Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies were received from Councillors Coope, Northover and Mark Saxby.

Councillors Geary and Rocca attended the meeting virtually forgoing any voting rights.

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.

There were no substitute Members on this occasion.

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.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 23 November 2021.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2021, having previously been circulated, be agreed and confirmed as an accurate record of the meeting and signed by the Chair.

The Chair advised that actions were still being progressed.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of a public question is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a public statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

Public Question:

“Why is the Child Social Services complaints procedure totally ineffective?”

Note - Further confidential and personal information was shared with the Chair and Officers, but as it was subject to an ongoing complaint, was unable to be shared publicly.

Neil Werrey-Easterbrook

Address supplied.

Response:

Thank you for emailing me and asking this question and sharing with me your concerns and frustrations.

Having read your email in which you raise this question, it appears that your conclusion that the ‘complaints procedure is ineffective’ stems from the fact that the Children Social Care Team Manager assigned to the investigation of your complaint has not responded to your complaint yet.  

I note your comment that the Complaints Officer dealing with the complaint is ‘fantastic’.   The complaint was registered on 4 January 2022.  This is being considered through the Council’s corporate complaints process which has a 20-working day response timescale. 

The response to the complaint is due by 31 January 2022.   The complaints process is therefore still in progress within timescale. 

I would like to highlight that you have the option to approach the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman at any time in the complaints process if you are not happy with the way this complaint is being dealt with. 

I also understand that you have been given the details of your local Ward Councillors to contact should you wish to have assistance during this process.

Councillor Richard Burton

Chair

Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee

This report summarises the latest local information on rates of young people entering the youth justice system. The reduction that had been seen in the previous year has continued and further steps are being taken to divert young people from the justice system.

The Service Manager, Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service 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 report summarised the latest local information on rates of young people entering the youth justice system. The reduction that had been seen in the previous year has continued and further steps are being taken to divert young people from the justice system.

The Committee discussed the Report and comments were made, including:

• In response to a query about the reduction of girls entering the system but not the boys, the Committee was advised there was no particular reason for this but the proportion and it was inline the national average.  It was highlighted that there was no specific targeted approach for boys and whilst some needs were common, boys were more likely to have higher speech and language needs and less likely to be in mainstream or full time education which could be a contributory factor.
• In response to whether figures had been supressed as a result of Covid and lockdowns and could increase moving forward, the Committee was advised this was difficult to answer as there was so many different factors which could have an impact.  The Committee was advised that lockdown did enable the police to catch up and arrest young people from historic offences, because their location during lockdown was more easily identifiable however it was acknowledged that problems that were accruing as a result of the pandemic, such as low attendance at school, mental wellbeing, exploitation may lead to an increase in figures which highlights the need for early intervention and a coordinated response across services.
• There was clarification between the definitions of preventative measures and diversion tactics and the Committee was advised that prevention would be targeted from other services and not YOS, however it was vital to assist the reduction of young people entering the system. Diversion was used by YOS using a different response instead of offenders entering the system. 
• In response to a query regarding the figures relating to ‘White Other’ in the data, the Committee was advised that upon investigation this appeared to be as a result of differing ethnicity recording processes by the Police and that in the future, YOS would record the self identified ethnicity of its users, which it was believed would change more of this data to ‘White British’
• In response to a query, the Committee was given a detailed explanation of the different restorative justice practices used by YOS, which included making contact with victim of all offenders who come into system and enabling offenders to see the impact of behaviour using various appropriate methods
• A Member expressed concern about the increased figure of 11-13 year olds entering the system and whilst it was a relatively small number, the Service Manager acknowledged that it was a cause for concern as historically offenders who entered the system at that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

The report gives a summary of the academic year 2020-2021 for children in care.  A profile of the cohort is shown along with outcomes for young people.  Due to the cancelation of examinations (because of covid) the data reported for this time period is less that other years.  The report gives an overview of attendance and exclusions, the statutory meetings that take place for children in care – Personal Education Plans (PEPs) and the spending of Pupil Premium Plus which is the grant received for each child in care, the Virtual School Head has the responsibility of distributing and ensuring this funding has impact on the learning and educational achievements of children in care.

The Virtual School and College Headteacher 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.

The report gave a summary of the academic year 2020-2021 for children in care.  A profile of the cohort was shown along with outcomes for young people.  Due to the cancelation of examinations (because of covid) the data reported for this time period was less than other years.  The report gave an overview of attendance and exclusions, the statutory meetings that take place for children in care – Personal Education Plans (PEPs) and the spending of Pupil Premium Plus which was the grant received for each child in care, the Virtual School Head had the responsibility of distributing and ensuring this funding had impact on the learning and educational achievements of children in care.

The Committee discussed the report and comments were made, including:

• In response to a query about the Ofsted ratings of the KS5 provision in comparison to the others, the Committee was reassured that whilst the local post 16 provider was currently rated as ‘requires improvement’ and a large number of pupils wished to attend it with their peers, the virtual school worked closely with them, including the KS5 team working in the college one day a week to support the pupils.  It was also highlighted that work was ongoing with a designated teacher looking at attainment and progress to ensure the pupils were getting the best possible education.
• Considering Pupil Education Plans (PEPs) and their effects, in response to what a good one would look like, the Committee was advised that it needed to clearly show attainment and progress that the young person was making.  It should include contributions from the young person and all those involved with their care and education and needs to show what needs to happen for that young person to move forward with their education.  The last aspect was to demonstrate how pupil premium grant was being spent to help the young person progress
• A follow on question regarding how Pupil Premium money was used, the Committee was advised of the process used 
• don’t give money upfront to schools – what money is being spent on is discussed by all attendees at PEP meeting – linked to targets and monitored at next meeting.
• In response to a query regarding the reduction detailed regarding Children Missing Out on Education (CMOE), the Committee was advised that this was an important part of the virtual schools role ad was regularly monitored through different methods.  The team always strived to get the young people back on roll. Ensure aware of where are and what doing.
• In response to a query about providing IT equipment to all young people, the Committee was advised that various government schemes had helped enable this and if internet issues had been a problem then dongles were purchased to support those in need.  It was acknowledged  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

To provide an update on Workforce Planning and Development initiatives and activity through the Children’s Services Partnership Academy.

