Agenda and minutes

Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee - Monday, 12 June 2023 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions

Contact: Julie Armstrong, Scrutiny Officer 

Media

Items
No. Item

12/23

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Simon Parr.

    Tanya Quddus attended remotely and had no voting rights.

    .

     

13/23

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 2 MARCH 2023 pdf icon PDF 390 KB

    To agree the minutes of the previous meeting of the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture as a true and accurate record of proceedings.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The minutes were agreed as a true record of the meeting.

     

14/23

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

    All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter:

          I.        Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

        II.        Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

     

    NOTES:

    ·         Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest

    ·         As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)

    ·         Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    None were received.

15/23

QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS pdf icon PDF 519 KB

    To receive any questions or petitions.

    Notes:

    1.    The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (6 June 2023).

     

    2.    The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting(5 June 2023).

     

    3.    The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

     

    The public retain their right to submit questions for written response, with such answers recorded in the minutes of the meeting; questioners may participate in meetings to ask a supplementary question. Petitioners may address the Committee on their petition for up to three minutes Guidance will be made available to any member of the public wishing to speak at a meeting.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    There were three public questions, one Member question and no petitions. The questions and responses were published as a supplement to the 12 June agenda.

    The Scrutiny Officer read a supplementary question on behalf of Roisin Kennedy, asking when the Council would stop offering only two sessions of speech therapy as standard when many children needed more. The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning agreed to provide a written response.

    A second questioner, Charles Hepburn, did not attend the meeting.

    Anna Sutherland attended the meeting and asked for an answer to her original question which she felt had not been provided by the response. The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning offered to have a discussion with Mrs Sutherland outside the meeting.

    Adjournment for 7 minutes while building works noise resolved. Meeting resumed at 10:18 am.

    As a supplementary to his written question, Jonathan Essex asked what would be done to address the shortfall in play and youth activities. He said this had not been bridged by DfE funding, which had created an expectation for something additional that might not be funded in the future. The Cabinet Member for Children and Families said she had committed to review the budget position for 2024/25. In the meantime, outcomes would be measured and evaluated, and feedback from carers and young people accessing the service would be harnessed through Family Voice.

    Actions/requests for further information:

    1.    Cabinet Member for Education and Learning to reach out for discussion with Anna Sutherland regarding her Public Question and share notes of the conversation with the Select Committee.

     

    2.    Cabinet Member for Education and Learning to send a written response to Roisin Kennedy’s supplementary question and share it with the Select Committee.

     

16/23

CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS

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    For the Chairman to provide any updates and comments to the Committee.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Chairman paid tribute to her predecessor, Liz Bowes, for creating a spirit of collaboration. She declared her intention to limit public meetings to three hours, continue Member visits to front line operations and engage with education providers.

17/23

ACTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PLAN pdf icon PDF 24 KB

18/23

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AND SHORT BREAKS pdf icon PDF 269 KB

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    To review the current short breaks offer and the practice and performance, priorities, and improvement progress of the Children with Disabilities Service since its 2021 review.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Children and Families

    Rachael Wardell, Executive Director – Children, Families & Learning

    Jenny Brickell, Assistant Director – Children with Disabilities

    Eamonn Gilbert, Assistant Director – Commissioning

    Chris Tisdall, Service Manager, Commissioning – Corporate Parenting

    Kate Goode, Family Voice Surrey Participation Manager

     

    Key points made in the discussion – Children with Disabilities:

    1.    Mandatory additional safeguarding training for social workers in the children with disabilities service was introduced following Ofsted’s 2021 visit, after the service took over case management responsibility for safeguarding cases, which previously had been transferred to family safeguarding teams. A Member asked how their understanding of safeguarding issues was being checked. The Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities said training had a safeguarding focus every three months, and one month ago a quarterly report to management from the Academy was introduced to check social workers’ attendance at training, including agency staff. She informed the Committee the internal audit of the whole service in February 2023 did not identify any safeguarding concerns. A second audit was to be carried out later in 2023.

     

    2.    A Member asked how often children placed in specialist independent schools around the country were visited by Surrey staff. The Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities clarified the statutory requirement is for the child to be visited within the first week of a new placement, then at least once every six weeks, reduced to every three months if the placement is made permanent. Compliance was monitored monthly.

     

    3.    Regarding the 2023 dip sample, the Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities was asked what was being done to address the fact most of the child and family assessments were out-of-date. It was being considered whether these yearly assessments were proportionate and necessary in addition to the statutory child in need visits. A Member queried why in most of the audits there was no consent for information sharing. The Assistant Director said it was mainly due to the consent obtained not being evidenced, and parents understood information needed to be shared with schools and health partners. In order to improve the quality of reports, an exemplar assessment had been developed and shown to staff in practice improvement sessions.

