Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present

1.    Apologies for absence were received from Mrs S Gent, Ida Linfield, Mr D Murphy and Mr Q Roper.

2.    Mr K Gregory and Mr R Bird attended as substitutes for Mrs S Gent and Ida Linfield respectively.

To receive any declarations of interest made by Members in relation to any matter on the agenda.  Members are reminded to specify the agenda item number to which it refers and the nature of the interest being declared

1.    Mrs Game made a declaration of interest as her grand-daughter attended a pupil referral unit and was receiving early years’ intervention.

2.    Dr Sullivan made a declaration of interest as her husband worked as an Early Help Worker for Kent County Council.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record

1.    Resolved that the minutes of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee held on 22 June 2017 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

To note the minutes.  

1.    Resolved that the minutes of the Corporate Parenting Panel held on 1 June 2017 be noted.

1.    The Chairman said that, although Mr Leeson (Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education) was unable to attend the meeting, Keith Abbott (Director of Education Planning and Access) would provide a verbal update on his behalf.

2.    Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) commented on the good results from schools over the summer and said that KS2 in particular had made significant progress.

3.    Mr Gough said that the Secretary of State had made an announcement in July 2017 regarding the National Funding Formula which had many positive features but also elements that could be improved upon. Mr Gough said that part of the formula would be funded by cutting back the Free School programme. He said that constructive feedback had been received regarding the Free School programme in terms of meeting basic needs, although it was unclear how the funding would work for local authorities to ensure that there were adequate school places, particularly through the delivery of new schools. With regards to High Needs Funding (HNF), schools would be expected the meet the £6,000 per pupil arrangement after which the Local Authorities HNF, if agreed, would commence. The expenditure in the HNF area had risen dramatically over the years and the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) reserve had been drawn down. The first payments would be made this academic year in December 2017.

4.    Mr Gough said that the Cabinet Committee was changing significantly, particularly in the services provided and officer support.

5.    Mr Gough registered thanks to Philip Segurola and Andrew Ireland for all of the hard work that they had done for the Committee over the years.

6.    Keith Abbott discussed the school results information and the progress that had been made for the Early Years foundation stage. For KS1 schools across the county, outcomes had improved across all of the indicators and were above the emerging national figures. For KS2, attainment had improved across all of the indicators compared to last year and Kent had performed in line with the national position for all subjects apart from grammar, punctuation and spelling where Kent were just below the national average. With regards to GCSE results, performance in Kent was above last year’s figure in terms of the number of pupils attaining good GCSE outcomes. The final figures would not be finalised until after Christmas.

7.    Keith Abbott said that the latest figures from Ofsted showed continuous improvements in the quality of education provided to children in schools in Kent. 91% of schools in Kent were rated as good or outstanding compared to 89% nationally. Pupils attaining five or more GCSE’s including English and Maths was 62.1% in Kent.

8.    Andrew Ireland (Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing) said that the post-inspection framework was moving towards the conclusion stage and said that pilot testing would be taking place for the new inspection framework. He suggested that the item come back to the Committee in the future to give Members a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

The Cabinet Committee is asked to comment on and either endorse or make a recommendation to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decision set out in the report.

1.    Marisa White (Area Education Officer - East Kent) introduced the report and said that planning had been secured for the build but funding was required.

a)    Mrs Binks said she fully supported the completion of the primary school despite minor traffic concerns that were being investigated and resolved by the Kent Highways team. Lesley Game supported the proposed decision.

2.    RESOLVED  that the Cabinet Committee endorsed the proposed decision by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education to:

a)    Allocate £2.6 million from the Basic Need Capital Programme Budget to fund the phased build of St George’s CE Foundation School Primary Provision.

b)    Authorise the Director of Infrastructure in consultation with General Counsel to enter into any necessary contracts/agreements on behalf of the County Council.

c)    Authorise the Director of Infrastructure to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements and to enter into variations as envisaged under the contracts.

To advise Members on the Early Help and Preventative Services’ Commissioned Services contract monitoring process including the performance of the contracts to date. The Cabinet Committee is asked to consider and note the report.

1.    Karen Sharp (Head of Commissioning Transformation) introduced the report and provided an update on the Early Help and Preventative Services’ Commissioned Services contract monitoring process including the performance of the contracts to date.

2.    Helen Cook (Commissioning Manager) said that all contracts had been subject to monthly monitoring meetings that worked to analyse against key performance indicators that were in contracts. Providers were on track to meet targets and were adapting well to the new ways of working and sharing best practice.

3.    The Chairman recommended that the officers break down the report to enable the Committee to look at changing targets and individual aspects of the report as part of the work programme. Members were happy to discuss the report in further detail once each of the sections had been broken down further.

4.    In response to comments and questions from Members, Karen Sharp said that the main focus of the report was to be transparent, provide Members with the data that was available and to helpfully summarise the data. She took comments on board and agreed to bring the item back to the Committee in March 2018 for further discussion.

