Grenfell Education Fund Steering Group

Grenfell Education Fund (GEF)

The aim of the fund was to address the additional educational challenges and barriers that the young survivors and witnesses to Grenfell will face over the remaining years of their education.

Grenfell Education Fund Steering Group 

This steering group was established to support the long-term educational aspirations for children and young people affected by Grenfell, remove barriers to educational success, and to make sure resources were effectively targeted to support their education progress.

The group brings together head teachers and other key local partners to oversee the criteria and processes by which applications are made to the Grenfell education fund; establishing systems that are both efficient in delivery and flexible in response.

The steering group also leads on reporting on the impact of the funding in supporting the education progress of children and young people affected by the Grenfell. 

Grenfell Education Fund – Terms of Reference

Context

The fire at Grenfell Tower was a large scale and unprecedented humanitarian crisis that requires a dedicated, coordinated professional response across the range of agencies responsible for supporting families and adults in North Kensington. 

The Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) was set up by the unanimously agreed motion to the RBKC full council on the on 19th July 2017.  This motion provided the rationale for the fund, the broad details on the scope of the funding support, and how the management of the fund would be taken forward by the council. 

The motion was moved by Cllr Bevan Powell and seconded by Cllr Harrison Littler:   

This Council recognises the long-term impact of trauma on the lives of young people who have witnessed and experienced shocking events, particularly those which involve the loss of many lives. In particular, this Council understands the negative impact such experiences can have on the educational achievement and attainment of young people.

This Council resolves to establish a Grenfell Education Fund in order to address the additional educational challenges and barriers that the young survivors and witnesses of the Grenfell Tower disaster will face over the remaining years of their education.

Such a fund will provide multiple layers of support to the young people it will help. As a minimum, the fund should help by:
 

• Supporting with the cost of uniform and other essential school equipment.
• Providing additional tuition - especially around key times such as Year 6 SATs, GCSEs and A-levels.
• Funding additional extra-curricular and other activities or trips which would not otherwise be available.
• Offering bursaries to encourage access to further and higher education.
• Funding the support of an education advocate who can support families in making effective use of the funds available.
• Supporting schools with the costs of monitoring, analysing and reporting on the educational attainment of affected children.

GEF Steering Group 

This steering group is being established to support the long term educational aspirations for children and young people affected by the Grenfell Tower Fire and to help ensure that their barriers to educational success are removed.  It will bring together head teachers and other key local partners to oversee the criteria and processes by which applications are made to the Grenfell education fund; establishing systems that are both efficient in delivery and flexible in response. It will also lead the commissioning of research into the needs, interventions and outcomes for this group, and establish longer term and sustainable governance arrangements around the Education fund.  The steering group will have a lead role in helping to shape the local response of partners to the changing and growing needs of the families who have survived the fire or suffered extreme loss. 

Key Tasks

1. To define the individuals, families and institutions eligible for support from the GEF, whether educated within the borough or not.
2. To enable effective arrangements for the delivery of educational support for those young people and families directly affected by the fire from nursery through to tertiary education.
3. To agree educational activities to be funded from the GEF.
4. To commission research projects concerning impact of the work being done or the effects on this cohort.
5. To establish and oversee the system for tracking and collating information in relation to the affected children, carers, families and individuals and to ensure that this system is sufficiently robust and enables an understanding of individual need as well as identifying common themes arising. 
6. To provide support and intervention for those young people, particularly at transition between phases and into university education.
7. To escalate to the Grenfell Strategic Partnership Board and Director of Education, where there are issues arising from practice that require strategic direction, additional resource to enable effective practice, or resolution of barriers to effective inter-agency working. 
8. To work in partnership to ensure that all children are effectively safeguarded. 
9. To review activity in connection with the various service offers to the children, young people, vulnerable adults and families affected by the fire, to ensure that all possible emotional wellbeing and mental health measures are in place to reduce barriers to learning.
10. To consider and attend to the needs of school staff groups working with the young people and families concerned, ensuring appropriate CPD is in place to support staff working with affected young people and families. 
11. To ensure that all relevant institutions are aware of the arrangements and procedures for sharing, collating and acting upon data.
12. To continue to develop a sustainable model of support for the longer term, including possible development of a charitable trust.
13. To identify suitable staffing resources, including a lead officer, to deliver the agreed projects and become an advocate for the defined group.

Structure 

The GEF will be chaired by the Director of Education 

As the needs of this group evolve, it may be appropriate to invite other members to join, but core representation will be from the following: 

• Lead Member for Family and Children’s Services, 
• Senior LA officers including finance and Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Head teachers from North Kensington 
• Community representation, including Grenfell United

The steering group will offer support, and advice, offering constructive criticism and holding partners to account, when necessary, as well as ensuring effective advocacy is in place for the Grenfell cohort.

Delegation of the GEF’s Functions

Decisions about delegation must be taken by the full steering group, and that delegation has been considered in the light of:

• the requirement for the steering group to fulfil a largely strategic function within the structure;
• the responsibility of the lead officer for the internal organisation, management and control of the fund; and
• the requirement for the lead officer to comply with any reasonable direction of the GESF Board in carrying out a function delegated by that Board.

Meetings

The steering group shall meet once a term. 

Appendix 1: Grenfell Education fund – current funded activities 

As an immediate response to the education needs of children affected by Grenfell, the GESF has funded the:

• recruitment of teaching assistants to enable teachers to give pastoral care, as well as having impact through the academic interventions they make.
• additional temporary staffing costs
• free transport for displaced pupils
• replacement uniforms
• provision of school meals
• specialist resources and equipment.

Other reasonable expenditure requests that are considered, have also included:

• memorial activities with a curriculum rationale within schools
• further or higher education fees for young people
• additional wellbeing activities 
• activities that seek to promote the life-chances of children through education
• further work that responds to the changing and growing needs of individuals and the community and responds to these accordingly.

Appendix 2: Information Sharing Protocol 

Given the unique circumstances surrounding the Grenfell Tower fire a number of key services and voluntary organisations have been assisting in the response to residents. Each agency will have its own process for the safe storage of information that it holds and will work within legislative frameworks relating to the ability to share information. A detailed information sharing protocol has been developed and is currently in the process of ensuring agency sign off. The principles below are taken from the Data Protection and Sharing – Guidance for Emergency Planners and Responders document. They provide some guidance to responders in considering when and why to share information, but do not themselves have any legal force, but can be considered alongside Schedules 2 and 3 of the Data Protection Act and may inform the interpretation of the conditions set out there.

• Data Protection should not automatically prohibit the collection and sharing of personal information – it should be carefully considered to provide a framework where personal information may be shared with the confidence and controls to protect privacy rights.  
• Emergency responders’ starting point should be to consider the risks and potential harm that may arise if they do not share appropriate information.  
• Emergency responders should balance the potential damage to the individual (and where appropriate the public interest of keeping the information confidential) against the public interest in sharing information.  
• In emergencies, the public interest consideration will generally be more significant than during day to day business, however the data protection principles should always be carefully considered to ensure adequate controls are in place.  
• Category 1 and 2 Responders should be robust in asserting their power to share personal data lawfully.  
• The consent of a data subject is not always a necessary pre-condition to lawful data sharing.  

As the needs of young people and families change over time, it is possible that an emergency response will be needed many years after the initial trauma.

The Steering Group meets on a termly basis. The agendas, minutes and meeting papers for each meeting will be published following each meeting, you can find these below. 

Meeting agendas and notes

Thursday 23 November 2023

Agenda

Time	Item	Led by
1pm	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
1.05pm	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
1.10pm	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools, and Education
1.15pm	Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service including the Consultation regarding the Restorative Justice Funded Offer 2024-2025	Lauren Fernback, Education Lead, Grenfell Dedicated Service
1.25pm	Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group including a presentation from Colville Primary School on their work around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion     Caitlin Curtis, Dedicated Service Worker Grenfell Dedicated Service	Zoe Barton and Ursula Parvex, Assistant Headteachers, Colville Primary School
1.40pm	Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team	Michael Dalziel, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
1.50pm	Summary of Next Steps	Jane Robinson, Principal Lead Adviser
1.55pm	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Attendees

• Chair: Ian Heggs, Director of Education
• Cllr Catherine Faulks Lead Member for Families, Children and Schools
• Ben McMullen, Avondale Park Primary & St Anne’s Nursery
• Jagdeep Birdi, Colville Primary
• Ursula Parvex, Colville Primary 
• Zoe Barton, Colville Primary
• Bash Malik, Holland Park School
• Anna Jordan, Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Marily Troyano, St Charles Primary 
• Tony Lynch, St Charles Primary
• Amie Kelleher, St Francis of Assisi RC Primary 
• Emma Jones, Thomas Jones Primary 
• Tiago Alves, Grenfell United
• Mariama Sharka, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)
• Sian Healy - Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)
• Michael Dalziel - Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)
• Lauren Fernback, Education Lead, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Caitlin Curtis, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager Schools and Education
• Jane Robinson, Principal Lead Adviser
• Clare Sumpter, Traded Services and CPD Officer (minuting)

APOLOGIES:

Veronica Hilliard, Golborne and Maxilla Children’s Centre 

AGENDA ITEM 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on the 8 June were approved.

AGENDA ITEM 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) financial position: 

• The total fund available for 2023-2024 is £554,754 comprising o£500,000 allocated by RBKC and a small carry forward from 2022-2023.
• The total funding allocated to date is £384,023. This includes funding to schools and education support direct to families.
• The remaining unallocated amount is £170,731. It is expected that all funding will be allocated by the end of the year. Bids are welcome from schools and individual families with support from the Grenfell Dedicated Service. These will be approved and processed as quickly as possible.
• RBKC have confirmed a further allocation of £500,000 for 2024-2025. No funding has yet been confirmed from the DfE, however, officers are regularly asking the DfE for an update on any further allocations in line with previous years.

Ian Heggs advised that there will be changes to the funding for the wider Grenfell Future Funding support programme from April 2024 onwards.

Lauren Fernback assured headteachers that school programmes that are currently funded will continue to be funded until the end of the academic year in July 2024. 

AGENDA ITEM 4: Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service including the Consultation regarding the Restorative Justice Funded Offer 2024-2028

Lauren Fernback advised that the Grenfell Dedicated Service continue to support bereaved and survivor families and are focused on supporting families with bids to the GEF and supporting children with the transition from primary to secondary school.

