Agenda and minutes

Members are invited to declare, at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on this agenda.

None declared.

RESOLVED:-

that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 October 2009 be received and approved as an accurate record subject to the following;

(i)         to add Mr Lorenzato to the list of members present.

(ii)        Clause 4 – School Places in Brent, paragraph 2:

            Delete ‘September 2010’ and insert ‘September 2013’

(iii)       Clause 6 – Annual Report of Brent Youth Parliament (BYP 2008-09):

To add in between paragraph 6 and 7: “Members discussed the need for ensuring that information regarding the Youth Parliament gets fed back to schools.  The importance of representatives sharing ideas and raising issues with their local Councillors was also noted.

Allocation and Funding of Nursery Places

Following a request for an update on this item, Councillor Wharton (Lead Member for Children and Families) informed the Committee that this issue was considered at the Schools Forum meeting on the 9^th December, on the same day that the Children’s Minister announced that the introduction of the Early Years Single Funding Formula, under certain circumstances and conditions, would be delayed by a year. He explained, however, that the Government were inviting those local authorities who were ready to implement the funding formula to take part in pathfinders.  He stated that therefore the Executive would need to decide whether to go ahead or to delay the introduction of the formula when the proposals go to the Executive in January 2010.  Councillor Wharton reminded the Committee of the significant progress Brent had made in developing the Early Years Single Funding Formula.  He added that there were a number of authorities who had suggested that they would be starting implementation in April 2010. 

It was noted by the Committee that the Schools Forum had overwhelmingly voted in favour of asking the Council to delay implementation for a year. Furthermore, a view was put forward that it was not just representatives from the private, secondary and independent sector that had concerns regarding the proposals but that a number of head teachers had also expressed a concern at the Schools Forum.   As a result of this and out of concern for a possible adverse impact on the private, independent and voluntary sector, Councillor Arnold proposed that the Executive be asked to endorse the Schools Forum’s recommendation that the implementation of the Early Years Single Funding Formula be delayed until April 2011 and this was supported by Councillor Mistry.  The Chair and Councillor Tancred in response expressed a concern that the Committee did not have enough information before it to make such a recommendation. However, following a vote the proposal was supported.

Councillor Wharton then explained that the Executive would also be asked to agree an interim process for one year until September 2011 for the allocation and funding of full time Early Years places with implementation from September 2010. He added that the Schools Forum had agreed to this.

It was requested by the Chair that a verbal update and a copy of the report, which was due to go to the Executive in January 2010, be provided to this Committee at the next meeting in February 2010.

RESOLVED:-

i)          that the Executive be asked to endorse the Schools Forum’s recommendation that the implementation of the Early Years Single Funding Formula be delayed until April 2011;

ii)         that a verbal update and a copy of the report, due to go to the Executive in January 2010, be provided to this Committee at the next meeting in February 2010.

This report outlines the work of the Youth Offending Service (YOS), including the changes recently introduced to the youth justice system as a result of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and new approaches to working with young offenders. It also details the restructuring of the YOS since the last Scrutiny Report in early 2008 and updates the profiles of young offenders and trends in offending. It includes illustrative information about the work being undertaken with those young people on court-ordered sentences and the role of the YOS in prevention programmes for those at risk of offending as well as recent developments in the service.

Anita Dickinson (Acting Head of Brent Youth Offending Service) introduced the report which outlined the work of the Youth Offending Service (YOS). She began by providing the Committee with a brief overview of services provided by the YOS and the recent changes to the youth justice system as a result of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, including the introduction, from 30^th November 2009, of the Youth Rehabilitation Order which was a new community sentence for young offenders.

