Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Christopher Devine and Cllr Sue Evans.

Cllr Sue Evans was substituted by Cllr James Sheppard.

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 5 March 2019. (Copy attached)

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 5 March 2019, previously circulated, were considered.

The Chairman noted that the SEND School Provision Task Group would not bring its interim report for response by the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills to this meeting because the consultation process was reopened.

Resolved

To approve the minutes as correct.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

a)    Cabinet items

On 30^th April Cabinet considered the following items:

·       Five Lanes VC Primary School – Proposed Discontinuance of the Potterne Site

·       Children’s Centre Buildings Consultation (CSC involvement – Rapid Scrutiny Exercise)

On 22^nd May Cabinet will consider the following items:

·       Special School Consultation (CSC involvement – SEND School Provision Task Group received update)

b)    New Overview and Scrutiny Guidance from Central Government

The new statutory guidance on overview and scrutiny in local government has now been published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.

This guidance was produced following a commitment from Central Government in early 2018, which followed from the Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s inquiry into O&S. Amongst other areas the guidance raises culture across the council as a whole as one of the most important aspects of effective scrutiny. The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee have been actively involved during the development stages of the Guidance, and will be formally advised of its publication and any potential actions.

c)    That the Committee extends its best wishes to Cllr Jerry Wickham, who has taken the decision to resign as Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Public Protection due to ill health.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Wednesday 8 May 2019 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 10 May 2019. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There was no public participation.

As part of the Children’s Select Committee’s statutory responsibilities it will receive a bi-annual update from the Corporate Parenting Panel.

A report by the Director, Families and Children’s Servicesis attached. The report provides an update to Children’s Select on the progress made against each of the seven strategic priorities of the Corporate Parenting Panel. At each Panel meeting one priority is a focus for the meeting and the lead Councillor for that priority will present an update.

The committee are provided the opportunity to ask questions regarding the update and asked to note the report from the Corporate Parenting Panel and include the draft full annual report in their forward work programme for September 2019.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Deborah Barlow and Matthew Davies presented a report on the progress made against the strategic priorities of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

Matters raised during the discussion included: the seven strategic priorities of the Corporate Parenting Panel; the format of Panel meetings and the Corporate Parenting Strategy.

In answer to a question from the committee it was noted that there were 25 Grand Mentors spread across the county and that 15 young people had been put forward for the scheme so far. 

It was noted that Councillors have a responsibility to know the profile of its care leavers and the Corporate Parenting Panel were looking at ways in which their profile can be raised. 

In response to an issue raised by the Chairman it was noted that the report did not include a core data set. The committee was reassured that data plays an important part in the thinking of the Panel and that future reports would include more detailed statistics. A key summary of this data and the minutes of the last meeting of the Corperate Parenting Panel are attached.

It was noted the Care Leaver Offer continues to be developed on a regular basis to ensure it does not remain static.

In response to a question from the committee it was noted that the Panel was working with businesses to see what they can provide for young people, for example in the form of apprenticeships.

Resolved

1.    To note the Bi-annual Report of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

2.    To request that future reports from the Corporate Parenting Panel include relevant statistics and key performance indicators.

3.    For the Corporate Parenting Panel to receive the comments of the Children’s Select Committee on the report.

The committee received a report in February 2018 reporting on the impact of the increased childcare entitlement from September 2017. Following this report, the committee agreed to receive a further update in 12months time.

A report by the Director, Commissioning is attached. The report details how well we are performing in Wiltshire regarding meeting the duty to secure sufficient Early Years & Childcare places across Wiltshire.

The committee are provided with the opportunity to ask questions with the intention of reassuring themselves that Wiltshire has sufficient Early Years & Childcare places.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Angela Brennan and Judith Westcott presented a report on how well Wiltshire is performing in meeting its duty to secure sufficient Early Years and Childcare places across the county.

Matters raised during the discussion included: closures, openings and expansions in Early Years and Childcare provision; the challenges to provision; the role of childminders in ensuring sufficient provision; potential future projects and the Army Rebasing Programme.

In response to an issue raised by the committee it was noted that Wiltshire Council was working with childcare providers to ensure staffing capacity meets demand. There are systems in place to promote the ‘grow your own’ model of developing staffing teams and it continued to work closely with Wiltshire College.

It was noted that Wiltshire Council was aware of the important role childminders played in ensuring sufficient Early Years and Childcare provision and that it was actively encouraging people to take up such roles. It is currently making an online course offering training to those that want to become childminders.

Resolved

To note the update and agree that the committee are reassured regarding the sufficiency of Early Years & Childcare places in Wiltshire.

