Agenda item

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, a copy of the update will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary is set out below.

Policy Development

He said that he supported the idea of forming a Working Group from the Panel to explore the national, regional and local issues regarding “Early Help” with the aim of presenting a policy research paper with recommendations to a future meeting.

He added that any work relating to this project will require a terms of reference and resources, from within existing budgets, to assist the Panel in this role.

Ofsted

The Local Authority received notification on November 27^th 2024 that they would have an ILACS Focused Visit on Care Leavers on 4/5^th December. Officers met all the submission requirements ahead of Inspectors being on site in the Civic Centre December 4^th and 5^th 2024. I am pleased to say that I had an hour interview with the Lead Inspector as Lead Member on 2/12/2024. I attended the welcome and presentation on 4/12/2024 and the feedback session on December 5th 2024.The report will be available in January 2025 and I will share once received.

HMIP

I updated at the last CAHW that the Youth Justice Service were notified of their inspection. Council officers and partners contributed to the on-site visit of the inspection team. I attended the feedback session and heard some positive feedback. A full report will be available in February 2025 and I will share with the Panel.

With regards to both inspections, I would ask the Panel to register their formal thanks and well done for staff, managers and administrators for their dedicated commitment for these inspections. Both sets of inspectors fed back that we were so well organised and so open and helpful to their teams.

I expect in due course to provide the feedback reports and any action plans back to the Panel.

The Chair said that she echoed his comments on behalf of the Panel.

Councillor Liz Hardman referred to the subject of Free School Meals Auto Enrolment and asked who would be informing the schools of this change.

Councillor May replied that the SEND / AP Advice Service would be used to inform schools about this proposal.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding added that he had already taken steps to inform the Chief Executive Officers and Academy Heads that this work is underway. He said that this was a positive step to take and that further communications regarding it were due to take place later in the week.

Councillor Paul Crossley commented that he was pleased with the success shown by the West of England Music and Arts (WEMA). He asked if within a future update the areas of Keynsham and the Chew Valley could be addressed. He also asked if the project had any future goals / aspirations.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that they are looking to build on the success that has already been achieved and are keen to engage further. He said he would ask if any further information could be supplied and that he knew that Simon Lock, Manager (WEMA) was willing to attend a future meeting if necessary.

Councillor Crossley asked what work the Council does with its Young People to help them when exiting the Youth Justice Service.

Councillor May said that having met the team as part of the inspection it was clear that the future of the children is a priority and that we have a responsibility to look after them whilst in custody and after their sentence has concluded.

The Director of Children's Services & Education added that there are a range of services available within B&NES, one of them being Compass which is our preventative service that works with young people aged 8 – 17 years of age who may be at risk of becoming involved in offending behaviour.

She added that every child that is in custody will have an allocated Case Officer and receive support from Children’s Social Care.

She said that the work of the Violence Reduction Partnership has also continued and there is evidence to show that mentoring from lived experience has been really helpful.

Councillor Crossley asked how many young people from B&NES were currently in custody and from that number how many were a Looked After Child.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that the numbers within B&NES are small and said that two young people have been detained in custody within the past year and that one of them was a Looked After Child.

The Chair commented that she would appreciate it if the Panel could receive the next Youth Justice Plan prior to it being submitted to Council.

The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that this had been a two-year plan and offered to bring an update to the Panel at a future meeting.

Kevin Burnett asked how parents were to be involved / informed about the Free School Meals Auto Enrolment. He also asked whether the money involved would go directly into the school’s budget.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that the Welfare Team are following a toolkit and said that parents will still have an option to opt out of receiving this service. He said that the money received would go directly to the school.

Kevin Burnett asked about the long-term funding of the Music Service, whether the MATs within B&NES all buy-in to the service and whether that is required for it to remain a success.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that funding for three years was agreed with the Arts Council in April 2023. He added that they are a not-for-profit charity and work in partnership with all the local Trusts.

Kevin Burnett referred to the subject of HERS and asked if the categories of support for children could be given.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that this information can be shared with the Panel.

Kevin Burnett asked if the Community Services contracts within Children’s Services have been reviewed alongside those within Adult Social Care.

Councillor May replied that the Council was forecast to overspend by £5.5m this year, but felt it was important to state that this would not see them dropping their standards of support for our young people.

He added that he was discussing this matter with the Public Health team to mitigate any effect this may have on the services provided. He said that where possible there should not be any cuts to Early Help as if this were to affect long term costs it would not be sensible.

Councillor Lesley Mansell asked how the Panel’s Knife Crime Sub-Group links to the work of the Violence Reduction Partnership.

She commented that she would welcome further data on the Music Service at a future meeting alongside what benefits this provides to our young people.

She asked for assurances to be given that the Council was meeting its legal requirements with regard to safeguarding in respect of Home Education and HERS.

She also asked how many young people who were accessing HERS have a mental health diagnosis.

Councillor May thanked her for her questions and asked if she could email them to him to enable responses to be given.

