Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies were received from Cllr Tanisha Bramwell and Cllr Ashleigh Robinson.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on the 22^nd November 2024.

That the minutes of the meetings held on the 22^nd November 2024 be approved as a correct record.

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

Cllr Hannah McKerchar declared an interest as Vice-Chair of SACRE.

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Committee.

All items were considered in public session.

The Panel 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 in writing, 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 in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No public questions were received.

Contact:        Jo-Anne Sanders – Service Director, Learning and Early Support

                     Mark Janes – Chair of SACRE

The Panel considered an Annual Report from the Kirklees Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) by Emma Brayford, Senior Learning Partner, and presented by Mark James, Chair of SACRE. The Panel were advised that the SACRE Panel was formed from members of faith communities, councillors and teachers.

SACRE’s key responsibilities were:

• To produce an agreed Religious Education (RE) syllabus.
• To monitor the delivery of RE and collective worship in Kirklees.
• To support the teaching of RE through teacher conferences.
• Determination where a parent requests that their child is withdrawn from RE.

Priorities from the last year were:

• To revise the locally agreed syllabus and provide support for teachers. The syllabus was built around six “Big Ideas” in RE, pathways that children follow throughout their school education, exploring the ideas in relationship to faith. This approach was compliant with the new non-statutory guidance from the RE Council, the National Content Standard.
• Kirklees was represented at the locally agreed syllabus conference on 12^th March 2024, by Council Officers, and the launch and training event was attended on 18^th April 100 teachers and Headteachers.
• There had also been a focus on the introduction of the new inclusive, Collective Worship Award for schools, working with school improvement partners to identify schools in need of support.  Honley School, Crossley Fields Primary School and Netherton Infants School were successful in completing the Kirklees SACRE Award and were presented with awards at the RE Network.
• SACRE also monitored data, to see how well children were engaging with RE. Data indicated that there was a variety of engagement levels within schools in Kirklees.

SACRE advised the Panel that they were grateful for the funding from Kirklees Council, which enabled RE to be delivered well in schools, contributing to community and cohesion, giving children the opportunity to understand and practice empathy for people different to them, and providing opportunity for imagination and exploration of the world they lived in.

Ian Ross advised the Panel that RE was locally determined and not part of the National Curriculum, and was the only subject that the Council had any control over. SACRE was pleased with the uptake of the locally agreed syllabus within all schools in the Local Authority, including the Academies which had mostly adopted the syllabus. The RE syllabus was shared between 4 local authorities in West Yorkshire, which contributed to the bigger picture of West Yorkshire and provided economies of scale.

The Panel was informed that SACRE’s recommendations were to review the annual funding, at 2% of the Central School Services Block (CSSB) National Funding and to ask that the Council help SACRE to review its membership to be representative of the local area. There were currently vacancies for Muslim representatives on the Board. The Panel were asked to consider and accept the report presented. Ian Ross asked the Panel for permission to investigate with Secondary Learning Partners and Emma Brayford the position for RE for non-examined students at Key Stage 4. Data suggested that 70%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Contact:         Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director (Learning and Early Support)

The Panel considered a report which provided an insight into the national and local challenges relating to Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), presented by Michelle Lister, Head of Service Early Support and SENDACT.

The Panel were advised that:

• Kirklees had set out its inclusive ambitions in its ‘Big Plan’, the SEN Transformation Plan, which included performance data of initial assessment for EHCP and final plan compliance.
• Challenges were being seen nationally in this area of performance.
• The service recognised the challenges that had built up and actions had been taken to address these, including taking a partnership approach, with Health, and PCAN.
• It was recognised how difficult these challenges had been for the families of Kirklees, who had demonstrated patience while improvements were being made.
• In addition to improving compliance, there had been a focus on ensuring quality of planned support.
• SENDACT were working hard to support the Cluster arrangements which would help provide the right support as early as possible, and a report on this progress would be considered by the Children’s Scrutiny Panel at the next meeting in March 2025.
• There was the opportunity for the Panel to meet the SENDACT team.

The Panel asked if there was an expectation that more SEN children would attend mainstream school, and was this driven by funding? Michelle Lister explained that the service wanted to ensure that children were included in the right environment for their needs. Currently 4800 Kirklees young people, from Early Years to age 25, had EHCPs, with a significantly larger number accessing SEN support. Comparing data with other authorities, Kirklees schools were successful in including students with SEND. Some children needed additional support within mainstream schools, and investments had been made to create Additionally Resourced Provisions where specialist teaching could take place. The Panel was informed that independent provision was also sometimes required. Funding had to be considered and was monitored within the safety valve agreement to ensure a sustainable approach, but the priority was to ensure youngsters accessed education in suitable provision.

