interim staffing. The saving over the period April to July of approximately £20,000 will cover the external consultancy costs. The consultancy will be at the same day rate as agreed for the DAR £500 per day.
The interim staffing will be procured from Promus Services Ltd. This is a registered supplier of services to GLA and will provide the services of Lin Seeds, an experienced education professional with a background in leadership and professional development. In addition she has worked with the Education and Youth team previously and will be able to ‘hit the ground running’ to provide seamless cover and will require no introduction to GLA partners in the education field.
Work will commence to continue activity already begun and be completed by end July with Lin Seeds using flexible working patterns to ensure the necessary cover is provided.
The work will cover completing the procurement of future delivery of Getting Ahead London, completing the commissioning of research into teacher recruitment challenges in London and ensuring delivery of the research reports and establishing processes, and bids if required, for accessing match funding for both leadership development (via the DfE Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund) and School Improvement funding in conjunction with Teaching Schools.
Activities include, but are not constrained to:
a. Completion of the grant-funding of a year of Getting Ahead London
• Issue of the Grant Proposal and associated forms to the market
• Dealing with questions from potential bidders
• Receiving and checking bid proposals and completed grant application forms
• Assessing bids
• Arranging follow up questions and interviews
• Being part of the evaluation team
• Providing results and feedback to bidders
• Liaising with successful applicants to launch new programme
• Providing GLA support to applicants to new programme until the launch event in late July
b. Completion of the Teach London research bid
• Finalising contract award
• Providing GLA support to successful suppliers
• Meeting monthly with suppliers to ensure progress on track
• Ensuring timely delivery of end report
c. Support Capacity Building in Education System
• Work with Department for Education, Education Endowment Fund and other funders to explore match funding options for Leadership Development future years programme
• Develop bids, if appropriate, for DfE’s Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund
• Develop process for London school improvement approach
All the above work areas have equality objectives at the heart of the goal of their programmes; Getting Ahead London has specific diversity targets in addition to all projects having consultation as a key part of the development process with the goal of including women and BAME teachers and school leaders.
London’s diversity is its biggest asset and the work programmes on school leadership and teacher recruitment will undertake specific activity ensure the schools workforce reflects London’s diversity at all levels.
• The Mayor’s London Education Report 2017 shows that:
o Despite London’s success with disadvantaged pupils the most persistently disadvantaged children are twelve months behind non-disadvantaged children by the age of sixteen, and this has barely changed since 2011.
o London has improved overall attainment for white working-class pupils, but it has done so at a slower rate over the past decade than other parts of the country and black pupils continue to be the lowest performing group at the end of every Key Stage.
o London schools also face higher teacher vacancies, lower teacher retention rates and concerns about school leadership requirements with increasing retirement levels at the same time as the number of schools are expanding.
The Mayor’s vision is that every child in London should have the best possible chance for happiness and success, making the most of the city’s great opportunities. To give all young Londoners the best start in life educational standards need to continue to be raised, inequality addressed and young people’s ambitions and resilience must be nurtured. Delivery of the work outlined above is critical to achieving that vision and filling vacant posts with interim cover helps mitigate those risks.
Extensive consultation has taken place with the London schools system on the issue of school leadership, recruitment and retention, most recently at a parallel session at the Mayor’s Annual Education Conference February 2017. Work is already underway to scope activity to support teacher recruitment and retention and the Mayor has been asked to take a leadership role for London on this issue.
The estimated cost of £20,000 will be funded from the Education and Youth’s Team staffing budget for 2017/18.
6.1 The preceding sections of this report indicate that:
6.1.1 the decisions requested of the assistant director (in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code) fall within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation and social development in Greater London; and
6.1.2 in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:
• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people (further details on equalities are set out in section 3 above) and to the duty under section 149 of the 2010 Act to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not ;
• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; and
• consult with appropriate bodies.
6.2 Section 4.1 of the Contracts and Funding Code (the ‘Code’) requires the GLA to Seek a call-off from a suitable framework, where possible, or if not, undertake a formal tender process which will be managed by TfL in respect of the services. However, the assistant director may approve an exemption from this requirement under section 5 of the Code upon certain specified grounds. One of those grounds is that the approval of the exemption on the basis of previous or continued involvement in the project. Officers have indicated in the report above that this ground applies and that the proposed contracts affords value for money.
On this basis the assistant director may approve the proposed exemption if satisfied with the content of this report.
Signed decision document
ADD2109 Interim Cover in Education & Youth from April-July 2017 (signed)