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The Chairman opened the item by advising the
Committee that he had been part of the Working Party which had
considered this Strategy and he wanted to thank the Officers for
their work on its development. The
Chairman noted that some minor changes requested at the last
working party still needed to be updated.
The Portfolio Holder, Children’s
Services also thanked the working party and Offices for their hard
work and advised that the Strategy would be considered by Cabinet
in February.
The Service Director for Inclusion and Family
Services advised the purpose of the 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 was to gain the
Committee’s views on the aims, objectives and elements of the
strategy which would be presented to Cabinet in February.
The Committee discussed the Strategy and
comments were made, including:
- A Committee Member gave
gratitude for the Strategy and the work that had clearly gone in to
its creation. She felt it showed very
positive aspirations and intent for wanting to provide the best for
the children of BCP.
- In response to a concern
regarding the inclusion support for children who were home educated
and how these children were monitored, the Committee was assured
that whilst not monitored through a school environment, the local
authority still had a safeguarding responsibility towards
them. The Corporate Director,
Children’s Services advised she would arrange a briefing
regarding the local authorities statutory duties for home educated
children.
- A Committee Member
welcomed the improved youth offer, both targeted and outreach, and
felt this would be very beneficial for the young people within
BCP
- In response to a query
regarding the ‘Targeted Opportunities’ and the
reference to ‘Dads’ under the ‘Ready
Families’ section of the Strategy, detailed at Page 71 of the
Agenda Pack, the Committee was advised that this section referred
to families where additional support was needed and how parents
were a key factor in improving children’s wellbeing
- A Committee Member
requested further work be undertaken regarding referral times for
Child and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
- It was clarified that
the nine family hubs referred to would be spread across the BCP
conurbation and already established community settings, such as
Children’s Centres, would be used for this purpose
- A Committee Member
praised the Strategy and expressed the importance of ensuring
communication and signposting of the Services was vital to ensure
it was a success. The Committee was
advised that the approach toward communication was being considered
and that it was imperative that the information was disseminated to
the wider community through a variety of mediums.
The Chairman summarised the Committee’s
overall view that the BCP Family Support Strategy was very positive
and championed holistic progress, with enthusiasm around the new
multi-agency hubs. The Committee
expressed concerns regarding the monitoring of home educated
children within the area and referrals to the Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and it was felt that further
investigation was needed in these areas.
RESOLVED that the
Committee positively supported the Strategy for recommendation to
Cabinet.