In response to a question regarding the availability of support required and outlined in the EHCPs, Michelle Lister explained that the EHCP Team would co-ordinate professionals to deliver support (Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists etc) and recognised that additional numbers of EHCPs would put pressure on those professionals. The Panel noted that there were further pressures, including 4,800 annual reviews being required, but were assured that all these issues were in view. Ambitions had been shared with key partners such as the Integrated Care Board (ICB), on how best to commission the professionals needed.

The Panel asked how the voice of the parent was included within the EHCPs, and was advised by Michelle Lister that in wider terms, PCAN had been involved in the quality compliance group and had been involved with recruitment to the team. Communication with parents was an area for improvement, and changes had been made to the communication system, with calls being put through more effectively. Jo-Anne  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider a report for information providing assurance on Residential Children’s Homes and Fostering Provision.

Contact:        Joel Hanna – Head of Service, Children Looked After and Residential Services

                     Anna Gledhill – Head of Service, Fostering Services

The Panel considered a report, which provided assurance and information on Residential Children’s Homes and Fostering Services in Kirklees presented by Joel Hanna, Head of Service for Corporate Parenting.

The Panel were advised that:

• The majority of children in care in Kirklees were in family settings, with Foster Carers or Kinship/Connected Carers. A small number of children lived in residential, small group homes. 
• Placements were also commissioned from independent fostering agencies and independent care homes where necessary.
• There was a national deficit in placements available for children; local and national campaigns had been launched to recruit foster carers.
• The report set out the position for recruiting Foster Carers.
• A team was working to recruit Foster Carers, and advertising on Kirklees vehicles was planned.
• All independent Care Homes and the six Kirklees Care Homes were subject to Ofsted inspections, regulations and standards.
• At the time of writing the report, 34 young people were living in externally commissioned provision, and 16 in Kirklees Care Homes.
• Some young people living in Care Homes could have been suited to Foster Care, however suitable provision had not been available. Placements may be short-term while foster provision was found for these young people, however they may settle and the residential placement may then become the most suitable placement for them.
• The Service had sought to expand provision and last year opened a sixth Children’s Home which had not yet been assessed by Ofsted but was settled and stable and would be inspected by the end of March 2025.
• Existing Children’s Homes were in the process of being refurbished as the young people living there moved on.

In answer to a question about the decrease of Foster Carers, and whether there was a shift toward carers choosing to work for private fostering agencies, Joel Hanna explained that the ten year low in the number of Foster Carers applied to both private agencies and local authorities. The trend in recent years had been that more Foster Carers were leaving than joining.  As a result, the DfE were working with local authorities on regional campaigns. Foster Carers in Kirklees received renumeration for their work, and received a skills level payment, which allowed Foster Caring to be an alternative to other paid work. The Panel was informed that there was a drive to increase the number of Kirklees Foster Carers, as agency fees doubled the cost of placing children through a private fostering agency. 

The Panel asked how confident the Service was that the residential homes would improve their Ofsted judgements on the next cycle of inspection, and whether good practice was shared across the homes. Joel Hanna advised that several activities had led to improvements, including:

·       Creating a progression route and enhanced leadership capacity for residential practitioners.

·       Recruiting residential practitioners internally from Family Time Team.

·       Moving residential staff around homes to share good practice.

·       Making improvements to the building at a home currently at Requires Improvement.

·       Monitoring visits ensuring that the other home at Requires Improvement is on a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Panel will consider a verbal update on the performance highlights from the latest Children’s Services data report covering period ending 30th November 2024.

Contact:        Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director

Pam Allen, Interim Service Director

Robert Fordyce, Head of Quality Assurance and Practice Development

Vicky Metheringham, Service Director for Child Protection and Family Support and Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director for Learning and Early Support, presented highlights from the Performance Data.

Vicky Metheringham highlighted the following key points:-

Assessment and Intervention Teams

·       High caseloads were being experienced for Social Work Practitioners and Personal Advisors, and this, as well as vacancies, was impacting on data reporting, meaning that the some of the data presented was showing a position worse that the reality.

