Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present

Apologies for absence had been received from Mrs Chandler, Mrs Game, Mrs Gent, Mr Love and Mr Roper.

Mr Brazier attended as a substitute for Mr Love, and Mrs Stockell attended as a substitute for Mrs Game.

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.          Dr Sullivan made a declaration of interest in relation to item 8 as her husband worked as an Early Help Worker for Kent County Council and was not affected by the restructure.

2.          Mrs Stockell made a declaration of interest as she was in receipt of a teacher’s pension from Kent County Council.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee held on 29 November 2018 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

To receive a verbal update from the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education and the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education.

1.    Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) gave a verbal update on the following issues:

a) High Needs Funding:

There had been a significant increase nationally in the demand for High Needs Funding. A total transfer of 1% had been made from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block through the Funding Forum to address the growing demand for High Needs Funding that supported the needs of children with profound and complex Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). On 16 December 2018, Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, announced an additional £250 million of funding to support children with SEND, across the two financial years 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020. Further discussions would take place in 2019 between government and the Schools Funding Forum to re-examine the transfers that had been made from the School’s Block to the High Needs Block.

b) Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) and Care Leavers:

Mr Gough referred to the asylum-seekers that had been detained on a beach in Kent at Christmas after crossing the Channel and reminded Members of Kent County Council’s responsibility in relation to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. In 2018, there were 171 UASC referrals into Kent, which was a significant improvement when compared to 2015, where there were over 1,000 UASC referrals into Kent. Many concerns had been raised with government in relation to the inadequacy of funding for care leavers that were formerly unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

2.    Matt Dunkley (Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education)

gave a verbal update on the following issues:

a) High Needs Funding:

Mr Dunkley highlighted the challenges that Kent County Council would be faced with following on from the decisions that would be made by the Schools Funding Forum in relation to High Needs Funding and emphasised the importance of addressing long-term issues in relation to High Needs Funding.

3.    In response to a question, Mr Dunkley said that Kent County Council’s Children’s, Young People and Education services were responsible for the planning involved to address the issue of Brexit on school preparedness. A briefing note on school preparedness in relation to Brexit would be sent to Members of the Committee outside of the meeting.

4.    RESOLVED that the verbal updates be noted.

To receive a report which considers the outcome of the consultations on the proposed admissions arrangements for infant, junior and primary and secondary community and voluntary controlled schools and the proposed scheme for transfer to infant, primary, junior and secondary schools in September 2020 including the proposed process for non-coordinated In-Year Admissions.

Mr Bagshaw (Head of Fair Access) was in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Bagshaw introduced the report which set out information relating to the outcome of the consultations on the proposed admissions arrangements for infant, junior and primary and secondary community and voluntary controlled schools and the proposed scheme for transfer to infant, primary, junior and secondary schools in September 2020 including the proposed process for non-coordinated In-Year Admissions.

Mr Bagshaw then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Bagshaw confirmed that further information relating to adopted children from outside of England would be circulated to Members of the Committee outside of the meeting.

b)    Mr Bagshaw referred to future legislative changes to the school admissions code and said that legislative changes would need to be presented for debate before Parliament.

2.          RESOLVED that the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, to determine:

a)    The Coordinated Primary Admissions Scheme 2020/21 incorporating the In-Year admissions process as detailed in Appendix 2A;

b)    The Co-ordinated Secondary Admissions Scheme 2020/21 incorporating the In-Year admissions process as detailed in Appendix 2B;

c)    The oversubscription criteria relating to Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant, Junior and Primary Schools in Kent 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 2C (1);

d)    The oversubscription criteria relating to Community and Voluntary Controlled Secondary Schools in Kent 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 2D (1);

e)    The Published Admissions Number for Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant, Junior and Primary Schools 2020/21 as set out in Appendix 2C (2);

f)     The Published Admissions Number for Community and Voluntary Controlled Secondary Schools 2020/21 as set out in Appendix 2D (2); and

g)    The relevant statutory consultation areas for Kent Infant, Junior and Primary Schools 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 2C (3) and the relevant statutory consultation areas for Kent Secondary Schools 2020/21 as set out in Appendix 2D,

be endorsed.

Supplementary agenda to follow.

Mr Collins (Director of Integrated Children's Services (West Kent and Early Help and Preventative Services Lead)), Ms Sharp (Head of Commissioning Portfolio Children and Public health) and Ms Rankin (Cabinet Member for Strategic Commissioning) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) and Mr Collins introduced the report which set out the comments and feedback that the Cabinet Committee had provided when the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) paper was submitted to Committee in November 2018, the subsequent Member briefing and consultation with NHS commissioners and NELFT.

