Agenda and minutes

To welcome Miss Dawson to the Committee.

The Chairman announced that Miss E Dawson had replaced Mrs R Binks as a Member of the Committee.

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present.

Apologies were received from Mr D Brunning, Mrs S Chandler, Mrs P Cole, Mr R Love and Mr Q Roper.

Mrs P Beresford, Mr D Brazier and Mr P Bartlett attended as substitutes 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.

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

Mrs Game made a declaration of interest as her relatives were receiving services from CAMHS.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record.

Resolved that the minutes of the meetings of the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee held on 8 May 2018 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

To note the minutes and to receive a brief update from the Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

1.    Ann Allen (Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel) provided a brief update on the positive progress that had been made by the Corporate Parenting Panel and the recent showcase event that had taken place.

2.    The Chairman said that all Members of the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee were welcome to attend Corporate Parenting Panel meetings if they wished to.

3.    Resolved that the minutes of the Corporate Parenting Panel held on 22 March 2018 be noted.

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

Wave and Funding Announcements from Government:

Announcements were received from Government in relation to funding and the national Free School ‘Wave’ process.  The Basic Need allocation for Kent County Council within a whole £680m national announcement was £23.3m; this was lower than Kent County Council had originally forecast in the Kent Commissioning Plan. It was also a small figure in relation to what Kent had estimated to be the overall total need; this was being raised with Government and had been for a long period of time.  Government had announced both Wave 13 (mainstream schools) and Wave 14 (Special Schools and alternative provision).  The aim is to create 110 new free schools over the next three years. 35 of these free schools would be approved this year. The 35 free schools would need to be placed in an area where there was evident basic need and issues of relatively poor performance.  In Kent, three areas had been identified which fit the Basic Need criteria: Gravesham, Thanet and Ashford.  Mr Gough said that the delays in Wave 13 had been a major problem for Kent in terms of meeting ever-increasing demand and the need for school places. For Wave 14, focusing on special schools and alternative provision, local authorities would be asked to submit proposals, and the DFE would make the selection.  More details would be available later in the year.

2.    Matt Dunkley (Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education) gave a verbal update on the following issues:

High Needs Funding update:

Meetings had been held recently with head teachers in Kent which were well attended, and head teachers had engaged in the events well. In the meetings with head teachers, further consultation took place with regards to High Needs Funding and how it would be managed from 2019 onwards. A range of constructive contributions were received from head teachers during the consultation, as were strong and helpful suggestions from head teachers from special schools in Kent. Mr Dunkley and Mr Gough had focused on exploring ways in which the number of children sent to out-county schools and independent placements could be reduced. Mainstream colleagues were offered a number of options in relation to how the support provided to children in mainstream schools could be changed and how the support was allocated, they decided that they preferred to remain using the new arrangements that came into place from April 2018, rather than the new arrangements that would be introduced from April 2019. Support and input from head teachers allowed a clear plan to be devised and presented to the Schools Funding Forum in September 2019.

New Appointments:

Matt Dunkley congratulated Sarah Hammond and Stuart Collins as Directors of Integrated Services. He also congratulated James Roberts in his new role as the CEO of The Education People.

a)    In response to a question, Matt Dunkley commented on a recent news event  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To note a parcel of school alterations which will shortly be subject to key decisions, and a decision that has already been taken. The Committee is asked to endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education on the proposed decisions. The proposed decisions are as follows:

·         18/00015 – Proposal to make prescribed alterations to Laleham Gap (Foundation Special) School

·         18/00028 – Proposal to make alterations to St Nicholas (Community) Special School

·         18/00035 – Proposal to permanently expand Northfleet School for Girls, Gravesend

·         18/00036 – Proposal to permanently expand Temple Hill Primary Academy

·         18/00039 – Allocation of capital funding to enable Norton Knatchbull Grammar School to expand

The decision below has been taken:

·         18/00020 – Proposed permanent expansion and relocation of St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Marisa White (Area Education Officer – East Kent) and Ian Watts (Area Education Officer – North Kent) were in attendance for this item

1.    Marisa White and Ian Watts introduced the reports which set out the proposed decisions to expand or alter the following schools: Laleham Gap (Foundation Special) School, St Nicholas (Community) Special School, Northfleet School for Girls, Temple Hill Primary Academy and Norton Knatchbull Grammar School.

2.    Keith Abbott advised the Committee that that the information relating to the Condition Improvement Funding bid in part (b) of the recommendation for the Norton Knatchbull Grammar School expansion was no longer relevant and would be removed.

3.    Officers made Members of the Committee aware that the decision to permanently expand St Peter’s Church of England School had already been taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education outside of the Committee cycle.

