Agenda item

This report details the areas covered by the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services.  This report covers the period from January 2014.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress made within the Portfolio for Children Services (Lead Member) over the last year.  The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), Councillor O’Brien, responded to Members’ questions and comments as follows:

·        Increasing capacity of school places. A Member raised concern that too many additional places were being planned for in under performing schools and asked that before permanent provision was put in place, clear evidence of sustained improvement should be demonstrated.  The Portfolio Holder explained that Headteachers and Governors were working hard with the School Improvement Team to achieve some sustained improvement in our schools and referred to the report on the School Organisation Plan which the committee would be considering later in the meeting.

·        Location of detached youth workers on peninsula.  A Member referred to two detached youth workers who had recently been moved from the Strood Youth Centre and asked where they would be relocated to, suggesting Hoo Library as an alternative.  The Portfolio Holder confirmed that the youth workers had had to vacate Strood Youth Centre as the Youth Offending Team had been moved to the site and he was happy to explore with officers alternative provision for the youth workers.

·        Organisational Change Department. A Member sought clarification of this role and what progress was being made in relation to achieving a sustainable work force.  The Lead Member explained that the department helped to manage and ensure that adequate numbers of full time staff were employed.  This had been a challenge but more newly qualified social workers had been recruited and the workforce was beginning to stabilise.  Relocating social care staff so that they were all located together at MHS Broadside had been a real improvement and had enabled the staff to work in a more cohesive and professional way.

·        New protocol for ‘missing persons’.  It was requested that the new protocol was shared with Committee Members.

·        Apprenticeships for young people with learning difficulties.  More detail around the numbers of young people benefiting from such schemes was requested.  The Director of Children and Adults confirmed that there were two types of apprenticeship schemes.  One was that any large contract let by Medway Council should include apprenticeship schemes. Two Looked After Children had secured placements.  The other was apprenticeship placements for young people with learning difficulties and six young people had secured this type of scheme in Medway.

·        Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.  In response to a comment, the Portfolio Holder confirmed that work was continuing to achieve a single point of access and this was progressing positively.

·        Child sexual exploitation. In response to a question about what Medway was doing in relation to this issue the Portfolio Holder confirmed that there was a partnership approach to this, through the Medway Safeguarding Children Board (MSCB) and that much work had been done.  A Member Briefing session had been held prior to this meeting, which had given detail on this and the Portfolio Holder requested officers to re-run that training at a later time to enable Members that work to attend and to circulate the presentation and handouts to all Members.

·        Key Stage 2 performance.  The Portfolio Holder explained that the provisional data for Key Stage 2 had demonstrated an improvement in performance in this area and thanked school leadership teams, pupils and the School Improvement Team for this.

·        Home to School Transport. Members raised their concerns regarding the current policy and requested the Portfolio Holder to consider a change so that girls from the Hoo Peninsula area who were attending grammar schools could be entitled to free home to school transport to both Fort Pitt Grammar School and Rochester Grammar School for Girls.  The current policy only entitled them to free transport to Fort Pitt, as this was the nearest grammar school in distance.  The Portfolio Holder confirmed his intention to consider a review of the policy in the future and that if the policy were to be reviewed it would be a Cabinet decision.

Decision:

The committee thanked the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member) for his attendance and recommended that he and officers consider the possibility of a review of the Home to School Transport Policy being undertaken.