Agenda and minutes

Mrs Tess Daly, a Co-opted Member of the Panel and Ashley Ayre, People and Communities Strategic Director had sent their apologies.

There were none.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding, Social Care and Family Services and the Child and Families Group Manager gave a presentation to the Panel on this item, a full copy of which is on the Panel’s Minute Book. A summary is set out below.

Background and reminder

•  Lean Review to inform redesign of service delivery

•  The child’s journey: identifying and meeting needs: systems approach

•  Corporate commitment to Children’s Social Care redesign

•  Visible leadership and active participation at all levels

Context

•  Munro Review of Child Protection July 2010 – May 2011

•  The importance of early help – identifying: providing: making a difference

•  The importance of establishing relationships

•  Munro Review produced 15 recommendations and should be implemented as a whole package

Work completed thus far

•  Initial focus upon the beginning of the journey

•  Consultations: workshops: seeking and using feedback

•  Reviewing skills sets – current and future

•  Support to managers and staff: managing change

What we have learned

•  That a large part of our work does not add value to our customers

•  That providing early help promotes positive engagement

•  Simplifying processes makes a difference to staff and families

•  Assessment is important but interventions is what makes the difference to enable change

•  Improving the engagement of  fathers makes a significant impact on family life

The Child and Families Group Manager led the Panel through two case studies, one regarding safeguarding and the other relating to a child in need.

The way ahead – underlying principles

•  The child at the centre and receiving help

•  Consistency of worker: well-planned transitions

•  Learning organisation and continuous learning

Next steps

•  Continue to test out and demonstrate outcomes

•  Staff workshops October 2011

•  LSCB workshop December 2011

•  Reports to Policy, Development and Scrutiny Panel and Lead Member

Councillor Ian Gilchrist asked if the case of Baby P had had any influence over the review.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding, Social Care and Family Services replied that the case of Baby P had informed their work in many areas over the past few years. He added that the Munro review had not been carried out in response to any individual incident, but its recommendations represented a fundamental review of child protection services.

The Chairman on behalf of the Panel thanked them for their presentation.

The Panel will receive a presentation on this item from the PSHE and Drug Education Consultant, Healthy Schools Coordinator and PCT Public Health Commissioning Development Manager.

The PSHE & Drug Education Consultant and the Healthy Schools Co-ordinator gave a presentation to the Panel on this item, a full copy of which is on the Panel’s Minute Book. A summary is set out below.

SHEU Health Behaviour Questionnaire

·  Schools Health Education Unit, Exeter

·  PCT funded

·  Information /evidence about pupil health and well-being outcomes

·  Compares schools with local B&NES and national data

SHEU in B&NES

·  27 Primary Schools - 1588 pupils from Years 4,5 and 6

·  10 Secondary Schools and 1 Special School - 3438 pupils from Years 8 and 10

Reports available

·  Individual school reports (full reports and headlines). Confidential to schools

·  Full and headline B&NES reports

·  Corporate reports – hard copies being sent to all schools and partners

B&NES results

·  Sharing results with partner organisations

o  Healthy Schools Management Group

o  School Nurse Team

o  Young People’s Substance Misuse Group

o  Anti-bullying Strategy Group

o  Equalities Team

o  Commissioning Teams

o  Play Partnership

o  Overview and Scrutiny panel

Support for Schools

WHAT:

·  Supporting schools to analyse their results

·  Identify strengths

·  Identify areas for development

·  Encourage all schools to take part next time

WHO:

• Judy, Kate and Sarah plus the school nurse in Secondary schools
• School nurses in Primary schools

Primary – key findings

Strengths

·  Healthy eating

·  Physical activity

·  Lower levels of drinking alcohol and smoking

·  E-safety advice

·  Higher self-esteem

Areas for development 

·  Worrying about problems 

·  Perceptions about bullying 

·  Sun safety 

·  Inappropriate uses of the internet 

Secondary – key findings

Strengths

·  Happy with weight

·  Lower levels of smoking and drinking than national SHEU data

·  Higher self esteem

·  Positive relationships with adults

·  Physical activity

·  Time spent on homework

·  Aspiration re GCSE grades

Areas for development

·  Low uptake of school lunches

·  Sun safety especially boys

·  Numbers of accidents requiring treatment

·  Inappropriate uses of technology

Statistics

32% (28% - SHEU data) of Year 6 pupils in B&NES had five or more portions of fruit and vegetables the day before, 4% (7%) had none.

87% (77%) of boys and 80% (71%) of girls in Year 6 exercised hard at least 3 days last week.

38% (26%) of primary pupils in Year 4 & 6 in B&NES had high self-esteem.

28% (36%) of Year 4 & 6 pupils in B&NES said they had been bullied at or near school in the past 12 months.

24% (31%) of Year 8 & 10 secondary pupils in B&NES smoked in the past or smoke now.

16% of Year 10 pupils in B&NES who have ever taken drugs.

