Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 14 September be agreed and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Cllr Barnham declared a personal interest in item 8 as he was the Council representative on the Board of the Music Service.

Cllr Sorba declared a personal interest in item 3 as he was a member of the Council of Governors for SLaM.

3.1Kate Bond introduced the response. In response to questions the Committee was advised:

·         It is difficult to track at 18+ but the NEET figure is higher at that stage. Kate will double check the figure with her team and if any trends have been noted and report back

·         Kate Bond confirmed LAC received lots of support with work experience, but she will feed back the specific figures about the numbers of LAC who have actually received 100 hours of work placement

·         Further detail will be provided regarding the achievement of targets set around apprenticeships offered within the council, and also specifically regarding the benefits of the amount of development taking place across the borough

·         The council could recommend, but not demand, that a lead governor for CIAG was appointed on all governing bodies, but it could ensure it was included within the training programme offered. Kate undertook to ensure it was given a higher profile.

·         All staff have a responsibility to understand and promote children’s rights, and the Young Mayor represents young people across the borough and acts as their champion

3.2       RESOLVED:  

to receive the further detail as requested and to refer to Mayor and Cabinet the view that a Champion for Children’s rights be appointed, in line with the recommendation made within the review

4.1       RESOLVED:

That the response be noted

5.1       Kate Bond introduced the report. In response to questions the Committee was advised:

·         A lot of progress has been made over the summer, the secondary heads have set up a group and will be meeting with primary and early years heads too.

·         Secondary challenge is a written statement of commitment to work collaboratively to raise attainment. An experienced head from another borough has been selected by the heads, with the Councils approval to lead the process.

·         Trust and relationships are being built across the schools; 10 out of 14 secondary heads in the borough have changed in the last year, coming from a wide range of boroughs.

·         Sharing experiences and admitting to issues takes a good trusting relationship which takes a while to build

·         When the Committee looks at places planning in January it will look at ASD place provision as part of that item

·         Sponsors of applications for free schools and potential sites would be advised to members where appropriate, in a closed session if appropriate. The need for ward members to be advised where appropriate was recognised.

5.2       RESOLVED: to note the report

6.1       Stephen Kitchman introduced the report. In response to questions, the Committee was advised:

·         Initial work setting up the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) had been very positive, with the initial "go live" now scheduled for January. There will be a launch event to which the Committee will be invited.

·         Schools had been actively involved in the set up too and connections had been made between schools and children’s social care

·         Neglect is a huge issue which often involves a multitude of factors (substance misuse, domestic violence, mental health etc. A greater focus is to be placed on tackling neglect and a strategy is being drafted.

·         As part of the MASH approach an early help team is being set up to signpost people to support and the family intervention programme will also be involved and a focus on targeting help where needed across the borough will be developed

·         Support is offered immediately if a school is impacted by a bereavement, senior officers are in touch immediately and the support required by the school is sent in ASAP

·         Those at risk of offending is an area of focus for the Youth Offending Team (YOT) as we are currently outliers in the figures, attempts are being made to focus on early intervention ( improve attendance, reduce exclusions) as this is known to be an early indicator

·         Custody numbers are high because of the gravity of the offences means it is on the only option

·         Reoffending rates are also very high and there is a lot of work being done in tackling this

·         Places as secure units are in high demand nationally, and young people can be placed all around the country wherever a space can be found

·         The MASH enables appropriate support to be given, which is not always from Children’s social care. Adults Social Care, Housing, the Police, Health partners, the probation service are all involved. Co-location and information sharing is still being further developed starting with the early intervention team.

·         Youth offending is an issue across the borough and is not solely in high density, private rented sector areas

·         There is a designated officer to investigate allegations against adults. Sometimes it is a safeguarding issue but other times it is a training need so responses are based on findings on a case by case basis

·         Resources are limited so interventions need to be effective

·         There was a typo on the report and Sara Williams was the interim chair, not the independent chair; an independent chair has now been appointed

6.2       RESOLVED:  

To receive an update on Youth Offending work at a future meeting and to thank officers for a detailed and useful report.

7.1       Kate Bond introduced the report. In response to questions the Committee was advised:

·         Comparison with previous results is challenging given the changed approach to testing and reporting nationally; the data is still being reviewed

·         Early years and KS1 remains a positive – further work to understand why this is the case will be shared with the Committee

·         The offer at 16+ makes a difference to the pupils choosing to stay on, 55% go to Christ the King because of the rage of subjects offered, Forest Hill and Sydenham work well together to offer a range of subjects, Sedgehill has lower numbers and Addey and Stanhope is considering ceasing 16+ provision because of low numbers

·         Less funding is provided per 16+ pupil

·         Schools can decide to expand and offer bulge classes if they choose to; if they aren’t required by the local authority to meet an identified need then we don’t fund the provision of the additional places

7.2       RESOLVED:

To note the report and require more detailed information in the new year

8.1       Kate Bond introduced the report. In response to questions the Committee was advised:

·         This was a well-respected service and the proposals were designed to safeguard its future.

·         Pensions issues were being worked through.

·         Responding the consultation, and completing the equalities monitoring, was self-selecting on the website. There was no statutory requirement to consult but the Mayor asked for it to be carried out. There were lots of discussions with parents and staff as well.

·         Staff are peripatetic often working across a number of London boroughs, so the staffing numbers are not all full time employed staff.

·         The property (equipment) will be protected and transferred appropriately

8.2       RESOLVED:

To note the report

9.1       Salena Mulhere introduced the scoping report. The Committee agreed the scope of the review as outlined in the report, although noted that all-through schools and special needs schools weren’t specifically highlighted, transition across all schools would be included within the review.

9.2       RESOLVED:

That the scope of the review be agreed.

10.1    RESOLVED: That

The work programme be agreed

the Chair thanked Katie Wood for her work with the committee in recent months.

11.1    RESOLVED:

In relation to item 3 on the agenda, the Committee resolved to advise Mayor and Cabinet of the following:

·         That the Committee recommends that the Mayor appoint a Champion for Children’s Rights with a focus as outlined in recommendation 11 of the review.