Agenda and minutes

To approve as an accurate record, and the Chair to sign, the minutes of the meeting of the Children and Education Policy and Accountability Committee held on 18 November 2014.

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting of the Children and Education Policy and Accountability Committee held on 18 November 2014 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, subject to the amendment to minute number 30, Proposals for the Commissioning of School Meal Services, page 8, fourth paragraph, to replace the word “Parentsactive” with “H&F Mencap”.

There were no apologies for absence.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter.  The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Audit, Pensions and Standards Committee. 

There were no declarations of interest.

This report highlights the significant responsibilities the local authority has in relation to Looked after Children, and how it discharges these.

Glen Peache, Tri Borough Assistant Director for Looked after Children and Care Leavers, presented the report highlighting the key areas.  It was reported that at the end of March 2014, there were 200 Looked After Children (LAC) which was a decrease from previous years and was different to the national figures where there had been an increase; the decrease in numbers was largely due to the early invention measures in place in H&F.  There had been substantial success this year in the Key Stage 4 results for LAC; there had been a year on year increase in the results.

The Committee and members of the public were invited to ask questions and the following points were raised:

Session held with Care Leavers

The Chair referred to the session held before the meeting at 6pm with some care leavers and Members of the Committee, and she was very impressed with the young people.  She noted her commitment to take up many issues that had been discussed in the session, to continue to improve their experience.  The Chair referred to the corporate parenting responsibility of the Council and felt it had not quite reached what was wished for young people when leaving care; she was sure more could be done.

One of the co-opted members commented on the young people she had met, noting that they were incredible in the way they spoke about their issues and represented other young people.

Decrease in Numbers of LAC

In response to a question on what prevention measures were in place to help decrease the number of LAC, the Committee was informed that in H&F there had been a strategic approach in terms of early intervention and help.  Those on the edge of being in care were worked with and services were provided around the child and family to help prevent any breakdown in the home.  How long a child spent in care and how they left the care system was important.  Outcomes that were looked for was whether the child could return home and whether they could return to their family.  Also important in the outcomes were permanent placements, such as adoptions or living with a member of their extended family through special guardianship orders.

Increase of LAC aged over 16 Years Old

There had been an increase in LAC aged 16 and over which related to a cluster of cohorts; the Council was legally responsible for children in remand, asylum seekers and homeless young people, which resulted in a higher proportion of young people entering care quite late on.  In respect of asylum seekers, H&F was part of the PAN London referral system that was run by Croydon.  There was a rota so that each London Council was allocated a share of the number of asylum seekers coming into care.  Once an asylum seeker became looked after, they received the same provisions as other LAC. However when they turned 18 years old, they would not have a status in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

To note the Executive Director’s update.

Andrew Christie, Executive Director of Children’s Services, introduced his report and updated on the following:

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

The Council, along with four other Councils, had been successful in getting another innovative fund bid to work on FGM.  Andrew Christie reported that the programme included specific work with health partners, in particular midwifery, where mothers who had experienced FGM would likely to have daughters at risk and work with health colleagues to help identify any people at risk.  There were more referrals received from other agencies in particular from schools.  In response to a question on what faith community organisations had been in discussions with, Andrew Christie noted that a third sector organisation, called Medina, identified community and faith groups.  A briefing note giving information about Medina would be sent to the Committee for information.

Action: Andrew Christie

School Meals Commissioning Contract

The evaluation process had concluded and the bidders had been contacted that day.  There were a range of providers, including SEN providers, which included social value in their commissioning proposals.

Bi-Borough Alternative Provision Hub School

In response to a question on the Bi-Borough Alternative Provision Hub School, the Committee was told that work was underway on plans to work with the Tri-Borough Alternative Provision Multi Academy Trust (TBAP MAT) to work together in one place at the Bridge Academy site.  TBAP MAT was in consultation with the Education Funding Agency in respect of this proposal.

Changes to Free School Admission Criteria

One of the co-optees expressed concern that there were changes proposed to the admission policy for the West London Free School.  It was noted that the school made its own decision in relation to the admission criteria.  The local authority gets consulted and was able to comment on the proposals but it was down to the body who was responsible in setting the admission policy, i.e. the school,  to make the decisions.  One of the members noted that this change would not take effect until 2020.

