Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Olivia Brown and Mark Saxby.

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.

Cllr Oliver Walter substituted for Cllr Olivia Brown 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.

Cllr Emily Harman declared an interest as she would be applying to obtain an EHCP for a family member in the future, Cllr Simon Bull declared an interest as a family member was in receipt of an EHCP but had a dispensation for the meeting, and Cllr Bobbie Dove declared an interest as a family member was in receipt of an EHCP but had a dispensation for the meeting. Cllr Anne-Marie Moriarty declared an interest as she taught at a college locally.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 6 November and 21 November 2023.

The Minutes of the meetings held on 6 and 21 November were confirmed as accurate records and signed by the Chair subject to the following amendment on the Minutes of 6 November at Minute 34 – Safety Valve Programme, 2 further bullet points be added to the Committee discussion as follows:

·       The Chair stressed the importance of completing an Equality Impact Assessment and consultation with respect of the Brown principles.

·       In response to a concern about meeting the requirements set out in the agreement against meeting the statutory responsibilities of the Council, the Committee was advised of consequences of not fulfilling the agreement which included withholding funding; however, it was stressed that Officers would continue to meet their statutory duties.

To consider any outstanding actions.

There was no discussion on this item.

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:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s2305/Public%20Items%20-%20Meeting%20Procedure%20Rules.pdf 

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.

The following public questions and statements were received:

Sally Childs

Question 1

What qualifications does the SEN officers and managers have, to allow them to remove from the EHCP, advice given by specialists, without any new professional evidence?  

Cllr Richard Burton, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, provided an answer as follows:

All Case Officers are trained accordingly for their roles and undertake Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) level 1 and 2 legal training. 

Any proposed amendment will be through an Annual Review process or a request to review a plan/provision; it is not uniquely a SEND Case Officer decision as all parties are involved in these decisions.

A decision to amend an EHCP is sent to the parent (or young person with SEND, depending on age) and they have a 15 day period to respond before the EHCP is finalised, to allow for further discussion and amendment to be made.

Should the Local Authority and family be unable to reach an agreement, there is also the option to proceed to mediation or to appeal.  We are continuing to enhance our workforce development offer to ensure Case Officers are drafting EHCPs to the highest standard and are always keen to discuss any queries regarding the content of an EHCP at the earliest possible opportunity.

Question 2

By removing young people from specialist schools and putting them into mainstream schools, are the Council simply not moving the child’s needs from one department (i.e. Education)  and putting them into another department (i.e. Health) at the expense of a CYP’s mental health?

Cllr Richard Burton, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, provided an answer as follows:

There are no plans to move children from specialist into mainstream unless this is outlined through an Annual Review.

Question 3

Why are the SEN department stripping CYP’s needs and provision from EHCPs against Specialist’s wishes?  Surely this is misleading schools, and colleges into accepting CYP’s that they cannot the meet the needs of, therefore putting them at unnecessary risk and potentially leading to more support from other agencies.   This could lead to placement breakdowns.  Surely this illegal as it is misleading mainstream schools into accepting students that they cannot accommodate? 

Cllr Richard Burton, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, provided an answer as follows:

Children will be placed in provision that can meet their needs. Many children with EHCPs enjoy and achieve in mainstream settings, and the national profile of mainstream for children with EHCPs is higher than BCP. Where specialist provision is needed, this will be provided subject to availability.

Any proposed amendment to a child’s plan will be through an Annual Review process or a request to review a plan/provision; it is not uniquely a SEND Case Officer decision as all parties are involved in these decisions.  

Adam Sofianos

Question 1

Any improvement in EHCP delivery is to be welcomed, and families experiencing a better service will be grateful.

The concern is: how far these improved statistics are due  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

To receive a verbal update regarding any response from the DfE regarding the Safety Valve Progamme.

The Corporate Director of Children's Services and Chief Executive provided a verbal update which included:

• A fifteen-year plan had been submitted to the DfE as set out in the report submitted to the previous Children’s Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on the 3 January 2024.
• Children’s Services was informed it would not receive any feedback on the plan until the end of February. Additionally, the Capital plan submitted would not receive feedback until the end of March.
• The submitted plan was a proposal that ensured Children’s Services would still be able to provide statutory services without negatively impacting on the service.
• Other Councils that had entered into the Safety Valve programme had agreed to a five-year plan which some were struggling to meet. The increased demand meant they had to undermine their levels of statutory services.
• If the DfE proposed a plan that could be recommended to members, it would be decided at Full Council.

