To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor N.JJ. Davies and Councillor Ms A.M. Toon.

The Chairman welcomed Mrs D Strutt as the new secondary Head Teacher representative.

To receive details any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor Mrs P.A. Andrews substituted for Councillor Ms A.M. Toon and Councillor Brigadier P. Jones C.B.E. for Councillor N.J.J. Davies.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 19th June, 2006.

Councillor Mrs J.E. Pemberton asked about the arrangements for replacing Miss S. Peate the former Primary Sector Headteacher representative as someone had expressed to her an interest in becoming the representative.  It was agreed that clarification would be provided to her.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 19th June, 2006 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the Committee could scrutinise in the future.

There were no suggestions from members of the public.

To brief the Committee on the improvement plan and the progress in strategy development to date.

(REPORT TO FOLLOW)

The Committee considered a report on new arrangements for the 14-19 Education and Skills Strategy and the progress on this initiative in Herefordshire.  

The Committee was informed that the development of a Strategy for 14-19 education was a focus of attention by the Department for Education and Skills.  The report set out the national objectives of the DfES Programme, performance and progress to date and arrangements for implementing the Strategy within the County. 

The Head of Commissioning and Improvement said that it was in many ways pleasing that only 6.1% of 16-19 year olds in the County (240 people) were not in education, employment or training.  However, the greatest concern was that many young people were in low paid, low skilled jobs and had not taken up further training.  The challenge for the County was to provide greater access to ongoing training and higher skilled jobs.

The Secondary School Improvement Manager reported on the importance of developing partnerships as it was impossible for any one school or institution to deliver all the national requirements.  It would therefore be important to build more local networks within the County with schools and colleges working together.

He noted that there was a statutory duty on the Council to ensure county-wide access for every 14 year old to fourteen specialised, specified, diplomas (the first five to be available from 2008), the remainder by 2012.  The diplomas were required to be designed by groups which were led by local providers and employers; designed to provide a good basis for progression to university; be both theoretical and practical and appeal to a different learning style to traditional subjects; and be available to all young people across the country at three levels (1, 2 and 3).

He said that in Herefordshire the majority of level 1 qualifications could be gained in existing school accommodation with some development. Many Level 2 qualifications could be gained on school sites with access to distance learning, mobile resources peripatetic staff and local specialist school and FE provision.  Level 3 qualifications could be gained in partnership with HE institutions and specialist local and regional provision.

The Herefordshire area target was to have over 95% of 19 year olds in employment, education or training and to ensure the statutory entitlement to the 5 diplomas for every 14 year old by 2008.

Sarah Tulk of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) said that the Strategy represented an improvement.  It addressed the traditional perception that vocational training was regarded as inferior to academic study.  The focus was on preparing people for employment.  The infrastructure (workforce, providers, facilities, local partnerships and arrangements) capable of delivering the curriculum and qualifications entitlement needed to be developed in the County to allow the initial requirements of the Strategy to be met and provide for implementation of the further stages.

In the course of discussion the following principal points were made. 

·          It was suggested that there appeared to be a great deal of theory but little practical information on what  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

To advise the Scrutiny Committee on progress on the recommendations in the Joint Area Review (JAR).

The Committee was advised on progress on the recommendations in the Joint Area Review.

The Committee was presented with the Performance Indicators to be used to check outcomes from improvement activity as contained in the Children and Young People’s Services Performance Management Report April-August 2006; the summary report to the Government Office – West Midlands Improvement Board on 26th September (summarising progress between 16th August 2006 and 18th September 2006) and the success criteria approved by the Board.

The report noted that the following three key issues required ongoing action: staffing capacity in relation to social workers, the development of short breaks for children with disabilities and their families and the wider workforce strategy.

The Director of Children’s Services reminded the Committee that the report to its meeting in June had confirmed that the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) had accepted the revised Joint Area Review (JAR) Improvement Plan.  The DfES had confirmed that the Council had taken the right action on the systems for safeguarding children.  It had identified the need for more work to be carried out on performance management arrangements.

There had been negotiations at national level with the DfES on the next steps forward.  In summary it had been agreed to set up a Government Office for the West Midlands Improvement Board for Herefordshire.  It was intended that the Board would oversee performance until the end of December 2007.  It had taken some time to set up the Board and agree the criteria for success.  There were two main areas of focus:  performance against the JAR Action Plan and the programme for further improvement.

Three progress reports were required to be presented to the Minister for Children and Families.  The first had been submitted and showed the Council to be on track to achieve its targets.  The second was required in December and the final one in March 2007.  The reports would have to demonstrate how the Council had improved performance management and the improvement outcomes for Children and Young People.

Cabinet had received a progress report in July together with the response to the DfES’s review report.  This had been forwarded to Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).  The feedback was that the Council’s approach was a sound base on which to build.  In terms of performance management it had been emphasised that once performance had been improved sustaining that improvement was key.

The information submitted to the GOWM Improvement Board had been provided to the Committee to help it to scrutinise the position.

Amy Weir, a consultant working as interim Improvement Manager, was invited to provide an independent perspective on progress.  She informed the Committee of her experience in the field of Children's Services and that she was a current Joint Area Review Inspector for CSCI.  She then outlined the work she had been doing for the Council.  

To consider the Committee work programme for the remainder of 2006/07 and to nominate three Members to the Transition from Leaving Care to Adult Life Review Group.

The Committee considered its work programme for the remainder of 2006/07 and the  nomination of three Members to the Transition from Leaving Care to Adult Life Review Group.

The purpose of and proposed approach to the review of transition from leaving care to adult life was set out at paragraph 8 of the report.

It was acknowledged that as part of the process of seeking to bring a sharper focus to the Committee’s work routine information reports on school exam results and Ofsted reports had not been prepared.  The intention was that reports would be brought to the Committee on an exception basis.   Reports could be circulated separately to Members as received and only brought formally to the Committee if some significant issues requiring remedial action were identified.  It was noted that a report on current school issues, including performance, was included in the Work Programme for the Committee’s scheduled meeting in March 2007.

A budget monitoring report was requested and it was agreed that one should be made to the next meeting.

It was also reported that a request had been received from the Alliance of Voluntary Sector Organisations in Health and Social Care in Herefordshire (the Alliance) asking for a representative to be co-opted onto the Committee.  The initial thinking had been that consideration of further co-option should await the likely review of co-options after May, 2007.  However, the Alliance had requested that this position be reconsidered as this date was some way away and there were considerable developments in the Children's Services agenda.  It was proposed that representation should be invited on the basis that it was understood that a formal review of co-option was likely to take place in May.

RESOLVED:

That       (a)     Councillors G Lucas and Mrs J. E. Pemberton and Mrs D. Strutt be appointed to serve on the Transition from Leaving Care to Adult Life Scrutiny Review Group as described in paragraph 8 of the report;

               (b)    the Committee’s work programme be approved and reported to the Strategic Monitoring Committee;

               (c)     a budget monitoring report be submitted to the Committee’s next meeting;

                        and

               (d)    a representative from the Herefordshire Alliance be invited to attend and contribute to meetings of the Committee on the basis that it was understood that a formal review of co-option to the Committee would be expected to take place after May, 2007.