Venue: Committee Room, First Floor, BCP Civic Centre Annex, St Stephen's Rd, Bournemouth BH2 6LL. View directions
Contact: Denocratic Services Email: democratic.services@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
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Apologies To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors. Minutes: Apologies were received from Cllr Bobbie Dove, Cllr Phillip Broadhead, Mark Saxby and Elliot Prentice. |
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Substitute Members To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.
Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.
Minutes: Cllr Toby Slade substituted for Cllr Bobbie Dove. |
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Declarations of Interests Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance. Declarations received will be reported at the meeting. Minutes: Cllr Simon Bull declared an interest in relation to agenda item 7 as a family member was in receipt of an EHCP. |
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To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 19 September 2024. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2024, were confirmed as an accurate record. |
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To consider any outstanding actions. Minutes: The Chair advised the Committee that a review of the actions on the action sheet would take place, with an update to be provided at the next meeting on 28 January 2025. |
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Public Issues To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-
The deadline for the submission of public questions is 3 clear working days before the meeting. The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting. The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting. Minutes: The following questions were heard by the Committee with responses provided at the meeting by the Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People:
The following questions were received from Mr Sofianos:
Q1 The SEND scorecard reveals a significant change in the SEND workforce between May and September this year.
Agency workers rose
from 16% to almost 27% of the team. Permanent case
officers in post fell from 56% to 38%. And the proportion
of EHCPs having a change of case officer in September soared to
30%. What are the causes of these changes, and how will the Council reassure parents – and inform them all – moving forward?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People:
Thank you, Adam, for your question
These figures are due to the SEND restructure staff changes which is now being implemented and is part of our wider improvement work.
This is a significant planned change to the system involving the reallocation of over 4000 children and case allocation structures/teams. Many of these changes are a direct response to requests by our Parent Carers Together (PCT) and Parent Carers Foundation (PCF) Forums for new posts in the system e.g.
This is to ensure more caseworkers so that the service can support children and families’ needs better. This evidences that we are committed to co-production and working together better.
Throughout the summer we have shared these plans with PCT, Schools and wider settings and to ensure that families are aware of these changes. Unfortunately, as explained to the two Parent Carers Forums we have current systems limits which means that we cannot do this automatically for our parents.
To this end we have reached out in partnership with PCT and PCF to help disseminate this change and ask for parents to access the Local Offer site to find who their new Case Officer is.
We recognise that our system needs to improve, and this will be addressed in future systems development work.
Q2
AP settings have a mixed record.
A recent national survey found that in 2022/23, AP pupils missed a staggering 42% of sessions overall. 38% of pupils missed 50% or more sessions.
AP pupils travelled almost 3 times as far to school as mainstream peers – almost 9km on average. 25% of these live more than 10km from the setting.
And although by law, 100% of excluded pupils should be placed with an AP within 6 schooldays, the national success rate remains for lower.
What is the current overall rate for APs within BCP, for: i) sessions missed, ii) pupil distance travelled, iii) pupils allocated places within 6 schooldays of exclusion?
Answer from the Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People:
In relation to elements i and ii ... view the full minutes text for item 33. |
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Members of Youth Parliament Update To receive a verbal update from the Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs). Minutes: The Committee was provided with a verbal update on the work of the Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) including an update regarding their campaigns.
The Committee considered the update and made the following comments:
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SEND Improvement Update This paper provides an update on the progress to date and work being carried out across the BCP place with regards to the improvements required in the Local Area SEND system. It provides an update of work across the partnership with regards to the SEND Improvement Plan and associated Performance Scorecard. The Performance Scorecard will both identify and evidence the performance areas and improvement metrics that can demonstrate that the partnership is making sustainable improvements. The report also outlines the current funding position for SEND services, for the Council. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Department for Education (DfE) advisor for the BCP Council gave the Committee a verbal update regarding the Children’s Social Care Improvement journey.
The Committee considered the update and made the following comments:
The Department for Education (DfE) advisor for the BCP Council gave the Committee a verbal update regarding the SEND Improvement journey.
The Committee considered the update and made the following comments:
The Interim Director for Education and Skills presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.
