Agenda and minutes

Councillors Sally Davis and Lisa Brett had sent their apologies to the Panel. Councillors Lisa O’Brien and Dine Romero were their respective substitutes for the duration of the meeting.

David Williams had sent his apologies to the Panel.

Councillor Emma Dixon, Cabinet Member Assistant for Children’s Services had sent her apologies to the Panel.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Roz Lambert, First Steps CEO had registered to make a statement to the Panel on the Children’s Centre Services agenda item. She agreed to make the statement when that item was reached on the agenda.

The Cabinet Member will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

Councillor Michael Evans, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services addressed the Panel, a summary is set out below.

School Performance

I would like to preface my remarks by making clear my belief that our teachers work hard and that in my opinion teaching is a uniquely stressful occupation.  I feel it is part of my job to point out where I would hope for better.

“At national average” has to be the general impression of these results. EYFS and KS1 – national average.  KS2 varied, roughly national average.  KS4 above national average, it is very pleasing to read. KS5 at national average. 

The usual theme that I find in the BANES results is evidence that the higher ability child is relatively unchallenged.  This year it is disappointing to read that at KS1 the proportion of pupils working at greater depth is now below national average, and at A level the percentage of students achieving three A*-A or better is slightly below national average, and a fair bit below the national average for the south west.

BANES is a relatively affluent area and we should be aiming to achieve above the national average at all levels. Let’s remember that the national average is low compared with other developed countries.

At KS4 the message should be: find out what Norton Hill and Somervale are doing, and copy. Their attainment scores are good and their Progress 8 figures are a clear cut above.

Devolution and 16-19 Education

One consequence of yesterday’s decision by BANES, Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils to go ahead with the deal to create the West of England Combined Authority is that responsibility and finance for 16-19 education will be devolved. This should make it easier to ensure that the courses offered meet employers’ needs and give our young people a good chance of gaining employment locally.

Children’s Centres / Children’s Services

The options listed in the report seek to preserve the services to vulnerable children and families while looking to transfer council-owned children’s centre buildings to other bodies. There is interest from suitable bodies for all the buildings. The services in the future may be run from the same buildings or from other community buildings. 

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

We now have 10 UASC, and more are expected as a result of the clearing of the Calais camp. The Council is likely to have to finance about half the cost of looking after these children.

Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership Primary School

Planning permission for the housing development and school in Mendip on the edge of Midsomer Norton has been refused. The Partnership is now in discussion with stakeholders, including BANES, on finding another site. They still intend to open the new Free School, but this planning refusal will delay it by at least a year. Meanwhile BANES will need to make arrangements for a bulge year in local primary provision. Normally when this happens, there is an attempt to give the school a legacy building, rather than just installing a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Representatives of the Senior In Care Council will give a presentation to the Panel.

Lisa Mukherjee, Participation Development Worker, Off the Record introduced this item and said that representatives of the Senior In Care Council and the B&NES Youth Forum would give two presentations. The presentations will be available on the Panel’s Minute Book and online as an appendix to these minutes. A summary is set out below.

Destiny, Jaz M and Jaz L from the Senior In Care Council addressed the Panel.

What we do

We are a group of young people aged 11-18 who campaign on issues effecting young people looked after in care by BANES. We’d like to tell you about the work we have been doing and some of our campaigns.

Our Approach

We use a ‘You said we did’ approach with everyone we work with. This means we give them feedback about what they are doing well and what they can do even better and then ask them to report back to us on the changes they have made. We are positive and friendly towards everyone we meet and that way they want to work with us.

SICC won Young Volunteer Group of the Year at the Chairman of Bath Awards 2016

Our Campaigns

We promote our campaigns in lots of different ways, for example creating Podcasts with Somer Valley FM.  We also attend the In Care Council Steering Group Meeting and the Corporate Parents meeting so we can tell them what we think and they can help us to make changes. We created a postcard about our group and sent it to all LAC young people.

The Pledge – we monitor the Pledge and discuss with BANES what we think they are doing well and what needs to be built on

We are working on a PSHE Curriculum for Life and have discussed our ideas with Kate Murphy (BANES Anti-Bullying and PSHE Lead).

We fed back the importance of LAC young people’s right to work experience being promoted to them, as a result Virtual Schools put on a work experience event.

We fed back to Corporate Parents about how our confidentiality was being compromised and as a result Ashley Ayre sent out a letter reminding schools of their obligation to respect our confidentiality.

We have been involved in recruitment for roles such as LAC Nurse, Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Participation Commissioner. We have looked at job descriptions, sat on interview panels and fed back to applicants.  We have even offered candidates their jobs.

We ran a creative workshop to speak to Social Work Students about what we look for in a social worker. As part of our involvement in recruitment – we carried out a consultation on what makes a good Social Worker with the JICC and BANES care leavers and created a document which is now featured on the recruitment section of the BANES website.

Podcasts

Last year we launched our Podcasts, created with Somer Valley FM, in which we:

•  Promote SICC and encourage other young people to join their local In Care Council

•  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

The Panel will receive a presentation on this item from Penny Hay and colleagues involved in this project.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care introduced this item by saying that following the September meeting of the Panel he had met with Penny Hay and agreed a basis for ongoing discussion regarding this initiative.

