Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED

That

·       Cllr Luke Sorba be appointed as Chair of the Committee

·       Cllr Luke Warner be appointed as Vice-Chair of the Committee

RESOLVED

·         Cllr Luke Sorba be appointed as Chair of the Committee

·         Cllr Luke Warner be appointed as Vice-Chair of the Committee

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 March 2023 be agreed as an accurate record.

RESOLVED

That the minutes be agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.

None.

None.

RESOLVED

The response be noted.

4.1.    Katy Brown, Advisor to the Young Mayor, informed the Committee that she attended a workshop on 5 May to begin the development of a participation strategy in consultation with the Young Mayor and Advisors. Future engagement with young people in the community was important. 

RESOLVED

The response be noted.

RESOLVED

The report be noted.

Witnesses

Cllr Barnham, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

Pinaki Ghoshal, Executive Director for Children and Young People

Sara Rahman, Director of Families, Quality and Commissioning

Simon Whitlock,Head of Service – CYP Joint Commissioning

Claude Jousselin, Deputy Borough Director – Lewisham CAMHS (South London and Maudsley Hospital)

Maryland Ocansey, Services Manager – Lewisham CAMHS (South London and Maudsley Hospital)

Johanna Dench, CYP Emotional and Mental Health Joint Commissioner

5.1.     Sara Rahman and Simon Whitlock introduced the report.

Members and the Young Mayor and Advisor put questions to the witnesses. The following key points were raised:

5.2.     Events had been held and an anti-racist action plan was being developed to address the underrepresentation of Asian, Black and Mixed Race young people in referrals. In recognition that CAMHS (the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) was not reflective of the community and that making the workforce more representative would take time, a further programme was being considered under which paid mentors would encourage and support young Black, Asian and Mixed Race boys to attend appointments.

5.3.     For 2023/24, the representativeness of the workforce would be a focus; certain CAMHS teams would employ people with different levels of qualification and experience and train them to work in the services.

5.4.     In the spirit of cultural humility, South London and Maudsley Hospital (SLaM) was piloting a Patient Carer Race Equity Framework under which it would ask the community how CAMHS could be improved to increase access and engagement by minority communities. As the number of staff exceeded the number of residents in attendance at initial engagement event in November 2022, SLaM had engaged with the community at a recent well-attended parent exposition held by a voluntary organisation and planned a further engagement event for September 2023.

5.5.     CAMHS was reaching out young people and their families where they lived, rather than waiting for them to come to services. A walk-in service was being provided via general practices and services via schools.

5.6.     Services were encouraged to use voluntary and faith groups to engage with the community.

5.7.     To learn from The Big Conversation, links had been established with The Albany, which had been the key coordinator of the event. How the steering group resulting from the Big Conversation could be supported in the longer term was being considered.

5.8.     The increased number of children not attending school, due to absence or elective home education, was noted. CAMHS was providing assessments via the Virtual School and special educational needs and disability and had contributed to the new SEND strategy.

5.9.     Increased referrals to eating disorder services were contributed to by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Research was underway to establish more recent drivers, which may have included the ‘cost of living crisis’.

5.10. In relation to the 117 young people waiting 38 to 52 weeks or more for assessment, it was reported 9 of them had to wait more than 52 weeks. All of those nine young people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

RESOLVED

The following items be included in the Committee’s work programme:

·         Budget proposals

·         Embedding race equality in education

·         Children’s social care improvement, including any inspection findings

·         Holistic school improvement

·         Post-16 education and career pathways

·         Youth violence

·         Primary and secondary school organisation: estate, published admission and roll numbers and planning for the future

·         School standards (validated data)

·         For information only: school standards (unvalidated); admissions numbers; attendance and exclusions; and children’s safeguarding partnership annual report.

6.1.     The Chair suggested four topics were cornerstones of Committee’s work: the annual school standards (assessment/examination results) report; implementation of embedding race equality in schools; budget proposals; and monitoring of children’s services improvement, including any inspection findings. He proposed four further topics: in-depth (research and site visits leading up to a single-issue meeting) scrutiny of holistic school improvement; family hubs; post-16 education; and early years provision. He suggested holistic school improvement include career pathways, inclusion, behaviour management and schools dealing issues such as pupils’ home lives and wellbeing, and refer to the council’s Education Strategy.

The following further suggestions were made by the Committee and Susan Rowe, (Lewisham Education Group and Lewisham Black Parent Forum):

6.2.     Falling primary and secondary school rolls and published admission numbers and their impact.

6.3.     School standards (assessment and examination results).

6.4.     Post-16 education, opportunities and pathways. It was suggested the Cabinet Member for Business, Jobs and Skills be invited as a witness.

6.5.     Youth violence.

6.6.     Future-focused career opportunities, particularly in the technology sector, including ones which don’t require a degree or which enable young people to live and work in the area.

RESOLVED

The following items be included in the Committee’s work programme:

·       Budget proposals

·       Embedding race equality in education

·       Children’s social care improvement, including any inspection findings

·       Holistic school improvement

·       Post-16 education and career pathways

·       Youth violence

·       Primary and secondary school organisation: estate, published admission and roll numbers and planning for the future

·       School standards (validated data)

·       For information only: school standards (unvalidated); admissions numbers; attendance and exclusions; and children’s safeguarding partnership annual report.

For information only.

RESOLVED

The report be noted.

7.1.    It was clarified that a site had been identified in which to create a safe and appropriate place for young people who were taken into police custody for safeguarding to be taken to. Young people would be accommodated there for a short time while arrangements were made for their safe return home to other care arrangements, options for which included emergency foster care placements. 

RESOLVED

The report be noted.

For information only.

RESOLVED

The report be noted.

RESOLVED

The report be noted.

The Chair closed the meeting at 9.23pm.