Anita Dickinson then provided the Committee with an update on the preventative programmes which were being run by the YOS, including the introduction of the Triage Scheme.  She explained that the Triage model was first proposed in the Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP) and had been piloted by other boroughs very successfully.  Brent, she stated, was currently running a pilot based on the reduced version of this full scheme.  The aim of the scheme, she added, was to prevent young people from being given a Reprimand or Final Warning unless necessary. She noted that Brent was not in receipt of YCAP funds, nor had any additional monies been identified to deliver the programme.  The pilot, she explained, was being run from existing resources.  Anita Dickinson also highlighted some of the work which had been taking place across services, including a review of the YOS and Social Care Protocol and the introduction of the Family Intervention Project which was one of the delivery mechanisms for the Think Family approach.  The Think Family approach, she explained, was aimed at transforming the way we work with families, seeking to move towards inter-agency and inter-departmental approaches to service delivery.

In the discussion which followed, the benefits of the Triage scheme were noted by the Committee. Following a question regarding whether any possible sources of funding had been identified for the running of the scheme in the future, Anita Dickinson explained that no sources had been identified. She added that £50,000 a year would be required to have a YOS staff based at the Wembley custody suite.  She stated that if the funding could not be found, she would consider using funding from other interventions to fund the Triage scheme as she believed it to be such an important scheme which was proving to be very successful. 

The importance of the Think Family approach was noted by the Committee. It was also noted that a task group would be looking at this approach in more detail. In response to a query regarding how many families would benefit from the Family Intervention Project, Anita Dickinson explained that funding allowed for 3 key workers who would work with 4-6 families at any one time. She explained that whilst there were more families than this who were in need, that this was a good start and that the model may be able to be adapted to accommodate more families in the future.  A concern was raised that there was a danger that if the work load was to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act became law in November 2009. The act transfers the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) responsibilities for funding and commissioning 16-19 education provision to local authorities from 1 April 2010. The transfer of these responsibilities will help Brent Children’s Partnership to integrate the planning, funding and local accountability of services provided for young people and their families.  It will help to ensure that provision meets the needs of young people and that their outcomes improve. This report sets out the responsibilities which the local authority (LA) will have and the progress the LA has made in planning for the commissioning of 16-19 education provision.

The Committee agreed to take this item before the item on improving outcomes for underachieving groups.

John Galligan (Strategic Co-ordinator for 14-19 Education and Training) introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update on the transfer of responsibility for 16-19 provision from the Learning and Skills Council to the local authority.  He explained that the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act had transferred the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) responsibilities for the funding and commissioning of 16-19 education provision to local authorities from 1^st April 2010.  He stated that the transfer of these responsibilities would help ensure that provision meets the needs of young people and that their outcomes improve. He informed the Committee that the LSC currently fund 6,048 places for 16-19 year old learning in Brent this academic year and that this represented a total budget of nearly £33 million.  He added that approximately 35% of Brent’s 16-19 year olds learners were from other local authority areas and that 45% of Brent’s 16-19 year old residents studied in other boroughs.

John Galligan highlighted the local authority’s new commissioning responsibilities as set out in the report.  He added that Brent Council’s Children and Families Department had established the 16-19 Funding and Commissioning Steering Group in March 2009 to plan the transfer of responsibilities.  Furthermore, he informed the Committee of the 3 new national organisations which had been established to support the process.  He explained that the London Regional Planning Group has been set up to lead and support local authority led 16-19 commissioning in London and that Brent would be a member of two inter-borough commissioning groups based upon the travel to lean patterns as set out in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

John Galligan set out the proposed commissioning principles which the commissioning process must be based upon.   He informed the Committee that ‘value for money’ had since been added as an agreed principle.  He stressed the need for the other relevant boroughs to be signed up to these same principles. John Galligan also highlighted the commissioning priorities which included local, regional and national priorities.   The local authority would, he explained, be responsible for monitoring the success of all provision commissioned by the LSC that finishes or starts after April 2010.  He added that LSC was legally responsible for commissioning places for the academic year commencing September 2010 and that local authority officers were developing their skills by supporting the LSC’s final commissioning round.  John Galligan concluded by setting out some of the challenges that Brent faced, which included the need for ensuring that high quality impartial information, advice and guidance would be available to learners and the fact that whilst the proportion of Brent’s young people attaining level 2 by age 19 and level 3 by 19 was above the national average, there were significant differences between groups of learners such as between those who received free school meals at age of 15 and those that did not.