·       There was weekly oversight of Social Work Practitioner and Personal Advisor caseloads and they were being offered management support.

·       Checks were made to ensure children’s visits were being undertaken and risk was being appropriately managed.

·       There were currently vacancies for new Social Workers, but there was confidence that if retention was to remain strong, the vacancy situation would be much improved by late summer.

·       10 Frontline Practitioners were due to move to permanent Social Work posts later this year; this had been a successful recruitment strategy as all were indicating their intention to remain at Kirklees.

·       Student Social Workers, apprenticeship and Step-Up to Social Work students would also qualify later in the year.

Children in Care

·       Checks were made to ensure Looked After Children’s plans were reviewed, that they were seen frequently and that they were optimising their health opportunities.

·       Looked After Children’s dental check data looked lower than the reality. Dental checks for children in care was currently 90%, meaning that 90% of children in care had seen a dentist in the last year.

·       Through the Kirklees Parenting Board, a positive relationship had been built with the designated nurse for safeguarding children and there was the opportunity for a multi-agency data performance meeting to ensure the data aligned.

Child Protection

·       Social worker assessments should take place within 45 days for Children in Need, however this had been impacted by caseloads and vacancies. It had been identified that some cases should be closed because families were not in agreement for the assessment to continue.

·       Child Protection Plan assessments were completed in a timely manner.

·       The number of children at risk of exploitation increased in November, which could be due to a rise in reporting as partners worked with Social Workers to share information. All children at risk of exploitation’s plans were reviewed weekly to ensure timely intervention.

·       Re-referrals – there had been a small rise in the number of children who have been on a Child Protection Plan in the previous 2 years. A deep dive was planned in March 2025 to ensure an understanding of the reasons why children were on repeat plans.

·       Visits to children on a Child Protection Plan – data suggested visits within 15 days had dropped, however this was a reporting issue and did not reflect the actual picture.

Care Leavers

·       Care Leavers seen within 8 weeks and Care Leavers with an updated pathway plan – these numbers had dropped according to data. This was related to the number of Care Leavers increasing, due to the drive for contact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

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 updates from senior officers in Children’s Services.

Contact:          Service Directors (Children’s Services)

Jo-Anne Sanders advised that in the November Scrutiny meeting it had been brought to the Panel’s attention that a report regarding school admission arrangements would be brought to Cabinet in early 2025. The report entitled ‘Determination of School Admission Arrangements for 2025/2026’ was scheduled for Cabinet on 11^th February and had been circulated to members of the Panel for information. Questions and comments were invited from the Panel, which Jo-Anne Sanders would respond to.

RESOLVED -

That the pre-scrutiny updates be noted and that Members of the Panel submit any questions and comments to officers for response.

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

Joel Hanna provided feedback from the last meeting of the Kirklees Parenting Board as Members of the Panel who attended the Board meetings had been unable to attend. The January meeting had focused on health priorities for Looked After Children and Care Leavers, including the recording of and reporting of dental health checks. The Panel was informed that it was a positive meeting with the partnership being extended to include representatives from Kirklees College and Huddersfield University. This had led to links being made between their services and the emotional health and wellbeing teams to see how access to counselling services could be increased. The Board had also welcomed two new Care-experienced Board Members with another due to join in March, to provide valuable input and lived experience to the Board.

The Chair of the Panel remarked on the efforts she had observed at previous meetings of the Kirklees Parenting Board to engage with young people, using their language and putting young people at the heart of the conversation.

RESOLVED -

That the updates from the Kirklees Parenting Board be noted.

The Panel will consider the proposed areas of focus and activity for the 2024/25 municipal year and discuss the method and means to be used to continue the Panel’s work going forward.

Contact:          Helen Kilroy, Assistant Democracy Manager

The Panel had attended a joint meeting with the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel on the 16^th January 2025 and considered a report on the work on the children and adults immunisation programme.

The Panel was informed that there would be an additional Joint Panel meeting in May 2025 between the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel and the Children’s Scrutiny Panel to consider Children’s Dentistry.

Panel Members had attended the Youth Engagement Team Practice Learning Day on 10^th January 2025 in Dewsbury and met with the team to find out more about their role and challenges.

The Panel were advised that a summary of all the visits which had so far taken place had been included in the work programme.

RESOLVED -

That the progress on the Work Programme and Agenda Plan for 2024-25 and the updates on recent visits be noted.