CARDIFF COUNCIL CYNGOR CAERDYDD AUDIT COMMITTEE: 18 th SEPTEMBER 2018 UPDATE ON INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING AGENDA ITEM: 4.1.1 Reasn fr this Reprt 1. This reprt has been prduced in respnse t the Audit Cmmittee s request fr an update n gvernance and cntrl within the Educatin Directrate. This update is als t prvide assurance n the implementatin f the recmmendatins made by Internal Audit. Backgrund 2. The Educatin and Lifelng Learning Directrate prvides the strategic, prfessinal and peratinal supprt t enable the Cuncil t fulfil its respnsibilities fr: early years educatin statutry age educatin educatin in schl sixth frms a yuth service 3. There are 127 schls in Cardiff. There are: 3 nursery schls 98 primary schls 18 secndary schls 7 special schls 1 Pupil Referral Unit 34 Flying Start childcare settings. 4. The Directrate has a net budget f 256.425 millin. Of the net budget, 230.923 millin (90.05%) is delegated accrding t a frmula t the Cuncil s schls and their gverning bdies, wh manage their individual schl budgets. There are abut 6,600 schl based staff wrking in Cardiff s schls, serving 53,440 pupils. 5. In additin, 25.502 millin (9.95%) f the net budget is centrally retained and is directly managed by the Educatin Service, which emplys arund 1,100 (590 FTE) staff cvering a range f services. The directrate is currently rganised in three
service areas, as fllws: 6. The Directrate is currently rganised in three service areas, as fllws: 6.1 Achievement and Inclusin Wrking with the Central Suth Cnsrtium and ther partners t raise standards f learners, by prviding supprt and challenge and by mnitring and evaluating the prgress f each schl. Prvisin f advice and supprt, direct services and mnitring in relatin t the achievement f individuals and specific grups f pupils with additinal needs; fulfilling the Cuncil s respnsibilities fr pupils with special educatinal needs; prmting high attendance and reducing schl exclusin, and Yuth Service prvisin t engage with yung peple t help them fulfil their ptential. Functins Behaviur Supprt/PRU Educatin Psychlgy Ethnic Minrity and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) Lked After Children Educatin Other Than At Schl Educatin Welfare Service Achievement and Inclusin Supprt Team Casewrk Team Specialist Teachers Flying Start Yuth Service 6.2 Perfrmance, Resurces and Services Supprting achievement by securing best use f all resurces (financial, human and prperty) and by securing fr schls high quality, value fr mney services in the belw areas: Functins Perfrmance Management and Infrmatin Schls Catering Music Service Outdr Educatin Centre (Strey Arms) Gverning Bdy Supprt Business Supprt This service maintains strng links with: Financial Services Human Resurces Internatinal Schl Linking
6.3 Schl Organisatin, Access and Planning Schl place planning in English, Welsh, Faith and Special Schl Sectr; capital planning; the cmmissining and delivery f schl buildings; planning f future demand; schl admissins and the Welsh in Educatin Strategic Plan. Functins Schl Organisatin Admissins Schl develpment prject planning and delivery 7. Educatin is a key fcus f the pririties set ut in Capital Ambitin, t cntinue t drive frward the city s ecnmy and t make Cardiff a great place t live, wrk and play. We knw that a great educatin will help everyne in Cardiff t achieve their full ptential. The Administratin will cntinue t invest in and imprve ur schls t make sure that every child has the best pssible start in life. 8. The Cuncil wrks with partners acrss the city t achieve educatin gals. The visin utlined in Cardiff 2020 seeks t deliver an educatin system in which: All children and yung peple in Cardiff attend a great schl and develp the knwledge, skills and characteristics that lead them t becme persnally successful, ecnmically prductive and actively engaged citizens. 9. The cllective cmmitment t educatinal imprvement in the city has had a significant impact n the utcmes achieved by learners. Hwever, measured by the aspiratins fr all learners t succeed set ut in that visin, we have much mre t d. The Directrate has seven strategic pririties t wrk twards this visin, utlined in the Cuncil s Crprate Plan and Directrate Delivery Plan: Pririty 1: Imprve educatinal utcmes fr children and yung peple by cntinuing t raise standards, imprved schl leadership, high quality teaching and learning and curriculum develpment. Pririty 2: Wrk tgether with schls and partners t enhance the well-being f children and yung peple in Cardiff. Pririty 3: Clse the attainment gap fr pupils frm lw-incme families, children wh are lked after, pupils educated ther than at schl, and pupils entering Cardiff with English as an additinal language. Pririty 4: Imprve supprt and services fr children and yung peple with additinal learning needs t ensure every learner fulfils their ptential.