In the discussion which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Improving outcomes for underachieving groups remains a high priority for the local authority and for the School Improvement Service in particular. This is reflected in the School Improvement Service action plans which refer to accelerating the rate of improvement of underachieving groups, narrowing and eliminating gaps. In Brent there has been a borough-wide drive to improve outcomes for its main underperforming groups, Black Caribbean and Somali pupils. This report focuses on the impact of that work and provides an overview of the five Every Child Matters outcomes for the White British, White Other and White Irish groups. The report draws on data currently available to the local authority. It should be noted that information on outcomes in all areas is not available.

Rik Boxer (Assistant Director Achievement and Inclusion) introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update on the impact of the work which had been carried out to improve outcomes for Black Caribbean and Somali pupils and an overview of the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes for the White British, White Others and White Irish groups in Brent. 

Rik Boxer highlighted the significant improvements which had been made in the outcomes for Black Caribbean and Somali Pupils.  He explained that whilst these improvements were encouraging, further improvement was still needed. He informed the Committee of the ongoing work which was taking place to ensure continued improvement.  He explained that an improving outcomes strategy group had been set up, as well as three multi agency groups which were responsible for  looking at the following three areas; improving outcomes for 9-13 years olds, improving outcomes for 14-19 year olds and reducing Black Caribbean exclusions.

Rik Boxer then provided the Committee with an overview of the performance of White British, White Other and White Irish groups in Brent.  By doing so he drew on a range of data which was currently available to the local authority, including the fact that in 2009 31% of White British pupils in receipt of free school meals (FSM) achieved 5A*-C GSCE including English and Mathematics compared to 40% of all Brent pupils in receipt of FSM.  He also highlighted that whilst the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) were generally low, the number of pupils from White British heritage who were NEET was growing.  In addition the Annual Activity Survey showed that the white categories had a far higher percentage of young people who were not entering education compared to all other groups.   Furthermore, he drew the Committee’s attention to the data available in the report on exclusion rates, the number of children on children protection plans and the number known to the Youth Offending Service from White British, White Other and White Irish.

Rik Boxer concluded his presentation by providing the Committee with some examples of the work which was being undertaken to secure future improvement, including the work being carried out to help those young people not in education, employment or training and the particular focus which the action plan, created by the School Improvement Service in partnership with three other neighbouring authorities, had on improving the attainment of white boys on FSM. He added that the improving outcomes strategy group would be looking at the additional data for these three heritage groups to consider whether or not there was a case to widen the focus of the improving outcomes group to include this strand of work.

In the discussion which followed, the Committee noted the increase in child protection plans for White British and White Other pupils. Rik Boxer explained that there had been an upward trend in the number of children who were subject to child protection plans in general.  Following an enquiry, Rik Boxer explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

A report providing an overview of progress and provision for children with special educational needs was presented to the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November 2008.  It was noted that a SEN review was scheduled to take place under the Council’s Improvement and Efficiency Scheme and members recommended that progress on the implementation of the review and other SEN developments were reported back to the Committee.  This report provides an update on progress.

Rik Boxer (Assistant Director Achievement and Inclusion) introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update on the progress of the SEN Improvement and Efficiency Review and other SEN developments. Rik Boxer explained that the SEN Improvement and Efficiency review was currently at the evaluation and analysis stage and that whilst interim findings had yet be formally reported, there were a number of emerging issues which were likely to be included in future improvement programmes.  He drew attention to these emerging findings, which were that there continued to be insufficient in-Borough provision for children with SEN; that there was an opportunity to explore alternative models for commissioning out-Borough placements, joining up education and social care commissioning arrangements and thirdly that the strategic management of SEN needed to be strengthened.   

Rik Boxer concluded by providing the Committee with an update on other SEN developments, which included the results of Ofsted school reports since September 2006 and July 2009, the latest comparable data on the attainment and progress of pupils with SEN, the rolling programme of SEN audits of mainstream schools which had been introduced and a list of terminology that had been listed in the report at the request of the Committee. 

