Agenda and draft 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 Lesley Mansell had sent her apologies to the Panel, Councillor Robin Moss was present as her substitute for the duration of the meeting.

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.

The Chair informed Panel that she had been made aware that the Department for Health and Social Care has received a request from a member of the public asking the Secretary of State to use the powers under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006 to call in BSW ICB’s proposed changes to community-based care in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, particularly the appointment of HCRG Care Group.

She explained that the three Local Authorities were being asked if they would support the call-in.

The members of the Panel gave an indication that they would support a call-in of this decision.

Laura Ambler commented that this matter had been discussed previously by the Panel and was part of a service configuration, not a change in services or transformation. She added that their priority is to ensure a safe transfer of services on 1 April 2025.

She explained that any transformation after this date would be discussed with service users.

She informed the Panel that Wiltshire Council had also considered whether to support the call-in and that they had decided not to.

The Chair addressed the Panel and said she was considering whether the number of co-optees for the Panel should be increased and was thinking of approaching Healthwatch to discuss the issue further.

Wendy Lucas – Newton House

Emily Massey, CEO of The Partnership Trust – Fosse Way House

Wendy Lucas addressed the Panel on the issue of respite care and Newton House. She stated that she was thankful for the support she had received since this matter had been first brought to the attention of the public.

She explained that should any changes in provision be required then this should be in place by September 2025 ahead of implementation in January 2026.

She informed the Panel that from the point of view of all the families who were currently in receipt of services from Newton House that it remains their preferred option to keep this facility open and providing its services.

She said that they were aware of the budget figures being discussed, but asked the Council to consider what the cost will be should this service be removed from the people currently accessing it. She added that these are real people who need support and certainty in their life.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if any meeting had taken place with the Council since January 2025 and had any other provision been considered.

Wendy Lucas replied that one meeting had taken place between the families, Dimensions and the Council and that this had been a little difficult / feisty. She said that there remained a feeling that they were being kept in the dark.

She added that she was due to meet the Director of Adult Social Care later this morning.

She informed the Panel that no alternative provision had yet been identified and that assessments had been carried out for most of the 22 service users. She added that her child had not received an assessment since 2017.

She stated that the need for the service is likely to remain, if not grow, as the parents become older.

The Chair informed the meeting that the Panel were due to be updated further on this matter at their meeting in April.

Emily Massey, CEO of The Partnership Trust addressed the Panel on the matter of Fosse Way House. She explained that the Partnership Trust is a Multi Academy Trust of 18 schools within the primary and special sectors, predominantly based in Bath and North East Somerset. 

She informed the Panel that Fosse Way School is one of their special schools located in the Radstock area of Bath and North East Somerset, and as part of the school, they currently offer an educational residential provision based on the school site; Fosse Way House. 

She explained that Fosse Way House offers a 24-hour curriculum for up to 11 students aged between 11-19 years with a diagnosis of autism.  Students are accommodated for 39 weeks a year (the school year) from Monday to Friday, returning home every weekend and holiday. 

She said that the aim of the residential provision is to provide a 24-hour educational curriculum that enables students to develop social and communication skills within a residential environment, develop independence skills e.g. personal care, develop community links and transfer educational learning into a different environment.

She stated that the provision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

Kevin Burnett referred to the minutes of 16^th December 2024, page 6 of the agenda pack, and said that it read Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education not ‘Select Advisory Council’.

He further advised, page 7 of the agenda pack, that it was the Local Authority that needs to have a new Agreed Syllabus ready to be used by schools in September 2027, not B&NES SACRE.

He referred to page 13 of the agenda pack and stated that HERS is run by the Partnership Trust and that reference to the RUH should be removed.

With these amendments in mind the Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meetings as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

This report provides the Panel with an overview of early-years & school education performance in the academic year 2023-24, including information on the LA's approach to working with the academy sector to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding introduced the report to the Panel and highlighted the following points from it.

·  In the early years foundation stage (EYFS), the percentage of children reaching a good level of development increased to 72%, higher than regional and national averages.

·  Key stage 2 performance has not returned to the post-pandemic levels when performance in the combined reading, writing and maths (RWM) was higher than national and regional. This year, the percentage of pupils achieving this measure rose from 58% to 60%, higher than the southwest average of 58% but lower than the national average of 61%.

·  Key stage 4 attainment in grades 9 - 5 English and Maths and in Attainment 8 is once again higher than regional and national averages. This is to be commended.

·  B&NES A Level results were higher in all measures than regional and national measures.

·  Children with SEN support needs and those with an EHCP in KS4 have educational outcomes that are marginally higher than national. In KS2, attainment has generally been in line with or slightly above national; however, this year, it has experienced a slight dip below the national average.