The paper provided an update on the progress to date and work being carried out across the BCP place with regards to the improvements required in the Local Area SEND system. It provided an ... view the full minutes text for item 35. |
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Linwood Special School SEND Post 16 Provision at Ted Webster The council has experienced a significant increase in the number of children requiring and Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) over the last 3 years. Sustained growth has resulted in a greater use of independent specialist school places and a shortage of specialist provision locally. This has increased unit costs of provision and intensified budget pressures in the dedicated schools grant high needs funding block. As part of the council’s response to growth and improvement in the system, the council has developed a draft Sufficiency Strategy. The Sufficiency Strategy is a key part of the council’s work to deliver a sustainable system, working collaboratively with our partners to ensure that the needs of children and young people are met without escalating costs, and supporting delivery of the DSG Recovery Plan. A key area of focus for the strategy is to develop and expand our Post 16 offer locally. In delivering the priorities identified in the SEND Sufficiency Strategy, additional Post 16 specialist provision is being planned and commissioned working with Linwood Special School.
This report contains a proposal to expand Linwood Special School on a satellite site hosted at the former Ted Webster Children’s Centre. The project will provide a total of 60 specialist post-16 places with a focus on supporting young people transition into an independent, healthy adulthood. Capital investment is required to refurbish and remodel the existing buildings to deliver a high quality, accessible teaching and learning space. The new facility will open in September 2025. By increasing the availability of local specialist Post 16 places, the council estimates a cost avoidance in the region of £38K - £50k per place, per annum. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Head of School Place Planning, Admissions and Capital presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.
In accordance with the council’s improvement agenda and priority action to reduce high needs expenditure, this project increased the availability of local SEND places and achieved cost avoidance in the high needs budget.
The council experienced a significant increase in the number of children requiring an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) over the last 3 years. Sustained growth resulted in a greater use of independent specialist school places and a shortage of specialist provision locally. This increased unit costs of provision and intensified budget pressures in the dedicated schools grant high needs funding block. As part of the council’s response to growth and improvement in the system, the council developed a draft Sufficiency Strategy. The Sufficiency Strategy was a key part of the council’s work to deliver a sustainable system, working collaboratively with partners to ensure that the needs of children and young people were met without escalating costs, and supporting delivery of the DSG Recovery Plan. A key area of focus for the strategy was to develop and expand the Post 16 offer locally. In delivering the priorities identified in the SEND Sufficiency Strategy, additional Post 16 specialist provision was planned and commissioned in collaboration with Linwood Special School.
The report contained a proposal to expand Linwood Special School on a satellite site hosted at the former Ted Webster Children’s Centre. The project provided a total of 60 specialist post-16 places with a focus on supporting young people in transitioning into an independent, healthy adulthood. Capital investment was required to refurbish and remodel the existing buildings to deliver a high-quality, accessible teaching and learning space. The new facility was scheduled to open in September 2025. By increasing the availability of local specialist Post 16 places, the council estimated a cost avoidance in the region of £38K - £50K per place, per annum.
The Committee praised the efforts made in this area and acknowledged the significant investment in young people. They expressed enthusiasm for this work and its potential benefits for the students.
It was RESOLVED that (a) Cabinet approves the scheme to develop a satellite of Linwood School hosted at the former Ted Webster Children’s Centre providing a total of 60 Post 16 places including the associated capital investment necessary to develop the scheme as contained in Appendix 1 (Exempt). The scheme is fully funded from the council’s grant allocation of High Needs Provision Capital and will progress in line with the project programme set out at paragraph 12.
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Alternative Provision Update This report provides an overview of the work undertaken by the School Inclusion Service/local area partnership aligned to progress of?implementing our Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.?
In the last 6 months, an Alternative Provision Improvement Plan and Oversight Board have been established to drive and monitor improvements in the Alternative Provision area. This update provides a narrative on the initial progress and priority areas of work, as well as the lived experience of children and young people going through the system from a permanent exclusion perspective.
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Interim Head of School Inclusion presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.
The report was received as evidence of the work currently being undertaken across the wider partnership within BCP to secure improvement and transformation across Alternative Provision to support mainstream inclusion and contribute towards a sustainable SEND system and positively impact the trajectory of high needs expenditure.
