Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies were received from Councillor Richard Smith, Councillor Jackie Ramsay and Toni Bromley (Co-optee).

Councillor Marchington advised the Panel that Dale O’Neill and Linda Summers were due to step down from their role as co-optees and thanked them for their hard work and valued contributions to the Children’s Scrutiny Panel.

Councillor Marchington welcomed Graeme Sunderland, Ramzan Mohavuddin and and James Ryan to the meeting and advised the Panel that they were newly recruited co-optees who were observing the Children’s Scrutiny Panel today.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 1^st December 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 1^st December 2021 were agreed 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.

Councillor Marchington declared an interest regarding his position as a member of the Kirklees Standing Advisory Council on ReligiousEducation (SCARE) in relation to agenda Item 8.

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 hear any 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 hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

No petitions or deputations were received.

The Panel will consider an update on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Transformation.

Contact Officers:

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

Kelsey Clark-Davies, Head of Safeguarding and Inclusion

The Panel considered a report giving an update on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Transformation presented by Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director for Learning and Early Support. 

Jo-Anne Sanders highlighted the following key points:-

• In March 2019 Cabinet received a report in relation to parent / carers perspectives regarding SEND and work had developed since then as a partnership.
• A SEND inspection took place in February 2022, of which the outcomes was still to be provided.
• There was a clear SEND strategy in place and the vision across the partnership was that every child with SEND aspirations were no different from any other child and they should have the best start in life.
• There had been challenges during the pandemic which had affected the ability of schools to provide education, however, wrap around support had been provided across the partnership.
• Additional help had been sought from an improvement partner INPOWER to help co-produce inclusive ambitions that had underpinned the transformation journey, which were:
  • Collaborating at the earliest opportunity
  • Building trust with parents, carers, young people
  • Inclusion, removing barriers to ensure inclusive practice for families
  • Thriving in education but also in life and in hopes and aspirations
  • Co-produce with families to have clear aspirations for adulthood and the longer term.

Jo-Anne Sanders highlighted page 11 of the report and the context relating to the number of children / young people educated across Kirklees and those receiving additional help or support and advised the Panel that:

• Demand had grown at a national level and the response was to be open in terms of challenges
• The SEND transformation plan had been co-produced with partners.

• There were 5 key areas, practice, systems and processes to be learner focused and person centred, inclusive, orientating the system to early intervention, clear on what needed to be commissioned and transition through to preparing for adulthood.
• The ambition was to be bold, innovative and invest heavily in change.
• There were strong collaborative relationships with the parent / carer forum who provided support and challenge to get things right.
• In terms of improvement there was a refreshed Local Offer and an Inclusion Support Officer (ISO) had been introduced. This was to offer early advice and support to professionals.
• Work had been undertaken with professionals in schools to develop revised guidance in relation to the graduated approach which was due to be launched in April 2022. The co-production made it a valuable resource.
• Work had been undertaken with INPOWER to develop and trial a tool called ‘valuing friend’ which helped to understand the needs of children / young people early and provide holistic support.
• An external review was commissioned of specialist and alternative provision which had helped shape the sufficiency strategy and identified what was needed to support the needs of children.
• In October 2021 significant investment of 36 million was approved for the development of schools and to increase school place so young people could be educated locally.
• A Joint strategic assessment had helped provide a shared understanding of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Panel will consider a report which summaries the challenges faced by the school systems during the Academic year 2021 and the impact on educational outcomes for learners.  The Panel will be asked to comment prior to the report being considered by Cabinet.

Contact Officers:

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

Emma Brayford, Acting Senior Kirklees Learning Partner

Chris Jessup, Head of Education Outcomes

The Panel considered the draft Kirklees Annual Education Quality and Standards Report Update presented by Chris Jessup,Head of Educational Outcomes which outlined:

• The challenges faced by schools in 20202/21.
• There was little assessment and examination data to report on but there was positive activity to highlight. 
• Information in relation to how the system responded to the pandemic.
• The supportive challenge throughout the academic year and the impact as a result.
• Ongoing school improvement priorities aligned with the Kirklees Learning Strategies ‘Our Kirklees Futures’.

The Panel highlighted the recent white and green papers and suggested that the Panel could look again at the priorities for 2022/23 and beyond to address the extra challenges the education services was going to be faced with.  Chris Jessup responded and agreed that would be useful.

The Panel acknowledged how educational settings had responded brilliantly to the challenges over the past 2 years and although there was little data available, a huge amount had been achieved. The Panel also highlighted the extent to which students had risen to the challenge, whilst acknowledging the increase in mental health needs.

The Panel highlighted the Key Stage 5 results and that compared with national benchmarks, it had shown a dip. The Panel noted there had been less grade inflation in larger institutions and due to Kirklees having larger institutions a different process had been adopted which would explain this. The Panel also noted that there had been no evidence that would suggest a dip in quality.

The panel advised that it was pleased to see the inclusion of happy children in the aims and that this should be highlighted and that it was interesting to see the measures in relation to ‘working with people’ that had been used to inform the commitment to high aspirations.  The Panel noted that it had been agreed at Corporate Parenting Board that information on Looked After Children’s study and employment destinations would be provided to the Panel, this was to identify where young people were and ensure their aspirations.

The Panel highlighted point 3.3 in the report and suggested strengthening what had been said in relation place-based working, in that strong partnerships existed but also continued to develop.

