Venue: Committee Room 2, Shire Hall. View directions
Contact: Helen Barnsley Senior Democratic Services Officer
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General Additional documents: |
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Apologies Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Michael Cowland (co-opted member). |
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Disclosures of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests Additional documents: Minutes: None. |
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes from the meeting held on the 17th September 2024 were agreed as a true and accurate record.
There were no matters arising.
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Public Speaking Additional documents: Minutes: None |
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Question Time Additional documents: |
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Questions to Cabinet Portfolio Holders Up to 30 minutes of the meeting are available for members of the Children & Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee to put questions to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Education and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children & Families.
The work programme attached lists any briefings circulated to the Committee since the last meeting and any items listed in the Council’s Forward Plan for decision by Cabinet or individual Cabinet Portfolio Holders over the coming months. Additional documents: Minutes: None |
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Updates from Cabinet Portfolio Holders and Directors Cabinet Portfolio Holders and Directors are invited to provide any updates they have on issues within the remit of the Committee. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Sue Markham, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families provided an update on commissioning activity after a request from Councillor Sinclair. It was confirmed that short breaks and respite has now gone out to tender; Other projects will be put out for tender in April 2025 and updates will be provided to the committee when available and appropriate
In relation to Families First for Children’s Pathfinder, it was confirmed that it is an initiative aimed at transferring the way support is provided to children and families. It brings together key services to address challenges before they escalate and is tailored to the unique needs for each family to avoid crisis. Central to the Pathfinder approach is the focus on strengthening family resilience and ensuring children's voices, and lived experiences are at the heart of any decision making. The approach will foster trust among everyone.
The Pathfinder also promotes integrated working amongst professionals across health, education, social care, police and community organisations by sharing information, expertise and resources, the programme creates a holistic understanding of each family's needs. While sharing responsibility for the decision making..
Councillor Markham then provided an update in relation to the Warwickshire Safeguarding Childrens partnership which is fully embedded alongside family services, police and health services. Teams will be based in localities based on the five districts in borough areas with a real focus on delivering support in the communities, and this change will go live from the 2nd of January 2025. Events to share and explore the partnership work will be launched in January 2025.
It was confirmed that on the 18th November 2024, the Government announced their intentions about children's social care reform in a document called keeping Children Safe, helping families thrive. This is being closely monitored by officers to see what the next step will be; the committee will be kept updated.
The Chair thanked Councillor Markham, adding that it is encouraging to see that there is a team in place to support children and their families. Thank you for such a comprehensive report.
Councillor Kam Kaur, Portfolio Holder for Education gave an update to the committee in relation to the new Education Programme which went live in June 2024 and replaced the previous SEND inclusion and change programme. It now includes eleven projects that are at various stages of development.
It was confirmed that the resource provision project focuses on increasing the number of specialist resource provisions across the county. The committee noted that there are now sixty new places in the north, south and central Warwickshire and 5 inclusion mentors to offer support to staff and children. The project is on target in all areas for delivery.
It was noted that the project is trialling a framework to increase collaboration and peer-to-peer support between local schools to increase teaching and knowledge to meet the needs of children with send. It is currently focused on the areas of rugby Bedworth and Stratford and forty schools have been recruited to participate in the ... view the full minutes text for item 3(2) |
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Corporate Parenting Panel Update The Portfolio Holder for Children & Families to provide an update on the work of the Corporate Parenting Panel.
The Children in Care Council and Care Leavers Forum & Voice, Influence and Change Team Update report presented at the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Panel on the 18th November 2024 is attached for information. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Sue Markham, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families provided an update to the committee on the work of the Corporate Parenting Panel and confirmed that a full report had been made available in the document pack for this meeting and includes the Children in Care Council and Care Leavers Forum & Voice, Influence and Change Team Update report that was presented at the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Panel on the 18th November 2024.
In relation to the Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers football team, the committee was pleased to note that the team now has forty players and that the team keeps picking up trophies and soon, may need another pitch!