The report provided an overview of the work undertaken by the School Inclusion Service/local area partnership aligned to progress of?implementing our Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.?
In the last 6 months, an Alternative Provision Improvement Plan and Oversight Board have been established to drive and monitor improvements in the Alternative Provision area. This update provides a narrative on the initial progress and priority areas of work, as well as the lived experience of children and young people going through the system from a permanent exclusion perspective.
The Committee discussed the report and presentation, including:
It was RESOLVED that The report is received as evidence of the ... view the full minutes text for item 37. |
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School Attainment and Progress 2023/24 and Co-production of pathways This is a summary of the results for the 2023/24 Cohort across EYFS - KS5 for all statutory assessment points and external examinations in BCP state funded schools. Progress by groups across educational phases will be available later in the academic following all national checks and the outcomes of the census in January. The team would be happy to come back to the Committee to discuss those at a later date if required or to submit a report for their consideration. In addition the paper serves as an update on the co-production work between headteachers and the LA in developing pathways to develop & improve services; see appendices. Minutes: The Committee was advised that this was an information only item and that a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'D' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. |
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High Needs Schools Grant Expenditure Forecast This paper responds to the agreed action in the quarter one budget monitoring report for 2024/25 for the Corporate Director for Children’s Services to bring forward to October Cabinet a detailed report on the High Needs Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) expenditure forecast and available mitigation measures. This report also to seek Council approval for any additional resources over the approved budget. A refreshed forecast is for an overspend of £16.5m, which is £0.6m more than indicated in the quarter 1 budget monitoring report. This forecast also means the Council is predicting to spend £44.5m more in 2024/25 than the grant made available by the government. This new forecast includes the cost of all new plans agreed as at July 2024 with a revised profile of projected assessment volume based on the current rate which is driven by local education settings and parents and carers. The BCP Local Area SEND system has significantly changed for the better over the last academic year. This follows the creation of a new SEND Improvement Plan developed to meet the Local Authority’s DfE Statutory Direction Notice to Improve. The improvement work which has taken place over the last 10 months has now addressed all historic backlogs and improved the servicing of new assessments and Education Care and Health Plans into the system. This improvement work has adversely increased the overspend within the High Needs Block budget. To note that the local authority proportion of children with EHCP is still below the national average and may therefore increase further impacting on the DSG overspend. Minutes: The Committee was advised that this was an information only item and that a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'E’ to these Minutes in the Minute Book. |
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Portfolio Holder Update To receive a verbal update from the Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People. Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People provided a verbal update which included: · An update on the outstanding Cabinet recommendation from previous meetings related to knife crime and drug/alcohol use in schools. The Education Improvement Service collaborated with police and community groups to gather data on school programs addressing these issues, but challenges remained in obtaining detailed information. · OFSTED had recommended that schools incorporate local safeguarding issues, such as knife crime, into their curriculum. There are current resources available for Personal, Social, Health, and Economic education, with additional materials being sourced from providers attending conferences. The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People highlighted that he also found free resources online through organisations like the DfE. · Advised that he is now the Chair of the Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education. · In response to the Cabinet recommendations around earlier age-appropriate education. There was a need to assess existing educational initiatives related to this at both primary and secondary levels regarding knife crime awareness. · Advised of upcoming events including webinars and community events focused on knife crime and related issues. · Confirmed the appointment of the new Director of Education and Skills, providing an update on her background in education that had prepared her for this role. · The upcoming OFSTED inspection of local authority Children’s Services was viewed positively and seen as an important opportunity for improvement within the service.
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The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee is asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Work Plan. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee was asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Work Plan.
The Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee was asked to consider and approve the updated Work Plan following the results of the top priority survey.
As part of this item, the Committee was asked to consider recommendations from the O&S Board meeting on 18 November. The recommendations were made during the consideration of the conclusions from the Overview and Scrutiny Budget working groups and are provided at Appendix ‘F’.
It was RESOLVED that the Committee considered, updated and confirmed its Work Plan and was asked to: · Agree to hold informal briefing sessions as discussed at the work planning session; and · Agree membership for the working group regarding Family Hubs across BCP |