Agenda and minutes

To issue a welcome to those present, and to confirm if there are any apologies for absence.

Members were asked to declare any interests they may have had in the business to be discussed.

Councillor Dr Moore declared that she was the Chair of the advisory board at Millgate School.

Councillor March declared that she was a governor at Avenue School.

Councillor Gregg declared that he ran a supported accommodation project which had previously taken children from Leicester City Council, however, it was no longer taking children from Leicester City Council.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Members were asked to declare any interests they may have had in the business to be discussed.

Councillor Dr Moore declared that she was the Chair of the advisory board at Millgate School.

Councillor March declared that she was a governor at Avenue School.

Councillor Gregg declared that he ran a supported accommodation project which had previously taken children from Leicester City Council, however, it was no longer taking children from Leicester City Council.

The minutes of the meeting of the Children, Young People, and Education Scrutiny Commission held on 25^th February have been circulated, and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

 AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Commission held on 25^th February 2025 be confirmed as a correct record.

With regard to a matter arising regarding the item on Children and Young People with SEND Home to School/College Transport Proposed Policies 2025/2026 - 2027/2028, concern was raised that the response on a proposed fourth option did not have as much depth as hoped for. 

In response to this, it was noted that the officers working on this were currently in the process of working through financial data.  The budget had been set for next year and anything proposed would need to be in this budget.  A decision report was being worked on and this would take into account points made in the consultation and at scrutiny.  The final decision would be one for the Assistant City Mayor, and whilst there was no option for further scrutiny before the decision was made, it would be available for the usual process following the decision.

The Chair is invited to make any announcements as they see fit. 

The Chair announced that the date of the upcoming task group meeting on the High Needs Block had been moved.  The next meeting would be on 13^th May and the last would be on 9^th June.  Members of the Commission were encouraged to join.

Any questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures will be reported.

The Chair exercised her discretion to allow a late statement from STILL SEND 16+ (Attached).

In response, thanks were given for the comments made at the previous meeting of the Commission and for the paper presented.  Additionally, STILL SEND 16+ were thanked for their considered approach.  It was added that suggestions had been considered and it was hoped that when the paper was produced it would be seen that all suggestions had been considered.  These suggestions had helped to shape the decision.  Barristers had been worked with on the paper, which was not yet fully formed.  This had not been an easy decision and had therefore been worked hard on.  It was hoped that the final decision would help to serve in a more fair and equitable way.

In response to a question, it was confirmed that the decision of the High Court had been taken into account and the policy was lawful in judgement.  However, the assessment of individual needs had not yet been looked at, and therefore any decision would need to look at individual circumstances.

Any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures will be reported.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

The Director of Children’s Social Work and Early Help submits a report updating on the progress of delivering Family Therapies; Multisystemic Therapy (MST), MST: Building Stronger Families (MST BSF), Functional Family Therapy for Child Welfare (FFT-CW), and Family Group Decision Making, for the period of Quarter 3.

There will be a brief update on the development of the Family Functional Therapy reunification pilot.

The Director of Social Care, Early Help and Prevention Service submitted a report updating on the progress of delivering Family Therapies; Multisystemic Therapy (MST), MST: Building Stronger Families (MST BSF), Functional Family Therapy for Child Welfare (FFT-CW), and Family Group Decision Making, for the period of Quarter 3.

There was a brief update on the development of the Family Functional Therapy reunification pilot.

The Assistant City Mayor for Children and Young People introduced the item by acknowledging the positive work, particularly on aspects relating to capturing the voice of the child.

The Head of Service for Prevention Services gave an overview of the report. Key points to note were as follows:

·       A range of programmes were available to children and families, depending on their needs.

·       A Functional Family pilot was in the early stages, which could provide significant insights on the impacts of the programmes for families.

·       The Edge of Care Strategy and the Family Decision Making programme would come to future scrutiny meetings. The Relocation Pilot had already come to scrutiny.

·       A six-monthly or annual report could come to scrutiny.

