Agenda item

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.  The biggest priority was finding places for children with special educational needs, both in the long and short term. Schools were facing challenges due to numbers on role falling, especially in primary schools, this was providing problems in terms of accommodation and staff which was costly and causing financial problems. In some secondary schools, there were bulge years going through their schools that required extra provisions and staff on a temporary basis. Adapting to change resulted in financial pressures, but it was a legal responsibility for the Local Authority to find school places for every child. 

• Reviewing Our Kirklees Futures, Our Learning Strategy, and its delivery over the next 5 years –Launched in 2001, the vision and obsession of Our Kirklees Futures, Our Learning Strategy had not changed, but the ability to achieve the vision had changed. A review of the learning strategy was required to ensure delivery was on track for 2030. A vision was that by 2030, no child would be excluded from school, and that they would be achieving the best education that was available to them. There was an action plan behind the vision, the national picture was that exclusions had risen, partly to the pandemic and home learning, and partly to the structure in people’s lives.

• Working with women and local organisations and understanding their lived experiences to drive culture change and ensure services respond appropriately – one of the key priorities for the Mayor of West Yorkshire was violence against women and girls, which was also a Cabinet priority. It had become apparent that it was not about tackling the violence but was quite often about culture. Kirklees was looking at introducing a pledge with partners across the partnership board to take action regarding the culture within their organisations, ensuring appropriate responses were received.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the Cabinet priorities be noted, and Members be thanked for their contributions.

2)    That a report be provided at a future meeting giving an update on Exclusions and Suspensions.