Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J P Churchill, T Keywood-Wainwright and R Wootten.

The Chief Executive reported that having received notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, he had appointed Councillors C L Strange and T M Trollope-Bellew as a replacement members on the Committee in place of Councillors J P Churchill and R Wootten respectively, for this meeting only, and Councillor Mrs H N J Powell in place of the vacancy until further notice.

It was requested that the following interests be noted:-

Mr S Rudman – a close relative was involved in the adoption process.

Councillor B Adams – had been put forward as a prospective trustee of Inspire+

Councillor Mrs L A Rollings – worked closely with Cherry Willingham School's Sports Partnership.

RESOLVED

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2014 be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive a report which provides the Committee with an update on how the participation of children and young people in Physical Education (PE), school sport and physical activity is being sustained and enhanced in light of increasing childhood obesity and the Olympic/Paralympic Legacy)

The Committee received a report which provided an update on how the participation of children and young people in Physical Education (PE), school sport and physical activity was being sustained and enhanced in light of increasing childhood obesity and the Olympic/Paralympic legacy.

A number of officers were in attendance to represent partners including Keith Batty (Director of Programmes, CfBT Education Services), Andy Birch (Head of Secondary School Improvement, CfBT Education Services); Navaz Sutton (Children and Young People Manager, Lincolnshire Sport); Andy Allen (Chair of Lincolnshire School Games Organisers); Jon Clack (Headteacher of Great Ponton CE Primary School and Ambassador Head Teacher for the Youth Sport Trust and Trustee for Inspire+); and Phillip Garner (Health Improvement Manager, Public Health (LCC)), and take part in a discussion with the Members of the Committee.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         PE and sport was seen as a good opportunity in terms of improving health and wellbeing.  One of the main drivers for the past 5-7 years had been the amount of funding which was available for PE and Sport;

·         Around 44% of schools opened up their facilities for the use of the local community.  Some of the reasons schools stated for not doing this included staffing costs and the need for additional insurance.  It was noted that most of the groups that did use school facilities were pre-school age groups;

·         A challenge would be how to continue to secure funding in the future, and ensure that investment continued to come into the county;

·         The Youth Sport Trust was working with around 28,000 children, and approximately 1,000 were involved with Change for Life and the Legacy Challenge;

·         Councillor N J Smith reported that she had attended the launch of the Change for Life and Legacy Challenge Programmes, which had been a very good event.  It was noted that one of the teachers had spoken passionately about the difference the programmes had made to some of the children, not just physically, but also mentally;

·         Concerns were raised regarding the use of the sports premium to bring external agencies into schools, as it was thought there should be more emphasis on teachers taking the lead on providing activities.  Members were assured that staff within schools were being developed to deliver these programmes and activities, and schools were working closely with the Sports Partnerships to ensure that this was happening.  It was noted that PE teachers should be working alongside the coaches;

·         It was commented that sometimes the experience of trying a different activity – through an external coach that visited a school – could lead to a child taking an interest in that activity and seeking out an after school club;

·         It was queried whether there was any way of predicting when levels of childhood obesity would start to fall below the national average;

·         It was also queried  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

(To receive a report which sets out the Lincolnshire School Improvement Offer for 2014-2015 and details the roles of both Lincolnshire County Council and CfBT in the delivery of that offer)

Consideration was given to a report which set out the Lincolnshire School Improvement Offer for 2014-15 and detailed the role of both Lincolnshire County Council and CfBT in the delivery of that offer.

Members were advised that there were a lot of changes taking place within the world of education, and negotiations were underway to determine a model of sector led improvement for Lincolnshire.  It was noted that CfBT was extremely supportive of the changes and through its core contract with LCC, continued to be the key strategic partner for the delivery of school improvement in Lincolnshire.

