Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Reynolds, Councillor Smith, Councillor Anwar, and Oliver Gibson (Co-optee).

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 20^th March 2023.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th March 2023 be approved as a correct record.

The Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interests.

No Interests were declared.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private.

All items were considered in public session.

The Committee will receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received.

To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No questions were received from members of the public.

The Panel will consider a verbal update on the performance highlights from the latest Children’s Services data report covering period ending 31^st May 2023.

Contact:         Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director

                        Vicky Metheringham, Service Director

                        Kieran Lord, Service Director

The Panel received a verbal update on the performance data for May 2023, which was provided by the Service Directors in Children’s Services.

Vicky Metheringham, Service Director for Child Protection and Family Support explained that:

·         There had been an ongoing reduction in the number of contacts through the front door and that re-referral numbers had reduced with an understanding of the reason for re-referrals, 

·         The timeliness of initial child protection case conferences had risen to the highest it had been throughout the year, resulting in children subject to a repeat child protection plan reducing, 

·         The number of children going missing had declined with the number of children entering care remaining stable, ensuring that children and young people who did not need to be looked after lived with family members in Special Guardianship Order arrangements, 

·         Social Workers continued to see children in care frequently, and 98% of their reviews were held on time, 

·         98% of care leavers had a pathway plan, with 92% of them being in suitable accommodation,

·         Caseloads for workers had increased, there was work in the team taking place to improve the number of assessments that needed to be completed on time,

·         The number of children on a Child Protection Plan had risen in Kirklees, this was lower than neighbouring Local Authorities and across England,

·         90% of children who were looked after were seen on time, work was ongoing to ensure that health checks were completed in time, particular dental checks.

Anna Gledhill, Head of Children’s Improvement, Partnership and Voice advised that   Ofsted judgements for some of the residential children’s homes had declined. This had been impacted by sufficiency and a national capacity crisis that developed throughout the pandemic. As a result, identifying and securing safe living environments for children and teenagers had been increasingly challenging. Childrens homes had identified that risk management needs for children in the homes had grown significantly, with the issues in the homes being related to demands in staffing skills.

In response to a question regarding recruitment and retention of staff in Children’s Services, Vicky Metheringham advised that recruiting and retaining social workers was a national issue.  Due to social worker posts being vacant, in March 2023 it was agreed that the service could recruit agency social workers, however, these posts were not successfully filled.  Through government reforms there had been a national agreement that the use of agency workers would not be a possibility anymore, and there was a consultation around the parameters of agency workers. Kirklees was clear that they would not breach the memorandum of understanding which was an agreement with Local Authorities and the Yorkshire & Humber region on how much agency workers were paid. Caseloads were higher for some social workers than the service would like them to be. A weekly case load meeting took place with Head of Services considering the workload of all teams and the cases allocated to them. Directors and Managers were doing everything they could to ensure that staff felt supported and that their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will receive an update from the Cabinet Members for Children’s Services on their priorities for 2023/24.

Contact:         Cllr Viv Kendrick, Cabinet Member for Children

                        Cllr Carole Pattison, Cabinet Member for Learning Aspiration

                        and Communities

The Panel received an update on the Cabinet priorities for Children’s Services from Councillor Viv Kendrick, Portfolio Holder for Children and Councillor Carole Pattison, Portfolio Holder for Learning, Aspiration and Communities.

Councillor Kendrick advised that her cabinet priorities were:

• To achieve a good outcome from the Inspection of Local area Children’s Services reflecting improved outcomes for our children, young people and families - In 2016 the inspection received an outcome of inadequate rating, over the years, a number of inspections and reviews had taken place with a range of hard work to improve the quality of service.  There was a real desire to do the best for all children with reduced resources and increased demand. A good outcome for the inspection was a goal, but the real desire was to continue improving services to support Kirklees children and families. 

• Providing high quality, stable, loving homes for our children and young people locally - A key priority was to do the best for children and young people in Kirklees and to have early help and support for families which enabled them to stay together where possible. There was a shortage of foster carers within Kirklees.  Foster carers within the authority were provided with a good offer of support, along with a robust training package. It was noted that Kirklees were unable to compete with what independent fostering agencies paid, and therefore end up with higher charges.  The service worked to support children by placing them with other family members where possible, where they could not remain with their birth parents. It was far better for children to remain with family members under a special guardianship order than it was being taken into care.

• Ensuring our children and young people and families with additional needs were supported as early as possible and were provided with a new financial support system to meet their needs in their learning environment – Early help was key in supporting families with children and young people with additional needs, and to continue that support when needed through the child and young person’s development. Education in local places was important, two new special schools were being built to replace two within the authority. One was to provide better accommodation and greater capacity for children with autism, and the other was to increase the capacity for young people with social, emotional, and mental health needs. Additional places were being added at mainstream schools, supported by special school, so that children could be educated locally.  A new financial system was being developed to assist schools in providing the best educational environment for the children.

Councillor Pattison advised that her cabinet priorities were:

• Ensuring the number of school places matched need and that schools were supported to meet changing needs – The demand for school places in some sectors was reducing, in others sectors it was increasing. Changing needs referred to the increasing numbers of children been seen with special educational needs and a need for special education as a result.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider any potential areas of pre-decision scrutiny in accordance with any cabinet decisions relating to children and young people which are on the horizon and receive update from Senior Officers in Children's Services. 

Contact:         Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director

                        Kieran Lord, Service Director

                        Vicky Metheringham, Service Director

Councillor Kendrick advised the Panel that Post 16 Home to School Transport for Special Educational Needs young people was an area of focus.

Councillor Pattison explained that an agreed scheme of support had been agreed for Improvement to Schools, which would commence in September 2023, a report would be provided for the Panel to consider in 2024.

Jo-Anne Sanders explained that a report on Youngsters Outcomes, which would include A levels and GCSE’s results would be available for the Panel to consider in the September meeting.  Jo-Anne Sanders also explained that a report for decision by cabinet regarding the SEND Transformation plan and sufficiency regarding alternative provision would be available for the Panel to consider at a future meeting.

RESOLVED: The Panel noted the items for pre-decision scrutiny and thanked the Cabinet Members and officers for their updates and the opportunity to comment on the reports prior to the decisions being taken by Cabinet.

Panel Members who attend the Corporate Parenting Board, will feedback on key areas of focus considered by the Board, which will be of interest to the Panel.

Councillor Cooper advised that no feedback was available from the Corporate Parenting Board held on 4^th July 2023. The next Corporate Parenting Board was scheduled to take place on 12^th September 2023 and Panel members would feedback to the next Panel meeting on any key areas of focus.

RESOLVED: The panel noted that Panel Members would feedback on the key areas of focus from the Corporate Parenting Board meeting due to place on 12^th September at the next panel meeting.

The Panel will consider areas of focus within the draft work programme and agenda plan for the 2023/24 municipal year and agree timescales.

Contact:          Helen Kilroy, Assistant Democracy Manager

The Panel considered the work programme for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Councillor Cooper requested that Post 16 Home to School Transport for special educational needs young people be added to the work programme for 2023/24

RESOLVED:

1)    The Panel noted the Work Programme and agenda plan for 2023/24,

2)    That Post 16 Home to School transport for Special Educational Needs young people be added to the 2023/24 work programme.