Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Chairman, Councillor Royle and Councillors Fearn and Joy, Keith Clear (Medway Parents and Carers Forum), David Lane (Parent Governor Representative) and Tina Lovey (Headteacher Representative).

In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, Councillor Wicks chaired the meeting.

To approve the record of the meeting held on 11 January 2018.

The record of the meeting held on 11 January 2018 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct.

The Chairman agreed that agenda item 6 (Attendance of the Portfolio Holder for Educational Attainment and Improvement) be considered by the Committee as an urgent item by reason of special circumstances, specifically, to enable the Committee to consider the report at the same time as the Annual School Performance Report.

The Chairman also agreed that agenda items 8 (Outcome of Joint Local Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Inspection) and 10 (Special Educational Needs (SEN) Home to School Transport Consultation and Policy Review) be considered by the Committee as urgent items by reason of special circumstances, specifically, to enable the Committee’s comments to be submitted to the Cabinet before it made any decisions on the matters on 10 April 2018.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman sent condolences to the family and all the students and staff of the Williamson Trust following the sad passing of Gary Vyse, Chief Executive of the Trust.

The Chairman welcomed Akinola Edun, Parent Governor Representative, to the Committee and announced to the Committee that the Assistant Director, Commissioning, Business and Intelligence would be leaving Medway Council to take up a new post at another Local Authority. He took this opportunity to thank the Assistant Director, Commissioning, Business and Intelligence for her hard work.

The Chairman also sent the Committee’s best wishes to the Chairman, Councillor Royle, who had sent his apologies for absence.

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests

There were none.

Other interests

Councillor Cooper declared a non-pecuniary interest in items 5 (Attendance of the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), 6 (Attendance of the Portfolio Holder for Educational Attainment and Improvement) and 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) by virtue of her position as governor at Rivermead School.

Whilst there was no reference to St Francis Pre-School on the agenda, Councillor Mrs Josie Iles asked for it to be recorded that she was the Chairman of the St Francis Pre-School Management Committee. She stated that if reference was made to the School she would leave the meeting during consideration of the item.

Councillor Johnson declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) by virtue of his position as governor, Director and Trustee of Chatham Grammar School for Girls Academy Trust. He stated that the Academy Trust no longer controls the school but still exists during the winding up period.

Councillor Kemp declared a non-pecuniary interest in items 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) and 10 (Special Educational Needs (SEN) Home to School Transport Consultation Policy and Review) by virtue of his position as a governor of Rainham Mark Grammar School and a Member of the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education.

Fay Cordingley (Teacher Representative) declared a non- pecuniary interest in item 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) because she worked at St Margaret’s Church of England Junior School and St James Church of England Primary School.

AkinolaEdun (Parent Governor Representative) declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) because he was a governor at English Martyrs’ Roman Catholic Primary School.

Clive Mailing (Roman Catholic Church Representative) declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) because he was the Chair of governors at two schools including St Augustine of Canterbury and St John Fisher Catholic School.

George Peck, the Medway Youth Council Cabinet Member, declared a non-pecuniary interest in 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) because he was a student at Medway University Technical College (UTC) mentioned within the report.

George Perfect, the Medway Youth Council Chairman, declared a non-pecuniary interest in 7 (Annual School Performance Report 2017) because he was a student and Chairman of the Student Council at Robert Napier School part of the Fort Pitt Thomas Aveling Academies Trust (FPTA) mentioned within the report.

This report sets out the progress made within the areas covered by the Portfolio for Children’s Services (Lead Member), which fall within the remit of this Committee.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress on the areas within the terms of reference on this Committee covered by the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services as set out below:

·         Children’s Partnership Commissioning (0-25)

·         Children’s Provider Services (including Adoption, Fostering, Supported Accommodation and Residential Care)

·         Children’s Social Care and Safeguarding Services

·         Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (including Mental Health)

·         Early Help (including Medway Action for Families, Youth Offending Team (YOT) and Youth Services)

·         Early Years

·         Inclusion

·         Safeguarding Children Board (MSCB)

The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), Councillor Andrew Mackness, thanked Medway headteachers, teachers and pupils for achieving excellent examination results. He also thanked a number of groups, including the Children in Care Council, Corporate Parenting Board and the Medway Youth Council for their contributions to children’s services and placed on record his thanks to the Director and Deputy Director of Children and Adults and the Children’s team for driving forward children’s services and safeguarding. He then responded to Members' questions and comments as follows:

·         Abbey Court – The Portfolio Holder stated that Abbey Court was an outstanding primary and secondary school and that he had visited the school to meet with the children and staff.