Lauren provided an update on the Restorative Justice Funded Offer where £14million is being made available for education and training for all bereaved and survivors from 2024 to 2028. There is a consultation underway with the local community on how this funding should be used.  Lauren thanked schools for participating, and for supporting their pupils to participate, in the consultation ensuring that young people have a voice in the decision-making process. Lauren advised that there is still time for young people to contribute to the consultation and she is available to support this process if needed. (Contact [email protected])

There is a consultation session for children and young people at the Westway Sports Centre on the 9 December. Information about this session has been circulated. The first stage of the consultation closes in December and in January the service will be following up the initial responses to the consultation. The feedback to date does not offer conclusive results for how children and young people would like to see the funding used. Lauren will contact schools to arrange opportunities to discuss the funding options in more detail during the second phase of the consultation. 

AGENDA ITEM 5: Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group including a presentation from Colville Primary School on their work around Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Ursula Parvex and Zoe Barton from Coville Primary School presented an overview of their Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) action plan. The development of the plan involved consultation with staff, senior leaders, parents, and pupils as well as research into the EDI work by other schools and organisations. The action plan has three key areas:

• Curriculum which included activities such as subject leaders reviewing their curriculum areas and resources, all teachers developing age-appropriate lessons using ‘Show Racism the red card’ resources and a whole-school review of books establishing a curated list of diverse and representative books.
• Staff development which included activities such as Unconscious Bias training for all staff, creating an EDI staff library to share books and films, specialist training for Early Years staff on how to explore race with young children and establishing an EDI policy and procedure including recording, investigating and providing support following any incidents.
• Leadership which included activities such as revising job adverts and the recruitment process to actively encourage applicants with protected characteristics and cultural exchange work including Colville Culture Day and marking religious events.

Ursula and Zoe outlined some of the challenges they have experienced including finding funding for their EDI initiatives and the wellbeing impact of working on emotive subject areas.  They also outlined their potential next steps including developing a newsletter to share their EDI work with the local community and sharing good practice with other schools.

Caitlin Curtis thanked Ursula and Zoe for sharing their EDI plan and added that the Black Lives Matter Steering Group are continuing to engage with RBKC schools around their EDI work. Caitlin advised that the anti-racism charity ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ are keen to work with RBKC schools.  They have developed a proposal which includes workshops for Year 5 and 6 pupils in primary schools, workshops for secondary age pupils and training sessions for teachers. The proposal will be circulated with these minutes.

Ian Heggs added that are RBKC are keen to support schools with their EDI work and support is available from the RBKC Organisational Development and School Standards Teams. In addition, the Schools Library Service offer a free curriculum diversity audit and advice and support for school libraries.  Contact [email protected] 

Jane Robinson advised that the Bi-borough School Standards and Early Education Service are hosting an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Conference for primary schools and early years settings. The conference is taking place on Friday 26 January 2024 from 9.15am to 4.15pm at the Great Hall at Kensington Town Hall.  Contact [email protected] for more information.

AGENDA ITEM 6: Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team 

Michael Dalziel provided the following update:

• The propping work on the Grenfell Tower site has now been completed and current contractors in an ongoing a programme of regular maintenance and safety checks. A procurement process for the principal site contactor will begin soon with the new contract in place from July 2024. There should not be a noticeable change for the local community.   
• The team are continuing to engage with the local community through regular meetings and drop-in sessions. They have also been meeting with local businesses, charitable organisations and schools to establish relationships and regular communication in advance of a decision being taken on the future of the Grenfell Tower site. 
• The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission report has been published. A hard copy of the report was sent to all local schools and additional copies are available if needed. The report includes 16 recommendations and the wider DLHUC Grenfell Team are working with the Memorial Commission and the local community to take these recommendations forward. Link to online copy of report: Remembering Grenfell: Recommendations and next steps to a memorial | Grenfell Tower Memorial.
• The timeline of the decision on the future site has not been confirmed. The Secretary of State is waiting for the public enquiry report to be published in Spring 2024. The team are mindful that schools will need as much notice as possible if a decision is anticipated.
• If school staff and parents who are also local residents would like to be added to the mailing list, they can contact [email protected]

NEXT STEPS AND KEY ACTIONS

• RBKC have confirmed continued funding for the GEF for 2024-2025. Schools and individual families with the support of the Grenfell Dedicated Service where needed, can submit bids for funding from the GEF at any time.
• Schools to contact Lauren Fernback if they need assistance with supporting their pupils to respond to the first phase consultation on the Restorative Justice Funded Offer 2024-2028 
• Lauren Fernback to contact schools to arrange opportunities to speak directly with groups of pupils during the second phase of the consultation. Lauren will feedback at the March GEF Steering Group meeting about outcomes of the consultation and next steps.
• Caitlin Curtis to circulate the EDI proposal from Show Racism the Red Card. 

NEXT MEETING:

Thursday 14 March 2024, 2pm to 3pm, online

Thursday 8 June 2023

Agenda

Time	Item	Led by
1pm	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
1.05pm	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
1.10pm	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools, and Education
1.15pm	Planning for next phase of the Council’s work on Grenfell (2024-2028)	Joe Philp, Head of Partnerships Liaison and Development, Grenfell Partnerships
1.25pm	Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service	Callum Wilson, Director of Grenfell Partnerships
1.35pm	The sixth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy: support for school communities	Helen Kerslake, Assistant Principal Educational Psychologist
1.40pm	Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team	Michael Dalziel, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
1.50pm	Summary of Next Steps	Jane Robinson, Principal Lead Adviser
1.55pm	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Attendees:

• Chair: Ian Heggs, Director of Education
• Cllr Catherine Faulks Lead Member for Families, Children and Schools
• Jagdeep Birdi, Colville Primary School
• Courtney Dalton, All Saints Catholic College
• Veronica Hilliard, Golborne and Maxilla Children’s Centre 
• Amie Kelleher, St Francis of Assisi RC Primary 
• Bash Malik, Holland Park School
• David Sellens, Thomas Jones Primary 
• Ann Slavin, St Charles, and St Mary’s Primary Schools
• Nikki Sullivan, Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Michael Dalziel, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)
• Joe Philp, Head of Grenfell Partnerships
• Callum Wilson, Director of Grenfell Partnerships
• Anna Raleigh, Director of Public Health
• Bryan Hutton, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Lauren Fernback, Education Lead Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Debbie Arrigon, Senior Public Health Strategist 
• Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager Schools and Education
• Helen Kerslake, Assistant Principal Educational Psychologist
• Jane Robinson, Principal Lead Adviser
• Clare Sumpter, Traded Services and CPD Officer (minuting)

Apologies

Sarah Cooper, Oxford Gardens Primary School

Agenda item 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on the 21 March were approved.

Agenda item 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) financial position:

• For 2022-2023, the total fund was £594,605. This included £36,305 relating to historic transport claims from the DfE and £58,300 carried forward from 2021-2022. Overall, £539,851 has been allocated and the remaining amount will be carried forward to 2023-2024.
• For 2023-2024, it has been confirmed RBKC will allocate £500,000 to the GEF and there is a carry-forward of £55,000. To date, £133,000 has been allocated with £421,000 remaining. It is expected that all funding will be allocated by the end of the year. Bids are welcome from schools and individual families with support from the Grenfell Dedicated Service.These will be approved and processed as quickly as possible.

Ian Heggs added that there had been several applications from individual families, for example, to provide support with tuition fees. These bids are currently being processed so are not included in the update for this meeting.

David Sellens raised a query about a previous bid to the fund and this will be followed up after the meeting.

Agenda item 4: Planning for next phase of the Council’s work on Grenfell (2024-2028)

Joe Philp provided the following update:

• The council’s existing Grenfell recovery programme will end in March 2024. The current programme includes the Grenfell Dedicated Service and a range of funded emotional health and wellbeing services in schools and community-based settings. The funding for LCAT, FutureMen, Place to Be and the Catholic Childrens’ Society will continue to the end of July 2024.
• RBKC are now preparing for the next phase of the work on Grenfell which will be undertaken through a Restorative Justice programme. The new programme is split into two parts: specific support for the bereaved and survivors and support for the local community. Both parts will have an element of education and training as part of the Restorative Justice agreement. 
• The design of the programme will be dependent on the outcomes of a wide-ranging consultation and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. The programme is expected to focus on the immediate local area around the tower.  The consultation phase will begin following the appointment of an independent expert partner that will scrutinise the work as part of the Restorative Justice agreement.

Joe added that there had been a helpful meeting with the four primary schools closest to the tower following that last GEF steering group meeting and he will be responding to those schools. He would welcome the opportunity to speak with other schools as part of the consultation.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)

Anna Raleigh provided the following update:

• A JSNA was undertaken just after the tragedy which has informed the work to date. The JSNA now needs to be refreshed to reflect the current challenges.
• An outline JSNA has been prepared which sets out the current picture using data from commissioned services, public health monitoring, and the results from research projects. The outline has been widely shared and is available to read on the RBKC website: Public Health
• It was felt that the first JSNA did not address all the issues and concerns of the local community, so engagement work is taking place through community groups to address this in the new JSNA.
• The aim is to publish the new JSNA in November and this will inform the next stage of recovery.
• Schools can provide feedback on the outline JSNA through the website or directly to Anna (email [email protected])

Wellbeing survey of children and young people

Anna Raleigh outlined a proposal to undertake a school-based survey to better understand the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people.

• It is proposed that the survey will be undertaken in all schools in RBKC and Westminster every two to three years, but potentially more frequently in North Kensington schools. 
• The aim of the survey is to start compiling long-term trend data on the emotional wellbeing, mental and physical health needs of children and young people. For North Kensington this will be particularly useful to feed in to the JSNA.
• The survey will be paper or digital based depending on feedback from schools. It is proposed that the survey will be undertaken with pupils in year groups 4, 6, 8 and 10. 
• The survey data will produce an individual report for each school, an area report for North Kensington and a borough-wide report that will capture trends across all schools. It is hoped that the reports will contribute to the healthy school plans, and school improvement plans and strengthen the voice of children and young people in the decision-making process.
• The aim is to commission a provider in September. Existing providers, for example, the Exeter Schools Survey, are being considered so that there can be a comparison with regional and national data. The survey will also include some questions contextualised for RBKC/Westminster and schools will be asked to help shape those questions.