The Chair commented that the area of admissions was something she would like be looked at, as when looking at different primary schools, in some areas there was a wider choice of schools whereas in others there was less choice.  She would like a future meeting to look at mapping the areas where there were wider choices of schools and where the choice was limited for parents.  Andrew Christie reported that the school organisation strategy was being drafted, which would include population trends and also parental preferences for schools.  One of the co-optees commented that data was collected on parental preference which if robust should be included in the strategy.

Implementation of the Children and Families Act

Work was continued in the implementation of the Act and engagement had taken place with schools and partner organisations.  There were a lot of changes following the implementation of the Act and officers were working hard to put services in place and to get feedback from parents.  The Chair reported that the Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Councillor Macmillan updated the Committee that the Council was giving Council Tax exemptions for foster carers.  This was to help to show the Council’s appreciation of their work, to help recruit more foster carers and to also help save money where the Council would have to spend in placing some children.

Another half-day session was held with officers and Councillor Macmillan and the Leader to discuss children in care and care leavers, focussing on outcomes for the children.  Work was being done with the economic regeneration team on how to help young people get into education and training.

Councillor Macmillan continued to visit schools and had visited the Haven, which was a short break provision.  She had also met with Parentactive that week in particular to discuss SEN arrangements and reported that the local offer website was due to launch.

The Committee was told that the Passenger Transport Working Group continued to meet and monitor the arrangements.  Options relating to the service was being considered and there would be a Cabinet report on this soon.

To invite questions from members of the public present.

Members of the public with more complex issues are invited to submit their questions in advance in order to allow a more substantive answer to be given. Questions can be sent to the contact officer shown on the front page of the agenda.

There were no comments raised under this item.

The Council is obliged to set a balanced budget and council tax charge in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992. Cabinet will present their revenue budget and council tax proposals to Budget Council on 25 February 2015.

This report sets out the budget proposals for the services covered by this Policy and Accountability Committee (PAC). An update is also provided on any changes in fees and charges. 

Hitesh Jolapara, Bi Borough Director for Finance, gave a presentation on the corporate overview of the revenue budget and Medium Term Finance Strategy (MTFS), which highlighted the MTFS position, the budget assumptions, the Government grant, fees and charges (main expceptions to the standard increase), budget risks/balances/earmarked reserves, 2016/17 and beyond, the Autumn statement and expenditure and resources forecast 2014/15 to 2021/22.  The proposed savings overall was £23.8m for 2015/16 and for 216/17 it would be £40.9m (this figure was cumultative savings).  The Committee was informed that all charges for children’s services had been either frozen or reduced.  The Council Tax would be reduced by 1% in 2015/16.  It was reported that there were further reductions to be made and by 2019/20 there would have been a reduction in total of around 57%.

Dave McNamara, Director of Finance, Children’s Services, then gave a presentation to the Committee on the Children’s Services department revenue estimates for 2015/16, highlighting the savings in context, the expenditure, the movement in the budget, the approach to savings, the savings classification, growth items, key risk areas and fees and charges.  It was noted that the current controllable budget for Children’s Services was £36,650,000 and that this would be reduced to £33,871,000 for 2015/16.  There were a number of initiatives that family services had to respond to so additional spending had to be included.  It was hoped that placement pressures could be managed, such as if more foster careres were found and more special guardianship orders granted.  The department would be looking at subsidising some costs by using some Public Health money. 

The Committee was invited to ask questions and the following was discussed:

Reduction in Fuel Charges

In respect of the reduction in fuel charges, it was asked whether there would be significant discounts for transport and fleet fuel costs.  It was noted that the fuel costs depended on the nature of the transport contracts but fuel costs were not a significant amount for the Council.

Schools Budgets

A co-optee commented that the schools’ budgets over the next few years would pick up the responsibility and costs of areas that the Council would have previously provided.  Dave McNamara responded that this was an opportunity to look at what was within the schools grant and the Council had to look where it had to spend money and to look to increase income from schools.  It was reported that there was a buy back services from the department and many schools valued the services and continue to pay for the provision.

