Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received from the Committee members.

Apologies for absence were however received from Councillor Mrs P A Bradwell (Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services) and Debbie Barnes Executive Director for Children's Services.

Councillor Mrs K Cook wished it to be noted that she was a Lincolnshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust Governor in relation to agenda Item 7.

Mr S Rudman (Church Representative) advised that he had been omitted from the list of members in attendance.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee held on 19 January 2018 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record, subject to the addition of Mr S C Rudman (Church Representative) being added to the list of those in attendance at the meeting.

The Chairman advised the Committee that following the resignation of Dr Emile van der Zee, nominations had been sought from parent governors of maintained schools for the vacant position of Parent Governor Representative.  Unfortunately, no nominations had been received and the position remained vacant.  The Committee was advised that officers would be repeating the process of seeking nominations towards the end of the current year.

(To receive a report from Matthew Clayton, Admissions and Education Provision Manager, regarding the proposal to amend the age ranges of Grainthorpe Primary and Marshchapel Primary Schools (Final Decision), which will be considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services on 23 March 2018)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which invited the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider a report on a proposal to amend the age ranges of Grainthorpe Primary School and Marshchapel Primary School (Final Decision) and agree any additional comments to be passed onto the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services.

The Chairman advised that the item was for pre-decision scrutiny prior to being considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services on 23 March 2018.

A copy of the full report to the Executive Councillor was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. 

Heather Sandy, Chief Commissioning Officer - Learning introduced the report and advised the Committee that Lincolnshire County Council had a statutory duty to ensure that there were sufficient school places within its area to accommodate all pupils of statutory school age who lived in Lincolnshire.  The Council was also committed to supporting the viability of small rural primary schools where a viable structural solution could be found.

It was reported that the proposal was to change Marshchapel Primary School from an age range of 4 to 11 to an infant school with an age range of 3 to 7 (to formally include Early Years provision) and the proposal for Grainthorpe Primary School was to permanently change it from an age range of 4 to 11 to a junior school with an age range of 7 to 11.  It was noted that the proposed implementation date was 1 September 2018.  It was highlighted that the two schools would remain separate schools but in a hard federation with one Governing Body and one executive Head.  It was highlighted further that North Cotes CE Primary School was currently also part of the Fenlands Federation with Marshchapel and Grainthorpe, and would remain as a 4 – 11 school; and was not part of the proposal.

The Committee was advised that the Authority felt that the proposal was the best option to address the expected and existing low pupil numbers across the area to ensure that both schools had the best opportunity for an educationally and financially sustainable future and to enable high quality teaching to take place.

It was reported that on 25 September 2017 a five week consultation had commenced, which had closed on 6 November 2017; a summary of written responses received was attached to the report at Appendix A.

It was highlighted that current and projected pupil numbers for Marshchapel and Grainthorpe indicated that there were sufficient numbers to operate a successful infant school and junior model in the medium term, but not enough to maintain two standalone primary schools with a broad and balanced curriculum delivering consistently high quality education to all age groups.  The Committee was advised that the model had already been successfully trialled across the federation with some year groups (Years 5 and 6) at Grainthorpe, this had received positive feedback from pupils,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

(To receive a report from Carolyn Knight, Quality and Standards Manager, which provides the Committee with information on the Compliments, Comments and Complaints received by Children's Social Care for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Carolyn Knight, Quality and Standards Manager, which provided information on the Compliments, Comments and Complaints received by Children's Social Care for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.

It was reported that it was a statutory requirement under the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations to produce an annual complaints report.  The report presented focussed on complaints that related specifically to Children's Social Care (including fostering and adoption).  It was highlighted that school and corporate complaints were dealt with separately and were not therefore included within the scope of the report.

It was reported that during the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, there had been 128 complaints, which was the lowest number received in the last ten years.  Of the 128 complaints, 16 had gone to stage 2; and 6 had gone to stage 3. It was noted that 52 of the complaints had been unsubstantiated and 43 had been partly substantiated; and 7 that were substantiated; and that there were 24 complaints where the outcome remained unknown as a result of staff not completing the necessary paperwork.

