Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Riyait and Janet McKenna.

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

Councillor Cole declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting that his wife was a school governor.

Councillor Pantling declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the general business of the meeting that she was a school governor.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, these interests were not considered so significant that they were likely to prejudice the Councillors’ judgement of the public interests. The Councillors were not therefore required to withdraw from the meeting during consideration and discussion of the agenda items.

The minutes of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission held on 29 September 2020 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

that the minutes of the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 29 September 2020 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions received.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no petitions had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statements of case received.

The Monitoring Officer reported that no questions, representations or statements of case had been received.

The Director of Planning, Development and Transportation submits a presentation on the Draft Leicester Local Plan (2020 – 2036) Public Consultation.

The plans and supporting documents can be accessed online at

consultations.leicester.gov.uk

The Director of Planning, Development and Transportation submitted a presentation on the Draft Leicester Local Plan (2020 – 2036) Public Consultation.

During the presentation, the Head of Planning drew particular attention to the following points;

·         The Government were consulting on a new approach to Planning; however the Planning White Paper would radically change the local plan process, national policies, a zoning approach and much more permitted development and changes to the way in which housing demand would be worked out.

·         Leicester City Council had decided to continue with their Local Plan as the timespan for the implementation of the White Paper could be two or more years.

·         The importance of the local plan which looked ahead up until 2036, sought to look at the Councils need for homes, addressing unemployment, shopping, and leisure facilities and allocate sites for the these.

·         The plan also set out a range of the Council’s planning policies (e.g. Climate Change and Public Health), encouraged investment & economic growth, facilitated place-making and set high quality design expectations.

·         Housing site draft allocations were noted, these made up a range of 5 main strategic sites and approximately 85 other sites significantly located in the city centre and Brownfield sites.

·         Sites for school development provisions being proposed with particular reference to remit of this Commission included; Beauchamp City Free School (Ashton Green East), Castle Mead Academy (St. Augustine’s), Brook Mead Academy (Groby Road/Fosse Road North), Avanti Fields Free School (Manor Farm/Collis Crescent) and Metropolitan Academy (Former Bus Depot, Abbey Park Road) however it was noted that the Metropolitan Academy site may now be not taken as the funding application had been withdrawn.

·         Housing allocations which would affect six school playing field sites and were identified as potentially suitable development sites included in draft Local Plan consultation were noted as: Beaumont Lodge; Buswells Lodge; Herrick; Judgemeadow; Linden and Rowlatts schools. These were all subject to consultation responses from residents, schools, Sport England, etc.

·         The Commission’s attention was also drawn to other relevant proposed development allocations: Manor House Playing Fields; Neston Gardens Playing Fields; former Southfields School & Newry Learning Centre; Forest Lodge Education Centre and Land off Hazedlene Road.

·         The Head of Planning expressed that allocations in the draft local plan were not currently fixed and it was requested that Members of the Commission engage and encourage people to engage in the consultation. Any representations received would be carefully considered and also careful consideration made to points made by Members of the Commission.

The Commission scrutinised the Draft Local Plan, commenting as follows;

·         There was some concern amongst a few Members of the Commission in relation to play spaces/ areas for children which had been identified for housing site developments. It was further expressed that the loss of these play sites impacted the health and wellbeing of children. The Assistant City Mayor for Education and Housing noted that the commission could have a broader umbrella that also looked at places which impact children such as play spaces/ areas rather than just school  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

The Committee is asked to consider the recommendations of the Director for Social Care and Early Help contained in the attached reports.

The Committee were asked to consider the recommendations of the Director for Social Care and Early Help contained in the reports.

The LADO annual report is aimed to provide an overview of the management of allegations against the children’s workforce and the role of the LADO in Leicester City for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

Members of the Commission are asked to note the work and activities undertaken by Leicester City’s Designated Officer.

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) annual report was aimed to provide an overview of the management of allegations against the children’s workforce and the role of the LADO in Leicester City for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

All to note;

·         Every year a report must be produced in line with the statutory guidance.

·         The LADO is responsible for the managing of the process of investigation into allegations of harm made against adults who work with children.

·         The presenting officer highlighted performance data and noted that the demand of the service had remained the same as the previous year.

·         There were 304 LADO contacts per year, 1 third of which were concluded with advice and guidance (Leicester City Council were one of the few authorities who had built this into their LADO service) and 35% of LADO contacts had led to an investigation.

·         Leicester City Councils (LCC) LADO service held a very good reputation amongst their partners and were working well with them. The service also had a very robust approach, an extensive range of indicators to measure how the function was performing and these were presenting a good picture.

