Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs L A Rollings and Mrs H N J Powell.

Apologies for absence were also received from Mrs S Rudman and Mr P Thompson (Church Representatives) and Mrs P J Barnett and Dr E van der Zee (Parent Governor Representatives).

There were no declarations of member's interest made at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee held on 20 January 2017, be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive a report by Gavin Booth, Children's Services Manager – Education Strategy, which enables the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider updates relating to the Sector – Led approach to School Improvement)

Consideration was given to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which provided the Committee with updates relating to the Sector-Led approach to School Improvement.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting three Headteachers who attended to advise the Committee of their experiences on the new sector-led model.  The Headteachers who attended were: Simon Morley, Kirkby on Bain CE School; Andrew Stones, William Farr CE Comprehensive School; and Suzanne Scott, Ellison Boulters C E Academy.

The key points raised by the three Headteachers included:-

·         That the change in culture in schools could not be under estimated;  

·         That schools that had traditionally not worked together were pooling and sharing their resources, which had had a big impact on schools;

·         That training provided was bespoke to help everyone out;

·         That research was key as this informed good practice;

·         That when reviewing other schools, there was honesty and openness; and a willingness to help with any problems, by sharing experiences and knowledge; and as a result no-one now felt isolated.  It was highlighted that there was no longer a fear factor;

·         A suggestion was made that to move forward further, peer reviews across clusters would be useful to ensure further cross pollination; and

·         That most schools felt that there was more to come from working more collectively, as the experience so far had proven to be very positive.

Gavin Booth, Children's Services Manager – Education Strategy guided the Committee through the report explaining that the role of the Local Authority relating to school improvement had changed greatly over recent years, with the introduction of academies, multi-academy trusts and teaching schools.  It was highlighted that over the last 14 years, Lincolnshire had commissioned CfBT to deliver its statutory services and provide a traded offer of school improvement to its schools.  Now Lincolnshire schools could access a range of partners who together were supporting school improvement.  This method was echoed in the White Paper, which indicated that schools and groups of schools should have increased autonomy and responsibility for their own outcomes through working in a sector-led system.

The Committee was advised that the Lincolnshire Learning Partnership had grown over the last two years to a partnership of over 340 schools.  These schools had made a commitment to developing a sector-led approach to school improvement and support.  All schools had been engaged in the Peer Reviews, working together in clusters to improve outcomes for children.

It was reported that the Local Authority had been creative and proactive in its response when schools had found themselves in difficulty.  The Council had work with schools to find local solutions by brokering support from other local schools, liaising with the Regional Schools Commissioner to seek local sponsors when required and by utilising teaching schools National Leaders of Education or National Locality Leads to help with performance. The Committee was advised that Locality Leads were a small team of Educational Advisers who monitored the performance of schools; signposting schools to receive relevant support; and also worked alongside  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

(To receive a report by Mark Popplewell, Head of Finance – Children's Services, which provides the Committee with the opportunity to consider stage 2 of the consultation launched by government for a schools national funding formula with a closing date of 22 March 2017.  The proposed implementation for this national funding formula is 2018/19)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which provided an update on the stage 2 consultation for a schools national funding formula.

It was highlighted that through the government's national funding formula, Lincolnshire mainstream schools collectively were set to receive additional funding from the current level of Lincolnshire's Dedicated Schools Grant Funding. A copy of the report considered by the Lincolnshire Schools Forum was attached as Appendix A to the report. Page 33 of the said Appendix provided the Local Authority Observations of the school national funding formula.

The Executive Director of Children's Services guided the Committee through the report and Appendix A, making reference to:-

·         That the government had proposed the building blocks of the schools national funding formula to be basic per-pupil funding, additional needs, school-led funding and geographical funding.  Details of the 13 formula factors with the building block were detailed on page 24 of the report;

·         The Schools National Funding Formula comparison with Lincolnshire's Local Funding Formula;

·         Illustrative Local Authority Allocations for 2018/19.  It was noted the Local Authorities illustrative allocations baseline that had been used by the government was from each Local Authorities 'Authority Proforma Tool'.  It was highlighted that the baseline approach would influence each schools  final notional budget by the application of the 'funding floor' and minimum funding guarantee, and the gains cap during the transition period;