Ian Heggs advised that the proposal should be shared through regular headteacher meetings for feedback from schools.

Agenda item 5: Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service (GDS)

Callum Wilson confirmed that the GDS will continue in the current format until March 2024. The support for children and young people remains a key focus including their wellbeing, education and future aspirations. Support is being providing to young people currently in Year 10 to help them start to think about their options at the end of Year 11. 

As part of the work from the GDS Black Lives Matter Steering Group, Bryan Hutton introduced Esther Anfo Whyte, the Anti-Racism Lead at Kensington Aldridge Academy (KAA) to provide an overview of the work she is doing at KAA. 
Ester advised that the school are facilitating open conversations with pupils and teachers about race, providing opportunities for students to feel safe to talk about how they feel. During Black History Month, the students heard from guest speakers and worked on art projects celebrating their identities. The school has an Anti-Racism Lead in each subject and the curriculum has been developed to reflect the student identities, for example, in History pupils study the race riots and history of the Notting Hill Carnival. Esther added that she was keen to share the work she has been doing with other schools.

Jane Robinson added that the Bi-borough School Standards team is in the early stages of developing a conference for next year (Friday 26 January) that will focus on equality, diversity and inclusion and a key part of the conference will be schools sharing their experiences.

Bryan added that he is still keen to meet with other schools and learn more about their anti-racism policies and activities. He can be contacted by email:  [email protected].

Agenda item 6: The sixth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy: support for school communities

Helen Kerslake provided the following overview:

• Educational Psychologists have been in contact with their link schools to offer support if needed. It is recognised that schools will mark the anniversary in different ways. Link EPs can also offer bespoke training such as the Tree of Life, if required by schools.
• The Educational Psychology Service are running Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) Training. ELSAs can provide an extra layer of in-house support and they are trained to deliver small group interventions. 
• Sarah Northey, NHS Clinical Lead for Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service has updated the support documents that were shared in advance of the fifth anniversary that include wellbeing information for families with contacts details for available support as well as a support document specifically for headteachers. Helen will email all headteachers with the updated resources and information about reactions to be aware of and who might be particularly vulnerable during the sixth anniversary.
• The documents that can also be accessed online: Educational Psychology Consultation Service (services2schools.org.uk)

Agenda item 7: Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team

Michael Dalziel introduced himself as the new Head of Community Engagement for the Grenfell Site & Programme at DLUHC and provided the following update:

• The Secretary of State is continuing to meet with residents through community engagement events and meeting local community groups including schools.
• The Memorial Commission are expected to publish their recommendation report in Autumn 2023.
• The Secretary of State is expected to announce a decision on the future of the site following the Memorial Commission publication. The Public Enquiry report has been delayed to next year.
• For the Sixth Anniversary, the site will be open to local residents to pay their respects on 11 and 12 June and for bereaved and survivors only on 13 and 14 June.

Next steps and key actions

• Jane Robinson will follow up with Thomas Jones Primary regarding their bid to the GEF.
• Joe Philps will circulate information about how schools can feed into the consultation on the next phase of the Council’s work on Grenfell (2024-2028).
• Anna Raleigh and Debbie Argon will attend headteacher meetings to consult on the proposed wellbeing survey of children and young people.
• Jane Robinson will follow up with Kensington Aldridge Academy, Colville Primary and Bryan Hutton regarding their work on race in the curriculum and discuss potential involvement in the conference being planned for January 2024.
• Helen Kerslake will email all headteachers with the updated resources and information about the sixth anniversary.

Meeting next year

The following dates have been set for the GEF Steering Group to continue to meet next year:

• Thursday 23 November, 2pm to 3pm, online
• Thursday 14 March 2024, 2pm to 3pm, online
• Thursday 6 June 2024, 2pm to 3pm, online

Tuesday 21 March 2023

Agenda

Time	Item	Led by
2.00pm	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.05pm	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.10pm	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools, and Education
2.15pm	Planning for the next phase of the Council’s work on developing the Grenfell Legacy	Joe Philp, Head of Partnerships Liaison and Development, Grenfell Partnerships
2.30pm	Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group	Bryan Hutton, Dedicated Service Worker, Grenfell Dedicated Service   Daniel Honisett, Dedicated Service Worker, Grenfell Dedicated Service
2.40pm	Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team	Sian Heeley and Vicky Joseph,  Stakeholder Managers Grenfell Site & Programme Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
2.50pm	Summary of Next Steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
2.55pm	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Attendees:

• Chair: Ian Heggs, Director of Education
• Cllr Catherine Faulks Lead Member for Families, Children and Schools
• Amie Kelleher, St Francis of Assisi RC Primary 
• Ann Slavin, St Charles, and St Mary’s Primary Schools
• Ben McMullen, St Anne’s, and Avondale Park Nursery and Primary
• Jagdeep Birdi, Colville Primary School
• David Sellens, Thomas Jones Primary 
• Nikki Sullivan, Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Veronica Hilliard, Golborne and Maxilla Children’s Centre 
• Sian Heeley, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)
• Vicky Joseph, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)
• Joe Philp, Head of Grenfell Partnerships
• Bryan Hutton, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Daniel Honisett, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager Schools and Education
• Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
• Jane Robinson, Principal Lead Adviser
• Clare Sumpter, Traded Services and CPD Officer (minuting)

Apologies:

• Bash Malik, Holland Park School

Agenda Item 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on the 24 November were approved.

Agenda Item 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) financial position: 

• The total fund for 2022-2023 was £594,605. This included £36,305 relating to historic transport claims from the DfE and £58,300 carried forward from 2021-2022.
• To date £529,116 has been allocated and £65,490 remains available for allocation. Bids are still being processed, so this figure will be lower by the financial year-end. Any unspent funding will be carried forward to 2023-2024.
• It has been confirmed RBKC will allocate £500,000 to the GEF for 2023-2024 and schools can submit bids for next year.

Agenda Item 4: Planning for the next phase of the Council’s work on developing the Grenfell Legacy

Joe Philp provided the following update:

• The Grenfell Partnerships Team are planning for the next phase of the Grenfell recovery programme as the current phase ends in 2024. The recovery programme is funded in addition to the GEF and provides targeted support for children, young people and adults through schools and other community based settings.
• There continues to be a significant need for support and milestones such as the outcome of the public enquiry and the decision on the future of the site will have a significant impact on the local community.
• The team are consulting widely about what should be included in the next phase of the programme and in particular focusing on the emotional health and wellbeing needs of children and young people. Therefore, the team are keen to meet with schools to understand the current needs and to reflect on what has or has not worked well with the existing provision.
• The North Kensington Inclusion Pilot will be included in the consultation as this was funded by the recovery programme.

Ann Slavin responded that the North Kensington Pilot had been successful at St Charles Primary and asked if the pilot could be extended to other schools.

Nikki Sullivan advised that KAA would welcome the opportunity to discuss planning for future need and in particular planning for the impact that the decision on the future of the site will have on the school.

Amie Kelleher noted that it will be important to have a shared approach to communication when updates are released. There has been significant distress caused following previous announcements when the community received different messages or received them at different times. Amie also noted that the GEF and the recovery programme have been a vital part of recovery and it is important that support continues. It is also important that the same organisations and people provide the funded support as trust has been established over time which has the most successful impact.

Joe Philp acknowledged the points shared and assured schools that the communication of key updates will be carefully planned.

David Sellens proposed a joint consultation meeting for the four primary schools closest to Grenfell and offered to host the meeting at Thomas Jones Primary.  This action was agreed and the meeting will be arranged for early in the summer term.

Agenda Item 5: Update from the Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group

Bryan Hutton and Daniel Honisett summarised the actions that had taken place since the last steering group meeting: 

• There was a follow-up meeting with KAA who provided an update on their practice: Within each subject faculty there is an anti-racism lead who meet regularly to discuss practice and learning. In between these meetings the school’s anti-racism lead Esther Anfo-Whyte provides additional support and guidance for staff. The school also supports activities such as black history month and unconscious bias training.
• There was a follow-up meeting with Colville Primary, who have started a parent equality diversity and inclusion group. Bryan met with the leadership team to explore how to take the group forward as there were opposing views on how the parent group should be run. The school will also be undertaking a survey with their pupils as part of the PSHE provision. The survey is an adapted version of the one undertaken with secondary age pupils by the Grenfell Dedicated Service.
• The Bi-borough SEND Participation Lead has adapted the survey to share with young people with SEND. This will be undertaken in the summer term.
• The RBKC Youth Council are developing their own survey. Bryan and Daniel will be attending a future youth council meeting to discuss this further.

Bryan and Daniel are keen to meet with other schools and learn more about anti-racism policies and activities. They can be contacted by email:  [email protected] or [email protected]

Jagdeep Birdi followed up that the leadership team at Colville had a very positive meeting with Bryan that resulted in clear actions to move forward with.  Jagdeep confirmed he would be happy to share the anonymised findings from their pupil survey with the GEF steering group.

Jane Robinson noted that there could be an opportunity to share the good practice identified with other schools through a network session as part of the central School Improvement CPD Programme.

Agenda Item 6: Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team

Sian Heeley provided the following update:

• The annual rewrapping of Grenfell Tower has begun following a slight delay and is expected to take 10 weeks. The banner image will not be affected, and the visual disruption will be minimal.
• Lord Paul Boateng has been elected as the new co-chair of the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission following Michael Lockwood’s resignation and has been undertaking a programme of community engagement meetings. The commission’s report has been delayed due to the change in co-chair but is expected to be published at the end of the year. 
• The team recently hosted a drop-in for residents at Kensington Leisure Centre and Sian advised schools that this is the best way for local parents to engage with the Grenfell Tower Site team. Additional sessions are being organised and will be shared via the team’s mailing list. If school staff and parents who are also local residents would like to be added to the mailing list, they can contact [email protected] 
• The Secretary of State is continuing with community engagement activities and is planning to hold another meeting where local residents will be able to raise issues and share views. The meeting will be in late April/early May and the date will be circulated when confirmed.
• Sian advised that the communication of significant decisions will be carefully planned, and schools will be consulted on best way to do this.