·         LADO was noted as one of the features of social care that Ofsted looked at, therefore it was important to maintain and continue strengthening this part of the service.

·         The service was confident that their advice line was leading to lesser referrals coming through and the contacts were provided with the correct information to progress where necessary.

·         In terms of case closures, it was clarified that there was occasionally no control over the length of time for LADO’s ability to conclude a case due to the variety of people involved in dealing with a case.

Members of the Commission thanked all officers associated for their hard work in dealing with this challenging and difficult area of work.

AGREED:

1.    Members of the Commission noted the work and activities undertaken by Leicester City’s Designated Officer and were pleased to see the extensive list of strengths identified in the report.

2.    That the areas of improvement be monitored and an update of progression on those areas be provided at the next meeting.

The Independent Reviewing Officers’ Service operates within the context of Leicester City Council being the ‘Corporate Parent’ for all of the children and young people in its care. The statutory IROs responsibilities are defined by the IRO Handbook (2010).

Members of the Commission are asked to note the work and activities undertaken by Leicester City’s Independent Reviewing Officers Service.

The Independent Reviewing Officers’ Service operated within the context of Leicester City Council being the ‘Corporate Parent’ for all of the children and young people in its care. The statutory IROs responsibilities were defined by the IRO Handbook (2010).

In addition to the information outlined in the report, the following was noted;

·         The Council were well placed for Ofsted’s next inspections.

·         There was a challenge to get young people into employment and training especially as opportunities had reduced significantly. There currently existed a Connexions service and personal support via 16+ team and other colleagues. However, it was continued to work towards seeing if other opportunities could be identified.

·         For some young people it was important to ensure their placement was stable and they were in the right place to properly access an education or employment offer.

·         It was an essential need to increase the opportunities in the workplace or training provisions for young people that found it hard to sustain these practices.

·         The IRO Service Manager which contacted each individual child for their feedback and the offered opportunity to further engage with an advocate was explained to the Commission. It was noted that any concerns raised, whether this was via complaint or feedback would be sent back through to the Service Manager otherwise it would be referred to the IRO.

·         The most recent statistics showed that 65% of our young people were in education, employment or training.

Several Members of the Commission congratulated the Officers/ team and confirmed the importance of children having a voice.

AGREED;

1.    That the work and activities undertaken by Leicester City’s Independent Reviewing Officers Service be noted.

2.    The Commission recognised the many positives in the report and also recognised the hard work of the team of IRO’s.

3.    To request a future report which particularly focused on; need, what we are doing well, how we compare nationally and how we can improve the situation.

The purpose of the report is to review the statutory Youth Justice Plan for 2020-21, directing any comments to the Head of Service for Early Help and Prevention.

Members of Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission are recommended to review the progress made against the priorities outlined within the Leicester City Youth Justice Plan for 2020-21.

The purpose of the report was to review the statutory Youth Justice Plan for 2020-21, directing any comments to the Head of Service for Early Help and Prevention.

In addition to the information outlined in the report, the presenting Officer noted the following and responded to queries from Members of the Commission;

·         There had been positive progress for the service and the young people that the service was working with including a 10% reduction in young people becoming first time entrants.

·         A Member of the Commission hoped that a funding element could be found in the future to support the ‘prevention’ element of the service.

·         In relation to performance indicators, targets would be set, in January 2021 by looking at what was achieved in the 2020 year and what could be done for the upcoming year.

·         In relation to the pandemic this year, it was reported that locally there was a slight increase in the number of young people coming into custody compared with the previous year.

·         Currently developing a ‘POP’ pathway which was the Prevention of Offending Pathway (POP). This would also tie into the knife crime strategy piece of work taking place with the Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhood Services.

·         It was noted that during the pandemic there had seen an initial decrease in offending behaviour but an increase in social isolation and mental health issues was reported and also young people who disengaged with the service, as the means had moved to a virtual platform for a period of time. However, the service had completely recovered from that and caught up with any back log and no issues arose.

·         In response to a Members query it was confirmed that Leicester City had not seen a notable increase in criminal exploitation during the pandemic.

·         A Commission Member commented that the partnership between the Police, Youth Service and Social Services was very positive.

·         A Member of the Commission drew attention to the graphs on p133. The Officer clarified that the graph showed results for the number of young people who completed each of the sessions in a group work programme called ‘Which Way’. For the next report the Officer agreed to make it much clearer that the blue referenced knowledge prior to completing the session and red indicated progress made after completing session.