The Head of Quality Assurance, Governance and Improvement 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 purpose of the report was to provide an update on Workforce Planning and Development initiatives and activity through the Children’s Services Partnership Academy.

The Committee discussed the report and comments were made, including:

• The Chair thanked the Officer for the presentation and referred to an email he had received from the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.  It was noted that the questions contained within the email had been answered during the presentation.
• Vacancy rates were covered by agency staff which was 32%
• Payments - £3,000 retention and £8k relocation payment if needed, looking to get a labour market supplement to entice team managers, although that budget had not yet been agreed, it formed part of th e MTFP
• Fantastic report – comprehensively addressing and recognise on journey and want to raise level of way work, sure will get there.
• A Committee Member requested that any acronyms used could be detailed earlier in the document to enable lay people to understand
• In response to a query about reducing agency staff, the Committee was advised on the plan to reduce .Permanent workforce for April 2024 – on target to reduce use of agency staff.  January 2022 at 32% want to reduce to 30% by April 2022.  Most recent campaign has about 8 applicants
• In response to a query regarding the pay premium of £3k – understand why doing – how does that sit with other directorates – how justify it.  Other directorates have issues at recruiting at certain levels – recruitment and retention for £3k was supported by O&S Board – it was not to put over and above but to ensure competitive within the local market.  It will need to be addressed through the pay and reward scheme.
• Training plan is excellent, mention about domestic abuse – crosses over to adult social care – cross over and shared learning? Premise of partnership academy to work across all relevant agencies/services.
• The Chair concluded that it was a great report and pleased about the training being offered.

The Chair summarised discussions as follows:

• Answered all questions from O&S Board
• Ensure acronyms were explained
• Targeting of reducing agency staff
• Pay premium to ensure competitive
• Cross over work with other agencies in the partnership

RESOLVED that the content of this report be accepted as an update on progress to date.

BCP Council is legally required to determine its admissions arrangements for the school year 2023/24. Permission to publicly consult to change the arrangements was agreed by council members.

The change that required consultation was the reduction of the published admission number at Burton Primary School from 60 to 45 to enable the school to organise classes efficiently.

The Head of Service – School Planning and Admissions presented a report, 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.

BCP Council was legally required to determine its admissions arrangements for the school year 2023/24. Permission to publicly consult to change the arrangements was agreed by council members.

The change that required consultation was the reduction of the published admission number at Burton Primary School from 60 to 45 to enable the school to organise classes efficiently.

It was recommended that following the conclusion of the public consultation, the arrangements were determined by council members.

The Committee discussed the report and comments were made, including:

• in response to a query about the how the proposed PAN of 45 would be managed, the Committee was advised that the school merged year groups in KS1 and then would move to smaller classes when moving up through the school
• in response to a query about how it was managed in practical terms, the Committee was advised that the classes had teachers and teaching assistants and that the Headteacher was satisfied with the current staffing levels
• The Committee discussed Academy Trusts increasing their PAN numbers as their own admission authority and the Committee was advised that BCP Officers had visited some schools who were proposing to increase PAN to advise of the negative impact to other local schools of doing so, however the decision was not within the Council’s remit.

The Chair summarised the discussions as follows:

• PAN of Burton and class sizes and how managed.
• Academy Trusts increasing their PAN and the impact it had on surrounding schools.

RESOLVED that Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny committee recommend Cabinet support the determination of the arrangements as set out in Appendix 1 and 2 of the report.

Vote – For - Unanimous

To receive a PowerPoint presentation update.

The Manager, Access to Resources Team, presented the Powerpoint presentation, previously circulated to the Committee.

The Committee discussed the presentation and comments were made, including:

• The Chair thanked the Officer for the presentation and in response to a query regarding the priorities, the Committee was advised that the seven key priorities still remained which were overarching and detailed and detailed action plans and workstreams below, examples of which were given to the Committee. 
• In response to a query regarding accommodation for care experienced young people and the latest information that Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) were not suitable for them.  It was noted that this was being worked on as a new workstream and the review was being led by the Chief Executive, working closely with housing colleagues in the best interests of the young people
• Thank for presentation – considering from different angles – impact of Covid on mental health- given consideration? extra help given? Was this included in one of the priorities? Recommissioned MH services to meet needs of what was happening through pandemic, a significant piece of work.
• Mental health strategy underpinned by emotional health and wellbeing PAN Dorset and below is implementation plan – work with CCG and working closely together to measure mental health impact and interventions that can be provided

The Chair summarised the discussion as follows:

• Priorities and being adapted as time moves on
• Use of HMOs for care leavers and how being addressed as high priority
• Mental health impact due to lockdown.

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

To receive a verbal update from the Portfolio Holders if required.

There was no Portfolio Holder update on this occasion.

Any Information only items will be circulated after the Committee.

There were no items for information on this occasion.

To consider the Committee’s Forward Plan.

The Chair advised that the Forward Plan was still being worked on following the Committee Forward Planning session.

To note the dates of future Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committees as follows:

• 25 January 2022
• 22 March 2022
• 7 June 2022
• 26 July 2022
• 20 September 2022

All meetings will commence at 6pm and venues to be confirmed.

The dates of the future meetings were noted.