To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Andy James (Parent Governor Representative Co-Optee) and Cllr Diana Toynbee (Cabinet Member for Children and Families).

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

None.

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

None.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 26 April 2022 and review the action log and recommendation tracker.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 April 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Committee expressed concern regarding the action log and recommendation tracker, insofar as there were a number of overdue items, including some for which the allocated work owners were no longer employed by the Council. There were also items marked as complete for which the Committee could not recall having had sight of the response, or where the response given had been unsatisfactory. Item 16 of the action tracker was highlighted as a particular example of this. It was agreed that the Chair, Vice-Chair and Officers would review the lists outside of the meeting and aim to bring an updated tracking document back to the next meeting of the Committee.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

There were no questions received from Councillors.

To consider the Herefordshire Council Children’s Social Care and Early Help Improvement Plan 2022-2024 and the strategic framework for review of key improvement measures.

In accordance with section 4.1.31 of the Constitution, it was moved by the Chair that the order of business be varied to promote the Improvement Plan verbal update and presentation item above subsequent business on the agenda. The variation to the order of business was put to the vote and carried.

The Committee received a verbal update and presentation on the Improvement Plan Outline, delivered by the Service Director for Improvement. A copy of the presentation is attached as an appendix to the minutes. It was confirmed that whilst the Plan has been signed off, it was a working document and would be subject to ongoing refinement and revision as appropriate.

It was suggested by some Members that the Committee would benefit from seeing a form of prioritisation matrix in order to better understand  where the Plan may be able to deliver ‘quick-wins’, and which areas may present longer-term challenges to deliver against. The Committee noted that Oftsed are currently conducting an inspection into children’s services and suggested that this represented an ideal opportunity to embrace its findings and move the Plan forward constructively.

Most Committee Members broadly welcomed the vision and intended outcomes of the Improvement Plan, but insisted that it must be underpinned by soundly evidenced baseline performance measures to enable the Committee to effectively scrutinise progress and delivery against these indicators. In the absence of such measures, there was concern that the Plan would represent a ‘tick-box’ exercise without demonstrating tangible improvements. It was suggested that the six key Work Programmes identified in the presentation could provide distinct areas of performance measurement. The Committee further identified an interest in how the budget set aside for the Improvement Plan is being used, and how the measures in the Plan serve towards meeting the Council’s current corporate objectives.

The Committee expressed concern that delivery of the Plan and the attempts to embed an improved working culture may be impacted by the instability of having numerous interim staff members in place rather than permanent recruits. Some Members also felt that more emphasis was required on preventative measures. Concern was also raised regarding the capabilities of the IT infrastructure to support the needs of the service. Officers confirmed that they were working to maximise the efficiency and outputs available from their current system, but the option to potentially accelerate a move across to a system with enhanced performance capabilities was being looked into.

Officers confirmed that a range of identified performance measures had been drawn up and these would be subject to further discussion and circulation prior to the next meeting of the Committee to ensure that they adequately capture the key areas of attention for the Committee for ongoing evaluation.

It was unanimously resolved that:

i)                 The content of the verbal update and presentation be noted; and

ii)               Baseline key performance measures to enable the Committee to scrutinise delivery of the Improvement Plan be prepared by the Children’s Services department for the next meeting.

To consider and note the role of the Scrutiny Committee, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the key strategic objectives for the Committee and the overall strategic objectives for scrutiny agreed by the Scrutiny Management Board on 16 June 2022.

The Committee gave consideration to the report as set out on pages 33-38 of the agenda and pages 3-6 of the agenda supplement, which provided a summary of the role of the Committee, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution, and the key strategic objectives for the Committee, in accordance with the overall strategic objectives agreed by the Scrutiny Management Board on 16 June 2022.

It was unanimously resolved that:

The general role and remit of the Committee be noted, and the Children and

Young People Scrutiny Committee Objectives for 2022-2023 be agreed.

The Committee gave consideration to the report as set out on pages 3-14 of the agenda supplement, and received a supplementary presentation from the Principal Casework Manager on current autism provision and nurture hubs in Herefordshire alongside areas under development. A copy of the presentation slides is attached as an appendix to the minutes.

The Committee noted that expenditure to provide placements at independent and non-maintained special schools (INSS) specialising in autism provision has increased significantly in the last five years from £400k to £2.9m, which is closely linked to the issue of insufficient provision locally. There is also a significant related cost to the Council’s transport budget to transfer pupils to these settings. It was intended that the proposal to create a separate hub managed by an existing school in Herefordshire with highly trained staff qualified in the teaching of autistic pupils would help reduce reliance on the use of INSS. The Committee noted that the Council will be seeking expressions of interest to run the autism hub, and the Committee queried how schools or other organisations would be able to make an application to be a part of this, what criteria would be used to select the preferred partner and what the timeframe would be. This detail was not available at the meeting but was noted as an information request to be forwarded to the Head of Additional Needs.

The Committee also noted that to date, 38 schools have been trained or been given a date for training on autism awareness, with a further push planned to have the vast majority of Herefordshire schools engaged. The Committee queried what the reason might be for any reluctance on the part of schools to engage with the training, and the Principal Casework Manager suggested that this was likely to be down to schools being extremely busy and managing competing priorities.

The report and presentation also included an update on the SEND Green Paper ‘Right Support, Right Place, Right Time’ which was published in March 2022. It was considered that Herefordshire is generally well placed to implement the recommendations contained within the Paper, although there are some challenges around strategic leadership where it was considered that the Scrutiny Committee may be able to add value. It was confirmed that the Council is now due an Ofsted SEND inspection which would review the service areas of health, social care and education, with the last inspection having taken place in 2014, and the Committee noted that it is in their Work Plan to consider preparedness for such an inspection at its meeting in January 2023.

The Committee acknowledged the various challenges facing the service and the mitigations set out within the report, and identified that a key theme running throughout the debate had been the issue of inclusivity. Particular attention was drawn to the need for fuller engagement in the SEND agenda by senior leaders and greater encouragement to be given to mainstream schools to be more inclusive. On that basis, the Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101.

To review and agree the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee Work Plan 2022-23, drawn up in consultation with members of the Committee.

The Committee gave consideration to the draft annual work plan 2022-23, which had been drawn up in earlier consultation with members of the Committee.

It was suggested that given the number of items identified for scrutiny, the delivery of the work plan might be aided by the arrangement of an additional meeting to take place in February 2023, subject to identification of appropriate topics for inclusion.

It was unanimously resolved that:

The Annual Work Plan 2022-23 be approved.

To consider the establishment of a Social Care Recruitment and Retention Task and Finish Group, including the agreement of Terms of Reference and Membership.

The Committee gave consideration to the establishment of a task and finish group to explore the issue of recruitment and retention in the social care sector, as set out in the Committee Work Plan.

It was suggested by the Chair that consideration of a potential task and finish group should take place at next meeting of the Committee, since it was noted that in order for the Committee to establish any task and finish groups it would be necessary to be in a position to appoint its membership and draft terms of reference should also be formulated in advance.

It was unanimously resolved that:

The establishment of a potential task and finish group be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.

Scheduled meetings for the remainder of the 2022/23 municipal year:

Tuesday 6 September 2022 2.30pm

Tuesday 22 November 2022 2.30pm

Tuesday 10 January 2023 2.30pm

Tuesday 21 March 2023 2.30pm

The Committee noted its meeting dates for the remainder of the 2022/23 municipal year.