     

    4.    Regarding timeliness of child in need visits, 87% of children were currently being seen within timescale, compared with 77% when Ofsted expressed concern in their January 2022 visit.

     

    5.    A Member asked if once a child had been classified as having lower needs and placed accordingly, there were subsequent reviews to check if their needs had changed. The Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities clarified a review took place every six months by a team that included an advanced social worker. Although this was an issue identified in the Ofsted report of March 2021, it was now an area of strong performance within a stable team.

     

    6.    A Member asked what had been done since the January 2022 Ofsted inspection to ensure a child’s wider needs are met, not just those relating  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18/23

19/23

REPORT OF THE ADULT LEARNING AND SKILLS TASK GROUP pdf icon PDF 753 KB

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    To provide the findings and recommendations of the Adult Learning and Skills Task Group, set up to consider what changes to adult learning and skills policy and provision would meet the economic and social needs of the community and deliver relevant environmental commitments.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Chris Townsend, Chairman of the Task Group

    Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Education and Learning

    Liz Mills, Director – Education and Lifelong Learning

     

    Key points made in the discussion:

    1. The Chairman commended members of the task group for producing a comprehensive review of how the Council and its partners can respond to the challenges of adult learning.

     

    1. The Chairman of the Task Group thanked all those who had participated in their research. He stressed the importance of having a centralised and publicly accessible database to make everyone aware of what adult learning is being provided and where in order to demonstrate where the gaps lie, for example in Mole Valley. He highlighted the imbalance between types of provision in the East and West of Surrey.

     

    1. The Director of Education and Learning said she welcomed the report’s breadth and thoroughness. It was an important staging post and they would take the recommendations to the Adult Learning Service’s governing body.

     

    1. A Member questioned the feasibility of every library in Surrey operating as an adult learning facility. The Chairman noted the recommendation had been modified accordingly.

     

    1. A Member said recommendations were about residents’ wellbeing, not just aiding economic growth, and urged that community learning and work-related skills should be equally valued and not subject to a postcode lottery.

     

    1. A Member said the report identifies economically inactive communities in Surrey who were being left behind because the Council was not reaching them in terms of skills development.

     

    1. The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning observed the level of detail in the report but was disappointed it did not highlight the work done to help people with additional needs into employment. She pointed out its interconnectedness with the Pathways to Employment model and Lifetime of Learning Strategy. She noted that the responsibility for skills sits with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth. The Task Group Chairman informed her that the report had been shared with him.

     

    1. The Chairman offered further discussion on the topic following the meeting.

     

    Resolved:

    The Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee:

    1. Endorses all recommendations of the Adult Learning and Skills Task Group. This includes the recommendation on using libraries, while noting this may be very challenging in some smaller libraries.

     

    2.    Asks the relevant officers to provide a progress report to this Select Committee on the progress being made in relation to the Task Group’s recommendations at the first Select Committee meeting of 2024, to include an analysis of the funding implications.

20/23

HOME TO SCHOOL TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE UPDATE pdf icon PDF 1007 KB

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    To receive an update on what progress has been made against the recommendations made in December 2022 by the Select Committee, the Learning Review and Family Voice Surrey, and what changes have been made to enhance the customer experience for September 2023.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Education and Learning

    Rachael Wardell, Executive Director – Children, Families and Learning

    Michael Smith, Temporary Senior Responsible Officer for Home to School Transport Improvement

    Gerry Hughes, H2STA Service Manager

    Leanne Henderson, Family Voice Surrey Participation Manager

     

    Key points made in the discussion:

    1. Family Voice Surrey (FVS) noted the heartening progress made and said its impact would be felt after summer, when they would run another survey. They were pleased to have assurance families would not be forced to accept an Independent Travel Allowance (ITA) in lieu of transport being provided. They confirmed families in receipt of the ITA had been reimbursed for the other leg of a return journey, and considered this a great success. Key stage transfer letters were much improved this year with a clear flowchart showing how to apply. FVS had received much fewer emails from families having difficulties with outstanding payments. Not all parent carers felt communication had improved. FVS were disappointed the first payment could not be made before October; the Cabinet Member for Education and Learning explained it was a reimbursement scheme in case there had been any absences, but there was an emergency allowance scheme.

     

    1. Asked to identify where problems lie, the Executive Director for Children, Families and Learning said that as a shortage occupation, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) case workers had large caseloads, which in itself contributed to fluctuating retention. FVS said they would return to Committee to share their findings from a survey on the case officer role.

     

    1. The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning said the Service was in a much better position to deal with peak activity this year. The Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) said the Service had been restructured and additionally resourced, they had removed the need for 850 families to reapply, and had managed to reduce the year’s overspend to £12million. He confirmed the potential cost of outstanding Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) awaiting assessmentwas reflected in this year’s budget and said the £55 million budget looked sufficient.