5.    RESOLVED that the report be considered and noted.

To provide Members with an update on the implementation of the proposals for an Education Services Company. The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is asked to note the progress provided in the report.

1.    Mr Gough introduced the report which set out progress that had been made and said that the main focus was the freedom to generate more income in Kent and beyond supporting KCC’s delivery of statutory services and ensure that KCC work in partnership with schools.

2.    In response to comments from Members regarding the Business Plan and exempt reports, The Chairman said that all Members should have access to historic papers and exempt reports and should contact Democratic Services if access was denied.

3.    The Chairman suggested holding a briefing outside of the meeting to ensure that Members had all supporting documents for reports to allow them to agree to the recommendations with the appropriate knowledge.

4.    RESOLVED that the report and progress be noted.

The report provides Members with an update on key issues on teacher recruitment and retention activity for 2016-17. The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee are recommended to note the report and its content.

1.    Mr Gough introduced the report and said that Kent Teach was a valued service within KCC and delivered well for the schools within Kent. He clarified the head teacher statistics and reassured Members that the current 45 maintained schools without a head teacher in 2017 did not mean that the schools were without leadership. He also said that despite the national recruitment challenges, the figures were very similar to those in 2015 and 2016.

2.    Samantha Vandersteen (Kent-Teach Manager) did not have any further comments to make on the report, except for adding that teachers were being recruited internationally.

a)    In response to a question, Samantha Vandersteen said that the majority of job searches started on a search platform and work was being undertaken to ensure that Kent Teach stayed at the top of these searches. She added that all vacancies were promoted on social media and would automatically appear in the Guardian. Samantha said that the current international platforms were Australia and New Zealand and that the team were reviewing whether international recruitment was a viable option moving forward.

b)    In response to a question, Samantha Vandersteen said it was proving difficult to obtain accurate statistics in how Kent measured against the country. Kent Teach attended a programme to encourage training teachers to build a career and hoped to target university leavers. In terms of data, she said that the team do not tend to split this between primary and secondary schools because Kent-Teach were a paid-for service, but if Members wanted this to be broken down in a further report, this would be possible. There was no information available on long term absences for teachers or head teachers.

c)    In response to comments from Members, Mr Gough said that retaining teachers and head teachers proved to be more challenging than recruiting and that the support provided to schools would continue.

3.     RESOLVED that the report be noted.

This report provides Members with an update on the progress to develop a Regional Adoption Agency in line with the Government’s expectations for Adoption Services. The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is asked to note the content of the report and endorse the progress of partnership working and the continued development of a Regional Adoption Agency with the London Borough of Bexley and Medway Council.

1.    Mr Gough introduced the report which provided an update on the progress to develop a Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) in line with the Government’s expectations for Adoption Services.

2.    Philip Segurola (Director of Specialist Children’s Services) discussed the delivery of the adoption function and the developments over the last 12 months.

3.    Naintara Khosla (Assistant Director - Corporate Parenting) discussed the application for Government funding for an RAA which had been turned down. Despite further strong representation, the Government were still unable to confirm a date in which a further application could be made in order to progress more formally to an RAA. One of the key areas would be around the generation of income through the sale of adopters which for some local authorities in the partnership generated significant income.

4.    The Chairman reminded the Committee that developing co-operative working and focusing on the needs of the children were the most important aspects.

a)    In response to questions and comments from Members, Philip Segurola said that KCC provided an excellent adoption service and a lot of work had been put into the terms of reference and governance structure to ensure that the framework of accountability remained robust. He said that working in a partnership was advantageous in many ways, the main reason being the alignment with the Government agenda for a more regionalised approach and to improve upon the quality of practice.

b)    Andrew Ireland reiterated that the development of an RAA was a work in progress and the decision to enter into a formal partnership would require a detailed agreement with an accountability framework and also a formal decision of the Council.

5.    RESOLVED that the report be noted and endorsed.

To note the contents of the Practice Development Plan

1.    Mr Gough introduced the Ofsted Practice Development Plan and commented on the progress made.

2.    Patricia Denney (Assistant Director of Safeguarding and Quality Assurance) said that it was important to maintain a good rating from Ofsted and be proficient, efficient and timely, ensuring that the action plan was carried out as presented in the report. A draft copy of the Practice Development Plan had been submitted to Ofsted for comment.

a)    In response to a question, Patricia Denney said that Ofsted commended the data collected. Philip Segurola followed on from Patricia Denney’s comments and said that although the recommendation had come back regarding data, KCC were data-rich and strongly placed to record and analyse the data.

b)    In response to a question, Philip Segurola said that he had had a productive meeting with colleagues from districts regarding housing and had re-drafted a new working policy regarding homeless 16 and 17 year olds which would go to the Joint Housing Group in October 2017.

