Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 5.

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillor Michael Auton had sent his 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 4.4 Appendix 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 Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Kevin Burnett declared an other interest with regard to agenda item 10 (Ofsted Inspection Report) as he is a member of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).

Questions have been submitted to the Panel by Councillor Saskia Heijltjes and Councillor Joanna Wright.

Jon Gore, Orchestra of Everything has registered to make a statement.

Questions were submitted to the Panel by Councillor Saskia Heijltjes and Councillor Joanna Wright. A copy of this Q&A document is attached as an appendix to these minutes.

Jon Gore, Orchestra of Everything addressed the Panel, a summary of his statement is set out below.

He said that following his previous visit to the Panel in July he had been able to arrange for a number of music festival events to be held at St Michael’s Junior School, Twerton and was pleased to report increased resilience, confidence, and focus among the children who had taken part, with 86% showing a more positive attitude to learning.

He explained that a volunteer group was now also in place to attend the school every Wednesday to offer all pupils an opportunity to practice their chosen instrument.

He informed the Panel that the group had received a small amount of funding to begin work with Year 6 pupils at Roundhill Primary School, Southdown until the half term in February 2026.

He said that discussions were also ongoing with Youth Connect South West to begin a pilot local youth club for young people that had left St Michael’s.

He wished to express his thanks to The Roper Family Charitable Trust, Medlock Charitable Trust and Bath Rotary Club for their support and funding.

He stated that he was very hopeful of recruiting further volunteers at the Bath and North East Somerset Volunteer Fair that was due to be held on Friday 17^th October.

He said that he had also visited the Bath University Music Society regarding their potential involvement with the group, and that he planned to meet with Bath Spa University in the near future.

Councillor Liz Hardman said that his enthusiasm was inspiring and was pleased to hear that the work of the group had helped with the focus of a large number of pupils at the school. She added that she had passed on his details to the councillors for Twerton and Whiteway, Tim Ball and Sarah Moore, to see if they would be able to offer any support or funding for his work.

She asked if there was any possibility to expand the programme to other schools within B&NES.

Jon Gore replied that he had received requests from other schools, but said that at the present time the focus remains on the Primary Schools within Twerton, Whiteway and Southdown. He added that the intention was for Roundhill to follow the programme used at St Michael’s.

The Chair commented that as a councillor for Southdown she welcomed the group working with Roundhill Primary School. She added that the Council were awaiting further information for how £20m of government funding, as part of the Pride in Place programme, would be used in Twerton.

Councillor Bharat Pankhania asked if the group was linked to any work with Voices for Life.

Jon Gore replied that he was aware that Voices for Life were working with pupils in Year 4 at both St Michael’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Councillor Lesley Mansell referred to page 15 of the agenda pack and asked for an amendment to be made. She stated that she had asked for a separate Equalities Impact Assessment to be provided for service users, not whether one was required.

The Panel, with this amendment in mind, confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

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

Councillor Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services addressed the Panel and highlighted the following points from his update.

He confirmed that he had asked officers to work with John Gore and to see if any external funding bids could be accessed for the Orchestra of Everything project.

He informed the Panel of the progress that had been made on the School Streets initiative and said that funding had been provided through the Clean Air Zone funding (£250,000), one-off revenue funding for 2025/26 (£87,000) and WECA Active Travel Fund (£75,000). He said that further information on the participating schools would be circulated when known.

He announced that the Tree of Hope sapling would be planted in Alice Park in February 2026 and that Youth Guarantee Trailblazer funding would be used to allow young people to attend the event. He thanked Councillor Wright for her work on this matter.

He stated that the Council were awaiting a ministerial response regarding the local authority’s recent Safety Valve submission.

He explained that discussions were ongoing with the St. John’s Foundation to see whether support for the Language for Life could be extended beyond July 2026.

He informed the Panel that Councillor Romero had been added as a board member for the Virtual School alongside himself and Councillor Hardman.

He said that the Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) report was positive and that the support from officers throughout the inspection was fantastic. He added that the report gives the Council a good basis to set strategic targets.

Councillor David Harding asked about the impact of the SEND and AP Advice team on school exclusions and young people entering the youth justice system.

Councillor May responded that the team was working with schools to improve these figures, and a more detailed answer would be provided later in the meeting.