In response to questions concerning an insufficiency of places for children at the secondary school and the need to commence Phase 2 of the school’s building programme, the Portfolio Holder advised the Committee that within the capital funds that were available, the Council had invested considerably to build the new school and that it was not his, or the School Place Planning Team’s, understanding that there was an insufficient number of places for children within the secondary school. He added that the Council needed to prioritise funding based on need and that he sat on the Capital Advisory Board which was well informed on projections. However, he undertook to review this with the Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance on presentation of relevant statistics which demonstrated a need for additional capacity in school places.

With reference to transport assistance for children who were below the statutory school age, the Portfolio Holder explained to Members that the Council had taken a difficult decision not to fund travel assistance for nursery children by default but that special individual cases were assessed. He added that the Council fulfilled its statutory duties.

With regards to a question concerning a decrease in the number of children attending the nursery at Abbey Court, the Portfolio Holder advised the Committee that he was not aware of any cases where a transport appeal had been turned down for children under 5 to attend the nursery. He also advised Members that changes to Early Years funding had given parents more choice of where to send their children. If a case was presented where a child was prevented from receiving their preferred nursery place, he would request officers to review the matter.

·         Joint Local Area Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection – With reference to the strengths and weaknesses  ...  view the full minutes text for item 806.

This report sets out the progress made within the areas covered by the Portfolio for Educational Attainment and Improvement, which fall within the remit of this Committee.

This item was not finalised in time for despatch with the main agenda. The Chairman of the Committee is of the opinion that it should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency as permitted under section 100B of the Local Government Act 1972 to enable the Committee to consider this item at the same time as the Annual School Performance Report.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress on the areas within the terms of reference of this Committee and covered by the Portfolio Holder for Educational Attainment and Improvement as set out below:

·         Further Education

·         Primary and Secondary Educational Improvement

·         Safeguarding

·         School Organisation and Capital Projects

·         School Services (including Admissions and Medway Test)

·         Schools Liaison

The Portfolio Holder for Educational Attainment and Improvement, Councillor Martin Potter, responded to Members’ questions and comments as follows:

·         Key Stage 1 and 2 performance – A Member congratulated the Portfolio Holder and the wider team for the progress in attainment achieved at Key Stage 1. With reference to the improvements made in attainment at Key Stage 2 set out at paragraph 3.2 (iii) of the report, the Portfolio Holder provided clarification to Members and explained that a breakdown of the statistics to support the statement of achievement was presented in item 7 (Annual School Performance Report) of the agenda.

·         Results at Key Stage 2 and the impact at Key Stage 4 and 5 – With reference to the impact of attainment at Key Stage 2 on Key Stage 4 and 5, the Portfolio Holder noted that a trend had been identified but he did not accept that attainment at Key Stage 4 was lower as a result.

·         Progress 8 and Key Stage 4 and 5 – In relation to a question concerning a disparity in the attainment achieved by Medway Schools in the Progress 8 measure at Key Stage 4 and the attainment level in English and Maths at Key Stage 4, the Portfolio Holder explained that he had challenged the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) as well as school leaders on the issue and he expected to see improvements. He added that whilst performance in the Progress 8 measure was good, performance in English, Maths, as well as all eight subjects in the attainment 8 Measure also needed to be good.

·         Dynamics, the Medway Music Education Hub – A Member expressed that he was encouraged to note that Dynamics was to become a Community Interest Company (CIC) and noted that music education in Medway was to a high standard. With reference to music education, the Portfolio Holder advised the Committee that music did not just form part of a broad and balanced curriculum but provided health and wellbeing benefits.  He added music education is particularly good in primary schools but that improvements were needed in secondary schools. The Portfolio Holder stated he would be a Director on the CIC Board and looked forward to seeing music education develop. At the request of a Member, the Portfolio Holder undertook to provide the Committee with a copy of the Annual Performance Report of Dynamics as a briefing note.

·         Work programme – With reference to a request from a Member to receive the Medway Schools’ examination results before the March Committee meeting, the Portfolio Holder advised the Committee that whilst the work programme was determined by the Committee, the full break down of the results would not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 807.