·         Lincolnshire Schools Position – It was highlighted that the introduction of the national funding formula was positive news for Lincolnshire schools; as Lincolnshire would receive additional funding of £15.534m per annum using 2016/17 data compared to the current level of funding provided by government for Lincolnshire schools.  Examples were provided within the report regarding the financial impact for schools prior and after the application of the 'funding floor' and minimum funding guarantee, and the gains cap. It was highlighted that prior the application the largest primary gain would be £130,512; and the largest primary loss would be (£299,403); the largest secondary gain would be £507,904 and the largest secondary loss would be (£174,751).  After the application the largest primary gain would be £130,512 and the largest primary loss would be (£52,667); likewise the largest secondary gain would be £507,904; and the largest secondary loss would be (£82,067).  It was further highlighted that through the government's application of the 3% gains cap, Lincolnshire schools would lose out on funding in 2018/19 by £7.865m following the application of the minimum funding guarantee;

·         Lincolnshire Schools Position – Academy Schools – It was highlighted that the government was proposing through the National Funding Formula changes to use the General Annual Grant (which included Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant  protection funding) or Education Funding Agency termed 'local minimum funding guarantee' for the academy schools' baseline.  The baseline would be compared to the national funding formula before the application of the funding floor and minimum funding guarantee, and the gains cap.  Examples were provided within the report of the financial impact on Lincolnshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

(To receive a report by Mark Popplewell, Head of Finance – Children's Services, which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider the changes to early years funding)

Consideration was given to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which invited the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider the Early Years National Funding Formula, which was due to be considered by the Executive Councillor responsible for Children's Services on 31 March 2017.  The Committee was advised that its views would be reported to the Executive Councillor as part of her consideration of this item.

Detailed at Appendix 1 was a copy of the Executive Councillor report, which had appended to it at Appendix A, a copy of the report considered by the Lincolnshire Schools Forum at its meeting on 22 February 2017.

In guiding the Committee through the report presented, Michelle Andrews, Children's Services Manager – Early Years and Childcare Support advised that on 11 August 2016, the government had announced a consultation for a national funding formula for early years.  The proposal was for the government to deliver a fair and transparent funding system worked out on a formulaic basis.

The outcome of the above said consultation released in December 2016, advised that implementation of the new funding formula would be April 2017.  It was highlighted that the lateness in the government's announcement had made timescales extremely challenging for Local Authorities. 

The report presented provided an overview to the formulaic approach to funding Local Authorities using early year's factors of 'base rate' and 'additional needs'.  Table 1 on page 12 of the report provided details of the national distribution of funding across the factors including the basic hourly rate (before and after the 'area cost adjustment').  It was highlighted that the 'area cost adjustment' was fundamental in determining the overall level of funding at a Local Authority level. 

It was highlighted that the government in response to consultation had also announced a 'minimum funding rate' per pupil of at least £4.30 per hour.  It was highlighted further that Lincolnshire's rate using the formulaic approach was £4.16 per hour, therefore the 'minimum funding rate' had increased Lincolnshire's rate to £4.30 per hour.  Nationally, Lincolnshire was one of 47 out of 150 Local Authorities to be on this minimum funding rate.

The Committee was advised that Lincolnshire's indicative early years funding for 2017/18 was £25.060m; and that the government would be funding the additional 15 hours for 3 & 4 year old children of eligible families from September 2017.  This would be funded at the same rate of £4.30 per hour to Local Authorities; and that the indicative allocation for this was £4.582m for 2017/18.  It was noted that the decision to have a universal rate would have a significant impact on the financial sustainability of maintained nursery schools. As a result the government would be providing supplementary funding for 2017/18 and 2018/19 to maintain the current rate of funding across Local Authorities for maintained nursery schools, which in essence would protect Lincolnshire's five nursery schools at its current funding rate for the duration of this parliament.

It was reported that the Local Authority had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

(To receive a report by Martin Smith, Children's Services Manager – School Standards, which summarises the 2015-16 performance of Lincolnshire schools for the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, following the release by the Local Authority Performance Team on 19 January 2017 of validated and finalised performance data)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which summarised the 2015/2016 performance made by Lincolnshire Schools.

