To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Burbidge.

To receive declarations of interest in respect of Schedule 1, Schedule 2 or Other Interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

Councillor A Seldon declared a other interest in the agenda item concerning School Examination Performance as Vice Chairman of Governors at St Peter’s Primary School, Bromyard.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting on 4 February 2019.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting on 4 February 2019 are confirmed as a correct record and signed by the chairperson.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Tuesday 5 March.

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Tuesday 5 March.

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

There were no questions from members of the Council.

To receive a quarterly review of the progress against the action plan produced in response to the Ofsted Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) inspection judgement of June 2018

The report was introduced by Liz Elgar, assistant director safeguarding and family support (ADS&FS). The following was highlighted:

·         In January Oftsed had undertaken an outcome focused visit which had focused on transition from early help to children’s social care; operations in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and Early Help (EH) Services.

·         The inspection had found that frequency of visits and assessment timeliness were improving.

·         There were still a lot of agency social workers at the council but a number had been in position for a long time.

·         Less children were subject to child protection plans.

·         There was still a high level of looked after children but the incorporation of special guardianship arrangements in Council policy was being investigated.

·         Better working between EH and Children’s Social Care had been achieved which allowed for the earlier identification of children requiring intervention. The earlier identification of children would also have an impact upon the capacity of EH services.

·         A draft proposal for the edge of care service was being developed offering intervention for children in the looked after system.

·         Work was being undertaken with families in the looked after system with an emphasis upon potential reunification with looked after children.

·         The Council had recently joined the regional adoption agency Adoption Central England (ACE).

Members raised the following points in the discussion that followed:

·         It was queried how there had been a reduction in the number of referrals to the MASH when it had been confirmed that referrals from the police remained too high. The ADS&FS explained that the reestablishment of the MASH partnership and the multi-agency audit had resulted in the adherence to thresholds for intervention. It was acknowledged that more work needed to be undertaken with the police to reduce referrals. The director of children and families (DCF) explained that the police made referrals where there was a concern regarding welfare rather than applying the thresholds relating to significant harm. It was a longstanding issue which was acknowledged in the Ofsted letter but the director’s understanding was that West Mercia Police in Herefordshire believed it was solely a Herefordshire issue.

·         The reduction in social worker caseloads outlined in the report was raised and there was concern at the contention by Ofsted that appropriate caseload numbers may not be sustainable. It was important that there was effective management and monitoring of caseloads and an update on the latest situation was requested. The ADS&FS explained that there had been significant improvement in the assessment service caseloads since the visit of Ofsted in June 2018. Social workers with caseloads over 20 were now reported and monitored. It was acknowledged that caseloads in the LAC service were relatively high but action was being taken to address this.

·         The optimal caseload for social workers was questioned and how officers were supported to outline concerns over capacity. The ADS&FS explained that there was not a definitive figure but it was important that supervision monitored caseloads and the capacity of staff. The DCF outlined the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

To report the outcomes and recommendations of the court judgements relating to Children and Families task and finish group to the children and young people scrutiny committee. The committee will consider and approve the outcomes from the task and finish group and decide if the recommendations should be reported to cabinet.

The chairperson of the task and finish group introduced the report and thanked officers for a good presentation of the subject matter. The report emerging from the group was clear and comprehensive in its presentation of the issues and recommendations.

The following comments were raised during the debate:

·         It was requested that the final report was emailed to all members of the Council and was publicised as widely as possible to show the work that was ongoing on addressing the issues in the court judgements.

·         The report demonstrated that decisions made in social services were often subjective and reliant on interpretation. The difficult decisions taken by officers in social services was acknowledged.

·         The manner in which the review was conducted over three days was supported as an exemplar for future task and finish groups.

·         The report demonstrated that change was occurring and the Council was making progress in addressing the issues in the court judgements.

·         The report of the group contained recommendations to the scrutiny committee, the executive and the head of paid service.

·         It was important that members of the scrutiny committee formed after the elections was made aware of the issues raised in the report.

·         It was suggested that experts from organisations such as the NSPCC should be involved in debates undertaken by the committee and this should be investigated in future.

RESOLVED: That the report and recommendations of the task and finish group are agreed for circulation to the executive and head of paid service.

To consider school performance for summer 2018 and the effectiveness of the Herefordshire school improvement partnership strategy and framework in improving outcomes for Herefordshire’s children and young people.

The committee received a report concerning school examination performance from 2018. The report was introduced by the head of learning and achievement (HLA) who provided a presentation and made the following points in the introduction:

·         Overall performance had been good when compared to statistical neighbours.

·         Early years had performed in the top quartile of SEND performance but improvement was needed in the performance of free school meals pupils and pupils with English as an additional language. 

·         At key stage one, free school meals pupils had performed well and phonics was a strength. Development work was required on greater depth in reading and mathematics.