The Committee was provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         There were 15-25 schools and 10-15 academies on average per year which were causing concern;

·         It was queried how problems were able to develop in schools so they caused concern, as education advisors made regular visits and whether there was anything that the authority could do to be more pro-active?  Members were assured that there were internal mechanisms in place for ensuring that the work of the education advisors was robust.  Some examples of why problems arose could include members of staff covering for long term illness, or if a head teacher left and there were problems finding a replacement;

·         If a school was starting to experience difficulties, CfBT would investigate and support the school before they became serious problems;

·         It was commented that there had been a lot of negative publicity regarding the primary school in Middle Rasen, and it was queried whether there were any areas for improvement.  The Committee was informed that this was the school media reported that Ofsted inspectors had criticised and indicated that the school could not be judged as outstanding  as the children had had limited experience of children from other cultures and backgrounds.  This reporting implied that the school would never be judged as outstanding.  The Executive Councillor for Adult Care and Health Services, Children's Services would be writing to Ofsted to raise concerns over this issue;

·         Members commented that Middle Rasen Primary School was considered locally to be an excellent school with an excellent head teacher. It was suggested that Ofsted was reacting to issues in other parts of the country.  The school had a strong RE curriculum, where the children had the opportunity to understand and study other religions and cultures;

·         It was noted that Supplementary schools were not part of the CfBT contract;

·         From the Diocese perspective, they found the work of CfBT very good, and it was commented that they were always very quick to engage the Diocese if there was a church school in trouble.  The collaboration between CfBT and the local authority was good and schools were supported;

·         It was confirmed that the Closing the Gap conference would be taking place on 8 January 2015, and would be held at the Epic Centre.

RESOLVED  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

(To receive a report which enables the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to have an overview of the activities of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, in particular the Sub-Group's consideration of child safeguarding matters)

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee with an overview of the activities of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, and in particular the Sub-Group's consideration of child safeguarding matters.

The Committee received an update from Councillor C R Oxby, Chairman of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group.  It was reported that the Sub-Group had last met on 15 October 2014, and as part of the meeting, an update from the Independent Chair of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) on the work of the LSCB and its sub-groups had been received.  It was noted that two serious case reviews were in progress and were due to finish by the end of the year.

An update on child sexual exploitation (CSE) had also been considered and discussion around how to educate children and young people of the risks of CSE had taken place.  The Play Chelsea's Choice, had been highlighted as an excellent way of educating young people in secondary schools, but it was suggested that children in Years 5 and 6 in primary schools should also be educated around the risks of CSE.

The Sub-Group also considered the outcomes from two audits undertaken on the Pre-Birth Protocol and Child Protection Plans.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Sub-Group was scheduled for 7 January 2015 where it was due to receive a further update on CSE, along with the LSCB's Neglect Strategy and the outcomes from the Section 11 audit undertaken by all the LSCB's partner agencies.

RESOLVED

            That the draft minutes of the meeting of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding      Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, held on 15 October 2014 be noted.

(To receive a report which provides key performance information for Quarter 2 2014/15 that is relevant to the work of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee)

Consideration was given to a report which provided key performance information for Quarter 2 2014/15 that was relevant to the work of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

Members were guided through the performance information, and provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and during discussion, some of the points raised included the following:

·         There had been some issues in terms of recruitment and retention of foster carers, as there had been an increase in the number of children looked after.  It was noted that this was not just a local issue.  This had put pressure on the authority in terms of the number of foster carers who were available, and residential placements would only be used as a last resort.  There was a lot of work ongoing in relation to the recruitment of more foster carers;

·         In terms of the number of moves of Looked After Children, it was noted that some of the moves would have included successful moves back to the child's parents, or other family members, or successful adoptions.  But as they were moves they would still be recorded;

·         It was commented that the performance of 16-18 year old Looked After Children who were participating in learning was disappointing, but this was subject to focused monitoring and intervention.

RESOLVED

            That the performance information presented be noted.

(To receive a report which sets out a proposal to establish a working group to contribute to the work being undertaken by officers on the future school improvement offer)

The Committee received a report which set out a proposal to establish a working group to contribute to the work being undertaken by officers on the future school improvement offer.

Members were advised that it had been previously proposed to carry out a scrutiny review by a Task and Finish Group into school improvement.  However, as work was ongoing on a new school led approach and the future Local Authority offer, there was a risk that a scrutiny review would duplicate the work being undertaken by officers.  Additionally, there were concerns that this was too early in the process to be conducting a time limited scrutiny review as the review would be completed in mid-2015 and the current contract was not due to end until January 2017.