Attached to the report was a copy of the Annual Complaints report for 2016/2017.  The Committee was advised that 16 complaints related to the conduct and attitude of staff.  The Committee was further advised that the action plan detailed on pages 65 to 67 identified the areas of concern and what needed to happen to rectify the issues.

The Committee noted that the lateness of the report was as a result of not being able to retrieve data from the LAGAN system.

During discussion, the Committee raised the following issues:-

·         One member raised the issue that the highest number of complaints received was in relation to the South Kesteven Team, which had recorded 22 complaints, of these 3 had been substantiated and 9 had been partly substantiated. The Committee was advised that this area had seen a high turnover of staff and high caseloads.  The Committee was advised that since 1 April 2017 the process of escalation was now being tracked better.  It was noted that as a result of the Workforce Development Plan, the reliance on agency staff was reducing; and work was being undertaken to look into areas where there had been a high turnover of staff; and that the recruitment and retention initiatives had seen a stabilisation in staffing numbers; 

·         The Committee was advised that once data had been received up to March 2018, it was hoped that it would show improved performance;

·         Some members agreed that compliments should be encouraged more by staff;

·         It was confirmed that the data did not include Early Help at the moment, but it was hoped that going forward the data would be expanded.  Confirmation was given that the data did include Looked After Children;

·         A suggestion was made by a member that Visiting Members should be encouraged to look at the record of complaints  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

(To receive a report from Jonas Gibson, Commissioning Manager, which asks for the Committee's views on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, which will be considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services on 16 March 2018)

Consideration was given to a report from Jonas Gibson, Commissioning Manager and Lynda Whitton, Commissioning Officer, which invited the Committee to consider a report on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, which was due to considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services on 16 March 2018.

A copy of the Executive Councillor report was attached to the report at Appendix 1 for the Committee's consideration.

The Committee was advised that the Children's Strategic Commissioning Service was currently commissioning the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) on behalf of the four Clinical Commissioning Groups and Lincolnshire County Council (LCC). It was highlighted that the current service was currently being provided by Lincolnshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust (LPFT).

It was reported that Children's Services had been delegated the lead commissioning responsibility for CAMHS on behalf of the four Clinical Commissioning Groups, by way of a Section 75 Agreement, which was due to end on 31 March 2019.

It was reported further that there was a contractual agreement in place between LCC and Lincolnshire NHS Partnership Trust (LPFT), which was due to end on 31 March 2018.

Following a re-structure of the service as a result of extra funding, LPFT had been working towards increased targets to ensure a swifter and better service was provided to those accessing the service.

The report sought approval from the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services for Children's Services to enter into a further two year agreement with LPFT to enable the service to continue whilst a large scale review of the service was undertaken to inform future joint strategic commissioning intentions of mental health services in Lincolnshire and the agreed approach for sourcing these services from April 2020.

It was noted that the proposed contractual arrangements for the interim two year period would change from a contract for services to a Provider Section 75 Agreement, which would delegate functions to LPFT.  A request was also going to be submitted to each of the CCG's to extend their existing funding under the Better Care Fund Section 75 Agreement for a further year up to 31 March 2020.

The Committee was invited to consider whether it supported the recommendations and to make any additional comments to the Executive Councillor.

A discussion ensued, from which the following comments were raised:-

·         Concerns were raised about whether professionals understood the difference between Healthy Minds and CAMHS and who to refer young people to.  It was noted that Healthy Minds was still new but there were clear pathways for services to be accessed in the best interests of the child.  CAMHS was only available for those with diagnosed mental health issues, which was why Healthy Minds has been commissioned.  The Committee agreed that there was a need to avoid Healthy Minds being seen as "CAMHS Light";

·         It was queried how eating disorders were dealt with given that they were very complex to deal with as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

(To receive an update from Councillor S R Dodds, Chairman of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group) 

The Committee gave consideration to a report which provided an overview of the activities of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, in particular the Sub-Groups consideration of children's safeguarding matters.  Attached to the report at Appendix A was a copy of the draft minutes from the last meeting of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group held on 15 January 2018.

