Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Mr P Dew, Mrs E Williamson, Mrs E Mallinson, Mr K Hitchen, Ms S Evans, Dr K Lockney, Mr A Wonnacott and Mrs C Johnston.

The Chair asked that it be noted in the minutes that members must assure that they adhere to the procedure for finding substitutes for meetings if they find themselves unable to attend.

1.    To note that Mr Phil Dew has been elected as the Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Advisory Board – Children and Young People.

2.    To welcome Ms Vanessa O’Dea to the Board in her capacity as the Director of Education at the Diocese of Carlisle.

3.    To note the election of Ms Michelle Davies and Mr Peter Healy as Parent Governor Representatives to the Board.

4.    To report any further changes to the membership of the Board.

RESOLVED that,                 members noted the following changes:-

1)    Mr Phil Dew be elected as the Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Advisory Board – Children and Young People.

2)    Ms Vanessa O’Dea be appointed to the Board in her capacity as the Director of Education at the Diocese of Carlisle.

3)    Ms Michelle Davies and Mr Peter Healy be appointed as Parent Governor Representatives to the Board.

There were no disclosures of interest made on this occasion.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any item on the agenda.

RESOLVED that,                 the press and public not be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any items of business on the agenda.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 23 September 2019.

RESOLVED that,                 the minutes of the meeting held on the 23 September 2019 be confirmed as an accurate and complete record.

To consider a report from the Interim Executive Director – People (copy enclosed).

Members considered a report from the Interim Executive Director – People regarding the outcomes of the inspection of local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) arrangements. In previous sessions the Board had scrutinised the SEND Self-Assessment, the Ofsted report and the action plan in response to the report. The Written Statement of Action was a required response to the recommendations from the inspection and was approved by Ofsted on 18 October 2019. The Senior Manager  - Partnerships and People Improvement and the Area Service Manager – Inclusion gave a presentation on the progress of the SEND Improvement emphasising the plan of work. The key points of the presentation were as follows:-

·         Headlines

·         Working Group 1 – Understanding of Need

·         Working Group 2 – Commissioning

·         Working Group 3 – Engagement and Co-production

·         Working Group 4 – Preparation for Adulthood

·         Working Group 5 – Emotional Health and Wellbeing

·         Working Group 6 – SEN Support

·         What are the risks to delivery?

·         Next Steps

·         Next Steps – DfE & NHSE Quarterly Monitoring

The Senior Manager - Partnerships and People Improvement began by explaining the scope of the Written Statement of Action in addressing the 9 areas of need highlighted in Ofsted’s report. It is explained to the Board that the service would now be monitored on the delivery of its commitments on a quarterly basis by the Department of Education (DfE) and NHS England. The first formal monitoring visit was due to take place on 6 February 2020. Before the first formal visit, the service would be required to provide detailed updates on the progress in each area of the written statement. Members heard how a particular focus was on collecting evidence to show the real-world impact of the service and the lived experience of children and young people with SEND.

Members were pleased to hear that the service had created a condensed ‘family friendly’ version of the Written Statement of Action which was to be launched to improve accessibility for parents, carers and young people.

The Senior Manager explained that role of the SEND Improvement Board was to oversee and monitor the progress of the service in this area and to challenge the working groups to drive improvement.

A SEND Project Manager had been appointed, pending pre-employment checks, and members were told that this would go some way in mitigating risk regarding capacity which had been discussed in previous meetings of the Board.

The Area Service Manager – Inclusion provided members with details of the Working Groups and began by explaining how Working Group 1 had been formed to provide a  joint strategic assessment into how to address the areas of need and would feed into the other Working Groups.

Members praised the aspiration of the report and discussed the need for central government investment in SEND. The Area Service Manager – Inclusion explained to members that the national review of the code of practice is expected to go ahead in  2020 after being put on hold because of the 13 December  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To consider a report from the Interim Executive Director – People (copy enclosed).  

Members had before them a report from the Interim Executive Director – People which had the purpose of providing the Board with a background on Contextual Safeguarding, as well as the outcomes of the Local Government Association’s Peer Review of Contextual Safeguarding in Cumbria.

The Senior Manager - Children & Families gave a presentation which followed these key points:-

·         What is Contextual Safeguarding

·         Statutory Guidance on Contextual Safeguarding

·         Traditional Child Protection Systems

·         Safeguarding is Everybody’s Business

·         Context of Risk and Vulnerability

·         Beyond the Parent’s Capacity to Safeguard

·         Contextual Safeguarding in Cumbria

·         Peer Challenge Focus

·         Key Findings –Leadership, Vision and Strategy

·         Key Findings – Effective Practice and Impact

·         Key Findings – Understanding and Reducing Risk Factors

Contextual Safeguarding focuses on safeguarding issues facing children beyond the family setting. It focuses on school, community, public spaces, clubs and other contexts where children may face safeguarding issues. In September 2020 the LGA were invited to carry out a Peer Review of Contextual Safeguarding in Cumbria. The Peer Review found that there was a growing recognition of the risks of child exploitation in Cumbria and saw clear commitment from staff to learn from experience elsewhere and to improve response. However, a clearer system of leadership was said to be needed across partnership to communicate a consistent understanding of the strategy. 

The Senior Manager – Children and Families discussed with members the increasing concerns of criminal exploitation, bullying and social isolation which usually occur outside of the family and therefore outside the traditional scope of Safeguarding of children and young people. The new approach was a response to young people’s experiences outside of the family setting, and as of 2018, had become a statutory requirement for Safeguarding Partnerships. It was explained to members that in order to meet the challenges presented by contextual safeguarding there would need to be a systemic change in what is viewed as traditional child protection systems. This would mean empowering those in the community that have influence and are able to build relationships with young people to be active in Safeguarding them; youth clubs for example.

RESOLVED that,                    members note the contents of the report.

The portfolio holder update to the Board would be circulated by the Strategic Policy and Scrutiny Officer after the meeting.

To consider a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services (copy enclosed).

The report informs members of new and updated items of significance to the Board (including relevant aspects of the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions).

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services which provided an update on topics relevant to the Board including those in the Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Strategic Policy and Scrutiny Advisor informed members of the intention to consult with and to seek agreement from the incoming Executive Director -People as well as the Cabinet lead members to develop items for the Board’s Forward Plan for 2020-21.

The current plan of items to be considered for 2020-21 include:

·         Autism –an update from the Assistant Director - Education and Skills on progress in relation to the outcomes of the Task and Finish Group on Autism.

·         Preparation for Adulthood –an update from the Assistant Director - Education and Skills on progress in looking at transition to adulthood.

·         School Improvement – a report from the Senior Manager - School Improvement on 2019 attainment, and progress in addressing disadvantage and the pupil premium.

The Strategic Policy and Scrutiny Advisor explored the results of the national Making Your Mark Survey. He informed members that this was an annual exercise run by the UK Youth Parliament. Approximately 800,000 young people across the country voted on the issues that were most important to them and Cumbria stood out as having one of the highest turn out rates in the UK.

A discussion then took place regarding the top UK Issues as decided by Young People in Cumbria 2019. These were:-

(1)  Protecting the environment

(2)  Voting at 16

(3)  Tackling hate crime

RESOLVED that,                 members note the contents of the report.

Date: 18 February 2020

Time: 10:30 am

Venue: Committee Room 1, County Hall, Kendal

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Advisory Board – Children and Young People will take place in Committee Room 1, County Hall, Kendal  on 18 February 2020 at 13:30pm.