Next steps and key actions

• RBKC have confirmed funding for the GEF for 2023-2024. Schools and individual families with the support of the Grenfell Dedicated Service where needed, can submit bids for funding from the GEF at any time. 
• The RBKC Grenfell Partnerships Team RBKC will be arranging meetings with schools to consult on the next phase of the Grenfell recovery programme including a joint meeting with the four primary schools closest to Grenfell Tower that will be arranged for early in the summer term. Jane Robinson will also attend.
• The Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group would like to arrange meetings with schools to learn more about their work on equality and diversity. Jane Robinson will follow up on an opportunity to share this good practice with other schools.
• The Grenfell Tower Site Team (DLHUC) will share details of future drop-in sessions and residents’ meetings when available. Schools can contact them to join the mailing list.

Next meeting: Rescheduled to Thursday 8 June 2023, 1pm to 2pm, online via Microsoft Teams.

Thursday 24 November 2022

Agenda

Time	Item	Led By
2.00pm	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.05pm	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.10pm	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools, and Education
2.15pm	Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group; Inclusion and Diversity survey of secondary age bereaved and survivors (Survey and findings attached)	Callum Wilson, Director of Grenfell Partnerships   Daniel Honisett, Dedicated Service Worker, Grenfell Dedicated Service  Bryan Hutton, Dedicated Service Worker, Grenfell Dedicated Service
2.30pm	Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team	Anjni Patel, Community Engagement Team Leader Sian Heeley, Stakeholder Manager Grenfell Site & Programme Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
2.45pm	Training Offer for GEF Schools	Jonny Zander, Director, Kaizen
2.50pm	Summary of Next Steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
2.55pm	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

 

Attendees:

• Chair: Ian Heggs, Director of Education
• Cllr Catherine Faulks Lead Member for Families, Children and Schools
• Kathleen Williams, St Francis of Assisi RC Primary 
• Ben McMullen, St Anne’s and Avondale Park Nursery and Primary
• Sarah Cooper, Oxford Gardens Primary
• Nikki Sullivan, Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Veronica Hilliard, Golborne and Maxilla Children’s Centre 
• Billy Forshaw, All Saints Catholic College
• Bash Malik, Holland Park School
• Tiago Alves, Grenfell United 
• Rabina Nawaz, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
• Callum Wilson, Director of Grenfell Partnerships
• Bryan Hutton, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Daniel Honisett, Grenfell Dedicated Service
• Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager Schools and Education
• Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
• Jane Robinson, Principal Lead Adviser
• Clare Sumpter, Traded Services and CPD Officer (minuting)

Apologies:

• David Benson, Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Nikki Acton Davies, Ark Brunel Primary
• Anjni Patel, Grenfell Site & Programme Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Agenda item 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on Thursday 9 June 2022 were approved.

Ian Heggs reminded schools that Marjana Tharin is available to meet them regarding the Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Support offer. (Email [email protected])

Veronica Hilliard advised that the Primary Headteachers Consultative will be establishing a wellbeing group that will meet regularly with Marjana to discuss the support available.

Ian Heggs shared the very sad news that Ian Turner had passed away. The steering group shared their great sadness at the news and asked for their thoughts to be shared with Ian’s family. The steering group acknowledged Ian’s incredible support, his pragmatic approach to solving problems and particularly acknowledged his work to establish a new home for the Grenfell Nursery.

Agenda Item 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) financial position:

• Additional funding has been added to the GEF since the last funding update. This includes £36,000 relating to historic transport claims from the DfE and £58,300 carried forward from 2021-2022. The total fund for 2022-2023 is now £594,605.
• To date £451,000 has been allocated and £143,429 is still available for allocation.
• It has been confirmed RBKC will allocate £500,000 to the GEF for 2023-2024.

Ian Heggs reminded schools that they can continue to submit bids to the fund and bids are continually being reviewed and approved.  RBKC have confirmed the allocation of funding for 2023-2024 in line with their ongoing commitment to the Grenfell legacy. Discussions are now under way to see what support and resources can be provided for the community for 2024 onwards.

Veronica Hilliard asked if schools could apply for GEF funding to cover their funding contribution to Latimer Community Art Therapy (LCAT) provision as it is no longer fully funded.

Ian Heggs responded that bids will be primarily considered with regard to the GEF terms of reference in relation to children falling behind in their learning, but it is recognised there may be appropriate exceptions.

Callum Wilson added that the Grenfell Dedicated Service (GDS) is working closely with LCAT to support their access to alternative funding streams to secure their future sustainability, therefore it is hoped there will be less pressure on schools to provide funding.

Agenda Item 4: Grenfell Dedicated Service Black Lives Matter Steering Group; Inclusion and Diversity Survey of secondary age bereaved and survivors

Callum Wilson introduced the survey, highlighting the importance of race in relation to Grenfell and the importance of capturing the views of secondary age bereaved and survivors. It is recognised that the survey was undertaken with a relatively small group of pupils, so the GDS Black Lives Matter Steering Group is keen to understand what schools are already doing and consider potential next steps, for example, a wider survey with a larger group of young people.

Jagdeep Birdi responded that primary schools have established an EDI group which has a number of objectives. Jagdeep confirmed the group would welcome additional input, especially from people of colour, and they are keen to work more widely.

Sarah Cooper advised that her school’s diversity working party was an integral part of the school community and the school improvement plan. Oxford Gardens Primary have achieved the UNICEF ‘Rights Respecting School Award’ and the school council have established a Rights Respecting group. The group are integral to how the school is run and are clearly able to express their views.

Ian Heggs advised that the survey findings had also been shared at the recent RBKC Secondary Headteachers Collaborative meeting and two headteachers had reflected that increasing diversity within in the school staff is a challenge. At that meeting, David Benson shared some of the actions that KAA had undertaken, for example, targeting recruitment advertising at former pupils.

Nikki Sullivan added that KAA have a large diverse team of Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) who are supported with opportunities to progress into teaching and every year three or four LSAs progress to become teachers working at the school.

Bash Malik referenced work undertaken at his previous school to audit the staffing body including specific questions relating to race and equality. This resulted in powerful feedback that influenced changes in the recruitment process and the aim is to introduce this at Holland Park School. Other changes are being introduced to ensure the school is welcoming and diverse, for example, changing the Sixth Form entry criteria to be more inclusive.

Callum Wilson and Ian Heggs thanked headteachers for their feedback and concluded that there were some helpful actions that could be progressed following the meeting.

Agenda Item 5: Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team 

Rabina Nawaz provided the following update:

• The ‘future of the tower site’ decision had been paused to allow additional time to hear from the local community about their current priorities which are social housing reforms, learning from the public enquiry, and accessing support from the NHS.
• The team have been focused has been on rebuilding community relationships and understanding the best way to reach a decision about the future of the site.  Current engineering advice is that the tower is currently safe but will ultimately need to be deconstructed and it is challenging to reach agreement about when this should happen. Careful and detailed consideration will be being given to ensure the deconstruction is undertaken safely and respectfully.
• The Memorial Commission have published their interim report which includes suggestions about the memorial to be built on the site once the tower is taken down.

If schools have any concerns or queries regarding the site they can contact Sian Heeley, [email protected] or Rabina Nawaz, [email protected]

AGENDA ITEM 6: Training Offer for GEF Schools

Jonny Zander from Kaizen provided the following update:

Kaizen are working with the Memorial Commission helping to ensure community views are understood and represented. As part of this role, they have previously delivered a series of workshops for GEF Schools in 2021. They are now offering an additional full day of training for each school with workshops aimed at either staff or pupils and there is a range of topics available. Eight schools have already signed up for workshops for 2022-2023. Other schools interested in taking up the offer should contact Kaizen before Christmas to book in their workshop day which can be delivered in spring or summer terms.

If there are any unclaimed workshop days these will offered back to schools who have already booked.
Schools can contact Jonny Zander, [email protected] for further details.

Next Steps and key Actions

• Schools can contact Marjana Tharin regarding the Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Support Offer. 
• RBKC have confirmed funding for the GEF for 2023-2024 and schools can continue to submit bids for funding from the GEF at any time.
• There was interest in expanding the GDS Black Lives Matter Steering Group Inclusion and Diversity Survey with a wider group of pupils which will be followed up after the meeting.
• The Kazien training offer was resent to headteachers following the meeting and schools are asked to sign up before the end of term.

Next Meeting:

Thursday 2 Feb 2023, 2pm to 3pm, online via Microsoft Teams

Thursday 9 June 2022

Agenda

Time	Item	Led By
12.30	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
12.35	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
12.40	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools and Education
12.45	The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy: support for school communities	Helen Kerslake, Assistant Principal Educational Psychologist
1.05	Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team	Victoria Exell-Pitman, Stakeholder & Community Engagement Manager, Grenfell Site & Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
1.20	Summary of Next Steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
1.25	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Meeting notes

AGENDA ITEM 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on 3 February 2022 were approved.

AGENDA ITEM 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) financial position:

• The total GEF for 2021-2022 was just over £1 million comprising £543,000 from the DfE and £500,000 from RBKC. All funding was allocated and table 1 provides a summary of how funding was distributed and the funding source (either DfE or RBKC).
• For 2022-2023 there is a budget of £0.5million from RBKC to allocate. No additional funding from the DfE is expected at the current time.  So far £294,211 has been allocated. It is expected that all funding will be distributed by the end of the financial year.

Ian Heggs acknowledged the high level of need in schools and with individual families. Several bids for funding have already been received for 2022-2023. Recently received bids are not reflected in the budget update paper but will be included next time. All bids are considered fairly and may require a follow-up conversation before approval. RBKC continue to lobby the DfE for additional funding and discussions will begin to confirm funding for the GEF for 2023-2024.

AGENDA ITEM 4: The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy: support for school communities 

Ian Heggs highlighted the range of events that were planned for Tuesday 14 June to mark the fifth anniversary including:

• An event at Westminster Abbey attended by Chief Executive, Barry Quirk, Leader of the Council, Elizabeth Campbell, and Deputy Leader Kim Taylor-Smith. 
• An anniversary event at Kensington Town Hall for staff including an address from the Mayor and music from the staff choir.
• A multi-faith memorial service at the Tower site at 4pm and the regular monthly Silent Walk at 6.30pm.