46% (35%) of Year 8 & 10 secondary pupils in B&NES had high self-esteem.

22% (22%) of Year 8 & 10 secondary pupils in B&NES feel afraid of going to school because of bullying at least sometimes.

Suggested use of data

Schools:

·  Share successes with school community, including staff, governors, parents and pupils

·  Identify up to 3 areas of focus

·  Access interventions through local partnerships e.g. School Nurse team, Healthy Lifestyles Team, Sports partnerships, LA Consultants etc.

Local Authority / Public Health:

·  Identifying  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Head of School Improvement and Achievement introduced this item to the Panel. She gave them a summary of the provisional exam results and explained that a full written report would be given to them at their November meeting.

Early Years Foundation Stage

·  The majority of pupils continue to attain securely and achieve good outcomes across all areas of learning.  Targeted intervention and support for schools/settings has resulted in improved outcomes for the most vulnerable.

·  Very good progress has been made in narrowing the gap between the lowest 20% and their peers.

Key Stage 1

• The expected level of attainment for the end of Key Stage 1 is level 2+.  Outcomes at this level have remained significantly above National averages and are the highest in the South West.

Reading:   Level 2+   91% (91)16 ppt above NA

Writing:   Level 2+  88% (87) #7 ppt above NA

Maths:  Level 2+  94% (92) #4 ppt above NA

• The local expectation and priority has been to increase the proportion of pupils attaining the more secure level of 2b+.

• This has been particularly successful in mathematics, 81% (73%) #8ppt increase.  Writing at 2b+ has stayed at 70% and reading has decreased by 1% to 80%.  The greatest gap between boys and girls attainment is in writing at 2b+ 15%, this is the same as the national gap.

Key Stage 2

• Please note that in 2010 only 33 schools (out of 57) took part in the National tests. The results are above those nationally on every measure.

• Key indicators for end of Key Stage 2 are percentage attaining Level 4+ in:

1.  English and mathematics combined, and

2.  Percentage making 2 levels progress from KS1 "2 in English

3.  Percentage KS1 in maths

• 77% attained level 4+ in English and maths, 3% above National.

• 24% attained level 5+ in English and maths, 3%above national.

• The percentage of pupils making the expected levels of progress:

English   85% 

Mathematics  83% 

Key Stage 4

• The provisional indicators for 2011 (yet to be confirmed) show that standards continue to improve and are above national averages on the majority of key performance indicators.

• 64.1% of pupils obtained 5 A* - C grades (including English & Maths). The National average is 57.3%.

• 80.9% of pupils obtained grades between A* - C

• 96% of pupils obtained grades between A* - G

The Chairman on behalf of the Panel offered congratulations to all concerned.

The Business Services Manager introduced this item to the Panel. He informed them that overall demand for meals in B&NES primary schools had finally returned to the levels of 2005-6 following a period of decline. Take-up had risen over the past few years, broadly in line with national trends.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if free school meals were a factor in these current figures.

The Business Services Manager replied that it was too early in the academic year to be in a position to answer that question.

Councillor Dine Romero asked if it was true that one primary school could not currently provide hot meals.

The Business Services Manager replied that this was correct and that Catering Services could provide hot meals to the school if asked.

Councillor Dine Romero asked if pupils who had a packed lunch were segregated from pupils who had hot meals.

The Business Services Manager replied that it was recommended that schools should integrate pupils eating hot meals with pupils eating packed lunches where possible.

Councillor Dine Romero asked for reassurance that pupils who receive free school meals cannot be easily identified.

The Business Services Manager replied that it should not be obvious within primary schools as there was no discrimination at the point of delivery.

Councillor Nathan Hartley, Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children & Youth asked what effect the fact that the price of school meals had not increased had on the current take up figures.

The Business Services Manager replied that take up had increased by 7% which was higher than the trend in previous years.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report.

The Divisional Director for Learning and Inclusion introduced this item to the Panel. He informed them that officers within Sport and Active Lifestyles and Arts Development are looking to work with schools on Gold Challenge and Quest Projects:

Gold Challenge

Pupils will learn Olympic or Paralympic sports by taking on a 5, 10, 20 or 30 sport challenge.  They will choose sports from a list of 30 Olympic and Paralympic Sportsthen use the Gold Challenge website to find a local club, coach or event where they can do their chosen sport.  

Sports are completed by:

a)  Doing at least three hours of coaching in that sport; or

b)  Taking part in a competitive event.

The Olympic & Paralympic sport challenge allows pupils to create exactly the type of challenge they want.  Five of them could take on the 5 sport challenge doing one sport each or by doing all five sports together.

As they complete each sport, they can download a certificate and get it signed by their coach. 

All Schools will be encouraged to sign up to this challenge.

Quest Project

‘QUEST’ is an exciting project to celebrate your school and community in the

Olympic year. This is your chance for your school to be involved, showcase your achievements and make a difference for 2012. We want to inspire children, young people and school communities to create a Quest project or set personal Quest challenges and make 2012 a year to remember.