A comprehensive Annual Schools’ Performance Report for the school year 2016-17 is attached at Appendix 1. This report provides the results at each key stage for maintained schools and academies. It also includes information on attendance and exclusions for 2015-16, the latest school year for which national data has been published and the provisional exclusions data for 2016-17.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report which provided a comprehensive overview of schools’ performance in Medway for the school year 2016-17. The report provided the Committee with the results at each Key Stage for maintained schools and academies, in addition to information on attendance and exclusions for 2015-16 and provisional exclusion data for 2016-17.

The Director of Children and Adults Services noted that the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC), Dominic Herrington, was not present at the meeting to answer any questions the Committee might have regarding Medway’s academies, this was due to bereavement. The Chairman noted that the RSC would attend the Committee on 5 June. 

The School Challenge and Improvement Leads outlined two programmes of activity to improve inclusion and attainment. Firstly, the Committee was advised that the 13 day inclusion programme had been implemented and included:

1)    working with a national training provider to develop Teaching Assistants;

2)    training Inclusion Leaders and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) to identify children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), understand the needs of these children and ensuring Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs) were high quality;

3)    instilling alternative behaviour management strategies within schools; and

4)    assisting schools to manage multi agencies.

The second programme outlined by the School Challenge and Improvement Lead was a transition programme. This programme addressed the transition between Key Stage 2 and 3 with particular reference to vulnerable children.

Members raised a number of points and questions including:

·         Inclusion programme – In response to a concern regarding the short length of the inclusion training programme for what was considered by a Member to be a complex issue, the School Challenge and Improvement Lead advised the Committee that the classroom teaching spanned six days, but as part of the programme, Inclusion Leaders would visit centres of excellence. Inclusion Leaders would also shadow effective leaders in schools that are outstanding for inclusion. 

·         Techniques to reduce exclusion – In response to a question about techniques employed within schools to reduce exclusion, the School Challenge and Improvement Lead explained to the Committee that the inclusion programme encouraged the use of a variety of different approaches to meet a child’s specific needs, including time out and time away from peers.  She added that the School Challenge and Improvement Team were encouraging schools to think more deeply about the reasons for the behaviour expressed by a child and as a result of this analysis schools were encouraged to motivate an appropriate response.

·         Early intervention – In response to a question concerning the support provided for children identified as at high risk of exclusion, the Director of Children and Adults Services stressed the importance of support outside school including access to early help programmes. 

·         Coasting schools – Asked by a Member what help was available to coasting schools identified within the report, the Committee was advised that one coasting school was maintained by the Local Authority, the remainder were academies. The School Challenge and Improvement Lead also advised the Committee that officers had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 808.

This report advises the Committee on the outcome of the Local Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from 4 - 8 December 2017.

This item was not finalised in time for despatch with the main agenda. The Chairman of the Committee is of the opinion that it should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency as permitted under section 100B of the Local Government Act 1972 to enable the Committee’s comments to be submitted to the Cabinet before it makes any decisions on this matter on 10 April 2018.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report which set out the outcome of the joint local area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from 4 to 8 December 2017.

The Director of Children and Adults Services introduced Mary Mason, Designated Nurse for Looked After Children (LAC) and Designated Clinical Officer (DCO), Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Nikki Teesdale Deputy Chief Nurse, Medway CCG.  Ms Mason and Ms Teesdale had been invited as representatives of Medway CCG as the Local Authority and CCG were required to submit a joint Written Statement of Action to the Department for Education (DfE) in response to the outcomes of the inspection.

Members raised a number of points and questions including:

·         Monitoring of the Written Statement of Action by the Department for Education (DfE) – In response to a question concerning actions that the Department for Education (DfE) might take following an unsatisfactory outcome after the 12 month monitoring period, the Head of Integrated 0-25 Disability Services advised the Committee that the DfE could extend the monitoring period or trigger a second inspection.

·         Submission of the Written Statement of Action – The Director of Children and Adults Services assured the Committee that he was confident that the Written Statement of Action would be submitted within the deadline of 70 working days.

·         Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) - In response to a question concerning the conversion rate of statements to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), the Head of Integrated 0-25 Disability Services confirmed that the Local Authority was on track to complete the necessary conversions by the deadline of 31 March 2018. She added that the DfE had set Local Authorities a target of 94% and that this percentage recognised that children with statements might move into the area without the knowledge of the Local Authority. In this instance the conversion period was 14 weeks.

