Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Oculus, Buckinghamshire Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury HP19 8FF. View directions

Contact: Katie Dover 

Media

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was noted that Councillors Adoh, Summers, Jones, and T Wilson had given their apologies for the meeting.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Additional documents:

Minutes:

·       Cllr N Hussain declared a personal interest as a Governor at Pebblebrook School.

·       Cllr S Kayani declared a personal interest as a Chair of the Dyspraxia Foundation and as an employee at Bourne End Academy.

·       Councillor K Bates declared a personal interest as a Chair of Governors.

·       Cllr D Blamires declared a personal interest as the parent of a SEND child and a school employee

·       Councillor R Matthews declared a personal interest as a School Governor and volunteer at Transitions UK.

·       Zoe Williams declared a personal interest as an employee of Bucks Education Partnership and as a parent governor.

3.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 448 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting of the committee held on 11th November 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting held on 11th November 2021 be AGREED as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

4.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

The agenda item “Public Questions” is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee. The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond. Further information on how to register can be found here:

 

https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/getinvolved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

 

One question has been received as follows and will be responded to at the meeting:

 

1.      From Mr V Nicholas

 

Would it be appropriate to include Slough as a statistical neighbour in the aggregated comparative analysis of the County’s schools’ performance?  Certainly this would have relevance as regards the demographic profile of Burnham Grammar School and could also perhaps be relevant for several other conurbations within the County.

 

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following question had been received, in accordance with the rules of the constitution, from Mr V Nicholas, who has attended the meeting:

 

(i)                  Would it be appropriate to include Slough as a statistical neighbour in the aggregated comparative analysis of the County’s schools’ performance? Certainly this would have relevance as regards the demographic profile of Burnham Grammar School and could also perhaps be relevant for several other conurbations within the County.

 

In answer to the questions, Simon James, Service Director for Education replied as follows:

(i)                  Statistical neighbours are determined though the Children’s Services statistical neighbourhood benchmarking tool, which is commissioned by central government and originally produced by the Foundation for Education research in 2007. The latest update had been made in 2021. A number of other local authorities deemed to have similar characteristics are designated as statistical neighbours, based on the range of background variables. Both by the Department for Education and Ofsted use this tool in their analysis when benchmarking local authorities. In order to ensure consistency in data reporting this is considered the most appropriate tool to use.

 

A further question was received from Ms M Myatt, who requested additional information on the attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and other children as a key issue for residents of Buckinghamshire. Although the question was received in line with the constitution, the scrutiny team has not received the question in time for the agenda publication. As the question requires significant additional information, the directors will respond to Ms Myatt in writing as soon as possible.

5.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2020/2021 pdf icon PDF 3 MB

For the Select Committee to receive  the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2020/2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Sir Francis Habgood, Independent Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Children Safeguarding Partnership highlighted the following key points regarding the annual report which covered the year to April 2021:

 

·       The Children Partnership is made up of the three statutory partners, the local authority, the police, and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) as the representatives of the health sector. These are equally and jointly responsible for all issues around safeguarding, which is a significant change from the Children Safeguarding Board.

·       The year to April 2021 had been significantly impacted by the pandemic with a much higher volume of cases, many with significantly more complex or significant issues. Sir Habgood thanked all workers and volunteers involved in safeguarding issues. The report covered several key issues including:

(i)                   Contextual safeguarding (considering the context in which young people live and understanding when to start thinking about risks) emerged from a thematic review.

(ii)                Thinking “family”; a theme which was raised in several of the sub -group reports considering that it was important to understand the family context of each case and include the needs of the parent and any particular risks that they might have

(iii)              A robust tracker was now in place to ensure that; (i) recommendations are      understood, (ii) the changes are embedded and (iii) the impacts are understood

(iv)               4 reports have been published but date back to incidents from 2016-2018 when the safeguarding teams were in a different position but important issues were raised relating to: safeguarding across borders, neglect, a baby, pre-birth procedures and youth violence

·       Work continues on exploitation with a focus on ensuring that there is not duplication of work between the Adults Board, the Community Safety Board and this partnership board.

·       Work would continue on the transition between young people and adults.

·       Training has been heavily impacted by Covid-19. All training has been done online during the pandemic, and the offer would now be reviewed to assess the use of conferences, briefings and learning events to communicate key messages from reviews, policies and practices.

·       All partners continue to fund their partnership to the same level, without any inflationary increases.

  

During discussion, comments and questions raised by the Committee included:

 

·       Sir Habgood advised that face-to-face training had been affected by the Covid pandemic. The partnership no longer delivered all the training itself. At present, an Excel provider delivers training online. A return to face-to-face training was anticipated, as this would enable discussion between the number of different professionals involved in the process. Core and specific training is supported by a network of people from across different organisations and included training by the police or health sector to gain a broader understanding on different topics. Finally, the learning process would also include information delivered through briefings, learning events and virtual conferences as well as training.

·       A Councillor queried whether the number of children missing from education (65) was of concern. Simon James stated that the actual number is significantly higher, however, it has reduced since Covid. The team  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

EDUCATION STANDARDS REPORT 2020-2021 pdf icon PDF 556 KB

For the Select Committee to receive  the Education Standards Report 2020/2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services, introduced the item and Simon James, Service Director, Education and Children's Services, highlighted the following key points: 

 

·       The Cabinet Member thanked all the pupils and schools in Buckinghamshire for their ability to adapt to the changes and challenges occurring  throughout the pandemic. 

