To
agree the minutes of the previous three meetings of the Children,
Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee as true
and accurate records of procredings.
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.
1.The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm
four working days before the meeting (1 April
2022).
2.The deadline for public questions is seven days
before the meeting(31 March 2022)
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.
Rachael Wardell, Executive Director – Children, Families,
and Lifelong Learning
Liz
Mills, Director – Education and Lifelong Learning
Four questions were
received from Fiona Davidson.
As a supplementary
question, the Member sought clarification that the Safety Valve
agreement contained requirements from the Department of Education
(DfE) that were not just financial.
The Executive
Director clarified that there were measures that were
non-financial, as they would drive financial outcomes and followed
the direction of travel of the SEND Transformation Programme. These
included measures such as increasing the number of SEND children
educated in mainstream schools. The Director added that the
agreement focussed on early intervention and support, as well as
being in keeping with the council’s overall vision to keep
children closer to home. This included partnership working with
schools to drive them towards inclusive environments. The
accountability across education, health and social care would
remain.
The Member asked
about the Education Service’s greatest concerns regarding the
agreement.
The Executive
Director acknowledged that there were many ways that the agreement
could go wrong, however, the council put themselves in a position
to walk away if there were no advantages to the agreement. The
financial benefits were carefully calculated and there were
benefits to having consistent and rigorous evaluation of the
Transformation Programme. An agreement would not have been reached
if it was not for the benefit of the children.
As a final
supplementary question, the Member asked how the Service was
planning to incentivise academy schools to increase their intake of
SEND children.
The Director
responded that academy schools and trust leaders had been part of
the driving force of the work around inclusion focused on enabling
SEND children to thrive alongside their peers. The Director noted
that they needed to think about the ways in which they would work
together. The Team Around School pilot was a successful example of
pooling resources and expertise to make it possible for children to
remain in their mainstream setting. The Director explained that the
vast majority of children would start their schooling in a
mainstream setting; therefore, it was often about maintaining that
environment rather than moving them back into a mainstream
environment.
To provide an overview of the
service provided to care leavers with particular regard to support
around transitions, educational attainment including post 16
destinations, the impact of out of area placements and
accommodation quality and stability.
Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Children and
Families
Rachael Wardell, Executive Director – Children, Families
and Lifelong Learning
Siobhan Walsh, Assistant Director – South West
Surrey
Key points
raised in the discussion:
The Cabinet Member introduced the item, noting that the Care
Leavers Service was subject to close review and scrutiny by the
Corporate Parenting Board, in which they focussed on specific areas
in greater detail. The Cabinet Member informed the Members that the
council was keen to sign up to the Care Leavers Charter and
emphasised the importance of the Celebration Fund.
The Assistant Director introduced the report, noting that the
Service was in a strong position and had received positive feedback
from both the Ofsted monitoring visit and the full Ofsted
inspection. There was stability in the workforce, with a high
number of staff permanently recruited, as well as good skillset of
Personal Advisors (PAs). An area of improvement was to ensure that
they were consistently responsive to care leavers and to work with
PAs to ensure that they understand the complexities of the
Service.
A
Member asked about the changing levels of demand for services over
the next few years and how this would be managed, with note to the
medium-term financial strategy (MTFS). The Member also asked about
the differing needs and funding of unaccompanied asylum-seeking
children (UASC) who often became care leavers. The Assistant
Director explained that the Service was well placed in terms of
capacity, but there was some work to been done with the 16-year-old
cohort. The biggest threat was the impact of international
circumstances, as Surrey received high numbers of UASC. There was a
dedicated team for this cohort, with a capacity of 100 children.
There were currently around 15-16 new arrivals each month, thus, if
the predicted arrival rate continued, then this would place a large
demand on the Service. The over-18 cohort had increased to 318
asylum experienced care leavers. There were two county-wide care
leaver teams for this cohort, who understood the specific needs of
these young people. There were also specialist mental health
services in place to support those young people who presented a
different type of trauma.
The Executive Director added that children who grew up in Surrey
were likely to leave the Service prior to becoming a care leaver,
however, as UASC arrived without family and usually at an older
age, they were likely to be eligible for services until 25 years
old. It was expected that the demand would continue to rise.
Practices within the Safeguarding Service intended to drive down
the number of children who became care leavers, however, this was
more difficult during the pandemic. The Executive Director
commented that care leavers should be funded by the Home Office,
although they were not adequately funded currently. As demand could
change quickly, this was closely monitored and factored into
financial planning.
A
Member queried whether the accommodation for asylum experienced
care leavers was different to the accommodation of the wider
cohort. The Assistant ...
view the full minutes text for item 13/22
To
outline the proposed changes to the Home to School Travel
Assistance (H2S TA) policy for children and young people in
mainstream schools and pupils with additional needs (SEND). This
report sets out the rationale for, the objectives of the changes,
the changes being consulted on and the intended outcome.
Denise Turner Stewart, Cabinet Member for Education and
Learning
Rachael Wardell, Executive Director – Children, Families
and Lifelong Learning
Hayley Connor, Director – Commissioning
Eamonn Gilbert, Assistant Director –
Commissioning
Key points
raised in the discussion:
The Cabinet Member
introduced the report, noting that the service currently cost
around £45 million a year and that the council was investing
£139 million to increase the number of school spaces in
county which would reduce demand on travel assistance services.
There were significant challenges to securing transport provision
due to market challenges, rising fuel costs and growing inflation,
which was a national issue. There had been good engagement during
the consultation period from key stakeholders and
residents.
The Director and
Assistant Director presented slides on the consultation responses,
which were published as an agenda supplement. There were 694
responses which were largely positive; nine out of the thirteen
proposals were supported by a majority of respondents. It was noted
that the proposals were for both mainstream children and those with
special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Assistant
Director reminded Members that there had been a complete refresh of
the policy in 2020 and this was an update to the existing policy.
Only around 10% of those with Educational Health and Care Plans
(EHCPs) would qualify for adult social care services, and of those,
only around 4-5% would qualify for support from health partners for
complex medical health needs. Therefore, there was a significant
focus on developing independence and preparing for
adulthood.
A Member asked about
the causes of increased demand. The Director explained that there
were national drivers for demand, particularly around SEND. As
Surrey was a large rural area with a few areas that were congested
and highly populated, it meant that transport arrangements were
difficult to negotiate. The rise in fuel and energy prices and
shortage of drivers had also created challenges in meeting
demand.
The Member also asked
about the financial impact of the proposed changes, as well as any
inherent risks. In terms of efficiencies, the Director explained
that it was important to deliver services to children who needed
them most, however it was also important to deliver value for
money. There had been detailed financial analysis on the savings,
although much had changed since the work had started, such as the
price of fuel. Calculations were still being made in some detail.
The Assistant Director added that the number of places for
independent travel training would increase to 200, and then 400, to
help and prepare young people for future employment. It was about
shifting resources to approaches which helped to develop
independence, where it was appropriate for the young person. The
Director explained that the capital investment to increase school
places and encourage more children to be educated in Surrey which
would positively impact the costs. The Member noted that the number
of school children in Surrey would likely decrease in the next few
years due to falling birth rates. The Director explained that
...
view the full minutes text for item 14/22
For
the Select Committee to review the attached actions and
recommendations tracker and forward work programme, making
suggestions or amendments as appropriate.
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