The Service Manager of the Family Therapy Service provided an update on the service. Key points to note were:

• Work took place with different aged children with differing needs.
• Previous models had not always gone well. A main factor being the lack of support for children returning to the family home.
• Significant research had taken place looking at best practice in managing interventions.
• The decision had been made to place the service within the area of Edge of Care.
• There had been a significant growth in teams.
• The previous financial year had seen 199 children being prevented from going into care. It was anticipated that this work could be sustained.
• For Quarter 3, work had taken place with around 93 families and 183 children across the quarter. This tended to entail working with large families who had a lot of additional needs.
• When assessing savings, the team considered the price that would have been incurred if the child had been taken into care. With this in mind, there had been an average annual avoided cost of £81K per child.
• Work was in family-based intervention, taking place within the family home.
• Success was measured in terms of sustainability. 85% of children now remained at home six months post closure, +12 months was 84% and +18 months was 92%. There would be a move to include 5-year tracking.
• Regarding capacity, the end quarter 3 saw 70% of the target for children worked with had been met. Savings were significantly over target at 194%.
• Every child subject to a plan was entitled to a family meeting which was family lead.

Members were invited to comment and raise questions. Key points to note were as follows:

• Family Therapy work was taking place for children refusing school. A number of outcomes were measured monthly. There was around an 83% success rate.
• Edge of Care cases were monitored, there was a threshold to be met  ...  view the full minutes text for item 140.

The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education provides a verbal update outlining the decision made and the licencing position.

The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education gave a verbal update, outlining the decision made and the licencing position. Key points to note were:

• The City Mayor had made a decision on the 26th February 2025, with two essential elements:
  • There would be a full year of continued funding for the Play Associations.
  • This would be the final year of grants
• Some of the Play Associations had already formulated new financial models, but others were struggling.
• All Adventure Playgrounds had 5-year licences, with rights to remain on site for the next 5 years.
• There was a possibility of longer-term leases and community asset transfers.
• Maintenance work to the sites themselves were currently carried out by the council under the license agreement.
• Conversations were still live with the Play Associations about long term lease options.

Members were welcomed to provide comment and raise questions. Points to note were:

• The playground sites were separate to the Play Associations running them.
• Other organisations might tender.
• The was an ongoing dialogue with the National Lottery Association, who had not prioritised funding before due to Council funding.
• Members had differing views on how to move forwards. Some preferred continued Local Authority support, whilst others were in support of enabling the Play Associations to work independently in shaping their outcomes, once the funding had ended.
• Some of the Play Associations had diversified and found different ways to serve the community. Different models were in place which could be useful to share.
• It was suggested that Sports England or Arts Council England might be a consideration for funding opportunities.

AGREED:

1)    That the update be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account by the lead officers.

Councillor Dr Moore left the meeting prior to the consideration of this item.

The Director of Education and SEND submits a report to update on High Needs Block (HNB) funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The Director of Education and SEND submitted a report to update on High Needs Block (HNB) funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

An introduction was made by The Director of Education and SEND where it was noted that the High Needs Block item had come to Scrutiny in October 2024, and a six-month update had been requested. Some questions had been picked up by the formation of a Scrutiny Task Group which was currently ongoing. 

The SEND Inclusion Transformation Manager gave an overview of the report. Key points to note were as follows:

• During the six months, the focus had been on keeping children and young people at the heart of the work.
• There was a gradated approach for the school programme, working withschools and stake holders.
• There had been a reduction of children entering the SEND Statutory system from 932 to 455.
• A variety of support was in place.
• All schools were equipped to provide SEND support.
• Rising placements costs were presenting a risk for the recovery plan.
• It was hoped that central government would soon deliver a white paper confirming the way forward. Indications from the Department for Education were that strategy would focus on inclusive practice. This would align with work already in place for Leicester.
• Over recent years there had been a national narrative around the need for Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs), but children’s needs could also be met in other ways.