Helen Kerslake outlined the range of support from the Educational Psychology (EP) Service for schools:

• An email was sent to headteachers in late May with information and prompts about what to expect and which staff, children, families might be particularly vulnerable and in need of additional support. 
• Link EPs have already been in contact with their schools to offer their assistance in considering the impact of the anniversary and any support required. 
• The NHS Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service have developed resources which have been shared with schools. There is one on self-care for headteachers which may be particularly useful. The resources are available online here and will be circulated to the steering group.
• Schools can use EP time for a MAP (Making Action Plans) workshop. For Grenfell affected schools, the MAP could draw on what has happened over the last five years, including consideration of the pandemic and its impact. Sessions also focus on response and recovery.
• EP Louise Edgerton can deliver training for schools on Tree of Life, an internationally used tool to work with children who have been through difficult circumstances. A recent session is available as a recording to schools.
• Sam Hamal is supervising trained ELSAs (emotional literacy support assistants). There will be funded ELSA training running in September and schools can book places.
• Schools can contact their EP or Helen directly for support: [email protected].

Sarah Cooper thanked the EP service for the recent MAP workshop organised at Oxford Gardens Primary, which was a very positive experience and highly recommended for other schools. It was a poignant opportunity for all staff to come together just before the fifth anniversary. Oxford Gardens will be marking the anniversary with a community arts and crafts day. The school are also privileged to have been involved in the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission’s second film which will be published on the Fifth Anniversary. 

Richard Stanley highlighted a recent session led by Professor Lucy Easthope, a leading expert in disaster recovery. The session was helpful in exploring issues around helping the community through the high-profile anniversary. Professor Easthope flagged the importance of leaders and staff looking after themselves and the continuing need for support.

David Benson advised that Rosemary, a staff governor at KAA and a survivor from Grenfell Tower, will be speaking (along with student survivors) at events at both KAA and Holland Park. 

Bash Malik thanked KAA for arranging for Rosemary to speak with Holland Park students and advised that at Holland Park, there will be an emphasis on community going forward and the school is already working with charity Place to Be on supporting the whole school community of staff and students. 

Ian Heggs advised that David Chappell, Academy Head at Holland Park School and a member of the GEF Steering group, has been seriously unwell and is starting to make steps toward a recovery. The GEF Steering group would like to send their best wishes to David and his family.

Marjana Tharin advised that RBKC have been funding Emotional Wellbeing targeted support in schools from organisations such as the Catholic Children’s Society and Place to Be. There is a commitment to continue funding for a further 3 years which includes a phase reduction in funding from September 2022, as part of the gradual reduction in funding across the Grenfell Recovery programme. Marjana is working with providers to understand how this will affect delivery and the impact in schools. Marjana will be arranging to meet with unindividual schools (along with the NHS commissioner) to discuss their needs. It is acknowledged that there are challenges and barriers to accessing support including waiting lists for services and the need to improve and adapt services to meet increasing demand. The meetings will also reference the range of support available and how we can get children and young people accessing that support.

Schools can contact Marjana directly (Email [email protected]).

AGENDA ITEM 5: Update from the Grenfell Tower Site Team 

Victoria Pitman provided the following updates:

• The team are supporting the Westminster Abbey and Tower Site anniversary events which are being led by the community. 
• Regular engagement events are currently paused out of respect of the anniversary. Events will resume in July and with a revised engagement offer likely to consist of more focused ‘drop in’ and online events. 
• There were two recently held ‘Question and Answer events’ for the bereaved and survivors as well as local residents.  The responses to questions raised will be shared via a letter to the community including schools.
• There will be routine activity on the site over the next few months, with propping work continuing until October. This includes some noisy drilling work which has been scheduled for the summer holidays so as not to affect schools. If schools have any concerns about noise or activities on the site, they can contact Victoria: [email protected].

Ian Heggs provided an update on arranging a permanent home for Grenfell Nursery that was based in the Tower. Building work is in progress on the Ilys Booker site on the Lancaster West Estate which will become the new permanent home for the nursery. The work is expected to be complete by end of August 2022. Ian thanked Oxford Gardens Primary School who have been hosting the nursery temporarily and will also be hosting the Stay and Play scheme until their permanent home is completed in 2024 as part of the rebuild of Latimer Church. 

Next steps and key actions

• The GEF financial position paper will be updated for the next meeting to include 2022-2023 information. Schools can continue to submit bids for funding from the GEF at any time.
• Schools can access support available from the EP service if required and the resources referenced in the meeting will be circulated.
• Marjana Tharin and the NHS commissioner will be meeting with schools on making effective use of the Grenfell Recovery Fund to meet needs.

Meeting dates for 2022-2023

• Thursday 24 Nov 2022, 2pm to 3pm
• Thursday 2 Feb 2023, 2pm to 3pm
• Thursday 11 May 2023, 2pm to 3pm

Thursday 3 February 2022

Agenda

Time	Item	Led By
2.00	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.05	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.10	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools and Education
2.15	Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort	Lauren Fernback, Grenfell Dedicated Service
2.20	The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy: support for school communities	Helen Kerslake, Assistant Principal Educational Psychologist
2.30	Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Support: a)    Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Brochure  b)    Grenfell Support - New Community Grant outcome	Marjana Tharin, Strategic Commissioner, Childrens Operations and Programmes
2.40	Update on the following programmes:  Environmental Monitoring Programme Future of the Site Programme  Memorial Commission	Victoria Pitman, Stakeholder & Community Engagement Manager, Grenfell Site and Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
2.50	Summary of next steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
2.55	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Meeting notes

AGENDA ITEM 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on 25 November 2021 were approved.
There will be an update on the education-focused advice and advocacy for families in North Kensington pilot project at the next meeting.

AGENDA ITEM 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) budget 2021-2022 as follows:

• The total GEF for 2021-2022 is just over £1 million comprising £543,000 from the DfE (confirmed in June 2021) and £500,000 from RBKC.
• All the DfE funds and most of the RBKC funds have been allocated. £8,050 remains unallocated for use before the end of the year.
• Table 1 shows how much has been allocated in total and the funding source (either DfE or RBKC). Most of the allocations have already been paid to schools. There is also an allocation for education support.
• Tables 2 and 3 show the total funding allocation prior to 2021-2022.

Ian Heggs confirmed that there will be a £500,000 contribution from RBKC for the GEF in 2022-2023. There is currently no indication that DfE will provide additional funding in 2022-2023. Ian reminded schools that they can continue to submit bids for funding from the GEF at any time.

AGENDA ITEM 4: Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort

Lauren Fernback provided the following updates:

• The Grenfell Dedicated Service are continuing to provide after-school clubs on Mondays and Tuesdays. There are also online clubs available on Wednesdays and Thursdays for secondary-age pupils and pupils attending from schools outside of RBKC. These sessions offer targeted support for English, maths, and science. 
• A targeted tuition offer for transition groups (Year 6, Year 11, and Year 13) was launched in December.
• Intensive support is being provided for Year 11 and Year 13 to support positive progression routes, for example, providing support with UCAS applications and personal statements. 

AGENDA ITEM 5: The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy: support for school communities

Helen Kerslake outlined the range of bespoke support available from the Educational Psychology (EP) Service for schools:

• Resources have been shared with headteachers and SENCOs to support conversations with their school community as well as information relating to wellbeing and recovery.
• EPs will communicate with school leaders in lead up to the fifth anniversary about what reactions to expect. There will be a workshop offered to schools that will be recorded so that schools can access it afterwards in their own time. There will also be a workshop specifically aimed at new staff who have joined schools since the fire.
• EPs may also be involved in interventions to support specific children’s and staff wellbeing.
• Schools can use EP time for a MAP (Making Action Plans) workshop. An organisation called Inclusive Solutions has previously run this workshop for schools and EPs are now trained in how to deliver this training.  For Grenfell affected schools, the MAP could draw on what has happened over the last five years, including consideration of the pandemic and its impact. Sessions also focus on response and recovery.
• EP Louise Edgerton can deliver training for schools on Tree of Life, an internationally used tool to work with children who have been through difficult circumstances. The tool considers social inclusion and resilience. 
• For the third anniversary, at the beginning of the first lockdown, a support pack of wellbeing themed books were sent to each school, and this could be arranged for the fifth anniversary if schools felt it would be useful.
• Schools can contact their EP or Helen directly for support: [email protected].

Kathleen Williams recommended the Inclusive Solutions MAP workshop saying it was helpful for both staff who were at the school at the time of the fire or have joined since. 

Sarah Cooper advised that the lead up to the fifth anniversary will be a difficult time for schools most impacted by Grenfell with the next stage of the enquiry due to start soon, the forthcoming future of the site decision, and the impact of the pandemic delaying recovery for many families. Schools and services need to be mindful of all these factors and their impact on families when planning for the anniversary. 

AGENDA ITEM 6: Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Support

Marjana Tharin advised that there is a broad range of commissioned and non-commissioned services available to support children’s emotional health and wellbeing which can be confusing for parents and pupils. A brochure summarising the emotional health and wellbeing support services for children and young people in North Kensington brochure has been developed and shared by email with schools. The brochure includes targeted support commissioned by the Council for Grenfell survivors, NHS health and wellbeing services, community services such as youth clubs and community centres and the mental health offer from CAMHS and KOOTH.  New community provision such as the academic support available through the Clement James Centre and the homework club at Rugby Portobello Trust are also included. The brochure also includes a flow chart that guides families through how to access support services.  

Hard copies of the brochure can be delivered to schools to share with families – schools can contact Marjana to arrange ([email protected]).

AGENDA ITEM 7: Update on the environmental monitoring programme, Future of the Site Programme and Memorial Commission

Victoria Pitman provided the following updates:

• The local community were advised in December that the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had decided not to issue a decision on the future of the Tower at current time. Instead, engagement with community groups will continue. A revised engagement strategy is in development and will be shared with schools when available. 
• As a result of the delayed decision, there is a need to extended safety works installing props in the basement of Tower to maintain stability which will involve removing small portions of the wrapping.  Schools have been advised that there may be increased activity on the site.  Works are expected to be completed in March and any further updates will be circulated.
• The Environmental Testing Stage 2 report is currently being drafted and is expected to be published in March. 
• The Memorial Commission are resuming in person meetings with drop-in sessions for local residents planned for February.

Schools can contact Victoria with concerns or questions. Victoria’s new email address is [email protected].

Next steps and key actions

• The Educational Psychology Service will be contacting schools regarding the forthcoming fifth anniversary about what support is required. 
• The emotional health and wellbeing support services for children and young people in North Kensington brochure will be distributed and promoted to schools and families.
• The revised Future of the Site Programme engagement strategy will be shared with schools.

