Agenda item

This report provides further information as to the Council’s response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) global pandemic, within the remit of this Committee.

It also further outlines the approach in the coming weeks as priorities around the Council’s response alter to reflect the partial lifting of the lockdown and reopen schools.

Discussion:

The Director of People – Children and Adult Services introduced the report which provided detail on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the response by services within the directorate. He reassured the Committee that officers had continued to progress at pace with the Council’s children’s services improvement journey and highlighted the improved relationship with schools as a particular positive outcome.

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

·       Return to school in September – in response to concerns raised about how the return of children and young people to school in September would be managed and what lessons had been learned from the period of school closures, officers explained that there was a sense the pandemic re-positioned the role of the local authority in areas such as Medway where there were a substantial number of academies, in that all schools had worked with the Council in partnership to work through Government advice together and co-produce plans and strategies in response. Officers reiterated that the risks relating to Covid-19 and children attending schools was very small but the risks to children who did not attend school was much greater and could have significant long term consequences. Officers commended colleagues within education for the commitment they had made to ensuring children had access to learning opportunities throughout this period and in particular, for the efforts they were making to prepare for the full return in September.

·       Mental wellbeing – it was suggested that a report be considered at a future meeting with information about how Medway’s children and young people have coped with the pandemic and the impact it and lockdown measures had had on their development and mental health.

·       Use of technology – officers confirmed that adolescents in particular had welcomed the increase use of digital technology to communicate with social workers and the use of the Mind of My Own app would be strengthened going forward. Officers added that over 700 young people had been provided with devices to assist them in their studies. It was also recognised that some service users had missed their face to face interaction with practitioners and that going forward services would be delivered with a blend of digital and face to face contact.

·       Medway Test – in response to questions about the Medway Test arrangements for 2020, officers explained that they had delayed the test dates to the full extent of the potential range within the overall timelines as the Department for Education had not been willing to delay admission deadlines.

·       School attendance – in response to a question about how schools and the Local Authority would support parents and families to ensure pupil attendance was high, officers confirmed they would avoid fining families wherever possible and support families in building their confidence in sending children to school at the start of the new academic year. However, it was believed that attendance would be much improved in September across all year groups. 

·       School transport – concern was raised about the difficulties of social distancing on buses as well as ensuring bus routes were maintained. Officers explained that the Assistant Director of Front Line Services was liaising directly with Arriva. The plan to currently limit capacity to 50% of seats available would impact access and therefore officers were working to lobby the Department for Transport in getting this lifted for commercial routes. In addition, Arriva had attended a recovery meeting with Headteachers to inform schools on an increase in routes and on the measures they were taking to help keep transmission rates to as close to zero as possible. In relation to transport for children with special educational needs, officers were in frequent liaison with providers and where possible, children were being transported within their school bubbles.

·       Second wave – in response to a question about actions that would be taken if a second wave occurred, it was confirmed that unless there was a national policy decision to close schools, closures would be decided by schools but with input from the Local Authority. Officers added that they were working closely with teacher trade unions to work in partnership to support staff to return to work safely.

·       Short breaks – reference was made to the impact of the pandemic on short breaks provision, which was leaving parents and carers of children with disabilities without that support. Officers confirmed that Parklands had been opened during lockdown but with reduced numbers of children using the facility to comply with Covid-19 related guidance. Officers were keen to increase intake to its full capacity, but this would only been done when safe to do so, particularly given the vulnerabilities of the children who use this service.

·       Child health referrals – reference was also made about the decision to stop accepting referrals for children by Medway Community Healthcare, who had redeployed a number of its staff members to assist with other critical services. The impact of this on children and young people was acknowledged and was a priority in terms of the recovery planning for this important service area.

·       Support for students – questions were asked about how students were supported, particularly those at transition points in Year 11 and 13, to ensure they were getting the right advice going forward and if library spaces could be used for children who were unable to study at home. Officers confirmed that one of the Council’s top priorities was to address the issue around children who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) and there was a concern that the risk of young people becoming NEET would be increased as an impact of the pandemic and lockdown measures. There had been a sharp fall in the number of training providers in Medway and the Council was exploring alternative options to establish new provision at pace.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report and requested a report to a future meeting on the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on children and young people, particularly in relation to mental wellbeing, development and digital poverty.

(Councillors Johnson, Osborne and Chrissy Stamp requested that their votes in favour of the decision be recorded).