In relation to the Brother’s and Sister’s strategy, it was confirmed that the video they created won an award and that Warwickshire is now being asked to share this with other local authorities.
Councillor Markham recommended that members, if they get the opportunity, go and see the Albany Theatre performance “Walk in Our Shoes”; a performance about children in care and their journeys, showing resilience and determination. It is incredibly moving and thought provoking.
It was confirmed that the stability of children in care performance has shown significant reduction which was noted as positive. Regarding the performance of the virtual school, it was confirmed that overall performance remained stable. There has been a rise in the attainment of children in care across the board and it was noted that Warwickshire children in care performed higher than the national average.
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Quarter 2 Integrated Performance Report Additional documents:
Minutes: Johnny Kyriacou, Director of Education presented the report to the committee and confirmed that from the Council Delivery Plan’s 59 activities, ten are relevant to this committee. It was confirmed that 50% of the ten are currently on track, 30% are currently showing at risk and 20% are complete.
The following points from the report were highlighted to the committee –
The new multi-agency safe guarding groups are now live. Agenda setting is well underway to ensure that the right people are in the right place and information is shared with the right people
There has been notable progress in the five-year plan for capital investment. There is a robust plan in place which maps out how the council will meet the needs of children and young people.
The committee noted that 85% of key business measures are on track (out of 14). It was confirmed that the uptake of early education and childcare entitlements currently at around 87%. It's a consistently strong area of focus for the council.
It was further confirmed that the council has created all the additional class places needed. All additional primary places have been found.
One key setback has been the delay in the opening of the Academy which was due to open and provide alternative provision places for up to sixty young people. It was confirmed that this was a Department for Education project so, although the places are needed, it is currently out of the council’s hands.
A further set back in terms of performance has been the percentage of education, health and care plans (EHCP) being completed within 20 weeks. Currently only 22% are being completed within 20 weeks. It was confirmed that 1971 requests for EHCP have been received this year, compared to 1418 last year, an increase of just over 500 around 39%. The highest number of requests was received in July 2024 at 231.
Following a question from Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell, it was confirmed that there has been a huge improvement in the performance relating to EHCP annual reviews; currently at 85% completed on time. There is now a specific team in place, and it is having a great impact.
An update in relation to EHCP planned conversions confirmed that while the process could still be frustrating, the team is making good progress. Performance is being measured month to month due to the high demand. The team is working hard against a background of staff shortages. It was confirmed that the headlines in the performance report don’t show that there is no detriment to children. EHCP funding is always back dated so schools can start the provision knowing that they will receive all the funding.
Following a question from Councillor Jerry Roodhouse, Councillor Kam Kaur, Portfolio Holder for Education, stated that sometimes, too much information could be overkill. It is important to note that every officer within the team is doing what they can and working hard. It was noted that everything heard today is linked to the ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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School Attendance in Warwickshire Additional documents: Minutes: Sarah Tregaskis, Head of School Services and Post 16 Education presented the report to the committee, providing an update on school attendance across Warwickshire; since the Pandemic, there has been a focus on attendance nationally and locally. The committee noted that there has been a change in need and experiences that children bring to school.
It was confirmed that national rates post covid were concerning but there is now an increase in school attendance both nationally and within Warwickshire. It is recognised that there is not one size fits all in relation to school attendance and officers are working to understand the barriers to attendance and identify the most appropriate support for each family.
The key messages from the Department for Education’s statutory guidance are that improving school attendance is everyone’s business and improving attendance should be built on existing early intervention support. Children transitioning between schools is another area of focus.
Absence rates are showing trends for particular groups, both nationally and in Warwickshire; Year 11. This cohort were in Year 6 during covid and were transitioning from primary to secondary; and their Year 7 was also severely impacted by the pandemic; up until Year 8.
