Agenda, decisions and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 23^rd June be agreed subject to the following amendments:

Monsignor Nick Rothon be recorded as being present.

Gail Exon be recorded as having sent apologies for absence.

1.1       RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 23 June be agreed subject to the following amendments:

Monsignor Nick Rothon be recorded as being present.

Gail Exon be recorded as having sent apologies for absence.

Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 3 as she was a member of Lewisham Contact a Family and she was Chair of Lewisham Parents Forum.

Councillor John Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 3 as his wife a member of Lewisham Contact a Family and Chair of the Lewisham Parents Forum.

2.1       Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 3 as she was a member of Lewisham Contact a Family and she was Chair of Lewisham Parents Forum.

2.2       Councillor John Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 3 as his wife was a member of Lewisham Contact a Family and Lewisham Parents Forum.

RESOLVED:

That the following comments on the savings proposals be referred to the Public Accounts Select Committee for consideration.

A11: Managing and Improving Transition Plans.

The Committee raised concerns about the ability for the Council to increase the number of localised options for young people with complex needs and requested further clarification on the localised options being proposed, and further details of exactly how the savings would be achieved, and the timescale to be provided before a decision is taken on this proposal.

A16: Public Health (Obesity and Physical Activity)

The Committee highlighted that reductions in Council spending in this area could have a negative impact on the health of young people and increase the risk of childhood obesity. The Committee was concerned regarding the proposal to cease the free swimming programme for under 16s and adults over 60 and to cease the cycling in schools programme. The Committee requested further information on the current uptake of the schemes and the costings and savings predicted, before a decision be taken on this proposal.

I9e: Realign Schools HR Recharge

The Committee requested additional information on the exact nature of the proposal to charge schools for HR functions such as recruitment, occupational health, policy advice and DBS clearance. After hearing that the proposal around charging for HR functions would be considered by the Schools Forum in October, the Committee requested that the minutes from the Schools Forum meeting in which these matters would be discussed be circulated to members of the Children and Young People Select Committee at the earliest possible stage.

J2a: Schools Service Level Agreement

The Committee requested that copies of the minutes of the meeting of the Schools Forum where the proposed 2.5% increase in the cost to schools would be considered, be circulated to the Children and Young People Select Committee as soon as they were available.

J2b: Schools Attendance and Welfare

The committee had concerns regarding the impact this proposal would have on schools and felt additional information on this was needed, particularly with respect to Primary Schools which they felt may have less capacity to manage these changes. The Committee raised concerns that the impact could be greater than predicted and requested assurances that the impact predictions had been fully researched, to be received before a decision on this proposal be taken.

N5: Review of Lewisham’s Passenger Transport Service

The Committee was reassured that there would be no changes to the eligibility criteria as a result of the proposed savings but requested further information to ensure that the proposals were realistic given the current deficit of £700,000 in that service area, to be received before a decision on this proposal be taken.

Q3a&b: Sensory Teachers

The Committee requested additional information on how these savings would be achieved and any potential negative effects on students as a result of passing on costs to the Dedicated Schools Grant, to be received before a decision on this proposal be taken.

Q3c: Educational Psychologists

The Committee had concerns regarding  ...  view the full decision text for item 3.

3.1       David Austin, Head of Corporate Resources introduced the savings report to the committee and explained that the report continued the work from the last financial year and could be looked at in the context of the Medium Term Financial Strategy. The following points were noted:

·         Pending the Comprehensive Spending Review in November and the Local Government Financial Statement in December 2015, there was uncertainty as to the full amount needed for savings up to 2020.

·         There was a minimum of £45 million of savings which would be needed over the next two financial years. The current report put forward £12 million of new savings for 2016/17 and a further £14 million of new savings for 2017/18.

·         The Council had already made £120 million savings from 2010 up to 2015.

·         Any referrals made by the Children and Young People Select Committee would go to Public Accounts Select Committee on the 29 September and then to Mayor and Cabinet on the 30 September 2015.

3.2         Sara Williams, Executive Director for Children and Young People, Alan Docksey, Head of Resources and Performance, and Alastair Pettigrew, Interim Director, Children’s Social Care were also in attendance to provide additional clarifications on specific budget proposals.

3.5       In the discussion the following key points were raised relating to the budget process.

·         The savings proposals had been categorised thematically under the broad themes of the six Select Committees. However all select committees had been provided with all the savings proposals so could comment on any proposal if it felt it was relevant to its committee.

·         There was a predicted £20 million shortfall which would be a challenge to meet. It was possible that the option of using reserves to meet some of this shortfall could be used to help smooth the transition.

3.6       Sara Williams addressed the committee on the savings proposals listed in sections J and Q.

·         The savings in section J were a combination of introducing additional charges for schools such as through the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and charging for services previously provided in addition to the core statutory services.

·         The reduction in funding to the Educational Psychologist Team represented removal of vacant posts and the service would be able to recruit to an additional trainee role.

·         There would be additional charges for estate management and efficiency savings in the Standards and Achievements Team.

