Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Hamilton, Councillor Howcroft-Scott, Councillor Pearce, Councillor Spring, Carl Guerin-Hassett (Headteacher Representative), Clive Mailing (Catholic Diocese Representative), Rose Stokes (MYC Cabinet Member) and Emma-Sue Willows (Healthwatch Medway).

To approve the record of the meeting held on 14 June 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of 14 June 2023 was agreed and signed by the Chairperson as correct.

There were none.

The Chairperson extended thanks on behalf of the Committee to Clive Mailing, the Catholic Diocese representative who had resigned from the Committee due to retirement, for all his hard work and dedication since his appointment in 2013. The Committee wished him all the best for the future and a happy retirement.

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 (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

At the 2 March 2023 meeting it was proposed and agreed that as a result of work undertaken in partnership with the Local Government Association the Committee adopt a hybrid model moving forward.

This would be based on the assumption that meetings will last no more than three hours, with two hours focused on the theme and the remaining time on general matters that need to be reviewed by the Committee as existing ongoing business. 

Following consultation with the Director of People, Children and Adults’ Services it was agreed that this meeting would be Education and Special Educational Needs and Disability Themed with reports covering Medway Joint Local Area SEND Action Plan, SEND Inspection Performance Update and Post 16 Review. 

Discussion:

The Assistant Director of Education and SEND introduced the item and gave a detailed presentation on the tabled reports.

Best Practice – it was asked what the Council was doing to ensure that best practice from good SENDCOs was replicated in all schools to ensure that all children in Medway had access to best services. The officers said that there were various practices taking place to ensure that skills and learning were shared across schools in Medway. The Council was heavily invested in the training, development and upskilling of all staff across schools by creating a mechanism to disseminate training support and giving schools the ability to determine what training best fits their needs. This was done by working with schools and creating an annual training programme that they could select from targeted areas as needed. It was vital to create an appropriate schedule and get the training offer right. There was also an outreach programme in place which worked to get people into schools to provide support and guidance. An annual conference had taken place where learning and best practice was shared and there was continuous work on how to strengthen services. It was important that SENDCOs were part of the senior leadership team to ensure that they were able to advocate within schools and push the inclusion agenda.

It was further asked how equipped mainstream schools were in their ability to teach children with SEND and their attitude to supporting these children. The officer said that there was a broad range of schools in Medway. The support in schools varied with some schools extremely inclusive whilst some still had some work to do as they were less experienced, to improve standards. On the whole, schools were supportive of the SEND Strategy and wanted to work in partnership with the Council and providers to ensure that early intervention and support was provided to pupils.

Engagement - in response to questions on what level of engagement had taken place with CEOs of academies as well as maintained schools on the ambitions of the SEND Strategy Action Plan, officers said that there were CEOs on the action plan group, and they were part of the governance process. Officers from the Council regularly attended the CEOs monthly group meetings and engaged in follow up conversations as necessary. There was an operation group in place that met monthly and fed into the governance processes of the SEND partnership group. Some of the CEOs were onboard with the changes and ambition whilst some were apprehensive of change as they were in transition.

Top up Funding – more information was sought on the Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) banding as there were concern regarding accuracy of assessment and that schools were in receipt of the appropriate level of funding.  In particular, for Special Education Needs Code K (SEN K) children. The officer clarified that SEN K were children that did not have an EHCP but were identified to have a need following assessment by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 163.

Medway’s Joint Area SEND Strategy 2022-25 was developed in 2022 and sets out the vision, guiding principles and the key areas of development which are the focus for Medway’s children and young people with SEND. Following the development of the strategy, the Action Plan was shaped with partners and stakeholders, to focus activities and actions on achieving the priority areas identified in the strategy.

Discussion:

Discussion of this Item can be found at minute number 163.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.

This paper sets out Medway’s SEND Inspection Performance in line with the updated Area SEND Inspection Framework published by Ofsted in January 2023.  The paper sets out the current desktop analysis on performance measures and is based on information and evidence collated in partnership with key agencies in education, health and social care.

Discussion:

Discussion of this Item can be found at minute number 163. 

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.

Medway Council commissioned ACL Consulting to conduct a Review of Post-16 education, training and employment available to young people in Medway between October 2022 and February 2023. Medway’s Post-16 Review was undertaken to provide a diagnostic of the breadth and inclusivity of current post-16 options in Medway, identify and evidence areas for development, and provide recommendations for improvements for the Council and partners to consider and take forward.

Discussion:

Discussion of this Item can be found at minute number 163.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.

The Annual Report sets out how Medway Council Fostering Service meets the needs of the children in care in the year from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 and establishes the work which should be undertaken in the coming year.

Discussion:

The Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive introduced the annual report which set out how Medway met the needs of children in care in the year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 and detailed the work to be undertaken in the coming year.

Members then raised a number of comments and questions, which included:

Social Media - it was asked how effective the use of social media had been in recruitment of foster carers in comparison to other methods, the costs involved and with the increase in digital presence, what more was being done to maintain Medway’s Fostering reputation. Members were informed that recruitment of foster carers was a highly competitive market. The team worked diligently to maintain the brand and reputation that had been established by ensuring it met its statutory responsibilities of provision of safe and caring environments for children of Medway whilst continually focusing on improvement. The team, despite being a small team with limited resources to compete, actively strived to maintain advantage within a competitive market by listening to the information provided by foster carers and young people, and prioritised recruitment for more in house Medway foster carers in the community. The use of social media had proved to be a valuable and effective means of promoting the service in addition to the other methods used to target a wide range of people. The cost of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) for a 12 month period was just under £20,000.

Recruitment - in response to a question on the reasons behind the loss of permanent staff and what information was gathered from exit interviews, the officer said workforce was a national issue affecting children’s social care. There were various reasons that affected turnover of staff, such as people wanting to work closer to home or personal family circumstances as well as other issues. It was important to note that posts were being continuously recruited to and recruitment and retention of staff remained a priority in all areas of children’s social care. Exit interviews took place on a regular basis and the information gathered was a useful learning tool.

Recruitment of foster carers – it was asked what intelligence was gathered from the applicants that withdrew their applications, or those that later went on to work for Independent Fostering Agencies. The officer said that people withdrew for various personal reasons. If a potential carer withdrew their application, then they had made the right decision at the time, because it was vital that potential carers were confident and fully committed before deciding to foster children. There were instances where months later, applicants may then decide to sign up with an Independent Fostering Agency, this was also due to different reasons, and it was not incumbent for them to provide information as to the reasons for their decision.

It was further asked what incentives and discounts were provided for foster carers to access local services and activities. Officers said that recruitment and retention of foster carers was a priority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 164.

This item advises Members of the current work programme and allows the Committee to adjust it in the light of latest priorities, issues and circumstances. It gives Members the opportunity to shape and direct the Committee’s activities over the year.

Discussion:

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report and informed Members that the next Performance Data Workshop would take place in September with the date to be confirmed after the meeting. A workshop on the Dedicated Schools Grant National Funding Formula would take place in November, the date of which would be confirmed once finalised.

Members were advised to discuss and agree suggestions within their groups for Task Group topics and for the suggestions to be fed back by the Chairperson and Opposition Spokesperson for further discussion at the meeting proposed for Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons and Opposition Spokespersons.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to:

a)    Note the work programme as set out in appendix 1 to the work programme report.

b)   Identify up to two potential Task Group topics for consideration at a meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairpersons, Vice Chairpersons and Opposition Spokespersons.