Members had the opportunity to comment and raise questions. Key points to note were:

• Around 500 extra specialist placements had been opened within the city within recent years. The spaces were filled immediately. Two applications had been made unsuccessfully to create new SEND schools. Recent capital funding released had not been sufficient to fund for a new school.
• Schools could apply for additional Special Needs Funding to support those who did not have an EHCP.
• Creative use of funding meant that mechanisms had been put into place for applications of support.
• A free training offer had been put in, alongside the traded agreements, to provide support to schools in areas such as applying for funding and EHCPs.
• Part of the change programme involved working with a network of head teachers to look into how to use funding for alternative provision.
• A recent meeting had been held with CEOs from a large number of academy trusts, as part of the stakeholder engagement plan. Positive feedback was received on the support provided.
• Non-statutory top up funding was available to support children with SEND without EHCPs.
• Others could be supported by SEND support services.
• Mainstream schools could also provide support with reasonable adjustments.
• Inclusive Provision Reviews were being piloted which allowed for consideration of graduated support.
• Mechanisms were in place which meant that those who hadn’t qualified for an ECHP could reapply at a later stage.
• Work arising under the Central Government Change Programme had been spilt between, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Authorities. Leicester had lead on strategies including bands and tariffs,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142.

The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education submits a report providing a summary of the progress made since the last placement sufficiency strategy

of 2020/24, and sets out the proposed long-term priorities for 2025/30.

The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education submitted a report providing a summary of the progress made since the last placement sufficiency strategy of 2020/24, and setting out the proposed long-term priorities for 2025/30.

The Head of Corporate Parenting presented the report and gave a presentation:

Key points other than those on the slides (attached with agenda) included:

• The service was demand-led, so there was a need to think about what the population may look like.
• It was aimed to ensure that care was a last resort, therefore there was a dependency on Edge of Care.  Edge of Care had a place in sufficiency in terms of helping children to stay with their families.
• It was also important to ensure that children were in care for the shortest time possible, so it was necessary to look at permanence, such as special guardianship arrangements.  Therefore, a strand of work sat under this.  A key part of this was the ability to recruit and retain more foster carers.
• It was important to ensure that most children in care were with Council Carers rather than private ones.
• Looking at the age profile of foster carers, it was recognised that some may be looking to retire, so it was important that more were recruited.  This was critical as there was a national shortage of foster carers and there was also competition with other authorities an Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA).
• The figures of children in IFA in the City were low and the Council maintained seven of its own residential homes with another opening this summer.  Six of these homes were rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.  Another required improvement and this was being worked on.
• More children with challenging and complex behaviour were being looked after.  These had fared better than those placed out of the area.  Therefore, there was a plan to increase the number of children in their own homes.
• Capital expansion was a competitive process, and therefore it was a vote of confidence in the Council’s ability to manage homes effectively.
• The Council had an established workforce in the residential sector and there had been succession planning.  This was a critical part of the strategy.
• It was necessary to consider the best ways of commissioning in terms of cost.  It was more expensive for a child to live in residential accommodation than it was for them to live with family.  This highest placement costs could range from £12k-£15k per week.
• The market was broken, and profiteering had been taking place, therefore there was a need to invest.
• Children were best off living locally and attending local schools.  Therefore, there was an ambition to keep children in care living locally.
• Care Leavers included young people up to the age of 25.  This meant actively engaging and providing high-quality accommodation.
• There were pressures in housing as this was a demand-led service.
• The Leicester Ask Survey was a wide survey looking into the wished and views of young people.  The responses had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143.

Members of the Commission will be asked to consider the work programme and make suggestions for additional items as it considers necessary.

Members of the Commission were invited to consider content of the work programme and were invited to make suggestions for additions as appropriate to be brought to future meetings.

The work programme was noted. 

In response to questions raised about 16+ SEND home-to school transport, it was noted that:

• The suggested fourth option would be considered within the decision making.  Ideas would be looked at and costed as part of this, however, it would not be an appendix to the decision report.
• In terms of timescales, when the decision was made, there would be time for scrutiny and Full Council meetings as required.

There being no further items of urgent business, the meeting finished at 19:43.