·         The savings in section Q included a reduction in the budget for equipment for sensory teachers. This would now be charged directly to the Designated Schools Grant in line with other local authorities.

·         The reorganisation in management in occupational therapy would make the team more efficient to avoid potential overlap with the occupational therapy service within the Health Service.

·         The reductions in Q4 would involve improved management of placement costs, reducing the numbers of residential care and increasing the use of local authority foster placements where possible.

3.7       In the discussion that followed, the following key points were raised:

·         With respect to the managing and improving of transition plans (A11)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

4.1       Alastair Pettigrew presented the report to committee noting that the Committee Chair and report author, Chris Doorly was unable to attend and sent her apologies. In his presentation the following key points were highlighted:

·         The remit of the Lewisham Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) was set out in the Children Act 2004 with the principal function being to coordinate what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area and to ensure the effectiveness of what is done for those purposes.

·         The board provide an independent opinion of services and highlights and audits performance. In addition to this their remit includes: examining serious case reviews including every death of a child.

·         The budget for the LSCB had more than doubled in the last year reflecting the importance of the work undertaken.

·         The LSCB had established a Child Sexual Exploitation task group and were working in collaboration with the Met Police.

·         National measures for lengths of foster placements included “Number of children who have 3 or more placements in one year should be less than 16%. The current Lewisham figure is 9.5%.

4.3       Standing Orders were suspended at 9.45pm

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

That the full 2014/15 Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 results be brought back to the committee as part of the 2015/16 work programme.

That a report outlining best practice in secondary schools be added to the select committee work programme for the 2015/16 municipal year.

5.1       Chris Ashton, Interim Head of Standards and Achievements and Sara Williams gave a presentation to the committee which was handed round to committee members, a copy of which will be interleaved with the agenda. During the presentation and discussion the following key points were highlighted:

·         The results at Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) were continuing to improve with Lewisham being in the top 5% of local authorities nationally.

·         The results for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (KS1) and (KS2) had also improved since 2013.

·         At Key Stage 4 (KS4) the percentage of those gaining 5 A*-C was similar to 2014 but likely to be below London and National Average.      

·         At Key Stage 5 (KS5) there had been an improvement in numbers of grades A* - C

·         Full details of the results with comparisons with National and London averages could be brought to committee once these figures were available.

·         The figures for Looked After Children and those on Pupil Premium were currently not available as a separate statistic but these could be provided with the full statistical report.

·         Improving secondary schools and results at KS4 and KS5 was a key priority for the Council. This was being looked at in a broad context including: consulting with schools on ways of working; looking at best practice; managing the transition to year 7 successfully; improving behaviour and attendance.

RESOLVED: That

1.    The report be noted.

2.    The full 2014/15 Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 results be brought back to the committee as part of the 2015/16 work programme.

3.    A report outlining best practice in secondary schools be added to the select committee work programme for the 2015/16 municipal year.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

6.1       RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

RESOLVED:

That the committee undertake an in-depth review into Independent Advice and Guidance in Schools.

That the full KS4 and KS5 results be reported back to the committee as part of the Secondary schools Improvement Monitoring report scheduled for March 2016.

A report on best practice in secondary schools be scheduled be scheduled for the Children and Young People Select Committee to be held on the 18^th November.

7.1       Cllr Hilary Moore, Chair of the Children and Young People Select Committee, introduced the item and explained that following a meeting with the young advisors, she was proposing that the committee undertake an in-depth review into Independent Advice and Guidance (IAG) in schools. This topic had been a key concern for many of the young advisors and Cllr Moore proposed that the review be carried out in such a way as to ensure the continued involvement of some of the young people.

7.2       Cllr Moore introduced Liam Islam, Young Mayor of Lewisham and Tyreese Hines, Young Advisor, to the committee. Liam and Tyreese addressed the committee and stated that they felt there were disparities between schools in post-16 guidance. Some schools and individuals had significantly more support than others. Moving on to post 16 and post 18 education, training or employment could be a stressful time for young people and not having the right support was adding additional pressures.

7.3       Katie Wood, Scrutiny Manager introduced the remaining items on the work programme asking for members to specify whether they required any additional detail or analysis for items scheduled for the next meeting, or had any other requested additions to the work programme.

7.2       RESOLVED: That

1.    Liam Islam be congratulated and thanked for all his work as Young Mayor of Lewisham over the previous year.

2.    The committee undertake an in-depth review into Independent Advice and Guidance in Schools.

3.    The full KS4 and KS5 results be reported back to the committee as part of the Secondary schools Improvement Monitoring report scheduled for March 2016.

4.    A report on best practice in secondary schools be scheduled as part of the 2015/16 work programme for the Children and Young People Select Committee.

There were no referrals to Mayor and Cabinet. However there were referrals to the Public Accounts Select committee on item 3 as listed in the recommendations under item 3.

8.1       There were no referrals to Mayor and Cabinet. However there were referrals to the Public Accounts Select committee on item 3 as listed in the resolved section under item 3.