Pririty 5: Ensure there are sufficient and high quality schl places t meet the ppulatin grwth in the city, thrugh planned expansin and the upgrade f the existing schl estate via the Schl Organisatin Prgramme. Pririty 6: Supprt yung peple int Educatin, Emplyment r Training by delivering the Cardiff Cmmitment. Pririty 7: Imprve the range and quality f services prvided t schls by the Educatin Directrate. Issues Risk management and mnitring arrangements. 10. The Directrate has develped a clear structure and prcess fr managing and mnitring strategic and peratinal risks related t its respnsibilities and cmmitments as set ut belw. Directrate Delivery Plan This sets ut key strategic and peratinal activities aligned t the Crprate Plan and t the Capital Ambitin Cnsideratin is given t resurces required t deliver prjects and initiatives tgether with statutry services alng with assciated risks. Risk registers risks managed by the directrate are detailed n the registers and are mnitred and reviewed quarterly at management meetings. Any risks that are identified as Red r Red/Amber are cnsidered fr escalatin t the Crprate Risk Register. Risks assciated with the delivery f cuncil-wide activities have been identified and are mnitred and reviewed alngside the directrate quarterly perfrmance reprting arrangement. Quarterly Perfrmance Review perfrmance against the strategic pririties are mnitred and reviewed by the management team n a quarterly basis. Updates are used t feed int Crprate Risk Registers. The management team cnsiders prgress made t deliver key cmmitments, and an evaluatin is undertaken t determine where further actin is required. Current Crprate Risks 11. The Educatin Directrate currently cllates the crprate psitin fr three strategic risks. The relative psitins are summarised belw. Band B 21 st Century Schls Organisatin Prgramme there are risks in terms f the timescales fr delivery f the 284m capital prgramme, in the cntext f very rapidly grwing primary age schl ppulatin. In July 2018, prpsals fr arrangements t secure apprpriate capacity and gvernance t deliver the prgramme was apprved by the Cabinet. An additinal 100 places fr children and yung peple with Additinal Learning Needs have als been
created, t increase prvisin prir t the delivery f new special schl schemes. Educatin Cnsrtium and Attainment there is a risk that the Central Suth Cnsrtium des nt deliver effective services that challenge and supprt Cardiff schls t imprve, and educatinal attainment des nt imprve at the required rate. Over the last year, the Directrate and Central Suth Cnsrtium have further develped prcesses fr Schls Causing Cncern, which have had a psitive impact n bth Estyn inspectins and the number f schls categrised as Green, thrugh the Welsh Gvernment Categrisatin Prcess. Schl Delegated Budgets there is a risk that secndary schls with deficit budgets d nt deliver agreed deficit recvery plans, impacting n the verall budgets fr all schls. The budget is reviewed by the Educatin Management Team n a mnthly basis. Statutry Building Maintenance Whilst this is wned by Ecnmic Develpment, a significant prprtin f the Cuncil s buildings assets are in the schl estate. The risks identified here apply t schl buildings and the Educatin Directrate are wrking with clleagues acrss the Cuncil t manage these significant risks. 12. The updated year end psitin was presented t Audit Cmmittee in June 2018. Senir Management Assurance Statement 13. The Educatin Management team is actively engaged in the review f the directrate s SMAS bth at an individual level n behalf f their functin and as part f the discussin that cnsiders and cllates the verall psitin. 14. The verall analysis f the end f year 2017/18 Senir Management Assurance Statement is attached as Appendix 1, which shws that acrss the Directrate f the 23 assurances; 7 were judged as mixed applicatin, 13 strng applicatin and 3 as embedded. Further wrk will be cmpleted with the Educatin Management Team t imprve the psitin fr the mid-year review. Mnitring/Implementing recmmendatins made in Internal Audit reprts 15. Central Directrate Audits undertaken during 2017/18 and 2018/19 are: Audit Catering in pted ut schls Status reprt Assurance rating Effective with pprtunity fr imprvement Number f recmmendatins made 7
Music Service Schl Organisatin, Access and Planning reprt reprt Unsatisfactry 9 Insufficient with majr imprvement needed 10 16. A number f thematic audits were als undertaken during 2017/18: Audit Educatin - Cmmissining and prcurement Educatin - Gvernance Educatin payrll Educatin incme Status reprts / Draft reprts reprts reprts Assurance rating Mst schls Effective with pprtunity fr imprvement Mst schls Effective with pprtunity fr imprvement Mst schls Effective with pprtunity fr imprvement Mst schls Effective Number f recmmendatins made 111 55 29 81 17. Officers are wrking t address the recmmendatins frm these audits t make the imprvements needed. Audit Planning and liaisn 18. The draft audit plan is presented t Audit Cmmittee in January f each year t allw members t review the brad themes and time allcatins. Once the draft plan has been agreed, the Relatinship Manager meets with the Directr and management team t discuss the crprate themes and the number f audit days that will be allcated t each f thse themes in the directrate. Als discussed at these meetings are any areas f cncern that the Directr wuld like Internal Audit t review and the number f audit days that will be allcated t these assurance r cnsultatin pieces. 19. This is then presented back t Audit Cmmittee in March fr final agreement by members. During the year, there are regular, quarterly meetings with the Relatinship Manager t discuss prgress against the agreed plan and t discuss any emerging risks that might need t be reviewed during the year. Any audits that
cannt be undertaken at that time (such as due t n-ging system changes) will als be discussed at these meetings. If any changes are made t the agreed audit plan, these are reprted t the next meeting f the Audit Cmmittee fr the members t agree. 20. Auditrs als meet with managers at the start f each audit fr initial scping f the audits and at the end f the audit prir t the draft reprt being t discuss the main findings. Managers will als cntact Internal Audit fr advice and guidance n any matters f internal cntrl and auditrs have been invlved with system and prcess develpment. Legal Implicatins 21. The statutry functins f the Audit Cmmittee include the duty t review, scrutinise and issue reprts and recmmendatins n the apprpriateness f the authrity s risk management, internal cntrl and crprate gvernance arrangements (pursuant t Part 6 Chapter 2 f the Lcal Gvernment (Wales) Measure 2011). In discharging its functins, the Audit Cmmittee must have regard t all relevant guidance, in particular the CIPFA guidance fr Audit Cmmittees. Financial Implicatins 22. There are n financial implicatins arising frm this reprt. Recmmendatins 23. Audit Cmmittee are requested t nte the cntents f the reprt. Nick Batchelar Directr f Educatin and Lifelng Learning 11 September 2018 The fllwing Appendices are attached: Appendix 1 SMAS Year End Analysis 2017/18 fr Educatin