Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of Children and Young People Select Committee held on the 8 September be agreed subject to the following amendment:

Point 2.2 be amended to read: 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.

1.1       RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of Children and Young People Select Committee held on the 8 September be agreed subject to the following amendment:

Point 2.2 be amended to read: 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.

Cllr John Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 5 as his daughter was in the age range covered and benefitted from some of the services being discussed.

Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 5 for the following reasons:
She was Chair of the Lewisham Parent and Carers Forum.
She had a daughter with a disability in the age range being discussed.
She had been attending the SEND Preparing for Adulthood Programme Board.

2.1       Cllr John Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 5 as his daughter was in the age range covered and benefitted from some of the services being discussed.

2.2       Councillor Jacq Paschoud declared a personal interest in item 5 for the following reasons:
- She was Chair of the Lewisham Parent and Carers Forum.
- She had a daughter with a disability in the age range being discussed.
- She had been attending the SEND Preparing for Adulthood Programme Board.

Powerpoint presentation to the Committee.

RESOLVED

That the presentation be noted and Steve Besley be thanked for attending the committee.

3.1       Steve Besley, Head of Policy, Pearson UK, gave a presentation to the Committee, a copy of which will be interleaved with the agenda. During his presentation the following key points were raised:

·         In terms of secondary schools, there was a focus on performance with a number of significant changes taking place over the next few years. This included: the introduction of “Progress 8” in 2016; a new GCSE grading system; and potentially increasing numbers of academies and free schools.

·         London Schools, in particular primary schools, had been very successful in recent years and improved results dramatically. There was a lot of focus on understanding this success and different theories around this but four common factors were thought to be: Autonomy of schools but within an appropriate accountability regime; providing a challenging curriculum; strong effective leadership; high quality and motivated teachers.

·         In terms of accountabilities, new Ofsted arrangements were being introduced as well as changes to performance tables and new performance measures at KS5. 

·         A new independent careers and guidance umbrella organisation was in the process of being launched with the aims of connecting schools to employers through a network of enterprise advisors.

·         Funding pressures would continue to increase with the biggest challenges being for funding for 16-19 year olds in colleges. Many sixth form colleges will have lost a third of their funding between 2011 and 2016.  Other financial pressures included the rise in numbers of pupils and the spending cuts to local authorities.

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

·         The majority of improvements in London schools were in primary schools with improvements in secondary schools stagnating in recent years.

·         The independent careers and guidance organisation was independent of government and acted as an umbrella organisation to provide enterprise advisors.

·         Recruiting teachers was becoming challenging in primary as well as secondary schools.

3.3       RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted and Steve Besley be thanked for attending the committee.

RESOLVED

That the key lines of enquiry and timetable be approved subject to the following additions:

When considering examples of best practice from other local authorities; examples from the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Islington should be investigated.

That the impact of the new Careers and Enterprise Body being set up by the Government be addressed. 

4.1       Katie Wood, Scrutiny Manager introduced the scoping paper to the Committee. Ruth Griffiths, 14-19 Strategic Lead, was also in attendance. In the discussion that followed, the following key points were raised:

·         Quantitative data as well as qualitative was important and would be included as part of the evidence.

·         Considering external examples of good practice was important.

·         The new Careers and Enterprise body highlighted in the presentation for item 3 should be further investigated to understand the implications. 

4.2       RESOLVED: That

1.    The key lines of enquiry and timetable be approved subject to the following additions:

2.    When considering examples of best practice from other local authorities; examples from the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Islington should be investigated.

3.    That the impact of the new Careers and Enterprise Body being set up by the Government be addressed. 

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted

That statistics be broken down further to assess the differences in outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities depending on their particular need or disability.

5.1       Warwick Tomsett, Head of Targeted Services and Joint Commissioning presented the report to the Committee. Ann Wallace, Interim Service Manager, Children with Complex Needs, was also in attendance. In the presentation to Committee the following key points were highlighted:

·         The report provided information from changes as a result of implementation of legislation from the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2015.

·         The key changes were the move from Statements of Special Educational Need to Education and Healthcare Plans for children and young people aged 0-25.

·         The changes included increased focus on multi-agency working bringing together education, health and social care through a single assessment process. This would also include a greater emphasis on listening to the views of parents and the young people themselves.

·         In August 2015 there were 9,007 young people in school year 12-14 up to and including age 24 with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities.

·         Currently the process for preparing a young person with a SSEN or EHCP to move to Adult Social Services will start on their 17^th birthday, but models were being considered for preparing for this transition earlier with the possibility of embedding it is the system for young people from 14 years of age. Challenges included managing the difference between eligibility for support between children’s and adults’ social care and supporting people through this transition.

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

·         Statistics could be further broken down to assess the differences in outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities depending on their particular need or disability.

·         There were different possible theories as to why Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) levels were higher in Lewisham, but no concrete evidence on this at the moment. Theories included the possibility that as there were good resources for those with ASD, this may attract people to the borough. Another theory could be that the assessment process in Lewisham may be more comprehensive than in some other areas and therefore better at identifying more people with ASD.