The Committee discussed the update which included:

• The Committee was advised that the original submission to the DfE included an illustrative scenario that would take 11% from the school budget. This demonstrated what would happen if the deficit were to be funded by the school’s budget, which was the only other legal budget it could be funded from.
• In a query regarding equality impact assessments the Committee was advised that one must be completed once an offer had been received from the DfE. An equality impact assessment would accompany any recommendation that was proposed to Full Council. 
• In response to a query regarding the detrimental impact on young people, the Committee was advised work done under Safety Valve would be monitored with clear performance indicators to ensure it had a positive impact on children, young people, and their families.
• The Committee was advised that BCP Council had asked for 4.8million in capital investor contributions. However, those contributions would not cover the deficit predicted at the end of this financial year but would balance the budget after the proposed fifteen-year period.
• In response to a query regarding the consequences of the DfE not accepting the proposal or BCP rejecting any alternative proposal, the Committee was advised that every effort would be made to balance the budget although it would be a difficult process.

To receive a verbal update from the Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People.

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People provided a verbal update which included:

• Providing a partial response to the recommendation from the Children’s Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee made in the 3 January 2024 meeting. He advised the Committee of the Children’s Services Improvement Journey cross-party update that was due to be held on 25 January 2024 which was an opportunity for Members to ask questions and provide input on Safety Valve.
• Work was also being done to plan an all-member ‘Show and Tell session’ in early February to enable further member engagement regarding the Safety Valve Programme.

·       Advised the Committee that his full response would be provided to the Committee in writing within the two-month deadline.

To receive a presentation regarding the Speech and Language Therapy Service.

The Lead for Children, Young People & Family Services and Head of CAMHS and Children services at Dorset HealthCare gave a presentation which detailed:

• What services Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) offered
• How the SALT service could be accessed including community based, Ready Steadi Chat and Specialist referrals.
• Activities of the SALT service including caseloads, number of EHCPs and referral to treatment time.
• Transforming the System using a whole system approach which would require additional training and input from all services.
• Challenges for the Service including recruitment, implementation of the balanced system and specialist and alternative placements that would require support.

The Committee discussed the presentation which included:

• In response to a query regarding working with libraries to increase the number of parents reading to their children and children reading, the Committee was advised that whilst most of the services work was within school settings, they also worked closely with libraries too.
• In response to a query about whether the service was meeting their 18 week referral time target, the Committee was advised that this was an internal target used to monitor the service and was met 90% of the time.
• In response to a concern regarding the accessibility of the service, the Committee was advised that with regard to Under 5s, having the Ready Steadi Chat response within 14 days should see an improvement in accessibility for that age group and with regards to school age children, a barrier could be delays in the referral if the form wasn’t correctly filled in and whether it was actually an issue which the service could resolve or whether the issue would be better resolved by a SENCO which could cause further delays.
• In response to a query about the balanced system, the Committee was advised it was about providing consistency in support outside of the therapy sessions provided by working with schools, early years and families to ensure the work continued.  Regarding how success of the system could be measured, the Committee was advised the plan started about 18 months ago and the work was detailed which included being at the start of the transformation program which would take approximately three years to fully implement.  The Committee was reassured that it was continually being monitored and evaluated for its effectiveness.
• In response to a query about diagnosing conditions, the Committee was advised that the SALT service could provide diagnosis’ specifically related to speech, but anything more complex would need to go through the paediatric process provided by University Hospitals Dorset, however SALT would be actively involved in the assessment process.
• In response to a query about once a diagnosis had been given, and the SALT involvement in the delivery of any treatment, the Committee was advised that the service could recommend how many sessions known as dosages would be required, which would then be fed into a multidisciplinary plan from paediatrics.
• In response to a concern about the inability to offer adequate SALT provision within mainstream settings therefore requiring more specialist provision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

This report outlines the importance of a full-time education in the right education provision for children. It provides information on the current level of suspensions and permanent exclusions in BCP compared to both the South West and England.

The Local Authority is concerned by the high rate of both suspensions and permanent exclusions for children in BCP and will be working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and all schools to both understand and improve this position.