Penny Hay, Child Friendly City Steering Group addressed the Panel, a copy of her statement will be available on the Panel’s Minute Book and online as an appendix to these minutes. A summary is set out below.

 The Child and Youth Friendly Community initiative has been driven by a diverse range of creative and cultural organisations across B&NES. Our vision involves the right of every child and young person to experience a safe, healthy and happy childhood, with an emphasis on respect and engagement.

The Child Friendly City Initiative Steering Group are keen to work with the Unicef Child Rights Partners Team alongside the Council and young people. Child Rights Partners is a ground-breaking programme - systematically embedding children’s rights in public services at both policy and practice level.

In B&NES, we want all children and young people to have equal life chances with positive mental health and well-being, with higher aspirations. B&NES has identified health and socio-economic inequalities and is working towards reducing these; this project would actively support the Council’s work.

We are inviting the Council to be a Unicef Child Rights Partner and asking the Scrutiny Panel to consider making a recommendation to Cabinet to support this initiative. We are keen that there is a political commitment to this initiative, with co-operation across the Local Authority together with robust engagement and cross-Council participation.

Naomi Danquah, Programme Director, Child Rights Partners addressed the Panel, a copy of her briefing will be available on the Panel’s Minute Book and online as an appendix to these minutes. A summary is set out below.

Unicef UK, a registered UK charity, runs programmes to protect and promote the rights of children and young people in the UK, working with national and local government and institutions to implement and advocate for lasting change.

Our Child Rights Partners programme builds on and is a part of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative, an international programme aiming to translate Unicef’s mission into practical commitments and action at the local level. Child Rights Partners (CRP) brings Unicef UK and local authorities together to put children’s rights at the heart of public services and ensure all children have the same opportunity to flourish.

During the course of a three year pilot, launched in November 2013, Unicef UK has been supporting 5 local authorities to use the UNCRC as a framework to transform local policy and practice in a range of areas, from developing area-wide children and families’ plans, to training elected members to embedding a child rights-based approach in corporate parenting strategies.

In 2017, Unicef UK is incorporating learning from the pilot into a developed programme model and is inviting up to 5 local authorities to join the programme.

Over the course of 3 –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

This report will advise the Panel for the need to reduce the operating costs of the Bath and North East Somerset Council managed Children’s Centre Services which are projecting a current overspend in this financial year and the need to develop a sustainable Children’s Centre Service for the whole of Bath and North East Somerset in the future.

Roz Lambert, First Steps CEO addressed the Panel, a copy of her statement will be available on the Panel’s Minute Book and online as an appendix to these minutes. A summary is set out below.

We are very concerned about the long term outcomes for children and families in Bath West. We are not assured that the options put forward in the Children’s Centre briefing paper outlining the Local Authorities option appraisal process to decide on a model of Children’s Centre Service Delivery have been fully or fairly thought through. 

We feel that some of the options unfairly disadvantage First Steps and this is a concern as First Steps is a community organisation working in the heart of the most disadvantaged areas.

It is completely inappropriate for First Steps as the organisation delivering the Children’s Centres in Bath West to contribute to or be damaged by measures taken to resolve an overspend by Local Authority officers on the budget for the internally delivered 9 children’s centres.

A third sector organisation which is managing resources more effectively and efficiently should be encouraged and supported by the Council not destroyed.

About First Steps – what we do.

First steps is a charity and company limited by guarantee, it is a registered social enterprise, operating  three Child Care settings and  two Children’s Centres, one in Moorlands and one in Twerton. First Steps IS a community organisation, it grew from the community and has kept to the original mission to “Work in partnership with children, families colleagues and the community”

It has been in operation for almost 25 years; First Steps was the Children’s Centre before the term was used by the Government and seeded the Children’s Centres in the rest of B&NES.

Our parent led services help parents to form positive and joyful relationships with their children, address debt, worklessness, lack of training, loneliness. 

The result is that over the years the levels of school achievement in the area have been rising and the gap in achievement has been narrowing. 

Our social enterprise model of Childcare delivery builds social capital, funding stays in the community.  First Steps has a strategy to employ local people and use a parent led approach to family support.  As a result First Steps staff are seen as community champions and accepted.  Over 50% of participants on the First Steps Volunteering programme are in further education or employment. 

Councillor Peter Turner asked what would happen if First Steps was to be brought within the Council.

Roz Lambert replied that it would have a huge effect and would likely lead to the loss of Children’s Centre funding and changes to their management team.

Councillor Karen Warrington asked if this proposal would lead to any savings.

Roz Lambert replied that she believed there would be no savings in reality as existing staff would transfer across to the Council.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if they had received assurances from the Council that no decision had yet been made.

Roz  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

This report provides Councillors, service users, parents and carers, managers and staff, with information about the handling of complaints and compliments in Bath and North East Somerset Children’s Services.

Councillor Liz Hardman commented that it was good to note that 44 compliments or letters of thanks had been recorded. She asked how could the practise of Social Workers be improved and what was the timeframe in responding to complaints.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that he felt that Social Workers within B&NES are a very good and talented group. He added that a lot of work had been done regarding the culture of the service and that workshops had been delivered on how to handle complaints.