Councillor Onkar Saini asked about the number of eligible children not enrolled for free school meals following the auto-enrolment exercise and the steps needed to reach the remaining families.

Councillor May explained that a table had been circulated showing the numbers achieved and that he has asked the Director of Children’s Services for figures relating to the number of opt-outs by ward.

The Director of Children’s Services confirmed that further feedback would be provided.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding added that the Council had identified all eligible children, with only a handful opting out, and that the system would be ongoing to capture new eligible children.

Councillor Wright requested regular updates on free school meals, which Councillor May agreed to provide.

Kevin Burnett raised concerns about the pressures of Ofsted inspections on staff, referencing the national campaign following Ruth Perry’s death.

Councillor May said that he recognised the tension that the inspections can bring and that all staff were committed to doing their best for local children.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding added that the Council was supporting headteachers and staff, providing risk assessments and wellbeing support, and working with Ofsted to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

The Panel will receive an update from the B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) on current issues.

Laura Ambler, Executive Director of Place for Bath and North East Somerset, BSW ICB addressed the Panel and highlighted the following areas from within the update.

Uzoma Ibechukwu, Director of Pharmacy, Royal United Hospitals, Bath was also present at the meeting.

Chief Executive of new ICB cluster appointed

Earlier this month, Jonathan Higman was appointed as the new Chief Executive for the recently-established Integrated Care Board cluster covering Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset.

Jonathan, who is currently Chief Executive of Somerset ICB, has more than 25 years of experience in both NHS provider and commissioning organisations.

Winter vaccination programme

Eligible groups are now able to receive a free flu and Covid-19 vaccination. Pregnant women, along with children aged two and three, were among the first to be called forward in early September. On Wednesday 1 October, the flu vaccination offer was widened to include over-65s, people with a weakened immune system, care home residents and frontline health and social care workers.

There are a number of different ways in which people can arrange their flu vaccine appointment, with bookings available online through the NHS App and at www.nhs.uk/bookflu, or over the phone by calling 119.

The eligibility criteria for Covid-19 vaccines has been changed, following a review by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Now, only those people aged 75 and over, as well as older care home residents and those who are immunosuppressed, will be offered a vaccination against Covid-19.

Closure of the outpatients medicine courier service at the RUH

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Royal United Hospital in Bath introduced the outpatients medicines courier service to support vulnerable patients who were shielding.

As of 2025, the service is still in operation and currently carries out between 300 and 350 deliveries each month, mainly for oncology, haematology and dermatology patients.

In June of this year, the RUH agreed to decommission the service, and transition to a modern, digitally-enabled model, which aligns with the requirements of the government’s 10-Year Plan for the NHS.

The current model supports only a small number of patients. An electronic prescribing service will be able to support a wider cohort of patients, with the majority of users able to access medicines through other means, such as their local community pharmacy.

She explained that a discussion about the recent hospital league tables would be followed up at a future meeting.

Kevin Burnett referred to the outpatients medicine courier service and asked if patients had yet to be informed and had there been any pre-decision discussion with them.

Uzoma Ibechukwu replied that they have been working with the Patient Advice and Liaison Service at the RUH with regard to how communication with patients could be carried out.

Laura Ambler added that the Panel were being asked their view on the proposal and confirmed that patients in receipt of the service would be written to.

Kevin Burnett commented that as it was a relatively small number of people could a more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

This report presents the ILACS Inspection Report findings to the Panel.

The Director of Children’s Services, Service Development Manager and Interim Assistant Director presented the report to the Panel and highlighted the following areas.

• The local authority received ‘Good’ in all areas, including the new judgment for care leavers.
• Strengths included timely support, trauma-informed practice, innovative fostering, strong participation, early establishment of family networks and working with children with disabilities.
• Areas for development: Return home interviews for missing children, clarity of the local offer for care leavers over 21, and management oversight documentation. It was acknowledged that the service were already aware of these matters.
• Officers confirmed that an improvement plan would be submitted by 21^st November, with an interim visit within 18 months and a future inspection expected in three years’ time.

Councillor Liz Hardman congratulated the team and said she was pleased to see that no major weaknesses had been identified. She added that she welcomed the honesty of the tone of the cover report.