·       It was noted that the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged children and others has narrowed over the last 12 months.

·       Exclusions have continued to remain very low in Buckinghamshire. This was a result of the hard work of  teachers and support staff ensuring that the needs of children were met.

·       The frequency of Ofsted inspections has significantly increased since September. Buckinghamshire’s schools have been supported via the side-by-side programme and the school improvement team. The current inspection framework being used is significantly different to previously used frameworks. 

·       The support provided to schools in response to the pandemic highlights the strong partnership between the schools and the local authority. Support is offered in the form of supervision for head teachers and access to mental health support teams in schools for as long as it is required.

·       903 children are currently educated at home. This is a lower number than at the height of the pandemic and is in line with national average. The size of the team supporting these children has been increased and support is carefully being monitored. 

·       The report showed the hard work that had been undertaken by the schools and their staff, and Simon James noted that the schools were a real asset to Buckinghamshire.

 

During discussion, comments and questions raised by the Committee included:  

 

·       A member welcomed that the report considered the data produced over the past two years not to be a robust representation of Buckinghamshire’s pupils learning due to the pandemic.

·       It was also noted that most attainment results were not available in the 2020 report. It was hoped that after combatting the pandemic, a more comprehensive, data-heavy report could be presented with area specific information. There was confidence in the grades assessed by teachers.

·       The report stated that the slight attainment gap between pupils receiving free school meals and others has narrowed. The side-by-side programme was the main body focusing on this. The Challenge board, a comprehensive and collaborative group between head teachers and local authority officers, further supported this issue by targeting individual children in schools where the progress was not as fast as desired. Furthermore, the Quality First Teaching programme ensures that teachers are confident and competent about meeting those needs.

·       Simon James advised that overall he was very pleased with children’s progress which continued to improve. A partnership across schools allowing selected schools to support others was working well.

·       It was further stated that the report only showed countywide figures, and that it would be useful to receive a geographical overview of attainment figures to clearly see strengths and weaknesses of different locations. Simon James stated that this could be made available on request.

·       Simon James reported that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

FOSTERING, ADOPTION AND SPECIAL GUARDIANSHIP ORDERS pdf icon PDF 724 KB

For the Select Committee to receive and note the report on Fostering, Adoption and Special Guardianship Orders

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced the item by emphasising the Council’s commitment to long-term, stable placements for each child, thus minimising the number of times a child may need to move. She highlighted the importance of integrated work to support each placement. Cllr Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Services, commended the service and the hard work undertaken over the last few years   adding that the service had been expanded in a digital way, which has produced good results.

 

Richard Nash, Corporate Director for Children's Services, welcomed Palvinder Kudhail, Service Director Children's Social Care, and Sandra Carnall - Head of Children's Care Services.

 

The following key points from the report were highlighted:

 

·       The report sets out the key placement options for looked-after children in respect to fostering, both long-term and short-term, special guardianship orders, which    provide a long-term option for children where the guardian has parental responsibility, and adoption, the most secure placement.

·       Performance data in respect of recruitment of foster carers and adoptive parents is generally good, despite Covid-19 and lengthy court proceedings.

·       70 % of Buckinghamshire Council’s looked-after children are placed with in-house carers, which are likely to be local, enabling children to maintain local connections in the community and attend the same school.

·       A recruitment strategy for the next three years is in place, which includes a recruitment campaign to ensure carers cater for all children’s needs. A focus was placed on the need for child and parent placements, finding more foster carers from ethnic minority groups and placing larger sibling groups.

 

During discussion, comments and questions raised by the Committee included:  

 

·       It was noted that conversion rates in the recruitment and retention strategy seem to be dropping despite growing interest. It was also noted that single carers in particular seem to leave the system. The Council does return to these people to find out the reason for their leaving and whether they have an interest in returning to fostering. Standards for care are very high, and a comprehensive training programme is offered by the Council to increase retention of foster carers. Recruitment is mostly done through social media or existing foster carers. The pandemic had caused some single adopters to leave for different reasons including ill health, being furloughed and being unable to financially sustain their homes. Others had applied but then returned to work and could not then take up a fostering role. Where a foster carer had left or paused their role, the team gave support to them to see if there was anything that could be done to support them further. It was noted that due to the increase in time taken for court proceedings, children now stay in foster care longer, thus spaces for new children are limited.

·       A member asked what percentage of Buckinghamshire children are accommodated within Buckinghamshire, and how many the Council could accommodate. Richard Nash advised that it is most important to understand and meet the specific needs of a child at any point in time, whether that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 442 KB

For the committee to note the work programme and agree the scoping document for the rapid review group on the recruitment and retention of social workers.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced the work programme which outlined the areas of the service’s work to be examined by the committee over the forthcoming council year. The following points were noted:

 

·       Councillor Stuchbury requested that as part of its forthcoming work programme that the Select Committee review how speech therapy is delivered, especially in light of changes that have arisen due to the pandemic. The service is now no longer provided in-house by family and children’s centres. Simon James advised that this is something that can be considered for discussion in the work programme. The Select Committee supported the request to add this item to the work programme and it was noted that it would be helpful to have information on the history of how the changes came about before the item comes to the committee      Action: Simon James

·       The committee  approved the rapid review scoping paper on the recruitment and retention of social workers. In response to a question, it was noted that funding was available for the next financial year for the additional 21 social workers recruited during the pandemic.

9.

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting of the Select Committee will be Thursday 10th March 2022 at 2.00 p.m.