Further to a question concerning whether all children with statements would be moved to an EHCP, the Head of Integrated 0-25 Disability Services confirmed that most children had received an EHCP. However, statements had been ceased and therefore no EHCP had been provided where children had opted not to stay in education post 16 and in cases where a child no longer needed the same level of support an EHCP would provide.  

·         Diagnosis of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and support – Members expressed concern over the barriers and time delays in diagnosing children and supporting children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). In response, the Head of Integrated 0-25 Disability Services advised Members that the joint inspection found that identification of SEN in young children was done well. With respect to timely diagnosis of SEN in children, the Designated Nurse for LAC and DCO, Medway NHS CCG, advised the Committee that she had worked with health care professionals and schools to explain the importance of health within EHCPs. She also noted that that she sits on the weekly SEN Panel that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 809.

This report summarises the performance of the Council’s key measures of success for 2017/18, as set out in the Council Plan that relate to the remit of this Committee.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report which summarised the performance against the delivery of the two priorities within the remit of the Committee set out in the Council Plan 2017/2018 for the third quarter of the year.

The report and accompanying Appendix 1 to the report provided details of performance against these priorities using 17 measures of success. However, this report only included information on 16 measures as data for 1 measure was not expected until after the report was published. The Director of Children and Adults Services outlined key performance indicators which were an ongoing priority for the Directorate, these included:

·         Reducing the number of those not in education, employment and training (NEET) and in ‘not known’ destinations aged 16-19 years;

·         Reducing the length of time taken between a child entering care and moving in with an adoptive family; and

·         Recruitment and retention of social workers.

In relation to the recruitment and retention of social workers, the Committee was advised that a new package to incentivise applications was in place and had received interest from practice managers and some social workers. It was anticipated that approval of a dedicated microsite and the package of improved training and facilities to enable more agile and mobile working would encourage additional applications.

Members raised a number of points and questions including:

·         Progress 8 – A Member commented that there was a discrepancy between the reported benchmarking of Progress 8 against national performance within the Council Plan Performance Monitoring Report and item 6 (Attendance of the Portfolio Holder for Educational Attainment and Improvement). Members were advised that this discrepancy owed to a time delay between compiling the reports.

·         Obesity – A Member expressed disappointment that the performance indicator for obesity was significantly below target. The Director of Children and Adults Services undertook to liaise with the Director of Public Health to provide the Committee with additional commentary on this measure.

·         Adoption – A Member expressed that caution should be exercised when meeting the adoption targets to ensure no failures occur. 

Decision:

The Committee noted the quarter 3 2017/2018 performance against the measures of success used to monitor progress against the Council priorities.

This report set outs the proposed amendments to the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy in relation to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and includes the results of consultation with service users, stakeholders and the wider public.

This item was not finalised in time for despatch with the main agenda. The Chairman of the Committee is of the opinion that it should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency as permitted under section 100B of the Local Government Act 1972 to enable the Committee’s comments to be submitted to the Cabinet before it makes any decisions on this matter on 10 April 2018.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report which outlined the proposed amendments to the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy in relation to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and minor consequential amendments and clarifications to the policy for mainstream pupils. The outcome of the consultation was set out in section 6 and 7 of the report.

The Assistant Director, Commissioning, Business and Intelligence drew the Committee’s attention to the seven key amendments and clarifications to the policy and emphasised that these proposals were intended to offer flexibility whilst ensuring the Council meets its statutory duties within budget.

Members raised a number of points and questions including:

·         Appeals - With reference to experience on the Schools Transport Appeals Committee and case examples a Member expressed concern that owing to the change in policy more appeals would be received. 

·         ‘Pick up points’ – With reference to specific needs of children including children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a Member expressed concern over the provision of ‘pick up points’ and the proposed pilot scheme to work with a small cohort of willing participants to test the effectiveness and viability of the proposal.  The Member sought assurances that the pilot scheme would include representation from a cross section of families. The Committee was assured that the proposed policy amendments did not impose the use of ‘pick up points’ on families, but that the provision of this option would be based around the needs of children and young people and their families and that officers would collaborate with families during the pilot.