3.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is asked to consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decision set out in the report.

1.    Karen Sharp (Head of Commissioning Transformation) and Sian Fox (Commissioning Officer) introduced the report and welcomed questions and comments from the Committee.

2.    Philip Segurola discussed the close working relationship with colleagues from the Commissioning team and the need to maintain the right balance between cost efficiency and what is best for the young people.

3.    In response to questions from Members, Karen Sharp discussed the current contract weaknesses and how these would be overcome and the option for Gen2 to deliver the service which was not considered the most viable current option. Philip Segurola said that in terms of the funding, there was a set amount from the Home Office for every over 18 year old which covered everything that they needed. Housing benefits were available to young people or they could self-fund which ensured that KCC was on the right side of the cost ceiling and minimised the cost imply cations for the Council.

4.    Andrew Ireland said that by securing a more effective contract in the future and a managed transition process, the authority would be in a position to be able to plan more strategically.

5.    RESOLVED that that the Cabinet Committee considered the proposed decision by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education to:

a)    Award short-term interim contracts to the existing service providers to deliver a Shared Accommodation Service forChildren inCare andCare Leaversaged16-21 from1 March2018 to 31 August 2018,

b)    Award a new contract for a Shared Accommodation Service for Children in Care and Care Leavers aged 16-21 from 24 October 2017 to 31 October 2022, and

c)    Delegate authority to the Corporate Director ofSocial Care, Health and Wellbeing, or other nominated officer, toimplement the decision.

This report provides Members with a positionstatement for services within the Children, Young People and Education(CYPE) Directorateregarding equality and diversitywork and provides an update on progress in delivering Kent County Council's (KCC's)Equality Objectivesfor 2016-17. The Children’s, Young People and Education CabinetCommitteeis askedto note and agree the recommendations set out in the report.

1.    Akua Agyepong (Corporate Lead, Equality & Diversity) introduced the report and provided an update on progress in delivering KCC’sEquality Objectivesfor 2016-2017 and the organisational changes that had been made.

2.    Mohamed Haji-Kella (Practice Development Officer) said that the main focus was on collecting data effectively and the key areas of activities and achievements in fostering, adoption and child protection. Specialist Children’s Services had undertaken training and development to ensure that policies were up to date and consistent with the equality duty.

3.    Mr Gough and Akua Agyepong responded to questions and comments from Members and said that overall the position in Kent with regards to the statistics in the report was manageable. Akua Agyepong said that she would investigate why the number of assisted learning opportunities for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities fell short and said that the information was anonymous and not shared.

4.    Resolved that:

a)  The current performance of the CYPE directorate in relationto education equality priorities as well as the performance of Specialist Children’s Services (SCS) within the body of the report; be noted.

b)  The progress CYPE had made in reducing inequalities in 2016-17 and  the future key actions by education proposed in Appendix 1 and consider SCS’s key priorities for future development set outwithin the cover report; be noted.

c)   Receivethereport annuallyin ordertocomplywith thePublicSector EqualityDuty (PSED).

The report provides Members with information about the operation of the Children Act 1989 Complaints and Representations Procedure in 2016/17 as required by the regulations. It also provides information about the ‘non statutory’ social care complaints and complaints received about Education Services. The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is asked to consider and comment on the contents of the report.

1.    Anthony Mort introduced the report which provided information about the operation of the Children Act 1989 Complaints and Representations Procedure in 2016/17 and also provided information about the ‘non statutory’ social care complaints and complaints received about Education Services.

a)    Members commented on the excellent work that had been undertaken and highlighted in the report.

2.    Andrew Ireland mentioned the specifics of the process and procedure and the requirement to report the item annually.

3.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The report provides Members with progress against targets set for key performance and activity indicators. The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is asked to note the two separate scorecards, for Education and Early Help, and for Specialist Children’s Services and consider and comment on the performance scorecards.

1.    Wendy Murray (Performance and Information Manager) introduced the Performance Scorecard for Early Help and Preventative Services (EHPS) and Maureen Robinson (MIU Manager) introduced the Performance Scorecard for Specialist Children’s Services (SCS).

a)    Philip Segurola responded to questions regarding Social Workers’ high work load and how this was being addressed. Overall, there had been continuous improvements and caseloads had started to reduce. Remedial actions had been put in place; there were two additional central assessment teams which would be in operation until the end of October 2017 to take on assessment work from districts that were under the highest amount of pressure.

2.    RESOLVED that the performance scorecards for Early Help and Preventative Services and Specialist Children’s Services, be noted.

To receive the report from the Head of Democratic Services that gives details of the proposed Work Programme for the Cabinet Committee.

1.    Resolved that the Work Programme for 2017-18 be agreed subject to the inclusion of:

·         A full report on High Needs Funding

·         Ofsted Update

·         Early Help and Preventative Services – Commissioned Services Contract Monitoring Update.