In response to a query regarding what the increase in the number of new assessments leading to statements were, Rik Boxer explained that in the year 2006 there were approximately 200 new assessments leading to statements and in 2009 there was just short of 300.  He stated that whilst there had been an increase across a spectrum of needs, there had especially been an increase in the number of children with autism.  In response to another question, he explained that there were approximately 1600 statements maintained by Brent in total.  In answering how many pupils needed some sort of support in Brent, Rik Boxer stated that 20-25% of pupils had some sort of need for support. It was noted that information on the shortage of school places for SEN children would be useful. 

Following a comment regarding the need for quality data on the attainment and progression of pupils with SEN for all schools in Brent, Rik Boxer explained that whilst comparative information was not currently available, the new progression guidance would help ensure that more robust data would be available. Following a request for more information on the proposed transformation programme, Rik Boxer explained that there would be a number of interrelated strands of activities undertaken.  He added that the programme would require some investment of resources initially in order for savings to be made in the longer term.  He explained that it would be project managed by a dedicated specialist project manager and that the progress of the programme would be monitored closely.  He added that it was similar to the model which had been successfully used to drive through the Social Care Transformation Programme.

It was asked whether there was a policy of ensuring that children from specialist schools spend at least some time in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Verbal update on the Council’s bid to secure early entry into the BSF process.

Councillor Wharton (Lead Member for Children and Families) introduced a report that was circulated during the meeting, which provided the Committee with an update on the Council’s bid to secure early entry into the BSF process.  He informed the Committee of the good news that Brent was now successfully on the programme and would be formally starting before 1 April 2010. 

Councillor Wharton then set out the next steps and drew the Committee’s attention to the appendices of the report which provided an outline project timetable for the first two and a half years and a procurement timetable.  He then highlighted the 4 schools which would be taking part in the first phase. 

In response to a request for more information on what would be happening in each school, Councillor Wharton reminded the Committee that it would be two and a half years before the building work was due to begin and so that therefore this level of detail was not available at this stage.  The Chair asked whether a set of priorities for each school had been created.  In response Councillor Wharton explained that they were very broad at this stage.  The Chair suggested that as well as BSF being a standing item on the agenda that this information should be provided to the Committee as soon as the level of detail becomes available. 

Councillor Wharton suggested that the Committee may want to consider how it would become involved with the BSF process and how it would want to be updated on progress.  He added that the Committee may wish to receive the reports that would be going to the BSF Programme Board. 

RESOLVED:-

that the update be noted and that information on the priorities and plans for each school be provided once available.

A verbal update on issues relating to the sufficiency of primary and secondary school places, the numbers of children currently without a school place and measures taken to provide suitable education provision for children out of school.

Councillor Wharton (Lead Member for Children and Families) introduced a briefing paper that was circulated at the meeting, which provided the Committee with an update on the sufficiency of primary and secondary school places and the numbers of children currently without a school place as of 4^th December 2009.  He explained that the situation had not greatly changed from the last update. As part of an update in the situation at primary level, he stated that there was still a significant shortage of reception places, but that they were looking to open up additional places in the new term.  He then drew the Committee’s attention to the information in the briefing note regarding the 11+ transfer for September 2010, including the fact that there would be more places available for September 2010 due to the planned opening of the Ark Academy.  Councillor Wharton also highlighted the situation regarding casual in year secondary admissions and full year figures for secondary aged new arrivals.  With regards to the number of secondary aged children out of school, the Committee noted that the total number of secondary aged children out of school had risen from 45 on the 20^th October 2009 to 88 on the 4^th December 2009.

RESOLVED:-

that the update be noted.

The next meeting of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to be held on Tuesday 23 February 2010.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for Tuesday 23 February 2009. The Chair informed the Committee that this meeting would be held at Alperton Community School.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Democratic Services Manager or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 64.

None.