He said that the timescale for complaints was challenging and that the aim is to contact the complainant within 10 days to discuss the matter, not necessarily answer all concerns by then.

Councillor Alison Millar said that she welcomed the implementation of the Caldicott Function Plan. She asked if the Complaints Service was staffed across the week.

The Complaints & Data Protection Team Manager replied that it was.

Councillor Dine Romero asked if locally Social Workers felt pressure within their role.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that good support was in place for Social Workers especially within their first year and that B&NES has a good level of retention.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report.

This report provides an analysis and summary of overall performance of all pupils and key groups in the 2016 external test and teacher assessments across all key stages in Bath and North East Somerset.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked in terms of the number of schools in the area now being Academies, how achievable were the recommendations.

The Head of Education Improvement replied that they would look to challenge all educational settings as part of their statutory duty.

Councillor Alison Millar commented that the figures contained within section 4.8 of the report were low and asked how these were to be addressed.

The Senior School Improvement & Achievement Adviser replied that the Better Maths Project had been launched in September with 23 schools participating. He added that the project has been commissioned from the Bath and Mendip Partnership Teaching School with a clear focus on effective strategies to build teachers’ confidence and help pupils achieve the higher standard. 

He stated that officers have identified those schools with the biggest gap in boy’s attainment and progress in writing and asked them participate in a writing project jointly with the Bath and Mendip partnership Teaching school and Bath Spa University to develop strategies to support teachers to improve outcomes for boys.

Andrew Tarrant commented that he welcomed the intervention of Local Authority officers.

The Panel RESOLVED to approve the officer recommendations;

i)  Raise the teacher expectation in the Reception classes; validate the on entry data and extend EYFS moderation beyond the DfE statutory requirements (to moderate 25% of Reception classes on a four year cycle) to all schools where the proportion of children achieving a good level of development is below the national average.

ii)  Work collaboratively with the Bath and Mendip Partnership Teaching School and Bath Spa University to provide a programme of support for teachers to improve boys writing across the primary phase.

iii)  As part of our statutory duty for assessment, work in partnership with surrounding local authorities and headteachers in Bath and North East Somerset to ensure consistency in the interpretation and application of the new assessment system, including any recommendations from the Parliamentary Inquiry into the new primary assessment system.

The Panel will receive a verbal update on this item from the People and Communities Strategic Director.

The Strategic Director for People & Communities addressed the Panel, a copy of the briefing can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book and as an appendix to these minutes online, a summary is set out below.

Head of Education Transformation

He announced that Margaret Simmons-Bird had been appointed as the new Head of Education Transformation, following an interview process. He stated that this post completes his Senior Leadership Team and means that Margaret will be the strategic lead for education, leading the development of the future role of the Local Authority in Education as well as taking on my previous management responsibilities across the spectrum of School Improvement and Achievement, Early Years Foundation Stage, Governor Services, Music Service, Virtual School and Business Support.

MASH Launched

He explained that the joint Children’s Services and Adult Services Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub had been launched. He said that the MASH has staff from both services sitting with Police officers and Health staff to share information on cases where safeguarding concerns have been identified, but access to further information is required in order that we make informed decisions about the most appropriate next steps. He added that each agency within the MASH will have access to their own database, and so for any case that is passed to the MASH, they will be able to check the information they have on that case and highlight concerns much more effectively.

He said that the MASH approach to sharing information is already in use in a large number of Councils across the country and has proved to be advantageous in speeding up decision making and in terms of improving communication and information sharing.

Academies

He informed the Panel of the current numbers of Maintained Schools and Academies.

Primary – 43 Maintained; 18 Academy

Secondary – 3 Maintained; 10 Academy

Studio – 0 Maintained; 3 Academy

Special – 0 Maintained; 3 Academy

Total – 46 Maintained; 34 Academy

He explained that there are 7 more planned primary conversions between now and April 2017 and 12 schools understood to be working with the Bath ‘Architects Group’ to draw up plans for a Primary MAT.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if there will be sufficient services, like School Improvement available to support the remaining Maintained Primary Schools.

The Strategic Director for People & Communities replied that capacity is stretched, but that they continue to hold responsibility for their statutory duties. He added that changes may be applied to some services should a lower number be reached.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked how far the Teckal option had been progressed.

The Strategic Director for People & Communities replied that a report on this could be brought to the January meeting of the Panel.

Andrew Tarrant asked if Academies within B&NES buy back services from the Local Authority.

The Strategic Director for People & Communities replied that some do.

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

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting officers.

The Chairman introduced this item. He said that a report regarding the Teckal would be added to the workplan for January.

Councillor Dine Romero suggested that the Panel receive a progress report at some point in relation to Make Your Mark presentation that they had received earlier in the meeting.

Councillor Liz Hardman said that she would like the Panel to discuss BCA in more detail at a future meeting and that they should be kept informed of the process as far as Children’s Centres are concerned.

The Panel RESOLVED to add these proposals to their workplan.