·         The Committee raised concerns regarding the outcomes at GCSE level for those with SEND and the high NEET figures for SEND children. Further information on this would be provided to the Committee as part of the schools results report in March. The Committee’s review into Independent Advice and Guidance in Schools would include consideration of young people with SEND.

·         It was important to start working with individuals and their families on transition strategies at an earlier age.

5.2       RESOLVED: That

1)    The report be noted

2)    The statistics be broken down further to assess the differences in outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities depending on their particular need or disability.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

6.1       Cllr Moore addressed the Committee and highlighted that Service Level Agreements with schools had been referred by the Select Committee as part of the budget proposals and the committee had been informed that minutes of the Schools Forum meeting where they consider changes to the SLAs would be distributed to CYP Committee Members.

6.2       Alan Docksey, Head of Resources and Performance, CYP, presented the report to the Committee and highlighted the following key points:

·         The report provided an update on traded services with schools.

·         The report set out the details of services traded with schools for a cost and the income received and number of schools purchasing the service.

·         Income received had increased overall from 2013/14 to 2014/15 but there were some services where it had fallen such as governor services and asbestos assessments.

·         In addition to services provided through the SLA there were services bought by schools on an ad hoc basis such as door to door and DBS checks.

·         Government focus on increasing the numbers of free schools and academies may have an impact on the numbers of schools purchasing services through the local authority as academies and free schools often tend to have in-house provision of services such as HR.

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

·         The Council charged schools for providing health and safety certificates for work experience placements and in some instances to find placements for KS4 and KS5 young people.

·         The charges were being proposed to be raised following work by the Lewisham Future Board. It would align charges more closely with actual cost of services and with other local authorities’ provision. 

6.4      RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

That the following clarifications be provided to committee members:

1.    The details of risks around gaps in provision between paediatric to adult care.

2.    The tuberculosis (TB) rates and the BCG vaccination rates in the borough.

3.    Why Lewisham did not provide the BCG vaccination at birth as routine.

4.    How successful the detection rate was of the foetal alcohol syndrome scan.

5.    The breakdown by nationality of the 50% of births in the borough which were children born to women outside EU and Commonwealth.

6.    Whether different strategies for female and male smokers were being used in antismoking campaigns.

7.    Details of efficacy of the HPV vaccination and whether there were any known side-effects.

7.1       Patricia Duffy, Health and Well-being Population Intelligence Manager, gave a presentation to the Committee, a copy of which will be interleaved with the agenda. During the presentation and in the discussion that followed, the following key points were raised:

·         An annual Public Health Report was produced by the Director of Public Health every year and this year’s theme was Children and Young People to coincide with the Children and Young People Plan 2015-18.

·         There were currently 70,000 young people aged 0-19 in the borough and this figure was growing year on year which would put additional pressure on services.

·         The underlying challenges for children in Lewisham were poverty and toxic stress.

·         There was a reduction in the numbers of low birth weight babies which was one of the major factors in poor health outcomes for children.

·         Immunisation rates in Lewisham were lower than London and National average and this remained a particular concern particularly in respect of uptake of the second MMR vaccination.

·         Obesity rates amongst children in Lewisham remained higher than the national average but figures for reception age children were falling. Obesogenic environments were a particular concern. Action being taken included a maternal obesity programme and improving the uptake of free schools meals.

·         The under-18 conception rate was reducing but the level in Lewisham was still higher than other London boroughs. Sexual Health services would be reconfigured in the next few years to improve access.

·         A range of interventions around preventing uptake of smoking, drinking and drugs were being recommended and education for parents on the impact of smoking.

·         The health of Looked After Children was a key priority and the Lewisham Children and Young People Strategic Partnership would continue to focus on this and it was a key priority of the draft Children and Young People Plan.

·         In terms of mortality and serious injury for children, the biggest cause of death was premature birth and this rate had been falling.

·         Additional information on vaccination rates would be provided to the Committee to help them to understand and scrutinise priorities.

·         The age of puberty was lowering and it could therefore be useful for schools to target sex education at a younger age group. Other issues included the importance of options to provide changing areas for young girls away from boys at primary schools as well as secondary.

RESOLVED: That

1.    The report be noted.

2.    The following clarifications be provided to committee members:

1.    The details of risks around gaps in provision between paediatric to adult care.

2.    The tuberculosis (TB) rates and the BCG vaccination rates in the borough.

3.    Why Lewisham did not provide the BCG vaccination at birth as routine.

4.    How successful the detection rate was of the foetal alcohol syndrome scan.

5.    The breakdown by nationality of the 50% of births in the borough which were children born to women outside EU and Commonwealth.

6.    Whether different strategies for female and male smokers were being used in antismoking campaigns.

7.    Details of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

RESOLVED

That the report on admissions criteria and banding scheduled for the November meeting of this committee, be removed from the work programme.

8.1       Katie Wood introduced the report and requested that Members specify whether they required any additional detail or analysis for items scheduled for the next meeting, or had any other requested changes to the work programme.

8.2       RESOLVED:

That the report on admissions criteria and banding scheduled for the November meeting of this committee, be removed from the work programme.

There were no referrals to Mayor and Cabinet.

9.1       There were no referrals to Mayor and Cabinet.