Agenda for Children & Young People's Overview & Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, 16th June, 2010, 5.00pm
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Agenda and minutes
PDF 199 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Sharmini Williams, Scrutiny Support Officer
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(Copy attached). Minutes: 1a. Declaration of Substitutes 1.1 There were no substitutes. Councillors Ben Duncan, Lynda Hyde and Mike Wilson (Diocese of Chichester) sent their apologies.
1b. Declarations of Interest 1.2 There were none.
1c. Declaration of Party Whip 1.3 There were none.
1d. Exclusion from the Press and Public 1.4 In accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it was considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any items contained in the agenda, having regard to the nature of the business to be transacted and the nature of the proceedings and the likelihood as to whether, if members of the press and public were present, there would be disclosure to them of confidential or exempt information as defined in section 100I (1) of the said Act.
1.5 RESOLVED- That the press and public not be excluded from the meeting.
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Minutes of the Previous Meetings Minutes of the previous meetings held on the 24 March, 2010. (Copy attached).
Minutes: 2.1 The minutes were approved subject to amendments in paragraphs 47.3, 48.2 and 52.7. |
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Chairman's Communications Minutes: 3.1 The Chair welcomed Councillor Melanie Davis to the Committee and welcomed back Councillors Ann Norman & Ben Duncan.
The Chair thanked Kevin Allen and Vicky Wakefield-Jarrett for all their work.
3.2 Councillor Davis who is the Chair of the Children & Culture Scrutiny Panel informed CYPOSC that the next and last meeting date was the 30 June at the Komedia.
3.3 Members discussed the approved budget for Children’s Services.
3.4 The Chair informed the Committee that a letter from a member of the public had been received and would be heard as Agenda Item 3.
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Letter from Ms. Sally Wells. Minutes: 4.1 Ms Wells told the Committee that there were major issues with Primary School Admissions and these were:
· being allocated a school that didn’t exist · not being allocated a school
· being allocated a school that may be 50 minutes away. Additionally, Ms Wells asked why the Council was seemingly unable to estimate the demand for city primary school places accurately despite the large amount of demographic data collected from local people.
4.2 Ms Wells requested that the situation be addressed with urgency – i.e. before September 2010. The Committee agreed to contact the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and pass on Ms Wells’ concerns.
4.3 RESOLVED: The Committee agreed to contact the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and pass on Ms Wells’ concerns to see what could be resolved in time for September 2010. |
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Questions and letters from Councillors Letter from Councillor Melanie Davis. Minutes: 5.1 Councillor Melanie Davis asked a question on primary school admissions (see minute book).
5.2.1 RESOLVED: The Committee agreed to request a report at the next meeting to include information on:
· a three-year timeline from September 2010 – September 2013 that demonstrates clearly the numbers of children in the city entering primary education; · which parts of the city will experience particular pressures; · the planned additional capacity being identified by the LEA and when that additional capacity will be available. |
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New Council responsibilities for 16 - 19 education and training
Report of the Director of Children's Services. Additional documents: Minutes: 6.1 Michael Nix- Post 16 Development Manager presented the report and answered questions.
6.2 Rohan Lowe (Youth Council representative) asked how the Council planned to make up any shortfall in SEN funding for 19-25 Further Education. The Committee was told that funding for Local Authorities was currently held regionally. Authorities across the SE region were now looking with the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) at ways of reducing costs and Health and social care partners were being approached for contributions towards relevant elements of placements. The current forecast was that any risks of overspends could be managed within the regional budget, providing there were no significant new demands. If an overspend were to fall to be met by the City Council, this would need to be found from the out of city placement budget.
6.3 In response to a further question on whether there was any update on how an overspend on LLDD placements would be met and whether this would be picked up jointly by the 19 authorities, the Committee was advised that the Regional Planning Group was being recommended to adopt this principle.
6.4 In answer to a question on how the Council would provide stronger opportunities for youth offenders, the Committee were informed that there were different funding streams which gave the Youth Offending Service greater creativity, and the new overall planning role for the Council would support this. Current figures showed that Brighton and Hove had better youth offending engagement figures than other seaside towns.
6.5 In response to whether apprenticeships were being taken up by young people, Members were told that the Council had not met their target and were working with the Economic Development Team and National Apprenticeship Service to achieve improvements.
6.6 In answer to a question on how young people with learning disabilities would be able to access apprenticeships, the Committee were informed that where these learners had been assessed through their school life through SEN processes, information on their needs would have been built up which could be used to advise them on next steps at 16+ and 19+. This information would be transferred if a young person with learning disabilities moved to a different local authority area. Learners with lower level disabilities who may not have been part of these assessment processes would be guided by Job Centre Plus. It was possible to identify apprenticeship opportunities for young people with disabilities, in areas such as Business Administration, for example.
6.7 In relation to a question on how commissioning funding is planned, Members were informed that authorities would use its own data and data provided by the YPLA to make an estimate of the overall pattern of provision needed, identify gaps and propose priorities for development.
6.8 The Committee was informed that Downs View Special School had good links with colleges to provide person-centred planning, including support with independent living for learners with learning difficulties and/ or disabilities. The Committee heard how the aspirations of all young people were growing and it was important to diversify the provider’s provision to meet the needs of these growing aspirations.
6.9 RESOLVED: CYPOSC considered and commented on the report. |
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Arrangements for the governance, commissioning and provision of children's services Report of the Director of Children’s Services. Minutes: 7.1 Steve Barton- Assistant Director, Strategic Commissioning and Governance presented the report and answered questions.