The Children’s Centres Consultation rapid scrutiny exercise was established by this committee on 5th March 2019 and held on 15th April 2019 with the task of considering the results of the consultation, the proposed closures and the plans for alternative venues.

Following their meeting the rapid scrutiny exercise submitted their report for consideration at the 30^th April 2019 Cabinet meeting, where they considered the report as part of the overall Children’s Centres Buildings Consultation item.

The report by Cllr Trevor Carbin, Lead Member for the Rapid Scrutiny Exercise is attached. The committee are asked to receive the report for information and receive any updates which may be available on their recommendations from the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills.

Cllr Trevor Carbin presented a report on the Children’s Centres Consultation rapid scrutiny exercise which was tasked with considering the results of the consultation, the proposed closures and the plans for alternative venues.

Matters raised during the discussion included: The Council’s proposals for moving children’s centre services from buildings to community settings; the consultation process, results and reach and possible alternative venues.

In response to a question from the committee it was noted that Wiltshire Council had increased its children’s centre services in people’s homes. It is continuing to reach vulnerable people and building its knowledge of local community needs.

It was noted that that the Commissioning Team monitors data on a quarterly basis and that it would be helpful for some of this data to be fed back to the Committee.

In response to an issue raised by the committee it was noted that Wiltshire Council had been largely successful in finding alternative venues and that the more pressing issue continued to be people not showing up to use the service once these venues had been confirmed.

Resolved

1.    To formally note and endorse the report and recommendations of the Children’s Centre Consultation Rapid Scrutiny Exercise for response at the next meeting of the Children’s Select Committee.

2.    To receive a copy of the monitoring framework by autumn 2019 if it is not available by the next meeting of the Children’s Select Committee.

The committee will be provided with a report which includes information regarding the most recent Ofsted Inspection reports.  It will provide an ongoing view of the effectiveness of schools as seen by Ofsted Inspection.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Jayne Hartnell and Helean Hughes presented a report on the most recent Ofsted Inspection reports.

Matters raised during the discussion included: that there had been ten inspections since the last report; that both the Oasis Academy and River Mead had seen their gradings improve; that Wootton Bassett Infants, Sutton Benger Primary and Westbury Leigh Primary had dropped to a Requires Improvement grading; and the Interim School Improvement Plan and the Rapid Achievement Plan.

It was also noted that Wiltshire and the South West in general were continuing to fall behind national figures. These trends would continue to be monitored and acted on.

In response to an issue raised by the committee it was noted that all maintained schools continue to have their performance monitored through the Challenge and Support Partner programme and the new Interim School Improvement Framework will support a more intensive identification of needs and outlines the intensive and rapid support approaches that are now being implemented.

Resolved

To note the update on Ofsted Inspection from February to April 2019.

A report by Terence Herbert, Corporate Director, will be circulated presenting an update on developments relating to children’s services arising from the Department for Education.

Terence Herbert presented a report on the Department for Education’s update on children’s services.

Matters raised during the discussion included: the guidance for local authorities and schools about children educated at home; the DfE response to the consultation on relationships (sex) and health education; identifying schools for improvement support; the review of post-16 education; social work rules and standards; the new child exploitation disruption toolkit; the principles for supporting care leavers in higher education and the new legal duty to tackle serious youth violence.

In response to a question raised by the committee it was noted that support is available to schools that need educational support from a range of organisations, from DfE to local authorities.

Resolved

To note the update provided.

The committee will receive updates from active Task Groups and the committee’s board representatives.

A report by the Senior Scrutiny Officers providing an update on Task Group Activity since the last meeting is attached.

a.    CAMHS Task Group

The written update and following point was noted:

·       That the Committee intends to ask the Task Group to provide an indication of how it intends to deliver its remit.

b.    Traded Services Task Group

The written update was noted. 

c.    SEND School Provision Task Group

The written update and the following points were noted:

·       That the Special Schools Consultation is being discussed at Cabinet on 22 May and the Task Group’s report was available.

·       That the System of Excellence was for the whole of the county and not just one area.

·       That Wiltshire Council had secured funding for SEND provision in the south of the county.

Resolved

To note the updates.

The Committee is asked to note the attached documents showing the relevant items from the overview and scrutiny forward work programme and the latest version of the strategy list for the Children, Education and Skills directorate.

The Chairman presented the relevant items from the overview and scrutiny forward work programme and the latest version of the strategy list for the Children, Education and Skills directorate.

Resolved

To note the forward work plan. 

To note that the next scheduled meeting is due to be held on Tuesday 16 July 2019 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

The next scheduled meeting of the Health Select Committee is due to be held on Tuesday 16 July 2019 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.