The Director of Children's Services & Education added that colleagues across Children's Services have been involved with the work of Panel’s Sub-Group. She added that work to attempt to keep young people out of custody is carried out across the service and with schools and families. She added that they attempt to provide as much support as possible in relation to this matter.

Councillor May said that in terms of Youth Justice they were awaiting the outcome of the Inspection report and that if any actions are required, as a result of that, they would be reported back to the Panel.

He added that it was important to look at our Home Education arrangements and that a complete review has been carried out to make sure there is no child at risk within B&NES. He added that he was checking with the Director of Children's Services & Education on a regular basis to make sure that this is done effectively.

Councillor Ruth Malloy asked whether the advisory annual teachers visits to  elected home educated families was frequent enough and said she would welcome a fuller report on Home Education to the Panel.

She said that she would also welcome more information on the HERS as she found it very interesting that of the figures presented there are approximately double as many girls as boys accessing the service and that for a lot of the cases that it is because of mental health issues.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that the numbers relating to Home Education have increased and that a report could be submitted to the Panel in due course which could also look at alternative provision.

He added that he would like to reassure the Panel that the annual visit is based

on a RAG rating system and that depending on that rating it will determine the level of visiting.

He said that they also work with a School Nurse to make sure that we can look at any health needs that might be required around those families.

Councillor Joanna Wright questioned whether there was enough policy in place to protect children and asked if the Panel should make sure that more is created, even at a local level or by challenging the Government to introduce more at a national level. She suggested that more detail on his policy proposal be discussed with the Panel in two months’ time.

She informed the Panel that B&NES has been awarded a Tree of Hope from the Sycamore Gap tree for Looked After Young Children and that it will hopefully be planted next Winter in Alice Park.

She also asked what further work was taking place in relation to School Streets

Councillor May replied that the Tree of Hope was a positive sign of our commitment to the young people who've come into our care.

He added that he believed there had been a commitment from Councillor Wait to attend a future Panel meeting and provide an update on School Streets.

Councillor David Harding asked what happens when a child's parents take the decision to home educate but they then don't engage with the Council and its services.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that if we are not satisfied with any arrangements made for a child's education we can issue a School Attendance Order which is a legal notice which allows the Local Authority to place the child on the role of a school and then it would be the legal responsibility of the parents to make sure that the child attends the school.

Councillor Harding asked how many children in B&NES have one of those in place.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that he would have to check on those figures and would supply the number for the last academic year and the academic year to date.

Councillor Liz Hardman informed the Panel that a White Paper had been published by the Government and that they are looking at home educated children, but she added that she thought that the Council should consider having its own policy.

She also asked how many of our home educated young people are known to Social Services or were in receipt of free school meals.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that we don't have this information as far as he knew. He added that he felt that they should also look at how many of these young people have Special Educational Needs and are on Educational Health & Care Plans.

Councillor Hardman asked what the procedure was if on the annual visit to a child who is being home educated you find that education is not sufficient.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that Elective Home Education, the service and what it delivers sits under the Head of the Virtual School.

He added that B&NES has its own guidance on this issue and is clear about what we do and what we don't do. He said that he felt that if a policy were to be written it would benefit from being supported nationally.

He said that they can provide the numbers to the Panel of the children with EHCPs who are being home educated because this sits under the Virtual School. He added that we make sure that all the children, especially if they have an EHCP receive the additional support, such as speech and language, even though they have decided upon home education. He said there was quite a lot of information that they could bring in in a further paper.

Councillor Hardman referred to HERS and asked what the absentee rate was for these students, why are the majority of children from key stages three and four and what percentage of HERS children are receiving the service due to mental health issues.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that he did not have all of this information to hand. He said that in relation to the oversight of their absenteeism that HERS is run by the RUH Partnership Trust and is currently based on the second floor of the Abbot Alphege School.

With regard to the issue of mental health he said that it would be his assumption that there was probably an older population of young people within CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and therefore that is reflected in the HERS numbers.

Councillor May said it was important to recognize the responsibility that our Social Workers have with regard to children becoming home educated. He added that it was great that the Council has the Director of Children's Services & Education in her role as she takes this responsibility really seriously.

The Chair asked if the number of young people who are being seen by CAMHS are older because of the difficulties in the time it takes to actually get the support required.

She also said that it would be helpful to know about the children that disappear from any list once they are removed from school as they are likely to be the children that will be most at risk.

Laura Ambler, BSW ICB replied that it was complex in terms of access for CAMHS where children and young people need a clinical diagnosis to be able to access the service. She said that she believed that there is some capacity within the service so it might be something that we can back to another meeting.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding added that the Local Authority has a responsibility for the tracking of children missing any education and that when a school is notified that a parent wishes for them to leave or has left they pass that information onto the Council. He said that they use a variety of information sources to try and obtain where they have gone and that all local authorities should be doing the same.

He explained that if they have children that have left school without notifying us then we have to go through a formal tracking process. He said that that schools within B&NES were generally very good at telling us when someone does leave.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked the Cabinet Member for his update.