7.2 In answer to a question on the two section 75 arrangements and where the teams were located, the Committee heard that the new arrangements are necessary in order to sustain the delay of integrated front line services and to be compliant with NHS / World Class Commissioning Standards.
7.3 In relation to a question on the Youth Services Review, Members were informed that the review would go to the Cabinet Member Meeting in September 2010 for approval and implementation would be in October/ November 2010. It was agreed that CYPOSC would like to be updated on the progress of this Review.
7.4 In response to a question on the Council being asked to identify options for 15% savings through the commissioning review. Members were informed that the review of services would be linked to the Value for Money (VFM) Programme to deliver savings identified in the 2010/11 Budget Strategy.
7.5 The Committee heard how the Director of Strategy and Governance had sent a letter to the Voluntary Sector in respect of making savings, reassuring them that transparency would still be used with all partners when commissioning. In answer to a question whether Children’s Services could reassure partners in this way, the Committee were advised that Children’s Services are part of the council and would therefore comply with assurances given by the Director of Strategy and Governance.
7.6 Rohan Lowe (Youth Council representative) asked how would the Youth Services Review process made sure that young people were appropriately represented, the Committee were told that representation by Young People on the review is jointly facilitated by the council’s Participation Team and a 3rd Sector organisation, the Crew Club. A monthly meeting, Brighton Young Voices, has been established and nominates 2 young people to attend the Youth Service Review Board.
7.7 There was a discussion about the membership of the new Children’s Board and why there was no representative from the Parent Carers’ Council, when other Children’s Boards outside of Brighton and Hove did include such representatives. A member noted that the Parents Forum (which is represented on the new CYPT board) did not have the experience to speak about children and families with additional and complex health needs/ multiple disabilities across all ages, whereas the Parent Carers’ Council did have this expertise.
Carrie Britton (Co-optee for Children’s Health) proposed an amendment to the membership of the Children’s Board, the Board to consider inviting a member of the Parent Carers’ Council when relevant items were on the Board’s agenda concerning these children and families with complex needs. The Committee agreed the amendment.
7.8 RESOLVED: (1) That the progress on the Youth Services Review be timetabled into the CYPOSC work programme.
(2) That CYPOSC should ask the Children and Young People’s Trust (CYPT) to agree to seek the views of the Parent Carers’ Council when looking at issues where there was significant parent carer interest. |
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Understanding intervention Presentation by James Dougan – Assistant Director, Intergrated Area Working Minutes: 8.1 This item was heard before Item 7 and after Item 6.
8.2 James Dougan, Assistant Director, Integrated Area Working, talked through the presentation and answered questions.
8.3 In answer to a question concerning the use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) in interventions with children with disabilities, members were told that CAF should always be used as early as possible in order to maximise its benefits. However, in some instances a child with known disabilities or special educational needs might already have undergone a thorough assessment process (e.g. for a ‘statement’ of SEN), and there would therefore be no requirement for an additional CAF assessment to be made.
8.4 In response to a question on schools finding it difficult to complete the CAF and there were concerns on who would be the lead professional, Members were advised that training had been provided to schools by editing out some parts of the CAF form and this was getting better results.
8.5 CYPOSC were told how there were 3 elements to most cases that were dealt within Brighton & Hove, these being: · Mental Health · Drug and Alcohol misuse · Domestic Violence This was unique to Brighton and Hove compared to other seaside authorities and how it was important to intervene at the lowest Tiers, which were 1 & 2.
8.6 In relation to a question on how funding of Triple P Programmes at schools may be challenging due to the savings that schools were making, the Committee were advised that parents and trained staff were delivering these programmes to parents in Tiers 1, 2 & 3.
8.7 The Committee noted further resources were needed for the delivery of the Triple P Programmes for parents with severely disabled children. The CAF was having positive results as it was looking at the whole family network. 8.8 In answer to a question on whether Tier 3 parents were strongly advised to attend the parenting programme, Members were told that Tiers 1 & 2 were voluntary and were oversubscribed. Tier 3 interventions are theoretically voluntary, but parents are strongly ‘incentivised’ to attend.
8.9 Through the Team Around the Child meetings it was found that some parents were struggling with domestic tasks. Targeted programmes for parents to carry out basic home environment tasks and improve their cooking, food shopping (to produce more nutritional meals) was provided in the form of in-house programmes.
8.10 RESOLVED: CYPOSC considered and commented on the presentation. |
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School Exclusion Scrutiny Panel report Report of the Director of Strategy and Governance. Additional documents: Minutes: 9.1 Members discussed the panel report, and thanked the panel members and support staff for their hard work on this issue.
9.2 RESOLVED:
(1)The report was endorsed by CYPOSC.
(2) The Committee agreed to refer the report’s recommendations to the council’s Executive and to the appropriate partner organisations.
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Item 10a – June 2009 to March 2010 Work Programme
Item 10b – June 2010 to March 2011 Work Programme
Copy attached. Additional documents: Minutes: 10.1Work programmes for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 were agreed by the Committee with the addition of a report on Primary School Admissions to be heard the 15 September 2010 CYPOSC meeting.
10.2Information relating to the update on the Portslade Community College (PCC) was requested. The Committee agreed to send out this information.
10.3RESOLVED:
(1) Primary School Admissions report to be heard at the 15 September 2010 CYPOSC meeting.
(2) An update on the PCC to be sent to Members.
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Items to go to forward to Cabinet, or the relevant Cabinet member meetings and Full Council Minutes: 11.1 There were none. |