     

    1. A Member asked if there would be a recurrence of the spike in demand seen in May 2022 and if financial surprises may materialise. The SRO responded they were now resourced to deal with that level of demand, though May 2023 had seen 460 applications compared to over 900 12 months before. He explained that a +/- 1% difference in inflation or forecast EHCP numbers equated to about £300,000, but rigorous monitoring would enable a prompt response in such a scenario.

     

    1. The Executive Director made the point that inclusive practice would enable children with SEND to attend the same school as their siblings and reduce H2STA costs.

     

    1. A Member asked if the Service measured if there was an adverse impact on young people when solo taxi arrangements were withdrawn. The SRO said any change in mode of transport was made with full consultation with the family and all applicants had the right to appeal. A Member queried whether the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20/23

21/23

ADDITIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES MONITORING pdf icon PDF 155 KB

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    To receive an updated report on progress made towards and barriers against achieving the recommendations for the Inclusion and Additional Needs Partnership Strategy agreed by Select Committee in December 2022.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Key points made in the discussion:

    1. A Member enquired if communications would be included in the KPIs shared with Committee. The Chairman indicated that was her intention.

     

    Resolved:

    The Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee recommends:

    1. That from the October 2023 committee meeting, key performance indicators measuring performance in additional needs and disabilities, to be agreed between the Director of Education and the Chairman, are added to the data provided in the performance overview standing item.

    2. Given the committee’s recommendations from December 2022 are all considered to be complete, that additional needs monitoring is removed as a standing item once recommendation 1 is implemented.

22/23

CHILDREN'S HOMES - OFSTED REPORTS PUBLISHED SINCE THE LAST MEETING OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE pdf icon PDF 277 KB

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    To review new Ofsted reports on Surrey County Council-run Children’s Homes, received as part of the communications plan in Children’s Services agreed in 2022.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Children and Families

    Rachael Wardell, Executive Director – Children, Families and Learning

     

    Key points made in the discussion:

    1. The Chairman remarked that the five latest Ofsted reports overall demonstrated progress and there looked to be more management oversight.

     

    1. A Member asked how Ofsted heard the voice of the child and how young people were able to speak freely. The Executive Director for Children, Families and Learning stated Ofsted would not give a good judgement if a home were to appear obstructive in securing the child’s voice in the inspection. Although young people are entitled to withhold consent, staff try to give them the confidence to speak.

     

    Ashley Tilling left at 3:17 pm.

    Actions/requests for further information:

    1. Scrutiny Officer to feedback to the Service, on behalf of the Select Committee, progress noted in the management oversight of children’s homes.

23/23

PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW pdf icon PDF 200 KB

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    To review the latest performance information for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Children and Families

    Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Education and Learning

    Patricia Denney, Director of Children’s Quality Assurance and Performance

    Chris Tisdall, Service Manager, Commissioning – Corporate Parenting

     

    Key points made in the discussion:

    1. The Chairman enquired what the plan was to recruit foster carers as the Big Fostering Partnership (BFP) had not delivered. The Service Manager for Commissioning - Corporate Parenting confirmed that since entering the partnership in April 2022, they had not met the goal of enabling 22 children to step down from children’s homes to fostering. The ambition had been revised to four children by the end of January 2024 when the partnership ends. BFP had however helped them to improve practice.

     

    1. The Executive Director for Children, Families and Learning explained deregistered households included those who had not accommodated a child for a long time, which freed up resources to encourage active carers to take more children. They were looking into applying to be part of the Department for Education’s Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme.

     

    1.  A Member asked why only 35 of the 204 children taken through a Section 47 investigation in March 2023 resulted in a Child Protection (CP) Conference. 17% of S47 enquiries had that outcome in April, which fell short of the 39% target. The Director of Children’s Quality Assurance and Performance explained that in some cases the process itself had resulted in an improvement meaning a child in need plan became more appropriate than a child protection plan. Under the Family Safeguarding model, rather than a traditional social work model, they were working more outside of the Section 47 process; the target was set before the relaunch of the model and would be revised. The Executive Director for Children, Families and Learning elaborated that the model leans towards using child in need plans when safe to do so, if the family is engaging. She believed it was not appropriate for conversions to CP conferences to be target-driven. In general terms, however, KPI targets were being made more ambitious.

     

    Rachael Lake left at 3:38 pm.

     

    1. A Member requested a task and finish group on increasing Surrey’s supply of foster carers.

     

    Actions/requests for further information:

    1. Democratic Services Assistant to set up a meeting with the Executive Director of CFL and Committee Members to discuss how performance is measured, raising KPI targets and where targets may not be needed.

24/23

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

    The next public meeting of the committee will be held on Thursday, 20 July 2023.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Committee noted its next meeting would be held on Thursday 20 July 2023.