Martin Smith, Children's Services Manager – School Standards, guided the Committee through the report.  The report highlighted the outcomes of assessments within the Early Years, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.  Each measure contained a summary comment expressing the standing of Lincolnshire within the region and national context.

Attached to the report were the following Appendices:-

·         Appendix A - Lincolnshire Local Authority Data

·         Appendix B - Closing the gap

·         Appendix C – East Midlands Regional Priorities

·         Appendix D – LA response to need

·         Appendix E – OfSTED Standards

It was highlighted that the data within the report identified that there had been year on year improvements in pupil outcomes. However, there was still a number of key actions needed in order for all groups of Lincolnshire pupils to be achieving at least at levels seen nationally, with aspirations to achieve higher.

The Committee was advised that comparisons of previous data were flawed as the methodology within Primary assessment had changed significantly in terms of calculations and the production of scaled scores rather than levels.

It was highlighted that underperforming maintained schools and academies had already been challenged, and some were individually working with Lincolnshire County Council Education Locality Leads.  It was further highlighted that there was a number of productive and positive relationships with Lincolnshire Teaching Schools to develop broader and more accessible training to meet the needs of the County.

The Council was also improving the use of National Leaders in Education, Local Leaders in Education, and Specialist Leaders in Education to ensure that the sector was developing leaders to sustain improvement in conjunction with the Teaching Schools.  It was highlighted that the Lincolnshire Learning Partnership was also key in developing leadership within Lincolnshire.

The report also provided an explanation as to the role of the Lincolnshire Learning Locality Leads whose role was to ensure that intervention, support and challenge would be provided when required to ensure that improvement activities were taking place promptly to address underlying needs.

During discussion, the Committee raised the following issues:-

·         Page 52 – Achieving a High Score or Working at Greater Depth within the Expected Standard - The report highlighted that the gap had widened across all subjects, except for Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS) which had narrowed slightly.  Work was ongoing to increase access to Teaching Schools;

·         Page 53 - % of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate at KS4 - the greater discrepancy between this measure and the earlier measure.  It was highlighted that Lincolnshire was ahead of National in this measure;

·         Page 53 - Attainment Score by component subject area – Some concern was expressed to the below Lincolnshire vs National average.  The report highlighted that the biggest gap was between Lincolnshire and National for English at - 0.2;

·         One member also highlighted that results were dependent on a number  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

(To receive a report by Gavin Booth, Children's Services Manager – Education Strategy, which seeks to inform councillors of the role of the Local Authority in schools graded as Inadequate by Ofsted.

Consideration was given to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which advise the Committee of the role of the Local Authority in schools graded as Inadequate by Ofsted.

Gavin Booth, Children's Services Manager – Education Strategy presented the report and highlighted to the Committee the stages relating to Ofsted inspections.  Particular reference was made to when a school was judged as requiring improvement at its last inspection.  The Committee was advised that the school would be subject to monitoring from inspectors to check its progress and would be inspected within a period of around two years.  If after this period the school was still judged as requiring improvement, further monitoring would take place; and another inspection would take place within a further two years.  If at this inspection the outcome was still not good, it would be highly likely that the school would be judged inadequate, and deemed to require special measures.

It was noted that a standard inspection usually lasted two days and that the number of inspectors on the inspection team would vary depending on the size of the school.  Full details of the areas the inspectors would make graded judgements on were detailed on page 110 of the report.

It was noted further that if a school was judged as being inadequate, it could be placed in special measures, which meant that the school was failing to provide pupils with an acceptable level of education, and was not showing improvement; or if a school was judged as having serious weaknesses, this meant that there would be one or more of the key areas of the school's performance requiring significant improvement, but leaders and managers had demonstrated the capacity to improve.

The Committee was advised that if a school was deemed by Ofsted as inadequate, it was required to become a sponsored academy, to which the Local Authority had a statutory role. The process could often leave maintained schools waiting for a sponsored conversion for quite a long period of time; and that the process of who supports the school, and to what degree following a special measures judgement was inconsistent.  As a result, the Committee was advised that Lincolnshire as a Local Authority had taken the decision to draft a protocol to clarify relationships between the Local Authority and the Regional School Commissioner (RSC) during the interim period and the expected timelines of the necessary support/monitoring.  The draft protocol was currently waiting for approval by regional colleagues before being shared with the RSC.