It was instead proposed that member involvement through a working group would be preferable to a task and finish group.  This would provide members with the opportunity to work with officers to understand and feedback on the current practice for school improvement and what future practice would be.  A working group was not time limited and work would be able to start immediately which would enable members to become involved in the process whilst the new school led approach was being developed, and to work with officers on the new Local Authority school improvement officer as it developed.  The terms of reference for the School Improvement Working Group would be:

1.    To examine with officers what support the current School Improvement  Service offered to schools and academies and how effective it was;

2.    To examine with officers the role of teaching schools in Lincolnshire in improving educational standards;

3.    To make recommendations on improvements to the existing School Improvement offer for schools and academies within the constraints of the funding that the County Council was able to invest.

It was suggested that three members would be an appropriate number to form a working group, and the following agreed to be part of the working group:

·         Mrs E Olivier-Townrow (Added Member)

·         Councillor S R Dodds

·         Councillor Mrs J Brockway

RESOLVED

1.    That the establishment of a working group to contribute to the work being undertaken by officers on the future school improvement offer;

2.    That the membership for the working group be agreed as above.

(To receive a report which provides the Committee with information in relation to School Funding Arrangements for 2015/16)

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Committee with information relating to changes the Local Authority (LA) would be making to the school funding formula from April 2015.  The proposals were supported by the Schools Forum on 8 October 2014 and were then formally approved by the Executive Councillor on 22 October 2014.

Officers explained the reforms to school funding arrangements which took place in 2013/14, and explained the proposals which had been developed following extensive work from officers in the summer of 2014 to develop an alternative approach which would ensure compliance with the DfE's regulation whilst not materially altering the funding provided for pupils with high levels of Special Educational Needs (SEN).

The Committee was provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         Transitional protection would be put in place to ensure there was no loss of funding to individual schools in 2015/16;

·         The Committee congratulated the team for the work which had been done to ensure that any reductions to individual school budgets were kept to a minimum in the medium and long term;

·         It was noted that these changes would not affect pupils with Band 1 – 5 statements.

RESOLVED

            That the report be noted.

(To receive a report which explains the range of skills funding available and also shows the need to fill vacancies as the County's economy grows)

Consideration was given to a report which explained the range of skills funding available and also showed a real need to fill vacancies as the county's economy grew.  There was a new opportunity for important local partnerships to have greater control of skills provision.  The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (GLLEP) would be choosing what additional training provision to buy through new EU funds, with advice from important local partnerships and LCC, as a member of the LEP and as the secretariat to the LEP, should take advantage of this opportunity.

The Committee was advised that this was an exciting opportunity, as the Government had set up LEP's with the private sector, and were being asked to make decisions, and so locally there would be a lot more influence in how this funding was used.  Officers had been working with some of the larger businesses in the county such as Butlins, Petwood Hotel etc. to try and identify what their training needs would be in the future.  It was thought that there would be an increasing requirement for a much higher level of skills.

It was important to note that improving skills was not just about apprenticeships, but also graduates, and ensuring there were opportunities for young people leaving university.  Members were informed that it could be difficult to recruit the right people in sectors such as agri-food, manufacturing and the visitor economy.  The LEP would be deciding and directing how skills funding would be spent in the future.

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It had been calculated that approximately 200,000 people would be required between 2014 and 2022 to fill vacancies to grow Lincolnshire's economy;

·         It was estimated that there would be a need for 182,000 jobs in the construction industry in the next four years, but there was a significant shortfall in the number of people training for these jobs;

·         99% of businesses in the UK were classed as small businesses;

·         There was a need for more work to be carried out in relation to apprenticeships, and driving this forward needed to be discussed with Lincolnshire businesses such as Lindum construction;

·         If the skills challenge was not addressed in the right way there could be problems in the long term.  It was important that the County Council had a view in terms of how the skills agenda could be influenced;

·         It was queried whether there was any room within what the LEP wanted to do with skills to work with people who were 'unemployable' – those people who frequently managed to get interviews, but had still not been able to find employment.  Could 'employability' skills training be provided?

·         There was a need to find a way to work with higher education and further education providers to encourage young people to stay in the county, and also to attract  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

(To receive a report which enables the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider its work programme for the coming year)

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Committee with an opportunity to consider its work programme for the coming year.

The Scrutiny Officer advised that there were no changes to the work programme.

RESOLVED

1.    That the content of the work programme be agreed;

2.    That the content of the Children's Services Forward Plan be noted.