Our focus now iso improve the rates of attendance and inclusion across the system with our partners. The aim being to reduce the number of children missing out on their learning. Actions regarding this are detailed in the report and includes details of the national policies that have been recently published. These actions illustrate how they will support the changes needed to reduce the number of children being suspended and permanently excluded.

The Head of Virtual School and Inclusion 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 outlined the importance of a full-time education in the right education provision for children. It provided information on the current level of suspensions and permanent exclusions in BCP compared to both the South West and England.

The Local Authority was concerned by the high rate of both suspensions and permanent exclusions for children in BCP and would be working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and all schools to both understand and improve this position.

The focus was to improve the rates of attendance and inclusion across the system with our partners. The aim was to reduce the number of children missing out on their learning. Actions regarding this were detailed in the report and included details of the national policies that had been recently published. These actions illustrated how they would support the changes needed to reduce the number of children being suspended and permanently excluded.

The Committee discussed the report which included:

• In response to a query regarding guidance about exclusions for teachers, the Committee was advised that work was being done to provide a clear pathway that could be shared with schools on best practice.
• In response to a query regarding the high number of exclusions and suspensions in the BCP area and what was being done to address this, the Committee was advised that the service was part of a network of local authorities to help highlight methods used to reduce permanent exclusions. Collaborative work with partners and schools was essential to find out what was causing the increase and how to best support young people.
• The Committee was advised that work was being done to increase the number of registered alternative places, however finding funding to do so was challenging.
• In response to a query regarding providing funding to help students in the early stages of education as a way to combat expulsions, the Committee was advised that consideration was being given to frontloading funding. It was noted that collaboration with schools would highlight and identify areas that could benefit students, where they may need extra support.
• The Committee was advised of the positive things happening in schools in the area and was encouraged to visit schools in BCP to give a real insight into the good work that was already being done.
• The Committee was advised of the motivation of the service to improve the relationship with schools and the need for the system to mature and the relationship to grow was acknowledged.
• The Committee was advised of educational improvement workshops that were being held and an update would be provided from the Education Improvement Board in September. ADD TO FORWARD PLAN.

It was Proposed, Seconded and unanimously agreed to add a c) to the Recommendation as follows:

The Committee notes the work that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

This is a summary of the results for the 2022/23 Cohort across EYFS - KS5 for all statutory assessment points and external examinations in BCP state schools.

Progress by groups across educational phases will be available later in the Spring Term following all national checks and the outcomes of the census in January.

The team would be happy to return to the Committee to discuss those at a later date if required.

The Head of Service Education Improvement, Secondary Adviser and Early Years and Primary Adviserpresented 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 was a summary of the results for the 2022/23 Cohort across EYFS - KS5 for all statutory assessment points and external examinations in BCP state schools.

Progress by groups across educational phases would be available later in the Spring Term following all national checks and the outcomes of the census in January.  The team would be happy to return to the Committee to discuss those at a later date if required.

The Committee discussed the report which included:

• In response to a query regarding A-Level provision in learning environments other than sixth forms, the Committee was advised that Bournemouth and Poole College stopped providing A Levels a few years ago and were not planning to change their offer. Children’s Services were aware of the gap in the provision. There had been work done on the transition routes between secondary and sixth form to help young people transfer from one cohort to a sixth from A Level setting.
• In response to a query about disadvantaged and SEND pupils taking up further education in the mainstream sixth forms, the Committee was advised that whilst there was an aim to encourage more of them to take up further education, some young people were making informed choices to take up more vocational courses provided by the local colleges.
• The Committee was advised of the Careers and Apprenticeship Show that was being held on the 14 March 2023. It was noted that SEND pupils had helped create part of the event.  A Committee Member asked if details of the show could be circulated to the Committee.  ACTION.
• In response to a query raised regarding the national tutoring programme and whether it was still active the Committee was advised that the programme was no longer running nationally. Some of the most disadvantaged schools in the BCP area were using the national tutoring programme during COVID-19 to good effect, however due to central government funding being reduced, it could no longer be funded.
• In response to a concern that SEND pupils were more likely to become Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs), the Committee was advised that the NEET levels locally were lower than some comparators and the reasons for that were detailed.  It was noted that NEETs were regularly monitored.
• In response to a query regarding pupils awaiting EHCPs and specialist provision, the Committee was advised that there was a waiting list for specialist provision which was being reviewed depending on the length of time a child had been on the list and their needs and consideration to any support which could be provided in the interim.  It was noted that this was an action on the SEND Improvement Plan.
• In response to a concern from the Chair that pupils  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

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 a new 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.