Mr Collins and Ms Sharp responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Collins confirmed that Kent County Council invested £2.65 million annually into the NHS contract for the delivery of specific services including Early Help and services for Looked After Children. He added that £400,000 had been utilised as a financial penalty by Kent County Council for the underperformance of the contract with NELFT, as part of a negotiation with the West Kent CCG.

b)    Ms Sharp provided further information on the investment into the CYPMHS contract between Kent County Council and the NHS, and the underperformance against the contract requirements.

c)    Ms Sharp said that Kent County Council were working closely with colleagues in the NHS to ensure that there was sufficient investment into the CYPMHS contract. She added that Kent’s Local Transformation Board were testing the resources that had been invested into the specialist areas of the CYPMHS contract to ensure that demand could be managed sufficiently.

2.          The Chairman suggested that a further update on the progress of the CYPMHS contract be submitted to the Committee in March 2019. Members of the Committee supported this.

3.          Ms Rankin, Chairman of the Contract Management Review group, invited Members to attend future meetings of the group to monitor the CYPMHS contract.

4.    RESOLVED that the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, to

a)    end the existing Section 76 agreement and establish a new agreement which reflects KCC as the commissioning lead for the KCC elements of the service; and

b)    delegate authority to the Corporate Director for CYPE to take necessary actions, including but not limited to entering into legal agreements, required to implement the above,

be endorsed.

To receive a report which sets out the Directorate’s new approach to the delivery of integrated services for children and families in Kent.

(As Dr Sullivan had declared an interest in this item, she did not take part in the discussion and did not vote)

1.          Mr Dunkley introduced the report which set out the directorate’s new approach to the delivery of integrated services for children and families in Kent.

Mr Dunkley and Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Dunkley explained that Kent County Council’s constitution set out what was contained within the remit of the County Council and what was not. The relevant third tier was Council’s third tier and therefore the Change for Kent Children project was not a matter for County Council approval.

b)    Mr Dunkley said that the report set out the justification for the changed programme and its objectives. He referred to the operational restructure and said that although Members were not authorised to influence a staff consultation to shape teams or jobs, the relevant information was available on Kent County Council’s intranet.

c)    Mr Dunkley reassured Members that the main objective of the Change for Kent Children programme was to ensure that every child in Kent was supported and individual needs were met.

d)    Mr Dunkley talked about the escalating costs of specialist services for looked after children and the services that local authorities were having to cut in order to fund them. He expressed the importance of assessing the needs of individual children and their families to ensure that needs were met before the point of crisis in a financially sustainable way.

e)    Mr Dunkley referred to the rating system that Ofsted used and said that it was Kent County Council’s ambition for its services to improve for all children and young people and to have this improvement recognised by Ofsted as outstanding. He said that if Kent County Council were to receive an outstanding rating from Ofsted it would carry a range of benefits such as a boost in staff morale and easier and faster recruitment processes.

f)     Mr Dunkley said that in January 2017, the County Council agreed a paper from the Leader of the Council and Head of Paid Service to introduce a new top tier structure for the Authority, and in May 2018, County Council agreed to the proposals to redistribute activities in Specialist Children’s Services and Early Help and Preventative Service divisions and realign the responsibilities of the two Director roles.

g)    Mr Dunkley said that an Accountability Board had been introduced by The South East Local Enterprise Partnership which addressed performance and data concerns in relation to children's social care data in Kent.

h)    Mr Gough reiterated Mr Dunkley’s comments and said that Kent County Council were well-positioned in relation to receiving an outstanding rating from Ofsted inspectors in the future.

i)     Mr Dunkley said that assessing a child’s individual needs at an early stage was vital in ensuring that both children and families were receiving the appropriate care and support.

j)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

To receive a report which provides Members with an opportunity to comment on the draft budget proposals for 2019/20.

Ms Stone (Revenue Finance Manager (0-25 Services)) and Mr Collins (Director of Integrated Children's Services (West Kent and Early Help and Preventative Services Lead)) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Ms Stone introduced the report which set out the draft budget proposals and provided Members with the opportunity to comment on the proposals before they were presented to Cabinet on 28 January 2019 and full Council on 14 February 2019.

Mr Collins and Mr Dunkley then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Collins confirmed that Microsoft Power BI was being developed by Kent County Council to store children’s data and said that it was not used for financial purposes.

b)    Mr Dunkley said that Kent County Council had applied to the Budget Delivery Transformation fund for a workforce programme that would allow Kent to end its reliance on agency staff in social work posts and begin over recruiting to newly qualified social worker posts to fill the vacancies that agency staff had left.

2.          RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a report which sets out Kent’s current position on apprenticeships, any difficulties and Kent’s direction of travel, including who holds the responsibility for apprenticeships within Kent County Council and outlines the revised Skills and Employability Service and responsibilities under the newly established LATCo, The Education People (TEP).

Mr Roberts (Chief Executive Officer – The Education People) was in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Roberts introduced the report which set out Kent’s current position on apprenticeships and the county’s direction of travel in relation to Skills and Employability. He outlined the revised Skills and Employability Service and the responsibilities under the newly established LATCo, The Education People (TEP).