It was noted by the committee that evidence suggest that fining parents doesn’t reduce absenteeism; it won’t change the behaviour. Officers need to work to understand the absenteeism. However, it was noted that fining does have a place – e.g. unauthorised leave of absence (holidays). Holidays are a parental choice, so some penalty notices are produced. The committee was asked to note that one factor for parents taking children out of school for holidays is clearly the economic climate at the moment and the fact it can be cheaper to go on holiday outside traditional school holidays.
The following points from the report were also highlighted to the committee –
Following a question from Councillor Piers Daniell, it was confirmed that an annual report in relation to unauthorised absence and the number of children known to the council could be bought to the committee. The data can be broken into age group with the reason for elective home education. Families electing for home education are all contacting to ensure they understand what is required of them and what support is available to them.
It was then confirmed that there has been a national debate for a long time in relation to school holidays. Local authorities set term dates, but academies don’t have to comply with those dates. What holiday companies charge is out of the council’s control. Local authorities tend to try and work together on holiday dates because some families may have one child in primary school in one area, and a second child in ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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School Outcomes Report – Early Headlines including Virtual Schools Additional documents: Minutes: Leah Adams, Head of Early Years & School Effectiveness presented the report to the committee and confirmed that today’s report is a preliminary report; and extensive report is due to be presented to the committee at the meeting in April 2025.
The committee noted that work is continuing in relation to the levels of engagement across the county. The team currently works effectively with thirty-three academies across Warwickshire. It was noted that seven academies have 100% of their schools in Warwickshire; and all but one are secondary schools.
It was confirmed that from the 1st September 2024, the overall effectiveness grade was removed and that meant that some schools in the county went without an OFSTED inspection. This has led to the team reporting on a new measure; that is looking at the proportions of schools who have not received a sub-judgement and then tracking the schools who are under performing in relation to school outcomes. This is a very comprehensive way of reporting to the committee how all the schools are doing.
In relation to section three of the report, it was noted that work on the school effectiveness strategy has been paused because of changes that are due in respect of OFSTED and potential changes within the Department for Education. The committee was pleased to note that although work on the strategy has been paused, the team is still working closely with stakeholders and academies to build and maintain close relationships.
In relation to the School Approach Team, Leah Adams confirmed that work is underway to move away from responding to a crisis; to trying to get to know the schools earlier, before any concerns are raised and therefore preventing crisis. The team is working to join up with other agencies to get a better understanding of how the school works before they need extra support with attainment. One thing that, as a local authority, council officers can do, is provide data and information that schools can use to improve performance.
In relation to section four of the report, it was confirmed that most of the Early Years settings in Warwickshire have been rated Good or Outstanding by OFSTED. There is a wide range of diversity across the settings, and some significant challenges for our quality standards and safeguarding team to ensure that all children are being reached so this is positive news to report. In addition, it was noted that there are early indications for improvement because of the positive work being done in connection with early intervention for speech and language that will help to close attainment gaps.
In relation to exclusions, alternative provision and severe absenteeism, it was noted that the team has moved into a model of working that is at a more local district and borough level. This provides clearer data intelligence for the team to be able to work with; and allows smoother interactions with difficult or challenging conversations. The team has two meetings to enable this; one is purely about the ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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Work Programme and items on the Forward Plan Up to date work programme to be presented to the Committee.
Items from the Forward Plan relevant to the remit of the Committee to be noted. Additional documents: Minutes: It was agreed that a report covering Speech and language therapists (SALT) assessments & EHCP assessments will be added to the work programme
The Committee noted and agreed the updated work programme and items on the Forward Plan relevant to the remit of the Committee. |
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Any Other Business Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair thanked everyone who had taken part today – it has been a really positive, engaging meeting. |
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Date of Next Meeting The next meeting will be held on the 25th February 2025 at 10am.
The meeting will be held in Committee Room 2, Shire Hall, Warwick. Additional documents: Minutes: The next meeting will be held on the 25th February 2025 at 10am.
The meeting will be held in Committee Room 2, Shire Hall, Warwick |