The Chairman of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, Councillor S R Dodds advised that at the last meeting the Sub-Group had received an update on the work of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board. The Committee was advised that the main discussion had been around the Wood Review of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) in 2016, which had subsequently led to a number of changes being enacted through the Children and Social Work Act 2017.  It was highlighted that the passing of the Act had resulted in changes to guidance in relation to:-

·         The replacement of LSCBs with local safeguarding partners;

·         Replacing serious case reviews with local and national reviews;

·         The establishment of a new national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel; and

·         The transfer of responsibility for child death reviews from LSCBs to new Child Death Review Partners.

The Committee was advised that the Independent Chair had assured the Sub-Group that the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board and structure would remain largely unchanged due to strong partnerships with agencies already being in place.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group would be held on 16 April 2018.  It was noted further that standard items on the Sub-Group's agenda included key messages from the LSCB including serious case reviews and a policy and audit update.   In addition, the Sub-Group would receive a presentation on E-Safety from the Board's E-Safety officer.

RESOLVED

That the draft minutes of the meeting of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group, held on 15 January 2018, be endorsed.

(To receive a report from Jill Chandar-Nair, Inclusion and Attendance Manager, which asks for the Committee's views on the Lincolnshire Religious Education Agreed Syllabus, which will be considered by the Executive Councillor Adult Care, Health and Children's Services on 19 March 2018) 

Consideration was given to a report, which invited the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider a report on the Lincolnshire Religious Education Agreed Syllabus, which was due to be considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Service's on 19 March 2018.

The Chief Commissioning Officer – Learning introduced the report and advised that the County Council was required to review its locally agreed syllabus for Religious Education every five years by convening an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). The Committee was advised that the ASC had unanimously recommended that the County Council should adopt the revised syllabus as detailed in Appendix A to the report on the basis that it reflected that the religious traditions of Great Britain were in the main Christian whilst taking into account the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.

The Committee was advised that the new syllabus had a clearer structure and comprised of compulsory and additional units. It was highlighted that in addition to Christianity the compulsory units now included Islam at key stage 1, Hinduism and Islam at key stage 2 and either Islam or Hinduism at key stage 3.  The additional units would provide teachers with the opportunity to choose from a number of topics so that they could introduce the study of a different faith/topic or deepen knowledge and understanding about aspects of work covered in the compulsory units.

It was reported that the new syllabus would be introduced to schools through a series of training events and support for individual/groups of schools.  It was reported further that supplementary sessions would be added to the agreed syllabus during 2018/19 i.e. Judaism and assessment.

During discussion, the Committee raised the following points:-

·         Confirmation was given that for 2018/19 Judaism would be added to the document;

·         Concerns were raised that religious education was not compulsory as parents were still able to exempt pupils from lessons.  It was highlighted by the Church of England Representative that he had come across some schools that did not teach Islam or arrange visits to mosques in case parents put in exemptions to religious education classes due to a fear of radicalisation;

·         The Committee agreed that religious literacy was important to improve awareness of different religions.  It was highlighted that philosophical discussions about the similarities between religions would help promote community cohesion; and

·         The Committee agreed that there needed to be a clear link between the Prevent agenda and religious education.

RESOLVED

1.    The Committee unanimously supported the recommendations contained in the Executive Councillor report.

2.    The Committee requested that the following comments be passed on to the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services:-     

o   Concerns were raised that religious education was not compulsory as parents were still able to exempt pupils from lessons.  It was highlighted by the Church of England Representative that he had come across some schools that did not teach Islam or arrange visits to mosques in case parents put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

(To receive a report from Tracy Johnson, Senior Scrutiny Officer, which sets out a proposal to establish a working group to look into the work being undertaken by officers and schools to reduce pupil exclusions in Lincolnshire)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from the Senior Scrutiny Officer, which set out a proposal to establish a working group to look into the work being undertaken by officers and schools to reduce pupil exclusions in Lincolnshire; and for the Committee to agree the Terms of Reference and Membership of the said working group.

