Cabinet Portfolio Holders and Directors are invited to provide any updates they have on issues within the remit of the Committee.
Minutes:
Councillor Sue Markham, Portfolio Holder for Children & Families, provided the following updates to the committee –
1) Following the July Cabinet meeting, the West Midlands regional framework for fostering is progressing well. Phase one went live in December 2024.
2) In relation to the redesign of CAHMS, it was confirmed that things are progressing well and officers are working closely with key stakeholders.
3) Councillor Markham reminded the committee of The Family Information Service (FIS), and how it is important for members to understand what the team does behind the scenes. FIS works not only with children in care, but also works closely with their families. The service signposts families to services that support the council’s statutory duty. There is accessible information for all parents/carers.
It was confirmed that there is an online information officer who supports work and investment in the webpages to ensure accurate and up to date information. There has been a recent investment in text to speak reading and translate information to allow residents whose first language isn’t English.
The committee noted that there is a FIS weekly e-letter with 8826 subscribers, Councillor Markham confirmed that she receives the newsletter, and it is worth reading. It was recommended that members of this committee sign up.
There is also a FIS helpline available from Monday to Friday, (am to 5pm that can be accessed via email or freephone. The service takes up to 60 requests a day. In addition to people calling in for self-referrals, police, children’s social care and schools have all reached out to this service.
It was confirmed that Jo Rolls, service manager for FIS is due to retire. Councillor Markham wished it to be noted that thanks go out to her for all that she has done.
Councillor Jill Simpson-Vince thanked Councillor Markham, adding that it sounds like FIS in an amazing service and that it is really making a difference. Following a question from Councillor Simpson-Vince in relation to follow up calls to see how families are doing after they have reached out, as it is a very brave thing to do, to ask for help; it was confirmed that if the issue is solved, advice given etc during the initial contact, then families are always told that they can call again if needed. If the issue isn’t solved in the first instance then follow up are always carried out.
Councillor Justin Kerridge confirmed that he has used the service, as a councillor and personally. He added that they have always been fantastic and always gone the extra mile.
Councillor Markham thanked Councillor for his comments, adding that it is nice to hear from someone who has used the service.
Councillor Kam Kaur, Portfolio Holder for Education provided the following updates for the committee.
1) In relation to Education strategy and transformation, it was confirmed that there are currently 10 live projects; and that a positive impact is starting to emerge. Councillor Kaur thanked all the schools that have come forward. There was an initial target to work with 231 schools and this has now been exceeded.
2) The committee noted that there has been a reduction in children attending special schools. This was one main reason for resource provision and the take up of this from mainstream schools.
3) There has been superb engagement across the board with early years and school effectiveness. The committee were pleased to hear that this project is building momentum.
4) Regarding admissions, planning for secondary offer day is under way. Councillor Kaur expressed her gratitude to all schools for their cooperation in advance in order to meet the anticipated demand. There were only 10 late applications this year, in previous years this has been between 200-300.
Councillor Tim Sinclair asked if the committee could have a deep dive into resource provision and add it to a future work programme; asking if there could be work to look into the experience of schools, parents and children that have been involved – perhaps a year on. Councillor Kaur added that it could be possible to invite a headteacher to come and talk to the committee. Phil Johnson, co-opteed member of the committee added that the headteacher of his academy would gladly attend and agreed to share contact details.