·  KS4 attainment in the FSM cohort remained broadly in line with national. The attainment gap in B&NES does not widen in secondary education, and their KS4 outcomes align with national for this group.

·  Despite a slight improvement in EYFS and KS2 FSM outcomes, attainment within this cohort remains in the bottom quartile compared to all local authorities in England. Attainment is currently ranked 16^th lowest at EYFS and 6th lowest at KS2, showing progress from previously being ranked 3rd lowest and the lowest in the country, respectively, in 2022/23. However, the disparity between our area and the national average in terms of the percentage of FSM children meeting the expected standard in KS2 RWM remains substantial, at 33% and 46%, respectively.

·  B&NES, as a partner in the structures that govern a highly academised area, remains committed to playing its part in improving outcomes for our most disadvantaged group of children. We continue to fund and deliver projects in hand with the St John's Foundation and with partners, such as Black Families Education Support Group, in the early years and all schools.

·  Alongside these existing commitments, the council is now looking at a wider approach to improving disadvantaged education outcomes. As previously presented to the scrutiny panel, our Public Health team are leading this work and their final report and action plan will be presented later today.

Councillor Dave Harding asked if the data could be divided into specific areas of the Council to show any elements of rural deprivation. He also asked if the data could be categorised to show the performance of those young people who are also Young Carers.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that he did not have to hand the data relating to Young Carers and said that the data is not yet broken down geographically, but it was in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

The Panel will receive a presentation from representatives of the DfE Regional Office.

Tish Bourke (BANES lead, DfE) and Giles de Rivaz(Head of Somerset Sub-region and RISE SW, DfE) gave a presentation to the Panel, a summary of which is set out below.

The opportunity mission and Regions Group

The Opportunity Mission is focused on breaking down barriers to opportunity. We will deliver this through our four mission pillars.

·  Best start in life - high-quality early education; early-child health; home- learning environment; family support.

·  Every child achieving and thriving - high and rising school standards with a broad curriculum; excellent teachers; an inclusive approach to SEND; wider support and enrichment.

·  Skills for opportunity and growth - a strong skills offer; pathways into work including youth guarantee, work experience, careers advice.

·  Family security - removing underlying barriers to opportunity including tackling child poverty, improving housing and keeping children safe.

Roles and Responsibilities / How we Work

Schools:

·  High quality trust delivery

·  Addressing underperformance

·  Enhancing school infrastructure and capacity

·  Safeguarding in academies

Vulnerable Children: CSC and SEND:

·  Intervention

·  Improving performance

·  Engaging with Local Authorities

·  Care review implementation

BANES: Structure and performance

Structures

•  BANES highly academised – 91.4 %

•  9 MATs, most with more than six schools; & 3 SATs

OFSTED performance

•  Ofsted very strong with vast majority of schools with headline Ofsted judgement of Good or better, those with more recent inspections, performing well in sub-judgements.

•  Trust with schools with less than Good are held to account for improvement, supported to improve

2024 Pupil outcomes

•  KS2: ES RWM 60%, improving from 2023, but below NA of 61%

•  KS4: Progress 8,  0.16  slight dip on 2023 but above NA of -0.03

•  Disadvantaged: KS2 ES RWM 33% below NA of 46%; and KS4 progress 8 -0.56, just above NA but still to improve

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Keeping Families Together and Children Safe:

•  Mandating local authorities to offer family group decision-making meetings

•  Improving information sharing across agencies

•  Strengthening the role of education in safeguarding

•  Implementing multi-agency child protection teams

Driving High and Rising Standards for Every Child:

•  Delivering commitments on school admissions, qualified teacher status, and the national curriculum

•  Introducing new duties for schools and local authorities to co-operate on admissions and place planning; extending local authorities’ powers to direct academies to admit children

•  Changing the legal framework for opening new state-funded schools

Removing Barriers to Opportunity in Schools:

•  Providing access to free breakfast clubs for every primary school child.

•  Limiting the number of branded uniform items that schools can require

Accountability reform

•  Two consultations published from Ofsted and DfE on 3rd February.

•  Ofsted’s consultation seeks views from parents, carers, professionals and learners on the way it carries out its inspections, and the way it reports them, with a new inspection framework and toolkits, and report cards.

•  The DfE’s consultation seeks views on the principles we propose should underpin an effective accountability system:

o  The approach to, and the principles of, school accountability;

o  The introduction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

Educational attainment has broad benefits on health, wealth and happiness. Inequalities in educational attainment between children from more and less affluent backgrounds is an issue nationally and has worsened in recent years.  

The Consultant in Public Health introduced the report and highlighted the following areas.

The Challenge

Addressing inequality - At key stage 2: Disadvantaged pupils doing less well in B&NES than nationally e.g. 30% reaching expected standard at KS2 compared to 44% nationally. The gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils is large, with an attainment gap of 36% compared to 23% nationally.