The Partnership Commissioning Programme Lead noted that officers had undertaken extensive research into the options utilised by other Local Authorities and that pick up points had been successful elsewhere. It was further explained that not all routes would include pick up points and that officers would work with existing contractors and providers to determine what routes would be most suitable for the inclusion of ‘pick up points’. It was added that the use of ‘pick up points’ would address the issue of children and young people being required to remain on a mode of transport for long periods of time.

·         Training – At the request of Members, the Assistant Director Commissioning, Business and Intelligence undertook to offer training to all Councillors on the proposed Policy if it was adopted. This need for training was supported by the Assistant Head of Legal Services.

·         Consultation – With reference to the feedback from the consultation, a Member expressed concern that respondents expressing the view ‘not sure’ were considered to have agreed with proposals. The Partnership Commissioning Programme Lead explained to the Committee that 132 responses were received to the questionnaire and all of the feedback was set out in the report to ensure that the process was transparent.

·         Drivers of proposed policy amendments – In relation to a question concerning whether the driver of the proposed Policy amendments was financial, the Assistant Director, Commissioning, Business and Intelligence explained to the Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 811.

This report sets out the latest findings from Ofsted and resultant action plan following a further unannounced inspection of Aut Even on 28 and 29 of November 2017.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report which set out the findings of the comprehensive inspection undertaken by Ofsted on the Aut Even service between 28 and 29 November 2017. It was stated that Aut Even was now rated as ‘good’ in all areas.

The Director of Children and Adults Services advised the Committee that an important change had been relocating the management of Aut Even to within Children’s Services, under the responsibility of the Head of Provider Services.

The Committee was also advised that the delivery model had been revised, which meant that the capacity of the service had increased and the service was able to take new admissions. It was added that the changes in practice required following the previous inspection by Ofsted had been embedded into service delivery and the next steps would be to integrate this service with the services at Parklands.

Members congratulated the Aut Even Team on the latest inspection outcome and raised a number of points and questions including:

·         Inspection judgements - In response to a question concerning Ofsted’s judgement that there were some unresolved issues relating to some staff relationships that undermined consistent and cohesive team working, it was explained that this related to feelings of unsettlement and disruption between existing well established staff and staff who had been newly recruited. It was added that trust had begun to be developed between staff and this was improving.

·         Looked After Children (LAC) - A Member commented that the report stated that no Looked After Children (LAC) were supported in the Aut Even Service. The Interim Manager Aut Even (Short Breaks Service) clarified that LAC were not excluded from the service and that the children supported by the service were referred by social workers. At present no LAC had been referred.

·         Site closures - A Member commented that the report did not reference the recent closures of the Aut Even Service owing to inclement weather and refurbishment works and expressed concern that families could not access the service during these times. The Committee was advised that the closures were necessary for the safety of the children supported by the Service and staff members. In reference to the recent weather it was further explained that the closure of the Service was carefully assessed and continually monitored. In addition to safety, consideration was given to the ability to ensure there was sufficient numbers of staff available. The Interim Manager Aut Even (Short Breaks Service) highlighted that the road leading to Aut Even was not gritted and this was unlikely to be passable. The Director of Children and Adults Services advised that Parklands would potentially be more accessible.

Decision:

The Committee noted the work of the service and improvements made and that an update report would be provided to the Committee following the next Inspection by Ofsted scheduled in 2018/19.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out the Committee’s work programme along with recommended amendments from the Committee’s agenda planning meeting on 19 February 2018.

The Democratic Services Officer advised the Committee that the School Organisation Plan which would ordinarily be presented to the Committee ahead of any decision by the Cabinet to adopt the Plan would be replaced with a School Place Sufficiency Strategy. The new Strategy would take an overarching view of school place planning and school organisation and was scheduled for consideration by the Cabinet in July. It was noted that the Strategy would be complemented with annual reviews highlighting action taken, emerging need and recommendations to ensure a sufficient supply of good quality school places.

Decision:

The Committee agreed the work programme, as set out at Appendix 1, subject to adding:

5 June 2018 (provisional date):

·         Annual Report on the Children’s Social Care Service

·         Female Genital Mutilation

·         School Place Sufficiency Strategy

31 July 2018 (provisional date):

·         Update on the transfer of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) Service to the Health Visiting Service

7 March 2019 (provisional date):

·         Medway Safeguarding Children’s Board

Date to be determined:

·         Presentation on the Mind of My own (MoMo) app

·         Update on the NHS England Commissioned Childhood Immunisation Programme in Medway