In conclusion, the Committee was advised that the Local Authority continued to work with schools graded as 'Inadequate' to facilitate their conversion to sponsored academy status; and to challenge any delays in the process due to the detrimental impact on pupils, families and the wider community.  The Education Team would continue to risk assess schools and broker support for the most vulnerable and high risks schools in order to try and mitigate the possibility of schools receiving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

(To receive a report by Catherine Wilman, Democratic Services Officer, which enables the 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 enabled 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.

It was reported that the Scrutiny Sub-Group had last met on 11 January 2017, and the draft minutes were included within the agenda pack.

The Sub-Group had been updated on the work of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).  It was noted that the Board was hoping to work with the Department for Education around shaping and designing the model and role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards in the future.

The Sub-Group had also considered the outcomes from a Serious Care Review – SCR E; details of which had now been published on the LSCB website.

The Sub-Group had also been informed of a recent Joint Targeted Area Inspection into domestic abuse, which the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee had considered at its last meeting; and the action plan arising from it would be discussed later on in the agenda.

It was noted that the Sub-Group had also received an update on the work being undertaken by the Board to identify and prevent Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE).

It was noted further that the next meeting of the Sub-Group was planned to be held on 28 March 2017 and it would be receiving updates on Serious Case Reviews, CSE and the work of the Board.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub Group, held on 11 January 2017, be noted.

(To receive a report by Sally Savage, Chief Commissioning Officer – Children's Services, which provides key performance information for Quarter 3 2016/17 that is relevant to the work of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee. Please note that 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)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which provided key performance information for Quarter 3 2016/17 relevant to the work of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

Attached to the report were the following Appendices:-

·         Appendix A – Detailed report that covered the Council Business Plan indicators used by Children's Services;

·         Appendix B – Provided complaints and compliments received in relation to Children Services and schools;

·         Appendix C - Provided an overview of the Ofsted status of schools in Lincolnshire; and

·         Appendix D – Performance Monitoring of Contract - Exempt

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 – Quarter 3 2016/17 report be noted.

(To receive a report by Debbie Barnes, Executive Director for Children's Services, which provides an opportunity for the Committee to consider the Action Plan on the specific findings set out in the Joint Targeted Area Inspection of the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in Lincolnshire report.  The inspection included an in depth focus on the response to children living with domestic abuse)

Pursuant to Minute number 52(2) from the meeting held on 20 January 2017 the Committee gave consideration to a report from Debbie Barnes, Executive Director of Children's Services, which had appended to it at Appendix B a copy of the Joint Targeted Area Inspection Action Plan, which provided a response to the specific findings set out in the Joint Targeted Area Inspection of the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in Lincolnshire report.  It was noted that the Action Plan was still work in progress.

The Committee was invited to consider and comment on the content of the Action Plan.

Some concern was expressed with regard to the sharing of intelligence.  Officers confirmed that not all information was able to be shared due to Data Protection legislation.

A further concern was raised with regard to thresholds for children in situations of harm.  Officers advised that this was an area that was a constant challenge on a daily basis. A further issue raised was in a situation where cultural differences were in place; as this often resulted in different tolerances and expectations.  Officers advised that the Council's Children's Centres were very important; as parents were able attend and share experiences, and challenge what was acceptable.

RESOLVED

            That the Joint Targeted Area Inspection Action Plan be received.

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

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider its work programme.

The Senior Scrutiny Officer advised the Committee that the meeting scheduled to be held on the 28 April 2017 had been cancelled, and that this was therefore the last planned meeting of the Committee for the Council term.

The Committee was also reminded that a Safeguarding Focus Group with Social Workers and other key officers was due to be held at 2.00pm in Committee Room 1 later in the day.

The Committee extended its thanks to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the work carried out by the Committee which had always been very thorough and challenging.

Thanks were also extended by the Committee to the Senior Scrutiny Officer for all her help and support.

RESOLVED

That the Work Programme as set out in Appendix A to the report be noted.