At key stage 4: In 2022/23 in B&NES the attainment gap at KS4 had relatively narrowed and was more in line with the national attainment gap, though still wider. The gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils remains large.

Ambition - Reduce the attainment gaps by improving the performance of disadvantaged pupils across B&NES.

Whole system approach to reducing the attainment gap

In an average year, children spend around 20-24% of their waking hours in school and so around 76-80% of their waking hours outside of school. Socio-economic factors and the physical environment account for 30-55% of our health outcomes – the same factors also play a crucial role in education attainment.

The wider environment in which children and young people grow up in therefore has a huge role to play. As B&NES Council and system partners are in a position to influence some of these wider or core determinants, a whole systems approach to addressing the attainment gap helpful.

Project aim and methodology 

Aim: Investigate the potential causes of the educational attainment gap in B&NES, with a focus on the core determinants of health outside of school settings, and make recommendations as to how a whole systems approach could help address the gap.

Research / potential solutions

What does the data tell us? What does the published and grey literature tell us? / What do professionals and young people tell us? / 60 + interviews and focus groups.

Multi partner task and finish group (Met 4 times – the final one as a workshop).

Triangulated findings inform Action Plan.

What the data tells us… 

In primary schools in B&NES, the number of FSM pupils has almost doubled from 1,238 in 2015/16 to 2,407 in 2022/23 in B&NES (an increase from 9% to 18%). Poor attainment in the disadvantaged cohort is not restricted to a few schools in B&NES, but is more widespread?, and across rural and urban areas.

There is a very weak association between the size of the disadvantaged cohort and attainment in the disadvantaged cohort in schools in B&NES. Schools in B&NES with 40% or more disadvantaged pupils have the lowest attainment for both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils (does not indicate causality).

Interviewees / Focus group participants

Education settings: The Hut / First Steps Twerton / St Martins Garden Primary / East Harptree and Ubley Primary / Oldfield School / Bath College / Director of Secondary, Lighthouse Partnership Trust.

B&NES Council: Head of Virtual School / Head of SEND / Education Inclusion Officer / Educational Psychologist / Welfare support.

Young people: Via Off the Record  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

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 to them.

HCRG

We are aware of an incident affecting the provider HCRG Care Group. We are working with them and others to fully understand the scale of the incident and any potential impact on health data. Patients should continue to access NHS care in the normal way. While investigations are ongoing and can take time, patients do not need to take any action or contact your care provider. Any individuals who are impacted will be contacted and advised in line with Information Commissioners Office (ICO) guidance.  

Families First Partnership Programme

The Families First Partnership Programme (FFP) is a new national programme set up in the Department for Education, backed by over half a billion pounds of investment (£523.5m). The programme will work in partnership with local areas (local authorities, police, health, education and other relevant agencies) to improve their local services and systems that help and protect children and families.

Bath and North East Somerset have an engagement meeting regarding “readiness” with the Department of Education (DFE) on March 10th 2025. We will provide a regular update on implementation plans.

Councillor May announced that this would be the final Panel meeting for the Director of Children's Services & Education, Mary Kearney-Knowles as she was retiring. He thanked her for all the work she had done for the Local Authority.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, gave their thanks as well.

Kevin Burnett asked if any of the Families First work could dovetail with the work outlined regarding attainment.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that engagement sessions were planned to take place over the coming weeks and that transformation was planned to take place across 2025/26.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if any further update could be provided regarding the Safety Valve programme.

Councillor May replied that he could not really add anything further to his written update and had asked the Director for Education & Safeguarding to provide an update to Cabinet as soon as any new information was available.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked if he was aware that the phoneline for Bath Mind was due to close down on 31^st March.

Councillor May replied that he believed that this was a contract issue for the ICB.

Councillor Wright said that she had been contacted by a resident who has been unable to make any contact with HCRG.

Councillor May asked if she would pass those details on so that the matter could be looked into further.

Councillor Robin Moss asked if any comment could be given regarding the number of local organisations, including Off The Record and Voices, who are set to receive less or no funding in the coming year.

Councillor May replied that he shared these concerns regarding funding, was not aware of the reductions for Off The Record and was due to meet with representatives from Voices later in the week.

The Chair thanked him for his  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90.

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

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

Engagement with local patients and community groups for NHS Ten-Year Plan

Community and patient groups in Bath and North East Somerset have taken part in a number of engagement sessions organised by the ICB throughout January and February.

The sessions have taken place as part of a national exercise to collect thoughts and opinions that will be used to develop the new NHS Ten-Year Health Plan. The plan will set out steps to create a health service that is designed to meet the changing needs of the country’s population.