The Director of Children’s Services said that the judgement really was a team effort and that they wanted to be honest about intending to improve services.

Councillor Hardman asked if any comment could be given regarding the finding that the protocol for assessing homeless 16- and 17-year-olds was out of date.

The Interim Assistant Director replied that it was possible that the inspection team had viewed an outdated policy. She added that they have confirmed that the correct one is in place.

Councillor Hardman commented that some people over the age of 21 could still benefit from having access to work with a Personal Assistant.

The Director of Children’s Services replied that the statutory duty to provide a Personal Assistant stops once a person reaches the age of 22. She added that if there is a wish to continue to do so then a further discussion can take place.

Councillor Hardman asked if the outcomes of the Being our BEST programme would have an impact on the Council’s Social Workers.

The Director of Children’s Services replied that she did not expect it to and that it was good to have dedicated officers in place across the service. She added that they are looking to use AI where possible to assist officers and gave the example of Magic Notes that is being used to reduce some administrative work by producing notes via speech.

Councillor Paul Crossley referred to one of the slides shown and the wording ‘Most children live in safe and suitable homes’ and asked if any specific figures could be given and how this number could be raised towards 100%.

The Director of Children’s Services replied that there are currently 116 children that are subject to a Child Protection Plan because we have assessed that the risk to them is higher than we would want it to be, but we believe that support can be provided to them to enable them to remain living at home.

She added that approximately 600 young people are also subject to a Child in Need  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

The Head of the Virtual School addressed the Panel and presented data to them on attendance, persistent absence, suspensions, and exclusions. She highlighted the following areas to them.

• Positive trends in attendance and reductions in permanent exclusions.
• Persistent challenges with suspensions, particularly among vulnerable groups and those eligible for free school meals.
• Ongoing work with schools, trusts, and the Race Equality Charter Group to address disparities and improve outcomes.
• Earlier interventions, especially when a young person receives more than one suspension – look at the plan in place for them.

Councillor Liz Hardman commented that she was concerned about the figures in relation to suspension and attendance for those young people in receipt of free school meals. She said that she hoped work would take place alongside the Multi Academy Trusts.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that attendance was a regional priority and referred to phonics lessons being likely to take place earlier in the day, and therefore pupils arriving late might miss these.

The Head of the Virtual School said that she believed that there was always another option to suspension and that training was available for schools regarding a trauma informed approach.

Kevin Burnett referred to section 3.5 of the report and asked if the levels of authorised absence for pupils with an EHCP were as expected.

The Head of the Virtual School replied this was a pattern often seen due to health reasons.

Kevin Burnett asked if she was involved in any of the Public Health work relating to the wider determinants of educational disadvantage.

The Head of the Virtual School replied that she was.

Councillor Lesley Mansell said that she would like to see the exclusion figures reduce still, especially for those young people from ethnic minority backgrounds. She added that she felt that data regarding gender reassignment was lacking in the report and queried how much absence might be due to issues relating to this.

The Head of the Virtual School sought to reassure the Panel that issues relating to ethnicity were spoken of more widely than ever before and that she worked closely with Jason Pegg (Black Families Education Support Group). She added that no data was held by the Council with regard to gender reassignment.

Councillor David Harding asked if Multi Academy Trusts were suspending more pupils than expected.

The Head of the Virtual School replied that she felt that their numbers should reduce.

Councillor Paul May said that Multi Academy Trusts remain a competitive market place and that the Council would work with them on reducing the number of suspensions.

The Panel RESOLVED to note;

i) Our pupils' overall positive attendance for 2023-2024. Our overall absence rate, % persistent absentees and unauthorised absence rate sits below national and regional data.

ii) We are aware that our attendance for children open to free school meals is an area that we need to address and this is a target that sits across the local authority.

iii) Last year we saw a drop in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

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 Panel reviewed the workplan, noting items to be brought forward, including:

• Suicide Prevention update
• Long COVID
• Dementia Strategy update
• Inclusion report
• Food Access toolkit impact
• End of life - Council Tax (The Chair said this matter would be discussed at a meeting of the Panel Chairs & Vice-Chairs)

The Panel RESOLVED to note their current workplan and these proposals for future reports.