Our Quest is based on the theme of a journey through Bath and North East

Somerset. From now until 2012 we want your help to make a living archive which celebrates the people and places that make our area unique…

Children can explore the Olympic values of:

·  excellence

·  friendship

·  respect

and the Paralympic vision to:

·  empower

·  achieve

·  inspire

Celebrate:the Olympic torch arrives in the South West in May and there will be a Quest Fest event in 2012 and we invite every school to take part.

Collect: We are developing the Quest website.

We want your school to populate the website, documenting your activity, celebrating your achievements, showcasing your discoveries, journeys and revelations.

What could be a Quest challenge or project?

We can visit you and help your school shape up a Quest challenge or project idea. Already have something to showcase? - We can share it through the Quest website.

Projects or challenges could include:

·  Personal challenges

·  Local heritage / history

·  Performance / creative activities

·  Mini films or podcasts

·  Exploring and mapping your area

·  Celebrating diversity

·  Sports or adventure activities

The Panel thanked him for the update.

The Divisional Director for Learning and Inclusion introduced this item to the Panel. He informed them that the School Improvement team now had less than half the staff it had 18 months ago. He added that there were now 9 academies within B&NES and that these were primarily Secondary schools.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson addressed the Panel. She spoke of how she was a Governor at St Nicholas C of E Primary School, Radstock and wished to acknowledge the incredible support the school had received from the Council.

The Divisional Director for Learning and Inclusion replied that he believed the Council wants to see a network of systems in place to help schools that remain within the control of the Local Authority.

Peter Mountstephen commented that he highly valued the work done by officers within the authority. He added that he would like to encourage all Headteachers to lead on initiatives with regard to collaboration.

The Panel thanked him for his update.

Peter Mountstephen, the Panel’s Primary School Representative introduced this item. He explained that during the conference those present had identified a growing sense of the need for schools to work together and to use their experience to collaborate.

Four themes for the future had been acknowledged:

Presidency

Procurement

Protection

Pedagogy

He also highlighted the need for Governor collaboration to be strengthened and the fact the B&NES has two teaching schools (Fosseway & Saltford).

Councillor Dine Romero asked if all Headteachers were keen to collaborate.

Peter Mountstephen replied that he felt that there was a mixture of engagement with this in reality and that colleagues were at different stages of thinking about how to respond to the changing face of the Local Authority (LA) and the opportunities that are being presented to schools under coalition initiatives. He was keen to explain that he could only speak for the Primary sector and even then only generally as he understood it, but that primary Schools have, to a very large extent, enjoyed very positive relations with LA service and officers over the years and many colleagues are not necessarily desperate to move to a new structure and new "freedoms".

Councillor Dine Romero asked why the Council would not wish to retain the services of all the Primary schools.

Peter Mountstephen replied that indeed was a good question.

The Chairman on behalf of the Panel thanked him for his update.

Councillor Dine Romero asked to defer her report until January 2012 to enable her to give the Panel a full update.

The Panel agreed with this proposal.

Councillor Nathan Hartley, Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children & Youth addressed the Panel.

Writhlington – He spoke of how he had recently visited the school following its conversion to an Academy on October 1^st 2011. He informed the Panel that having spoken to the Headteacher he confirmed there was no large degree of change planned at the school.

Youth Democracy – The budget for this area of work is planned to increase from £70,000 to £95,000 to fund officer time to enable full engagement of the democratic process.

Camerton School – He wished to highlight the importance of Camerton as a rural school and was pleased to announce that 10 pupils had entered the Reception class in September.

Culverhay School: He informed the Panel of Cabinet’s decision to revoke the decision to close Culverhay School, to enable the school to stay open. He added that 70 pupils had registered an interest in joining the school in September 2012.

Stuart Bradfield, a Secondary School Governor Representative on the Panel asked if they were any further Secondary School Re-organisation plans.

The Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children & Youth replied that there were no plans to close any Secondary Schools within Bath and North East Somerset.

The Panel thanked him for his update.

The Divisional Director for Learning and Inclusion introduced this item in the absence of the People and Communities Strategic Director. He informed them that the redesign of the service was due to be completed in April 2013 and that an update report would be given to them in Spring 2012.

He added that a national consultation was underway on the role of the Children’s Services Director and that the Panel could expect an update on this also in Spring 2012.

The Panel thanked him for his update.

The Chairman introduced this item to the Panel. She proposed that they receive a report on School Admissions in Spring 2012, a report on Alcohol & Substance Abuse following the earlier item on the Health Related Behaviour Study and feedback from the next Headteacher’s & Governors Conference at their January meeting.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson informed them that the Wellbeing Panel planned on looking at the issue of Homelessness in around May 2012 and asked if the Panel would wish to be involved.

The Chairman replied that she would like the Panel to be informed of any meetings so that those Members who may be interested could attend.