Next meeting

Thursday 9 June, 1pm to 2pm 

Thursday 25 November 2021 

Agenda

Time	Item	Led By
2.00	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.05	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.10	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Poonam Gagda, Senior Finance Manager, Schools and Education
2.15	Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort	Lauren Fernback, Grenfell Dedicated Service
2.20	Education focused advice and advocacy for families in North Kensington	Laura Gregory, Strategic Transformation, Children's Services
2.35	Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Support: Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Brochure  CCG commissioned Grenfell Health and Wellbeing support offer  Grenfell Support - New Community Grant outcome	Annabel Saunders, Director of Operations and Programmes Marjana Tharin, Strategic Commissioner, Childrens Operations and Programmes Camille Pegus, Children and Young People Commissioner, NHS NW London Clinical Commissioning Group
2.55	Update on the following programmes:  Environmental Monitoring Programme Future of the Site Programme  Memorial Commission	Victoria Pitman, Stakeholder & Community Engagement Manager, Grenfell Site and Programme, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
3.15	Review steering group’s Terms of Reference (paper attached)	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
3.20	Summary of next steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
3.25	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Meeting notes

AGENDA ITEM 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on 13 May 2021 were approved.

AGENDA ITEM 3: GEF funding update

Poonam Gagda presented an update on the GEF budget 2021-2022:

• The total GEF fund for 2021-2022 is just over £1 million compromising of £543,000 from the DfE (confirmed in June 2021) and £500,000 from RBKC.
• All the DfE funds and most of the RBKC funds have been allocated. £19,000 remains unallocated for use before the end of the year.
• Table 1 shows how much has been allocated in total and the funding source (either DfE or RBKC). Most of the allocations have already paid to schools. There is also an allocation for Education support.
• Tables 2 and 3 show the total funding allocation prior to 2021-2022.

Ian Heggs added that the falling rolls funding is topped up by DfE in line with the original arrangement put in place following the fire. Ian clarified that the budget line ‘Education Support’ is direct support for families, often in the form of tuition and arranged through the Grenfell Dedicated Service. In total, just under 10% of the overall budget goes directly to families.   

AGENDA ITEM 4: Update on education support for the bereaved 

Lauren Fernback provided the following updates:

• The Grenfell Dedicated Service are providing education support to 80% of the cohort of bereaved children and young survivors. This includes advice and guidance on transition, securing results where there are extenuating circumstances and supporting EHC applications.
• Since January 2021, the team have delivered over 850 group or 1:1 sessions supporting parents with home schooling and helping to close learning gaps. There are afterschool sessions running at Colville and Marlborough Primary Schools, these offer Maths and English tuition as well as multisport activities.
• GCSE results: Every pupil in the cohort achieved the required grades to progress into higher education. 82% of the cohort achieved at least 5 GCSE’s grade 4+, higher than local and national averages.  
• A Level Results:  of the pupils within the bereaved and survivor cohort who have consented to working with the Dedicated Service, all achieved their first-choice places at university.  Their results were in line with their predicted grades, and they have progressed onto a range university courses. 
• Across the two cohorts, both GCSE and A-Level students, 100% of pupils have continued onto appropriate training, employment or further and higher education. There are no pupils in the year 12 cohort that are not in education, employment or training at this point.
• In response to a recent challenge from bereaved and survivors, the service will be submitting a bid to the GEF to provide further support Year 6, 11 & 13 with meeting their targets and closing the learning gaps created by the trauma from the Grenfell Tower Tragedy and the compounded impact of Covid-19. 

AGENDA ITEM 5: Education focused advice and advocacy for families in North Kensington

Laura Gregory introduced the project, outlining the context, scope, expected outcomes and timeframes.

• Context: There is significant national focus on exclusions and the Bi-Borough Inclusion Strategy also aims to reduce exclusions. In addition, exclusions were identified as a priority by members of the community affected by Grenfell tragedy and the wider North Kensington community. In December last year, the Leadership Team agreed to set aside funding for a pilot programme to promote inclusion and reduce exclusions in North Kensington.
• Scope: The pilot programme comprises of several elements including the provision of specialist education advice and advocacy for parents and carers. RBKC is currently seeking a voluntary and community partner to deliver this support to families with a focus on permanent and fixed term exclusions. It is expected this partner will already have a presence in North Kensington and/or experience of working with North Kensington residents.
• Expected Outcomes: Following the pilot, it is hoped that parents and carers will feel better supported and more aware of their rights and responsibilities leading to increased parental engagement. It is also hoped that the pilot will help to mitigate and/or avoid exclusions where possible. Participation and take up of the service will be measured as well as feedback from service users, schools, and local community organisations. 
• Timeframe: The pilot will be funded for one year and is expected to start in January 2021. Funding may be extended following the review of the pilot.

Natasha Bishopp acknowledged that Primary Headteachers have raised a concern that the pilot may make it difficult for schools to work with parents where children are at risk of exclusion or where behaviour does need to be addressed. It will be important to report progress and address issues regularly and quickly once the pilot starts.

Ian Heggs added that the pilot is a part of the spectrum of support available. Through Ormiston there continues to be secondary alternative provision for young people at Latimer and Beachcroft (WCC) and a small primary provision at Beachcroft as well as a behaviour outreach service for primary schools. 

AGENDA ITEM 6: Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Support

Annabel Saunders introduced the draft Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Support Brochure. The aim is to combine all the emotional wellbeing and mental health support available (for children and young people in the North Kensington community) into a single document that is accessible to schools, families, and community groups. The new community grant offer will be added to brochure once it has been finalised. The final version will be circulated to schools and hard copies will be produced if required. 
Marjana Tharin provided an update on the new community grant offer which will be finalised in December and launched in January 2022. The offer has been developed in response to feedback to include a more diverse range of activities and programmes. The new offer will include programmes for young Muslim women, provision for young men related to emotional wellbeing, wellbeing coaches, additional academic support, and arts programmes. Marjana will provide a more detailed outline of the offer at the next meeting.

Veronica Hilliard raised a concern about the in-person provision from Place to Be. The new online family practitioner offer is difficult for some families to access and Marjana agreed to follow this up after the meeting.

Camile Pegus shared an infographic complied to highlight the NHS services available to families in North Kensington including extended access GP appointments, paediatric long-term monitoring, and self-referral mental health services. The offer also includes two Children and Young People “social prescribing link workers” based in North Kensington who can help with connecting families and primary care providers.  Camile is also working with neighbouring boroughs to ensure that families that live outside RBKC have access to similar services.

Camile added that schools are welcome to contact her directly if they are having any issues with making referrals or if they aware of families that are having any issues with accessing NHS services.

AGENDA ITEM 7: Update on the environmental monitoring programme, future of the site programme and Memorial Commission

Victoria Pitman provided the following updates:

• Future of site update: The decision on the future of tower site was expected by the end of 2021. The new Secretary of State (for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) has been meeting with bereaved families, survivors, and community representatives over the last few weeks, so that decision has been delayed. Further information will be shared when available. Victoria referenced a newspaper report in September that raised concerns about the safety of site and reassured that the site remains safe advising that if additional site work is needed this will be done. The Grenfell Site and Programme team will be holding drop-in and online community events to update the local community. The main site contractor is keen to work with schools as part of the social values part of their contract. They are already in working with KAA on developing workshops for GCSE students. If any other schools are interested, please contact Victoria Pitman.
• Environmental Monitoring update: The Stage 2 checks were completed in Spring 2021. There was no evidence of soil contamination, but two sites did show slightly elevated levels of lead so there will be further testing at these two sites with results expected in January 2022.
• The Memorial Commission are expecting to restart their engagement activities soon and further information will be shared with schools.

AGENDA ITEM 8: Review steering group’s Terms of Reference

The updated Terms of Reference were approved and will be published on the RBKC website along with previous meeting papers.

AGENDA ITEM 9: NEXT STEPS AND KEY ACTIONS

• The format of the GEF funding paper is useful and will continue to be updated and shared at future meetings.
• Lauren Fernback will circulate a one-page summary on outcomes and progression for GCSE and A-Level students
• The Education focused advice and advocacy pilot will start in January 2021 and there will be progress update at the next meeting.
• The Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Support Brochure will be finalised and published.
• There will be an update on the new community grant offer at the next meeting and the specific query around the Place to Be provision at Golborne will be followed up.
• The NHS offer for North Kensington families will be circulated to schools with Camile Pegus’ contact details.
• The updated Terms of Reference are accepted and will be published on the RBKC website.

Next meeting: Thursday 3 February 2022

Thursday 13 May 2021

Agenda

Time	Item	Led By
2.00	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.05	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.10	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Amit Mehta, Senior Finance Manager – Schools and Education
2.25	Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort	Lauren Fernback, Grenfell Dedicated Service
2.35	Mental Health and Well Being Support	Annabel Saunders, Director of Operations and Programmes
2.45	RBKC Family Services Select Committee Recommendations report: Education Support Provided by the Council to the Pupils Affected by the Grenfell Tragedy (Report attached)	Cllr Josh Rendall, Lead Member for Family and Children's Services
3.00	Update on the following programmes:  Environmental Monitoring Programme Future of the Site Programme  Memorial Commission	Victoria Pitman, Stakeholder & Community Engagement Manager and Rabina Nawaz, Strategic Stakeholder Manager Grenfell Site and Programme, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) Jonny Zander, Kaizen
3.20	Summary of Next Steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
3.25	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Meeting documents

Document

Grenfell Emotional Health and Wellbeing CYP 2021 - Consultation Report PDF, 1.43 MB, 77 pages

Document

Grenfell Education Fund Budget Update PDF, 180.64 KB, 2 pages

Meeting notes

Agenda item 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on 4 February 2021 were approved.  

Agenda item 3: GEF funding update

Amit Mehta presented an update on the GEF budget 2020-21:

• The total spend was £1.184m which was funded through a DfE Grant of £0.543m plus an additional grant for prior year transport costs of £0.202m. RBKC contingency budgets of £0.439m have also been used.
• The first table in the budget report summarises how the fund was allocated in 2020-21 together with the funding source (either DfE or RBKC) for each allocation.
• The second table summarises the total GEF allocation prior to 2020-21 and again includes the funding source for each total allocation.