Since 2021 the BCP Local Area SEND Partnership has been subject to a Written Statement of Action Plan (WSoA). The WSoA outlined eight improvement areas following the local area SEND Inspection July 2021. Since this time, progress against the WSoA plan was reviewed by a partnership SEND Improvement Board (SIB). During the July of this year, DfE Officials reviewed the progress of the SEND Improvement Board against this plan and determined that the pace of change was too slow and further that too many children were experiencing delays in service provision. It noted that the SEND partnership within BCP place needed to do more to refocus its efforts and secure solid sustainable improvements for children and young people with SEND. A new SEND Improvement Board Chair was arranged with John Coughlan arriving to support the improvements needed in Autumn of 2023.

Over the last 14 weeks (Sept – mid December), a thorough review has taken place involving all senior stakeholders across the SEND partnership. This has sought to identify what must happen to ensure the necessary changes for the SEND system in BCP. 

The SEND partnership is now in the final stages of agreeing a new Improvement Plan, this has identified eight new strategic areas of attention. Progress against this plan will be monitored through a performance scorecard which will hold key partners to account. It is recommended that this panel receives a termly update of progress against this improvement plan so that there is transparency of the actions and improvements realised for children and young people with SEND in BCP.

The Interim Director of Education and Skills 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 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 update of work across the partnership with regards to a new SEND Improvement Plan and associated Performance Scorecard.  The Performance Scorecard would both identify and evidence the performance areas and improvement metrics that could demonstrate that the partnership was making sustainable improvements.

Since 2021 the BCP Local Area SEND Partnership had been subject to a Written Statement of Action Plan (WSoA). The WSoA outlined eight improvement areas following the local area SEND Inspection July 2021. Since that time, progress against the WSoA plan was reviewed by a partnership SEND Improvement Board (SIB). During July 2023, DfE Officials reviewed the progress of the SEND Improvement Board against this plan and determined that the pace of change was too slow and further that too many children were experiencing delays in service provision. It noted that the SEND partnership within BCP place needed to do more to refocus its efforts and secure solid sustainable improvements for children and young people with SEND. A new SEND Improvement Board Chair was arranged with John Coughlan arriving to support the improvements needed in Autumn of 2023.

Over the last 14 weeks (Sept – mid December), a thorough review had taken place involving all senior stakeholders across the SEND partnership. This had sought to identify what must happen to ensure the necessary changes for the SEND system in BCP. 

The SEND partnership was now in the final stages of agreeing a new Improvement Plan, this had identified eight new strategic areas of attention. Progress against this plan would be monitored through a performance scorecard which would hold key partners to account. It was recommended that this Committee receives a termly update of progress against this improvement plan so that there was transparency of the actions and improvements realised for children and young people with SEND in BCP.

The Committee discussed the report including:

• In response to a request for clarification, the Committee was advised that an assessment of need would be undertaken which could then determine whether a child required an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP), however if the child did not meet the threshold for a plan, they may still be eligible for some additional support.
• In response to a query regarding the parent and carer groups and how they were recruited and engaged, the Committee was advised of the detailed work and forums which were used to engage with as much of the parents and carers as possible.
• In response to a concern regarding SEND pupils being in mainstream schools and due to delays were without EHCPs or the required funding, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

The following items have been circulated to the Committee for information only with no presentation or discussion planned:

·       PDSCP Annual Report 2022-23

·       Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2023-24

·       School Admission Arrangements 2025-26 – Determination

·       Mainstream Schools and Early Years Funding Formulae 24/25 Report

There was no discussion on the information only items previously circulated.

The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee is asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Forward Plan.

The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee was asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Forward Plan.

The Chair advised she was meeting with Children’s Services to discuss the Forward Plan shortly and should any Committee Members wish to feed anything into that discussion, to email her with information.

To note the date for the final meeting of the Municipal year 2023/24 as 19 March 2024.

The date of the final meeting of 23/24 was noted.