The Panel acknowledged it was good to have a framework in place to look at the future and help children / young people to achieve the best outcomes. The Panel noted that the data told its own story, acknowledging that it opened appropriate doors for the future and provided good foundations for lifelong learning, and for children / young people to be happy and healthy in Kirklees.

Jo-Anne Sanders acknowledged and thanked the Panel for their feedback which would help inform the ‘Our Kirklees Futures’ report. Jo-Anne also noted it was important to reflect back over the past 2 years, particularly in relation to the dedication and commitment of colleagues which needed to be amplified.

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted the draft Kirklees Annual Education Quality and Standards Report Update and thanked Chris Jessup and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will consider the Annual Report for 2020-2021 from the Kirklees Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).

Contact Officers:

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

Ian Ross, SACRE

Alastair Ross, Religious Education Consultation (Learning and Early Support)

The Panel considered theKirklees Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) Annual Report for 2020 – 2021 presented by Mark Janes, Chair of Kirklees SACRE, which highlighted that:

• SACRE was a Statutory body and was responsible on behalf of the Local Authority for Religious Education (RE) within schools.
• Although RE was not part of the national curriculum, all children were entitled to RE being taught as part of the syllabus.
• It advised the Local Authority (LA) on all things concerning collective worship, school assemblies and on RE in line with the locally agreed syllabus which was set by SACRE and revised every 5 years.
• It monitored the effectiveness and appropriateness of the syllabus.
• 4 bodies made up the SACRE, which included the legacy of having an established church (Church of England), Councillors, Teachers and representative of other faith communities.
• Work was ongoing to increase the breath of representation within SACRE.
• RE helped with cohesion and was an integral part of children within the community.
• SACRE was a delegated body within the work of the Children’s scrutiny and needed the provision of a clerk.
• In 2020 – 2021 due to the pandemic, some elements of SACRE, including CPD (a training programme) for Teacher’s had to be administered online which brought challenge for faith communities.
• SACRE responded in partnership with the welcome school initiative and created virtual visits for children to places of worship which enabled leaders of faith communities to speak to many more children.
• In 2021, as well as regularly revising guidance to schools, SACRE widened its participation and shared in creating a hub across 5 boroughs in West Yorkshire and formed a group in relation to RSHE.
• A Sensitivity to Faith document was being developed, to help consider the needs and questions children may have in respect of faith and provided guidance on how education could be delivered whilst respecting faith.
• Well delivered RE fired up the imagination, curiosity and wonder of Children.

The Panel noted the various groups within the membership and asked a question regarding how the perspective and views of other faiths were considered who were not in the group. Ian Ross, Associate Learning Partner with responsibility for RE and SCARE responded and advised that SACRE sat within a national organisation, NASACRE (National Association of SACRE) where advice was sought from representatives of faith groups that were not represented in Kirklees. Ian Ross also advised that SACRE were members of the RE Council which represented all faiths and people of no faith who they could also go to for advice.

Mark Janes advised the Panel that SACRE was actively seeking to recruit members from other faith communities that were not currently represented and advised that Ian Ross had engaged in some work regarding the balance of overall teaching.

The panel highlighted the poor attendance and questioned whether there had been an issue in terms of encouraging people to attend.  The Panel also asked about the funding formulas and whether Kirklees was honouring its funding, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Panel Members who attend the Corporate Parenting Board will feedback on issues considered by the Board.

Councillor Elizabeth Reynolds shared an update on issues considered by Corporate Parenting Board, and highlighted that:

• There were 615 Children Looked After and 490 Special Guardianship Orders.
• The Board had been joined by Colin Parr, Strategic Director for Environment and Climate Change and David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth and Regeneration who shared the opportunities for Children Looked After within their Directorates.
• The 3 key areas were in relation to apprenticeships, the Climate Youth Festive and the Year of Music, and to see how Children Looked After could be represented.
• The Statement of Purpose highlighted challenges in recruitment and retention of Foster Carers in Kirklees and nationally.
• The Children Ambitions Board Update outlined Our Kirklees Futures, SEND Transformation and Contextual Safeguarding.

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted thefeedback from Panel Members on issues considered by Corporate Parenting Board.

Members of the Panel will consider the work programme and agenda plan for the 2021/22 municipal year and will discuss progress and consider new issues for inclusion during the 2022/23 municipal year.

Provisional dates for the 2022/23 municipal year have been set but are subject to agreement by Council Annual General Meeting in May.

Contact Officer:        Helen Kilroy, Assistant Democracy Manager

The Panel acknowledged a very busy year for Children’s Scrutiny and highlighted their visit to the Multi Systemic Therapy team, and that it was interesting to see how they collected and used data. The Panel agreed it would be useful to have some longer-term feedback as well as feedback on positive partnership interactions.

The Panel advised that two further visits were scheduled to Dewsbury and Batley Social Work teams in the 2022/23 municipal year.

The Panel also advised that a meeting with parents and young people who contributed to SEND was also due to take place in the 2022/23 municipal year.

RESOLVED:

The Panel noted the Work Programme and agenda plan for 2021-22 and agreed that:

1. The work programme for 2022-23 would be planned and agreed at Informal Panel meetings scheduled to take place in June 2022. 
2. Longer term feedback be provided in relation to Multi Systemic Therapy data and positive partnership interactions.
3. Visits to the Batley and Dewsbury Social Work teams would be scheduled to take place during the 2022/23 municipal year.
4. A meeting be arranged during the 2022/23 municipal year with parents and young people who contributed to the SENDACT report.