Mr Roberts then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Roberts said that a feedback survey would be sent to TEP’s customers and all feedback received would be recognised, and concerns addressed. He added that TEP regularly received valuable feedback from Employer Guilds, Chief Executives of Further Education colleges, The Careers and Enterprise Company, and training providers in relation to Skills and Employability in Kent.

b)    Mr Roberts referred to the tracking support service that was available to track all young people up to the age of 19 and said that it was a very effective service in terms of reducing the number of individuals that were Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and those that were ‘Not Known’.

c)    Mr Roberts said that TEP provided an annual minimum core offer of four hours Apprenticeship/Participation support for all schools. This was in addition to what each school offered themselves, and additional provision this year. School could buy additional support back if required.

d)    Mr Roberts confirmed that the helpline and online chat support service was operated from Sessions House, in the Skills and Employability team.

e)    Mr Roberts referred to the work that TEP were undertaking with the Employer Guilds, TEP had increased the level of staffing to ensure that more effective discussions were taking place between employers and education providers.

f)     Mr Roberts said that TEP would be submitting a proposal to Kent County Council to use some of its levy funding to support small and medium enterprises in developing apprenticeship opportunities for Kent’s most disadvantaged learners.

2.    The Chairman that a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee on Employer Guilds. Members of the Committee supported this.

3.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee is asked to review and comment on the Children, Young People and Education performance scorecard, which now includes Education, Early Help, and Specialist Children’s Services.

1.    Ms Hammond introduced the report which set out the Children, Young People and Education performance management framework and the targets and milestones for each year up to 2020, set out in the Strategic Priority Statement, Vision and Priorities for Improvement, and service business plans.

Ms Hammond and Mr Abbott then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Ms Hammond said that 93% of Kent’s care leavers kept in contact with Kent County Council. She added that whilst the percentage was very high, care leavers did not have to stay in touch with Kent County Council if they did not wish to.

b)    Mr Abbott confirmed that further information relating to Education, Health and Care Plan delays would be circulated to Members of the Committee outside of the meeting.

2.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Committee is asked to note an information item setting out data on Ofsted results.

The information circulated with the agenda was noted without discussion.

To receive the report from General Counsel that gives details of the proposed Work Programme for the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee.

RESOLVED that the Work Programme for 2019/20 be noted, subject to the inclusion of:

• HeadStart Kent Programme
• Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services – Update

Ms White (Area Education Officer - East Kent) and Mr Adams (Area Education Officer - South Kent) were in attendance for this item.

1.          The Chairman set out the proposed decisions to expand or alter the following schools: Speldhurst Church of England Primary School, Tunbridge Wells, Finberry Primary School, Ashford, and Bysing Wood Primary School, Faversham.

2.          RESOLVED that

a)    the decision (18/00070) proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education to permanently expand Speldhurst Church of England Primary School, Langton Road, Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0NP from 140 places to 210 places, increasing the published admission number (PAN) from 20 to 30 Reception Year places from September 2020, be endorsed.

b)    the decision (19/00003) proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education torelease £2,800,000 from the Children, Young People and Education Capital budget to allow an 8-classroom block to be added to Finberry Primary School to enable the school to accept 2FE of primary aged pupils (60 pupils per year) in line with the Academy’s funding agreement, be endorsed.

c)    the decision (19/00009) proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education to issue a public notice to permanently change the age range of the school and subject to no objections being received to the public notice; and change the age range from 4-11 years to 2-11 years in order to establish a school run nursery, be endorsed.

Mr Collins (Director of Integrated Children's Services (West Kent and Early Help and Preventative Services Lead)) was in attendance for this item.

1.                        Mr Collins introduced the report which set out the revised proposals, based on the comments and feedback that the Cabinet Committee had provided when the paper was submitted to Committee in September 2018.

Mr Collins and Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Collins said that he had recently met with Kent’s Youth Participation Team to explore ways in which Kent could engage young people in youth engagement and develop an engagement model for Members and Chairs.

b)    Mr Collins said that the proposed Local Children's Partnership Groups (LCPG) would be Member-chaired and would meet three times a year.

c)    Mr Collins referred to the current arrangements that were in place for District Advisory Boards (DAB) and Youth Advisory Groups (YAG) and said that the voice of the child and parent was well represented through the forums but weakly represented through the current Local Children’s Partnership Group.

d)    Mr Collins said that partners had received requests from Kent County Council in relation to attending the LCPG, DAB and YAG meetings, although a significant number of partners felt that attending all of the meetings was very resource-intensive.

e)    Mr Collins explained that the young people that attended the YAG and DAB meetings continuously provided valuable and constructive feedback.

f)     Mr Collins confirmed that he could provide more information to Members of the Committee outside of the meeting in relation to potential age restrictions associated with the DAB’s.

g)    Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) emphasised the importance of the voice of the child and ensuring that children were included in engaging through YAG’s and DAB’s.

2.         RESOLVED that the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, to

a)    agree the proposed district-based governance structure for 0-19 (and up to 25) years non-statutory children’s services,

be endorsed.

(Dr L Sullivan asked that her vote against the recommendation be recorded in the minutes)