Ian Heggs confirmed that RBKC has committed an additional £0.5m for GEF for 2021-22. Schools are already submitting bids to the fund and these are currently being reviewed. Bids should be no more than £20,000 to ensure all requests can be met.  Approximately 10% of the GEF budget is allocated to individual support for bereaved children and young survivors through the Grenfell Dedicated Service. 

Ian also advised that RBKC is continuing to lobby the DFE for additional funding to support schools. 

Agenda item 4: Update on education support for the bereaved 

Lauren Fernback advised that the Grenfell Dedicated Service is currently undertaking targeted work with bereaved children and young survivors linked to the second phase of the public enquiry. There have been particular concerns with older children since the public enquiry restarted. The targeted work involves specific interventions with older children predominantly focusing on injustice.

Lauren also advised the service now has a Primary specialist who has been delivering online lessons every week and is starting to move to face to face lessons that have been hosted by Oxford Gardens Primary and Kensington Aldridge Academy. For secondary age pupils, the service’s Participation and Inclusion Lead has been providing 1:1 mentoring for older children. 

Kathleen Williams asked if other schools could host sessions. Lauren advised that the offer for 1:1 support has been circulated to parents several times. As they are a consent-based service parents need to request the support in order for it to be provided. Lauren agreed to follow this up with Kathleen after the meeting.

Agenda item 5: Commissioning of mental and emotional health support 

Annabel Saunders thanked schools for their feedback to the consultation on commissioned mental and emotional health services and for facilitating the responses from pupils and parents. The consultation covered the future of existing providers such as Place 2 Be, Future Men and Catholic Children’s Society as well as bespoke support for individual schools. It was recognised that needs are changing and it is important to make sure services are accessible, respond to those needs and continue to have impact. There were 150 responses in total from young people, parents and careers, community organisations and 16 schools. Overall, the feedback was positive about existing providers and how they support the community and schools and also identified that there remains a significant ongoing need for their support.

There was an additional question for schools asking if they were happy to continue with LA commissioned services or if they preferred for a proportion of that funding to go to directly for schools to commission their own bespoke support. The feedback was mixed but in general it was felt the existing provision was well embedded and really valued but providers also need to extend their reach in order to support a larger cohort of children and young people. Therefore, the recommendation going forward is that the LA will continue to commission services from the existing providers, but their offer will be reshaped in line with the consultation feedback. They will also work on an additional offer to support the wider community to have greater reach and impact. The commissioned emotional and mental health support is funded separately from the GEF. It is part of the recovery strategy and will provide £2.5m over the next 3 years with 50% going to the providers who are working directly with schools.

Veronica Hilliard asked about changes in the provision from Place to Be as she has been advised the support offer would be moving online. Annabel confirmed that a reduction in support offered was not anticipated as Place to Be had been made aware of continued LA funding and the future proposals. Annabel agreed to follow this up after the meeting.
Sarah Cooper raised a concern about a significant increase in need with long lists of referrals for children who are really in need of support and in particular the loss of art therapy provision, which was a crucial part of the support for pupils.  Sarah asked if schools could bid into the wider community and also asked about the proposed trial of a ‘travelling art therapy’ provision that could be shared between schools.

Annabel advised that the community fund is designed to provide additional support in community settings with other community-based organisations with the aspiration to extend the support offer to reach local residents that have not previously accessed support. Annabel agreed to follow up regarding the travelling art therapy offer.

Ian Heggs referenced the role of the health sector in providing emotional and mental health support for children. Health colleagues have attended previous GEF meetings to talk about the offer and will be invited to attend the next GEF meeting to provide an update. 

Agenda item 6: RBKC Family Services Select Committee Recommendations report: Education Support Provided by the Council to the Pupils Affected by the Grenfell Tragedy 

Cllr Rendall thanked headteachers who attended or provided feedback to the Family Services Select Committee Meeting. The committee made a number of positive recommendations including ensuring the GEF and the commissioning fund for emotional health and wellbeing support is communicated more widely, for example, through a dedicated webpage. It also recommended greater transparency about the work of the GEF, how the funding has been spent and its impact. Cllr Rendall confirmed the recommendations would be accepted.

Ian Heggs added that the committee is keen to have an update on GEF as a regular agenda item particularly focusing on the impact on children’s education so the annual education outcomes report will continue to be shared with the committee. 
It was also agreed that the minutes of the GEF steering group meetings, the financial report and the terms of reference could be shared publicly.

Kathleen Williams and Sarah Cooper stated that the response to the report tabled by the five primary schools closest to Grenfell Tower was disappointing.

Katy Blacker stated that it was surprising that it was felt that the community did not know about the GEF and the funded support provided for children and young people. The families that schools are working with are very clear about the support available to them. Sarah Cooper agreed and advised it would be good to share some case studies highlighting the support provided by schools.

Cllr Rendall acknowledged it was a challenging meeting but agreed that it is important for the GEF steering group to continue to be transparent about the activities it has funded and their impact.

Ian Heggs agreed that schools have been working hard to make sure children do not fall behind and particularly are supported through transition phases. This work is often funded directly by schools but has also been supported through the GEF. The LA will look to add case studies to the next education outcomes report and share this more widely. 

Agenda item 7: Update on the environmental monitoring programme, future of the site programme and Memorial Commission

Victoria Pitman advised that following engineering advice, the MHCLG Grenfell Site & Programme team is writing to all Bereaved and Survivors as well as local residents with an offer of meetings to discuss the future of the site. The Secretary of State is looking to take a decision on what should happen in regard to the site and if the tower should be carefully removed. Victoria confirmed there will be no activity in this regard before the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. A copy of the community letter has been shared with headteachers and Victoria advised she is keen to support schools with conversations they have with students, parents and their school communities. Victoria has already met individually with two schools and has other meetings planned.  She has invited schools to contact her if they would like to arrange a meeting. In addition, Victoria is happy to field and answer any questions directly with parents if required.

Sarah Cooper confirmed that she found the meeting with Victoria really valuable and recommended that other schools take up the opportunity.

Victoria Pitman provided an update on Stage 2 of the environmental monitoring programme which has now been completed. The results are currently being analysed and are also going through a process of independent scrutiny in order to be confident with the results. The findings due to be released in May have now delayed to July as the scrutiny process is taking longer than anticipated. Following publication of the Stage 2 results, there will be community drop-in sessions to discuss what the findings mean and also allow the opportunity for Q&A with scientists involved in the programme.  Details will be circulated to schools when available.

Jonny Zander is from Kaizen who are the engagement specialists working on behalf of MHCLG and the Memorial Commission to gather views about the future of the site. As a separate piece of work, Kaizen are offering to run resilience workshops for children and young people in schools in North Kensington. They are offering one day per school, on which they can run 2 two-hour workshops. These can be tailored for primary or secondary age children. They have successfully run a similar programme with schools in Tower Hamlets. The workshops consider how to build resilience, increase understanding of resilience and also destigmatising issues around mental health. They are aiming to deliver workshops between now and the end of November. Further details will be sent to schools following this meeting. 

Agenda item 8: Any other business

Veronica Hilliard asked about funding for a project provided during the summer holiday in 2020.The Flourish in the Forest project, hosted in the Maxilla Garden Space, was a community programme to supporting families in the local area to use the garden space for creative work, for family gatherings and to explore play. They are keen to continue provision this summer as a valuable resource, especially for families with children who have complex needs and they would like to open the offer to other local schools. Sarah Cooper agreed it would be good to have this offer over the summer holiday.

Richard Stanley agreed to follow up to see this could be funded in another way. 

Agenda item 7 - Next steps and actions

1. RBKC will continue to lobby DfE for additional funding for schools for 2021-22.
2. Lauren Fernback will follow up on the take up of the support offer by parents of bereaved children and young survivors.
3. The commissioned mental and emotional health offer from existing providers will be reshaped following consultation feedback. The specific query about art therapy provision will be followed up.
4. The recommendations by the Family Services Select Committee will be taken forward, including the agreement to share the minutes of the GEF steering group publicly.
5. Schools are invited to contact Victoria Pitman with any queries regarding the future of the site communication.
6. Information on the resilience workshops being offered by Kazien will be circulated to schools.
7. There will be an update on public health support at the next meeting.
8. Funding for the Maxilla Garden Space family summer holiday project will be followed up.

Thursday 4 February 2021 

Agenda 

Time	Item	Led by
2.00	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.05	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.10	GEF funding update (Paper attached)	Amit Mehta, Senior Finance Manager – Schools and Education
2.25	Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort and report on education outcomes  (Paper attached)	Lauren Fernback, Grenfell Dedicated Service
2.40	Commissioned Mental Health and  Well-being support funding	Marjana Tharin, Integrated Commissioning
2.50	Update on the following programmes:  Environmental Monitoring Programme Future of the Site Programme  Memorial Commission	Shafic Essop and Victoria Pitman Community Engagement, Grenfell Site and Programme, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG)
3.15	Summary of Next Steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
3.20	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Meeting documents

Document

Grenfell Dedicated Service Education Update PDF, 136.67 KB, 4 pages

Document

Grenfell Education Fund 2020-21 PDF, 169.66 KB, 2 pages

Meeting notes

Agenda item 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on 26 November 2020 were approved.  

The terms of reference for the new Education Partnership Board, which will be chaired by Sarah Newman, have been developed with input from the chairs of both headteachers groups as well as the chair of governors’ group. The new board will meet for the first time before the Easter break. The Grenfell Education Fund Steering Group will continue to meet termly and will report into the new Education Partnership Board.

Agenda item 3: GEF funding update

Amit Mehta presented an update on the GEF budget 2020-21 which comprises of £0.5million from RBKC and £0.543 from DfE. He referred to Table 1, which outlined how the 2020-21 fund has been allocated by recipient and Table 2 that outlined the total allocation from previous years. It was agreed the allocation tables will be amended for future budget reports to show the allocation from the RBKC and DfE contributions in separate columns. 

Sarah Bouette and Kathleen Williams queried the figures reported for their schools and this will be followed up with Amit Mehta following the meeting.

Ian Heggs confirmed that the full 2020-21 GEF budget had been allocated with a small overspend. The £45,000 for ‘Education Support’ includes, for example, provision for individual families being supported by the Education Lead in the Grenfell Dedicated Service. Ian also confirmed that the RBKC funding contribution would continue in 2021-22. It is acknowledged that additional support continues to be required with Coronavirus pandemic delaying recovery. RBKC will also continue to lobby the DfE for their funding contribution to schools to continue in 2021-22.