Panel members who wish to submit their own views for the plan can still do so via an online survey at www.change.nhs.uk . The NHS Ten-Year Health Plan is expected to be published in May.

Kevin Burnett asked if any feedback had been received from schools regarding the Big Brush Club initiative.

Laura Ambler replied that no formal feedback had been received yet, but said that all parties were aware of the programme and they expected a high take up of the initiative.

Kevin Burnett asked if any additional information could be provided on a number of preciously raised matters, namely Pharmacies Review update, Alice Park Youth Festival and ICB budget deficit.

Laura Ambler replied that the Pharmacies Review was undertaken annually alongside colleagues from Public Health and that the outcome of that was not due yet. She reminded the Panel that the ICB’s ability to be involved in direct provision was limited.

She said that they had received some initial headline feedback from the Alice Park Youth Festival, but was not aware of the need to provide any further information. She added that the event had been seen as a successful one and could liaise further with Councillor Wright if required.

On the matter of the budget she explained that the ICB were working on their annual submission alongside the Local Authorities. She said that all ICBs remain financially challenged.

Councillor Ruth Malloy asked if any comment could be provided on whether some local branches of Jhoots Pharmacies have had to close down recently and asked what mechanisms are in place if a chain starts to have such difficulties and what advice can be given to residents.

Laura Ambler replied that she would take this matter away and ask for a response.

In response to an earlier point relating to Bath Mind she said that they were looking to recommission Breathing Space and that this was part of a current live procurement process. She added that they were aware of the issue relating to the phoneline and were in the process of addressing that.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked her for the update.

This report presents to the Children, Adults, Health and Wellbeing Policy Development & Scrutiny Panel the findings and recommendations to emerge from the Task Group review of Knife Crime Prevention.

The Chair introduced the report to the Panel. She explained that part of the role of the Task Group had been to review current approaches to the prevention of knife crime across Bath and North East Somerset, to review knife crime prevention national best practice examples and to consider opportunities for improving prevention of knife crime across Bath and North East Somerset.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson addressed the Panel and explained that she had been a member of the Task Group. She said that incidents that have occurred in the local community have had a huge impact on residents.

She said that she felt that social media influence, the pandemic and exclusions from school were factors to be taken into account into the incidents that took place.

She raised three points for the Panel to be aware of:

i)  Deaths - The victims in a number of the incidents could be classed as innocent parties with no previous connection to their assailants or involvement in crime.

ii)  Mental Health support - need to take into account properly what is required to support young people with mental health needs.

iii)  Bullying – should more of a link have been made to this as a contributing factor.

She concluded by suggesting whether a module on Knife Crime should be included in the syllabus for schools to be able to raise awareness of the issue.

The Chair thanked Councillor Jackson for those comments and for her contributions to the work of the Task Group.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked why it was young males that were the main perpetrators of such crimes.

The Chair agreed that gender definitely was a factor and that girls seemed to be much less involved in incidents of this nature. She said the Task Group had looked at the factors such as peer pressure and the glamorisation of knife crime as part of their work.

She added that it was hoped that the steps being taken by the Council and its partners on Early Help would lead to the creation of better outcomes for our local children and young people.

The Chair commented that the ongoing work of the Violence Reduction Partnership would address these issues.

Councillor Paul Crossley asked if data was available on the types of knives used in these incidents.

The Chair replied that the data was not broken down to that level for the work of the Task Group.

The Panel RESOLVED to;

i)  Endorse the Task Group’s findings and recommendations, and;

ii)  Agree for the recommendations to be forwarded to the Cabinet/Cabinet Member for response.

The Children’s, Adults, Health and Wellbeing Policy and Scrutiny Development Panel is invited to establish a task and finish group to learn about the work taking place around targeted early help and prevention for children and young people.

The Chair introduced the report to the Panel. She explained that during the recent Task Group review looking at knife crime prevention, members recognised the importance and value of investment in early years and preventative services.

She said that the Group would be asked to learn about the work taking place around targeted early help and prevention for children and young people across the Children’s Services department and to consider opportunities based on the evidence for the Council to improve its future provision.

The Panel RESOLVED to;

i)  Agree to establish a Task Group to consider targeted early help and prevention for children and young people;

ii)    Endorse the provisional terms of reference, as detailed in para 3.8;

iii)  Delegate authority to the Panel Chair and Vice Chair to finalise the Task Group membership;

iv)  Request that the Task Group’s findings and recommendations are reported back to the Panel for endorsement within six months of its first meeting.

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 Chair introduced the item to the Panel and asked for suggestions for future reports to the Panel.

Councillor Hardman suggested that they receive an update from the Violence Reduction Partnership.

Kevin Burnett reiterated that the Panel should be updated on the work of the Wider Determinates of Educational Disadvantage project.

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