The Chairman invited member nominations for the Pupil Exclusions Working Group.  The following members volunteered for the working group:-  Councillors M D Boles, S R Dodds, R J Kendrick, C Matthews, A P Maughan, L Wootten and R  Wootten.  It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman would agree the final membership of the Pupil Exclusions Working Group and that the Senior Scrutiny Officer would then email all members of the Committee to advise them of the final membership.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee approves the establishment of a working group to look into the work being undertaken by officers and schools to reduce pupil exclusions in Lincolnshire.

2.    That final membership of the working group be delegated to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.   

(To receive a report from Sally Savage, Chief Commissioning Officer – Children's Services, which provides key performance information for Quarter 3 2017/18 relevant to the work of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

NOTE: Appendix D to this report contains exempt information under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and discussion of this information could result in the exclusion of the press and public)

Consideration was given to a report from Sally Savage, Chief Commissioning Officer – Children's Services, which invited the Committee to consider and comment on Quarter 3 performance information relevant to the work of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

Attached to the report were the following Appendices:-

·         Appendix A – Council Business Plan Measures;

·         Appendix B – Complaint and Compliments report;

·         Appendix C – Ofsted School Status Report; and

·         Appendix D - Performance Monitoring of Contracts – Exempt Information.

The Committee was reminded that Appendix D to the report contained exempt information and if the Committee wished to discuss details pertaining to Appendix D, a vote would need to be taken to move into exempt session.

In guiding the Committee through the report the Chief Commissioning Officer - Children's Services responded to questions raised, which included the following issues:-

·         Page 200 – Juvenile Re-Offending – One member requested more than three months information in relation to this indicator.  The Chief Commissioning Officer suggested that for Quarter 4, more information would be provided and that a specific discussion would be had relating to this particular indicator;

·         Page 217 – Ombudsman Complaints – One member requested information relating to the Ombudsman complaint relating to school transport.  Officers advised that this was an active investigation and there was no further information available at this time.  Officers agreed to look into the request;

·         Appendix C – The Chief Commissioning Officer – Learning provided an update to the Committee with regard to the Table 5 on page 219 of the agenda relating to Schools currently judged to be inadequate and/or under an Interim Executive Board;

·         Clarification was given relating to the Average time taken to move a child from care to an adoptive family (page 206) and Average time taken to match a child to an adoptive family (page 208); and

·         Page 212 – Care leavers in suitable accommodation – The Committee was advised that work was ongoing with district councils with regard to the provision of accommodation for care leavers up to the age of 25.

At this point in the meeting, it was moved, seconded and

RESOLVED

That in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for consideration of Appendix D to the report on the grounds that if they were present there could be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

The Chairman invited members of the Committee to ask questions in relation to Appendix D of the report and officers responded to questions raised.

RESOLVED

That the performance for Quarter 3 2017/18 be received by the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee; and that officers note the comments raised by the Committee.

(To receive a report from Tracy Johnson, Senior Scrutiny Officer, which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider and comment on its work programme for the coming year)

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Committee to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the current year to ensure that scrutiny activity was focussed where it could be of greatest benefit.

An amended work programme was circulated at the meeting, which highlighted changes to the work programme following the agenda publication.

The Committee was advised of the following changes to the work programme:-

20 April 2018 meeting – an item relating to: Building Communities of Specialist Provision – A Collaborative Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in Lincolnshire (Strategy Decision) had been added.

8 June 2018 meeting – an item relating to: Prevent and the Implications for Children and Young People had been added.

20 July 2018 meeting – Two items had been added relating to: Building Communities of Specialist Provision – A Collaborative Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in Lincolnshire (Final Decision) and Supported Accommodation for Looked After Children.

RESOLVED

That the Committee's work programme as set out in Appendix A to the report and the changes as detailed above be agreed.