Agenda and draft minutes

The Committee noted the evacuation and housekeeping procedure.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 2 March 2026

AGREED the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2026 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Committee received a presentation regarding the Post 16 Partnership Careers Strand from the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Careers Team Manager and Employment and Training Hub Manager. The presentation included:

• Careers activity in schools, which for the last 10 years had followed the Gatsby Benchmarks, with encounters with employers and employees and experiences of workplaces being particularly important. SBC’s Careers Service had been asked to carry out a specific piece of work to identify demands and facilitate the sharing of best practice.
• Key priorities for schools and colleges and how SBC teams could assist. The Careers team and the Employment & Training Hub Team were working with Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), who were relaunching their Business Directory which included employers who engaged well with school aged young people, and would help schools to access this. TVCA were also offering advice, guidance, and coordination of accessing work experience placements for Key Stage 4 and the Careers Service would be working with them to ensure schools were receiving this information.  A further priority for the Careers Network was to develop activities and toolkits for Key Stage 3 Work Experience Week. SBC would then consult with schools to choose whether to deliver this inhouse, teams across SBC including Careers and Employment & Training Hub to deliver it for them, or the SBC broker businesses to deliver it. The content for a parent and carer’s guide to careers had been agreed and was in design and production stage.
• The work of the Employment & Training Hub in helping young people and to ensure they remained in education, employment or training. This included a range of initiatives that targeted young people at risk of disengaging and/or required support in identifying appropriate pathways for themselves. Key points highlighted were:
  • Since its launch in October, the Care Experience Recruitment Coordinator had supported over 50 young people and 27 of those had found employment.
  • The Youth Trailblazer was the only Trailblazer programme in the Tees Valley that was offering paid work experience.
  • The Skills for Success Programme, developed following school leaders raising concerns that students were struggling in a school environment and, while they were attending, their issues with anxiety and confidence meant they were not present. The industries involved in the initiative were generous with their time and knowledge and the activities were interactive. At the end of the course the students were aware of the industries and opportunities on their doorstep and their confidence had increase, with 100% stating they felt more confident. A celebration event was held, and students had to each give a pitch for themselves at the celebration. The programme had proven to improve behaviour as well their progress for English and Maths.
  • The Excellence for All Post 16 initiative was targeted to students who were not carrying on to university and did not know what their next step was. It focussed on personal skills such as time management and confidence, raising aspirations, and included study skills and revision session. The programme connected students with  ...  view the full minutes text for item PEO/4/26

Consideration was given to the Committee’s work programme. It was noted that the Committees next Scrutiny Review had been agreed at Executive Scrutiny Committee and would be Procurement and Tendering Processes. The review would commence after the Committee completed its current review. </AI5>

AGREED the work programme be noted.