·         At key stage two, the performance of free school meals, EAL and SEND pupils was positive. Development in the performance of pupils on EHC Plans was required in reading, writing and mathematics.

·         At key stage 4, the performance of SEND pupils was positive but improvements were required in the performance of looked after children.

·         At key stage 5, performance in Tech Levels was positive and improvement was required in performance in Applied General Qualifications.

·         Details of projects in place to improve performance were outlined including school to school support, the solid roots project and triad work on wellbeing.

The committee raised the points below in the discussion that followed:

·         It was noted that Hereford Academy and St Thomas Cantilupe were run by the same academy trust and both were assessed as inadequate by Ofsted. Assurance was sought that there were no further schools operated by the trust in a similar situation. The HLD explained that the other schools operated by the academy trust in Herefordshire were currently assessed as good or better. The DCF confirmed that officers would shortly be meeting with the trust and the regional schools commissioner.

·         It was queried whether assessment of initiatives introduced in schools to drive improvement were undertaken to determine whether they had a detrimental impact on other areas of performance. The HLD explained that she was not aware that such assessments took place.

·         The dip in performance of free school meal pupils at early years was a concern and the work that was undertaken with parents as part of early help strategies was queried. The HLD explained that the solid roots project was helping families and working to increase engagement with parents. The project was focused on the home learning environment and parenting skills.

·         The issues concerning the performance of older boys was raised and the broader community and early help support that was required to assist this cohort. The HLD explained that schools were offering after school activities. The DCF explained that the police and crime commissioner was looking to work locally on methods to engage young people.

·         The performance of looked after children was raised and whether the results of the cohort in the report was part of a longer term trend. The HLD explained that data was available for the previous three years and due to the small size of the cohort there was considerable fluctuation in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

To report the outcomes and recommendations of the SEND provision task and finish group to the children and young people scrutiny committee. The committee will consider and approve the outcomes from the task and finish group and decide if the recommendations should be reported to cabinet.

The SEND Provision task and finish group report was introduced by the chairman of the group, Councillor FM Norman, who explained that the group had looked carefully at the changes introduced by the children and family act 2014 and concerns that children with SEND were being allocated to the wrong educational establishments. The group had not looked at home education, this was understood to be a significant issue but one which the government was now looking to address. The group recognised that the numbers at special schools was increasing but whilst there was not widespread incidence of children in the wrong educational setting the group acknowledged that children could be allocated incorrectly.  

In the discussion that followed the points below were raised:

·         The importance of providing funding for CPD concerning SEND was raised. In the recently approved council budget 2019/20, an allocation had been agreed for CPD relating to SEND for teachers. This would be particularly in smaller schools to help in efforts to ensure good SEND provision.

·         It was noted that concerns persisted regarding delays in speech and language therapy. This had been an issue previously and it was disappointing that the problem persisted.

An additional recommendation concerning training in the early years phase and EHC Plans was proposed which was agreed in principle and would be finalised with the chairperson of the task and finish group following the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the report and recommendations of the SEND provision task and finish group (subject to the finalisation and inclusion of a recommendation concerning early years phase – training and EHC Plans) be approved for submission to the executive.

To report the outcomes and recommendations of the PRU referrals task and finish group to the children and young people scrutiny committee. The committee will consider and approve the outcomes from the task and finish group and decide if the recommendations should be reported to cabinet.

The PRU referrals task and finish group report was introduced by the chairperson of the group, Councillor MT McEvilly. The group had looked at the number of referrals to the PRU and determined that there was a high level of referrals. The reasons for this high level were considered and were outlined in the report. A series of recommendations relating to possible measures to reduce the level of referrals and other issues concerning alternative provision had been proposed and were contained in the report. 

The following points were raised by the committee in the discussion:

·         There was concern over the level of attainment at the PRU outlined in the report which fell below the benchmark.

·         The level of permanent exclusions was a concern. It was noted that schools were less likely to offer second chances than had previously been the case and children were referred to the PRU. The HLD explained that it was more difficult to find alternative places for students permanently excluded from the secondary phase particularly in years 10 and 11. The DCF highlighted that the management of the PRU had recently passed back to the Council and the head of additional needs was looking at methods of renewing and strengthening arrangements in alternative provision.

·         The importance of vocational courses for children and the perception of pupils who had attended the PRU of the stigma attached to the facility was also raised.

RESOLVED: That the report and recommendations are approved for submission to the executive.

To review the attached work programme for 2018/19 and note the recommendation tracker.

The committee received and noted its work programme for 2018/19. Two items were proposed for the work programme for 2019/20: pastoral care in schools; and peer on peer sexual harassment and abuse.

The chairperson provided an update on her meeting with Jesse Norman MP at which the outcomes of the dental health and childhood obesity spotlight review were discussed. A meeting was being arranged between the local MP, NHS England and the chairperson of the scrutiny committee to discuss issues around dental health in Herefordshire.