Staff for Looked After Children (LAC)

In response to a question on the number of LAC staff, it was noted that the same allocation of social worker provision was proposed and there was an opportunity to reduce the number of staff in other areas.  Due to the innovative fund on focus on practice, the department was able to bring in extra capacity to free up the work of social workers to be able to do training.

Other Adjustments  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

This is the annual school performance report to inform the Committee about the outcomes of this year’s assessments and examinations in Hammersmith and Fulham primary and secondary schools, and the current position with regard to Ofsted school inspections. The report also provides an overview of the outcomes and how they compare with the national picture and is based on the published data for 2014.

Richard Stanley, Assistant Director (School Standards), introduced the report that gave an overview of the results across all the school phases.  It was reported that the national performance tables for primary school had now been published that gave details on performance at individual levels.  The overall performance at all Key Stages in H&F continued to be above national averages and the percentage of good and outstanding schools was also above national average.

It was noted that the national results for GCSE went down, which was largely due to how changes to the exams were managed.  The percentage of H&F GCSE outcomes also went down but compared to the national figures, H&F was not as low.  One of the members referred to future changes proposed for the maths GCSE and was aware that some teachers were concerned about the changes. It was reported that the changes to the English GCSE came about mid-way through the academic year, whereas the changes to the maths GCSE have been raised beforehand so schools were able to adjust and meet the demands before the changes took place.

In response to previous school performance reports which included summary tables of results, it was agreed that information would be sent to the Committee giving headline figures for each school against the key indicators.

Action: Richard Stanley

It was asked that a breakdown of progress indicating pupils ethnicity be included in future reports and it was agreed that this would be included.

Action: Richard Stanley

The value added figures were explained, as some schools appeared to achieve over 100%.  The Committee was told that the value added measure sought to clarify what children should achieve given a particular starting point.  Where progress was above the expected outcomes and  above the line of progress, then above 100% would be given.  In H&F, out of 35 schools only 5 were below the 100.

One of the co-optees referred to the outcomes for KS2 for reading, noting that the press had reported that one in five children left primary school being unable to read.  He understood that the biggest co-hort was level 3 and this level did not indicate being not able to read.  He noted it would be interesting to see what an example of level 3 reading looked like so people could see if children were illiterate as the press had reported.

As a Chair of Governors, one of the co-optees found that the results did not reflect what went on in a school; if a school had a disabled child attending who was unable to read then the results of that school dramatically changed.

One member commented that he understood that the government was going to abolish the national curriculum levels and it would be for the schools to assess pupils.  It was reported that levels as a form of assessment were disappearing.  Schools looked at how they tracked levels and officers were advising schools to build on what they did as it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

The Committee is asked to give consideration to its work programme for the current municipal year.  Attached is the latest list of key decisions for information.

The agenda items scheduled for the next meeting were as follows:

·        School Organisation Strategy

·        Children and Families Act: Implementation Plan and SEN Arrangements

·        Bi-lingual Pupils - covering the issue of bi lingual children being used to interpret for their families and also looking at how bi lingual children were supported from birth

·        Progress on delivering the 2 year old offer to families

·        Childcare Task Group – progress report

The Chair hoped that the meeting would attract members of the public who were affected by any of the items.  She noted that she would like interpreters at the meeting for any parents who attended who used their children to interpret for them.

It was suggested that a future agenda item could be on the issue on how schools tackled the workload of teachers.  There had been a letter from the Secretary of State  and a report was expected soon on this.  The Chair welcomed this as a future agenda item, noting she had heard that some teachers had left the profession due to the workload.

The Chair referred to previous meetings that had considered Ofsted inspection reports, where Headteachers were invited to meetings to discuss their Ofsted reports.  She understood the heavy workloads of the Headteachers having to attend those meetings, but noted that she wanted to continue with the visits to the schools.  The Chair suggested that outside of the meeting the Committee Members decided amongst themselves who would visit the school and report back to the Committee with any comments.  The Committee Co-ordinator would contact the members of the Committee to arrange this.

Action: Laura Campbell

RESOLVED:

That Members of the Committee visit schools that had received an Ofsted inspection to see the school in action, and to report back to the Committee on any comments.

The Committee is asked to note the date of the next meeting, which is to be held on 10 February 2015.

The Committee noted that the next meeting would be held on 10 February 2015.