Agenda and minutes

Venue: Shire Hall, Warwick - Shire Hall. View directions

Contact: Helen Barnsley  Democratic Services Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

General

Additional documents:

1(1)

Apologies

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Jo Barker, Pete Gilbert and Justin Kerridge.

 

Apologies were also received from Joseph Cannon, John McRoberts and Rev. Elaine Scrivens (all co-opted members of the Committee).

 

Apologies were received from John Coleman, Assistant Director - Children & Families and Nigel Minns, Strategic Director - People Directorate.  The Committee wished their best wishes be sent to John and Nigel who were both unwell.

1(2)

Disclosures of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

1(3)

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 230 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2021 were agreed as an accurate record.

 

There were no matters arising.

2.

Public Speaking

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

3.

Question Time

Additional documents:

3(1)

Question 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 Learning and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services.

 

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:

Following a question from Councillor Jerry Roodhouse, Mark Ryder, Strategic Director for Communities agreed that a briefing note and proposed timeline for actions following the update on the SEND programme will be shared with the Committee after the meeting.

 

3(2)

Updates from Cabinet Portfolio Holders and Assistant Directors

 

Cabinet Portfolio Holders and Assistant Directors are invited to provide any updates they have on issues within the remit of the Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Jeff Morgan, Portfolio Holder for Children, Families & Education confirmed that a temporary appointment in Education Services has been made to cover Ian Budd, Assistant Director (Education Services) who is on long term sick.  Chris Baird has been appointed as Interim leadership support (Education Services) and has a strong background in education and children’s services.

 

The Committee noted that there are area workshops being held across the county in relation to School Placement Sufficiency Planning.  This is an opportunity for elected members to get together with officers to look at predications and planning, raise any concerns, share information from developers.  This will help bring local members closer to the process.  Councillor Morgan agreed to share the dates for the meetings after the meeting.

 

4.

Child Exploitation Annual Report pdf icon PDF 194 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Sally Nash - Service Manager (Youth Justice) started by thanking the Committee for inviting her to the meeting, stating that she was pleased to be able to present two items on the agenda.  The Committee noted that there is an interconnectedness between the two reports to be presented.  It was confirmed that although the report is a Warwickshire County Council report, all the work mentioned is done on a multiagency basis.

 

It was confirmed that the topic used to be Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) but is now known as Child Exploitation; the types of exploitation being reported are no longer just CSE; although that remains a highly concerning issue. 

Child Exploitation is not new, but modern phenomena such as social media and the prevalence of weapons in society means that it is very different.

 

Warwickshire County Council is one of the first authorities to set up a dedicated team to address child exploitation and should be commended for being ahead of the curve.

 

The report confirmed that there has been a significant impact on front line services to vulnerable children due to the pandemic.  The Committee was pleased to note that Warwickshire County Council Officers were prompt in

Providing full PPE to allow officers to sustain front line services.  Members noted that there has been no virtual working for the team.

 

The amount of work for the team has gone up, with more assessments being carried out.  There has also been an increase in the number of children and young people supported and there has been an increase in the amount of information sharing across agencies.

 

The quality of resources and support from Warwickshire County Council officers and elected members is excellent.  The demand is going up and additional resources would be great, but the Committee noted that it isn’t just about money; attitudes to children, attitudes to women and how we view each other all need to change.

 

The Committee noted the contents of the report in relation to the work done with perpetrators, including working with the Police and Safeguarding Board.  Officers have also recently contributed to a Parliamentary Enquiry.  The report has not yet been published but it will be bought to the Committee once completed.

 

The work undertaken with the Police includes the sharing of intelligence and mapping of information to draw a better picture of what is happening across the county. It was noted that many children are not from Warwickshire but neighbouring authorities.  Travel to the county is relatively cheap and easy; and there are areas of tourism that attract activity. 

 

The Committee noted information in relation to the Philomena Protocolwhere authorities provide intelligence to the police about children in care homes; when they go missing.  Routine descriptions of children in care are given to that so that the police can respond quickly to a missing incident.  This is a national protocol and information is handled extremely carefully. 

 

Warwickshire County Council launched the “Somethings Not Right” campaign,  across the county, to encourage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Contextual Safeguarding and Extra Familial Abuse pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Sally Nash, Service Manager (Youth Justice) introduced the report to the Committee and confirmed that there is a new, modern understanding towards safeguarding across the country, much of which has been learned from Child Exploitation as per the report presented under Item 3.  Childcare law frameworks stand up in a world constantly evolving.

 

It was noted that often parents are looked at the ones who should be  protecting their children but sometimes parents struggle and the presumptions behind the existing law framework put a responsibility on parents that they can’t undertake. 

 

The Committee noted that contextual safeguarding means that protection is beyond parents.  The abuse is extra familial; officers need to ensure there is a level of understanding for this and that it is every one’s responsibility. There is a role for community intelligence.  The Contextual Safeguarding website offers a lot of useful information and it was recommended that members of the committee have a look.

 

The approach of the Children’s and Families team at the council is to expand the understanding of safeguarding and not replace what is already part of the work we do. 

 

Following a question from Councillor Jerry Roodhouse in relation to the feedback from children and families, it was confirmed that Warwickshire County Council is currently using in-house feedback to ensure that the right approach is established.  It will be rolled out across district/borough/other partnerships when appropriate.  It will be a long journey; but once our own house in order we can look to broader partnerships adopt the same processes. 

 

Councillor Jeff Morgan asked if contextual safeguarding practices would ask a lot of the council’s social workers?  Sally Nash confirmed that it is a challenge to traditional social work practice; it is another, complex dimension.  The development within Warwickshire is to look at the internal system with training for staff.  Contextual Safeguarding is a complex world which demands experience and knowledge, but the journey has started.

 

Councillor Jill Simpson-Vince added that there is an inherent fear with parents that the moment a social worker gets involved with a family, the child will be taken away and this report shows that there is reassurance, that if the issue is outside the home, they will be supported. 

 

Councillor Brain Hammersley asked if the justice system should deter others with the current level of punishment?  Sally Nash stated that there is a lot of research in this area.  The key issue is the volume of money and material gain available to those prepared to take the risk.  The further up the chain you are, the less of a risk you face.  Our work concentrates on not blaming the parents but supporting them; while taking care to avoid victim blaming.  It is complex.  It is important to let perpetrators know that there will always be consequences. 

 

Councillor Marian Humphreys stated that she agrees with comments made by Councillor Jill Simpson-Vince; this is an excellent and positive report.  The work being done to get this right is exactly what should  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 316 KB

 

To consider the enclosed work programme, updated following the meeting of the Chair and Group Spokespersons. The programme includes an update from the Forward Plan showing items relevant to the remit of this Committee.

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Minutes:

The Committee noted and agreed the work programme as attached.

 

Future items for the work programme will be discussed at the next Chair and Group Spokes Meeting on 3rd November @10am. The meeting will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.

7.

Any Other Business

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

8.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting has been scheduled for 16 November 2021 @ 10am.

 

The meeting will be held at Shire Hall, Warwick.

 

Meetings for 2021/2022 have been scheduled as follows –

 

·         22 February 2022 @ 10am

·         11 April 2022 @ 10am

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The next meeting has been scheduled for 16 November 2021 @ 10am.

 

The meeting will be held at Shire Hall, Warwick.

 

Meetings for 2021/2022 have been scheduled as follows –

 

·         22 February 2022 @ 10am

 

·         11 April 2022 @ 10am