4.    Officers answered questions from Members of the Committee and comments were noted.

The recommendations for each of the five proposed decisions were as follows:

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

a)    note the outcome of the consultation and statutory notice; and

b)    agree that the Governing Body of Laleham Gap School should implement their proposal to remove the boarding provision; change the age range from 4-16 to 4-17 years by introducing a one-year post 16 provision and increase the designated number of the school from 170-178,

be endorsed.

6.    RESOLVED that the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, to proceed with the proposal and issue a public notice to:

            a)        increase the designated number from 200 to 285; and

            b)        create Secondary satellite provision at Spires Academy; and

            c)        create Primary satellite provision at Canterbury Primary School; and

subject to no objections being received to the public notice:

a)    implement the proposed changes

be endorsed.

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

a)    allocate £4m from the Children, Young People and Education Capital Budget, to fund any necessary additional works or variations to accommodation; and

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

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

be endorsed.

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

a)    increase the funding allocated from the Children, Young People and Education Services capital budget to expand Temple Hill Primary Academy from £2,400,000 to £3,075,000,

be endorsed.

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

a)    agree to release £100,000 from the Children, Young People and Education  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

To receive a report which outlines the context and recent developments for the creation of Teaching Partnerships between Local Authorities and Universities and the progress taken to develop this with KCC and the 2 universities in Kent and with colleagues in Medway Council.

1.    Sarah Hammond introduced the report which outlined the context and recent developments for the creation of Teaching Partnerships between Local Authorities and Universities and the progress taken to develop this with Kent County Council and the 2 universities in Kent and with colleagues in Medway Council.

a)    In response to a question, Sarah Hammond said that students that Kent had provided placements for were expected to complete the programme within a set timeframe, but there was no expectation from the DFE to do this. She said that the teaching partnership would allow Kent to over recruit to the newly qualified cohort because more support could be offered to students and newly qualified social workers.

b)    In response to a question, Sarah Hammond said that plans had been put forward to Government for a social work degree apprenticeship levy by September 2019, but unfortunately this had been delayed.

c)    In response to a question, Sarah Hammond said that a report would be received by the Committee in 12 months’ time to update the Committee on the progress that had been made. The Committee generally supported this.

d)    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a report which informs Members of the progress made in implementing the Kent Commissioning Plan for Education 2018-22.

David Adams (Area Education Officer (South Kent)) was in attendance for this item

1.    Roger Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) introduced the report which set out the progress made in implementing the Kent Commissioning Plan for Education 2018-22.

2.    Keith Abbott said that the final phase of building work at Portal House School meant that Kent County Council’s 15-year sustained programme to re-build every special school in Kent would be complete.

3.    Keith Abbott provided a verbal update in relation to the current funding gap and said that the debate with the Education and Skills Funding Agency was ongoing.

a)    In response to a question, David Adams said that when a school opened, the number of places would be restricted to control the number of pupils joining the school, therefore there would be capacity to flex the structure to ensure that the demands of locality were met.

b)    In response to a question, David Adams and Keith Abbott discussed development issues with regards to Schools in Maidstone. Keith Abbott said that there were three free schools in Maidstone that had approved sponsors but the plans for these schools had been delayed until 2020. The Education department had liaised with schools in Maidstone, the Education and Skills Funding Agency and Local MP’s to ensure that temporary plans were put into place.

c)    The Chairman suggested that a report be received by the Committee in a future meeting which would highlight the challenges that Maidstone faced in relation to school places, Members of the Committee supported this.

d)    In response to a question, David Adams said that the Free School Meals gap continued to be an issue at all stages of education and was focused on heavily by schools and through ofsted frameworks to reduce the gap.

e)    In response to a question, Mr Gough said that the dysfunctions of the system had been made clear. He said that Kent had brought forward practical proposals with regards to how the delivery of new schools was managed.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a report which provides Members with an update on the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Pathway for Children and Young People in Kent.

Nick Moor (Head of Service 0-25 (North)) and Karen Sharp (Head of Commissioning Portfolio, Children and Public Health) were in attendance for this item

1.    Roger Gough introduced the report which provided an update on the emotional wellbeing and mental health pathway for children and young people in Kent.

a)    In response to a question, Karen Sharp said that since September 2017, the single point of access had received approximately 11,000 referrals, of these, 3,500 had been assessed and identified as eligible for Kent’s commissioned School Public Health services.

b)    In response to a question, Nick Moor said that aligned resource was allocated to the Early Help unit to ensure that the cases from the Early Help unit did not go to single point of access, the single point of action function was carried out by the NELFT practitioner (North East London Foundation Trust) who was aligned to the unit.

c)    Mr Gough highlighted the historic issues relating to CAMHS and the providers. He said that Kent County Council had sought to build and focus on early intervention in relation to the contract.

d)    In response to a question, Matt Dunkley said that the attainment gap at KS2 was reducing at a faster rate than at KS4.

e)    In response to a question, Karen sharp said that each KPI related to the individual components of the service and the overarching outcomes. She said that the KPI’s would be brought to a future meeting of the Committee.