Jagdeep Birdi asked if RBKC can provide additional funding if the DfE contribution is not confirmed.

Kathleen Williams agreed this would be a serious concern for schools as the need to support affected pupils remains high and the DfE funding was critical to meet those needs. The Covid pandemic has exacerbated need and set back the recovery of affected pupils.

Cllr Randell confirmed that Grenfell Recovery remains a main priority for the council and alternative funding options can be considered.

Ian Heggs added that there will be additional sources of funding, for example, schools can bid into the emotional health and wellbeing support.

Agenda item 4: Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort and report on education outcomes 

Lauren Fernback presented a paper on the education work of the Dedicated Service and education outcomes highlighting the following points:

• Providing attainment data is particularly complex this year given that the DFE is not providing any pupil level data and the service has to strike a balance between sharing information and protecting the privacy of bereaved and survivors. In addition, each cohort size is very small so they are unable to publish attainment figures due to the risk of individual pupils being identifiable.
• For KS1, 70% of the cohort have been receiving bespoke support from the Dedicated Service to support their attainment and progress.  40% of this cohort are SEN Support or have an Educational Health and Care Plan.  
• KS2 cohort pupils were supported directly by the Grenfell Dedicated Service and were supported with their transitions to secondary school.  They have bespoke support plans in place and targeted interventions are in place to support their academic success.  
• The KS4 cohort performed above national averages for attainment in English and Maths 9-4, whereby 100% of pupils achieved these grades. All the pupils’ results have been scrutinised and they have been offered support to help with their transitioning into post 16.  All the young people in this cohort have been able to access the next stage in their education and there are no pupils who are currently not in employment, education or training.   
• KS5 - There were seven pupils in the bereaved and survivor cohort in year 13. All seven are in the next stage of their education, college, university or employment.

Jagdeep Birdi asked if it was possible to measure the engagement of pupils in the bereaved and survivor cohort at the current time, for example, in comparison to other pupils. This could be one measure to assess if the support funded from GEF is effective.

Richard Stanley agreed that there is a need to assess the impact of funded interventions as part of the education outcomes report. Richard asked for case study examples from schools that could demonstrate how the GEF has had an impact on particular groups and also in the current context of the Covid Pandemic.

Ian Heggs added that the education work of the Dedicated Service would be a focus for the next Family Services Select Committee in March.

Agenda item 5: Commissioning of mental and emotional health support 

Marjana Tharin confirmed that the consultation on the future funding of mental health and emotional support in schools had been launched. The consultation covers funding for the next three years for existing providers such as Place 2 Be and Catholic Children’s Society as well as bespoke support for individual schools. The consultation is taking place via a survey in the first instance. The survey has been sent to schools, community groups and the existing providers. The team are keen to hear from the whole school community including staff, parents and pupils.

Agenda item 6: Update on the environmental monitoring programme, future of the site programme and Memorial Commission

Shafic Essop from MHCLG provided the following updates:

• Safety works including asbestos removal and removal of heavy items from the tower are ongoing. This work is to prepare for the installation of additional props to maintain stability. 
• Re-wrapping works will start in March, this will take about 10 weeks to be completed.
• A procurement process is underway for the main contractor for the site as the current contract will end in June. Social, economic and environmental values will be an important part of the criteria in assessing bids with prospective contractors expected to offer, for example, work experience for students, foodbanks for the local community or planting trees. The procurement process will include community engagement and feedback.
• The community engagement programme regarding the future site is continuing led by the Memorial Commission working with specialist consultancy Kaizen. Letters have been sent to all bereaved and survivors as well as local residents.
• Stage 2 of the soil testing programme has been completed and initial results are consistent with the London area with no increased risk to health. The full report is expected to be published in Spring.

Shafic finished his update by asking schools for feedback on communication from his team. For example, if email is the appropriate method of communication and the frequency of email updates is right.

Agenda item 7 - Next steps and actions

• The Education Partnership Board will meet for the first time later this term. A report from the GEF will be presented at the meeting.
• The format for the GEF budget report will be amended for future meetings and queries regarding budget allocation for specific schools will be answered outside the meeting.
• RBKC will continue to lobby DfE for continued funding for schools for 2021-22
• The report on education outcomes will be developed to look at the impact of the GEF on education outcomes through case studies.
• Schools were asked to respond to the consultation on the future funding of mental health and emotional support.
• Schools were asked to feedback to MHCLG team on the frequency and methods of communication.

Thursday 26 November 2020

Agenda

Time	Item	Led by
2.30	Welcome and introductions	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.35	Meeting notes and matters arising	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
2.40	Commissioned Mental Health and  Well-being support (Paper attached)	Marjana Tharin, Integrated Commissioning
2.50	Grenfell Recovery – Targeted Work for Children and Families	Laura Gregory, Strategic Transformation Lead
3.00	Update on the following programmes:  Environmental Monitoring Programme Future of the Site Programme  Memorial Commission	Nick Prokopiou, Grenfell Site Programme, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Jonny Zander, Kaizen  Michael Lockwood and Thelma Stober, co-chairs for the Independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission
3.30	Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort	Callum Wilson, Grenfell Dedicated Service
3.40	The Steering Group – next steps and the role of the new Education Partnership Board	Ian Heggs, Director of Education
3.50	Summary of Next Steps	Richard Stanley, Deputy Director of Education
3.55	AOB	Ian Heggs, Director of Education

Meeting documents

Document

Grenfell education Fund 2020-21 PDF, 169.02 KB, 2 pages

Meeting notes

Agenda item 2: Meeting Notes and Matters Arising

The notes of the meeting held on 30 June 2020 were approved.  

Andrew Tagg provided an update on the Grenfell Education Fund (GEF) funding allocations (paper attached). In response to a question, Andrew advised that the GEF was established to support education provision for the cohort of bereaved children and young survivors. Schools can bid to the fund to provide targeted support for pupils in the cohort of bereaved children and young survivors as well as the wider cohort of affected pupils. Bids are reviewed to ensure there is not a duplication in provided resources. Schools can continue to submit bids (using the proforma) to Ian Heggs and Andrew Tagg.

In response to a question, Ian Heggs confirmed that through the Grenfell Dedicated Service, links are maintained with the cohort of bereaved children and young survivors who have moved outside RBKC or into Higher Education.

Agenda item 3: Commissioning of mental and emotional health support 

Marjana Tharin presented a paper on the future funding for Grenfell emotional support in schools for pupils (paper attached). Marjana confirmed that the current funding arrangements are in place until July 2021 and the proposal is considering funding arrangements for September 2021 onwards. A formal consultation will begin in early 2021 but the service would like to start early engagement with schools to ensure the proposed provision will meets their needs.  The emotional health and wellbeing support for schools will be a dedicated package of support separate from the GEF funding allocations.

A question was raised about how schools identify where support is needed. David Benson advised that schools undertake a number of ongoing activities including regular communication with students, parents and staff; providing training for staff so they can identify need and establishing a system of referral.

Agenda item 4: Grenfell Recovery – Targeted Work for Children and Families

Laura Gregory outlined the proposal (presentation attached) for targeted work with children and families:

• The proposed area of focus is to invest in and strengthen the work underway in North Kensington to promote inclusion and reduce school exclusions. 
• It is hoped that the project will build on and complement wider work already being undertaken. 
• The programme will be co-designed with colleagues in Children’s Services such as Early Help, schools, and families and will fit into the new Inclusion Strategy.
• The targeted programme in North Kensington will be funded through the Grenfell Recovery budget.
• It aims to improve communication between families and schools and strengthen relationship with services.
• The programme will focus on behaviour issues using Trauma Informed approaches 
• Laura would welcome opportunity to speak to headteachers in more detail about the proposal.

Agenda item 5: Update on the environmental monitoring programme, future of the site programme and Memorial Commission

Nick Prokopiou from MHCLG provided the following updates:

• The soil testing programme across 13 sites has been completed. The results are currently being analysed and will be published in a report due March/April 2021.
• Air quality around the site continues to be monitored and there is currently no cause for concern.
• Safety works began in late September and will continue into the new year. The works include asbestos removal, removal of heavy items from the tower and the installation of 4,000 new props to maintain stability. The programme of works is taking longer with additional safety precautions due to Covid.

Michael Lockwood provided an update on the Memorial Commission:

• The commission is co-chaired by Michael Lockwood and Thelma Stober and includes representatives of bereaved and survivors.  
• The commission is currently in the ideas gathering phase learning from other tragedies and seeking advice from experts.
• They are leading a significant programme of engagement with all stakeholders to ensure every voice is heard. They are keen to work with schools, taking advice on the best way to make sure the views of children and young people are heard in the deliberations on the future of the site. 
• They are happy to visit schools to talk directly to school communities.

Jonny Zander from Kaizen explained their involvement in the community engagement programme:

• Kaizen are a specialist community engagement consultancy and have been appointed to support the engagement programme on the future of the tower and site. Kaizen have considerable experience leading engagement programmes with schools and young people in events such as the London Olympics.
• Kaizen want to work with all the local schools and are open to suggestions on the best ways to engage children and young people. They are happy to provide individual solutions for each school to ensure all voices are heard.

Agenda item 6: Update on education support for the bereaved and survivor cohort

Callum Wilson from the Grenfell Dedicated Service (GDS) provided the following update:

• The GDS is working with 198 bereaved children and young survivors. Lauren Fernback as the Education Lead is directly working with 114 young people, supporting their needs and providing an interface with schools. Some are still resident in the borough and some outside RBKC. There has been positive feedback on the support provided by the GDS.
• The GDS steering group is investing in additional education support, with the recruitment of a new education officer who will focus on supporting children with SEND. They will also be recruiting a participation lead to work specifically with young people (aged 14 and over). 
• In response to Covid, an education recovery programme was established with 60% of families engaged. The programme uses a holistic approach to meet need through provision of education and equipment.

Agenda item 7 - Next steps and actions

• The agenda item on the Steering Group – next steps and the role of the new Education Partnership Board will be postponed to the next meeting.
• Consultation on the commissioning of mental and emotional health support for schools will begin in Early 2021. 
• Headteachers are invited to send through their feedback on the Grenfell Recovery Proposal for targeted work with children and families in North Kensington. 
• The Memorial Commission through Kazien will contact individual schools about the best way to engage children and young people.