·         In terms of priorities for the next year, one of these would be to focus on young people who had an education health care plan and open to the youth justice service. In addition, it would be aimed to ensure that the service was being inclusive in supporting those young people with any additional needs.

·         Highlighting the work of a task and finish group to explore disproportionality in relation to ethnicity, a survey was carried out with staff which showed that some members of staff would like more training in areas like racial disparity and disproportionality. In addition, staff welcomed opportunities to take part in the reverse mentoring scheme, be able to learn from colleagues from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93c

The Director of Social Care & Early help submits this report is to provide a progress update to the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission on the delivery of interventions that are part of the edge of care offer within the Early Help and Prevention Service. Due to the range of complex interventions referred to, this report is supported by a presentation.

Members of the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission are asked to note the contents of the report and provide any observations or comments to the Head of Service for Early Help and Prevention. Each intervention programme has specific recommendations at the end of its section which are reviewed within the operational Edge of Care Interventions Board.

The Director of Social Care & Early help submitted this report is to provide a progress update to the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission on the delivery of interventions that were part of the edge of care offer within the Early Help and Prevention Service. Due to the range of complex interventions referred to, this report was supported by a presentation.

All to note;

·         The report covered April – June 2020 and highlighted the approach to edge of care services including all stages.

·         Early help was an aim and the vision of approach to identify the best possible outcome for the family and child.

·         The philosophy of the division was clear that it was preferred that the child stayed with the family if this was at all possible.

·         Members of the Commission passed thanks for the service of which the Council could be proud of.

It was noted that the Head of Service for Early Help would be leaving the Council. The officer Jackie Difolco was thanked for her dedication, professionalism, determination and enthusiasm to get everything right for the children of Leicester. The officer was wished all the best.

AGREED:

1.    That the commission note the work, passion and recognition of the Head of Service for Early Help.

2.    That the content of the report be noted.

3.    For a future report to be brought back to the commission in 6 months.

4.    That the hard work of the team be congratulated and noted.

The Director of Social Care and Education will provide a verbal update in relation to the impact of Covid-19.

The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education provided a verbal update in relation to the impact of Covid-19.

Child Social Care - All to note;

·         Some areas of the service had been difficult to continue in the circumstances, however, it was important to note the significant amount of areas of the service that had continued to provide normal services.

·         There was good partnership which was working well.

·         The number of safeguarding referrals was the same as when under normal circumstances and all had been dealt with efficiently.

·         Some pressures during the pandemic were noted, including women presenting late in pregnancies, largely due to a mistaken belief that NHS services were no longer available to them, and as they had received no antenatal service this would present a safeguarding issue.

·         The service was getting ready for the completion of the current full lockdown and work had been done as to what could and could not open.

·         The service was also working with the latest DFE guidance in order to continue work aspects on a face to face basis.

Schools – All to note;

·         It was important to draw attention to the amount of work being done by schools. The latest figures indicated a clear reduction of safety concerns and showed that Leicester City schools now had 77% attendance which was very similar to the position of statistical neighbours in the same tier.

·         Although it was found that there was a fair number of infection cases identified in schools, there was very little evidence of transmission in schools, with the large majority of cases infected in the wider community.

·         One issue putting pressures on schools was that self-isolation numbers in schools was reported as 10% of staff and students isolating at any one time. It was therefore being looked at whether staff testing could be greater in order to avoid full 14-day isolation.

·         Another impact of schools/ classes isolating was that this had other effects such as parents couldn’t go to work, strain on marriages/ relationships etc.

·         Another challenge for schools was that 3 quarters of year 11 students had to isolate over the last term and had therefore missed an average of 20% attendance. This aspect needed to be focused on to ensure the learning experience was as good as it could be.

·         Conversations were currently taking place with the Department for Education to determine what the testing approach would be in schools. There were currently 2 schools in the city taking part in a national pilot.

·         The unpleasantness for children of the process of testing was noted, and it was anticipated that in 3 months’ time it may be possible to produce results from just saliva tests.

·         In regard to vaccinations, the NHS were starting the general roll out process, however there were no firm plans in place for schools, but a lot of work was required to consider what would be appropriate.

The future work programme for the Commission is attached.  The Commission is asked to consider this and make comments and/or amendments as it considers necessary.

The Commission’s Work Programme was submitted for information and comment.

The strategic Director for Social Care and Education would inform the Chair of the Commission of potential future items for the agenda.

AGREED:
 That the Work programme be noted.

The meeting closed at 8:39pm.