2.    RESOLVED that the report be noted, subject to a further report being received by the Committee in November 2018 which would feature the current levels of performance and Key Performance Indicators.

To receive a report which updates Members on the progress of the procurement of the Young Person’s Supported Accommodation and Floating Support Service.

Karen Sharp (Head of Commissioning Portfolio, Children and Public Health) was in attendance for this item

1.    Karen Sharp introduced the report which set out the newly configured young people’s supported accommodation and floating support service which was prioritised for children in care and care leavers, in line with the Council’s Corporate Parenting statutory responsibilities, and homeless 16 and 17-year olds.

2.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a report which provides a positionstatement for services within the Children, Young People and Education(CYPE) Directorateregarding equality and diversitywork, providing an update on progress in delivering Kent County Council's (KCC's)Equality Objectivesfor 2017-18.

John Reilly (Strategic Business Adviser) was in attendance for this item

1.    John Reilly introduced the report which provided a positionstatement for services within the Children, Young People and Education directorateregarding equality and diversitywork and provided an update on progress in delivering Kent County Council's (KCC's)Equality Objectivesfor 2017-18.

a)    In response to a question, Mr Gough (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education) and Matt Dunkley discussed transfer gaps and said that there was a significant difference between Kent’s comparative position on disadvantaged gaps compared to Kent’s statistical neighbours at KS2 and KS4. Mr Gough said that key stage gaps would be a very strong focus and communications with head teachers would continue to ensure that gaps were narrowing.

b)    In response to a question, John Reilly said that although of all the minority ethnic groups, the Gypsy, Roma Traveller (GRT) pupils continued to have the lowest level of achievement, Kent’s levels of achievement for GRT pupils were better than the national average. Matt Dunkley said that it was important to respect people’s culture and ethnic identity whilst continuing to ensure that children were well-educated.

c)    In response to a question, Matt Dunkley said that he and Mr Gough had met with FE principals to discuss appropriate pathways at KS4 and explore the full flexibility of post 16 curriculum. He said that it was important to make sure that appropriate courses were available for young people to allow them to engage and provide a career pathway to help them to achieve their goals.

2.    RESOLVED that:

a)    the current performance of the Children, Young People and Education directorate inrelationto equality objectives set out in Kent County Council’s Equality and Human Rights Policy and Objectives 2016-2020; and

b)    the progress that the Children, Young People and Education directorate had made in reducing inequalities in 2017-18; and

c)    the agreement toreceive thereport annuallyto complywith thePublic-Sector EqualityDuty,

be noted.

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

1.    The inclusion of this information item on the agenda was noted and no discussion took place.

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education and the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education which sets out the directorate’s performance scorecard, which now includes Education, Early Help and Specialist Children’s Services.

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

a)    In response to a question, Mr Gough said that the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) indicator was part of a quarterly performance report that went to Cabinet. He said that although the performance was the lowest since the implementation of the Children and Families Act in September 2014, it reflected the significant increase in demand for SEN assessments. He said that the increase in demand had been significant and that was despite ensuring that High Needs Funding was available in mainstream schools, without the need for an EHCP, demand for both had increased.

b)    In response to a question, Sarah Hammond talked about social worker caseloads and said that Kent had been able to over-recruit Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSW), which in turn meant that caseloads would reduce. The NQSW’s would start their new role in Kent from September 2018. Mr Gough said that Kent County Council had budgeted for the significant increase in NQSW’s.

c)    Sarah Hammond said that Child Protection Plans were reducing and continued to be effective.

d)    In response to a question, Matt Dunkley said that Kent were vigilant in relation to various methods of home-educating. He said that it was important to ensure that all children were receiving a good education and that parents or carers had the necessary resources to home-educate. He said that Kent County Council’s Education department worked closely with schools and head teachers to ensure that best practice was shared and delivered, to monitor behaviours and reach agreements in relation to children that needed a fresh start in a different educational setting. Mr Gough said that the Elective Home Education Policy pinpointed a range of indicators which focused on home-educated young people that were categorised as a cause for concern.

e)    In response to a question, Matt Dunkley said that the Youth Justice Offending team was a high performing service and had been for some time. He said that whilst young offenders did face consequences for their actions, the Youth Justice System now focused on restorative justice solutions and worked with young offenders to ensure that re-offending rates were reduced successfully. He said that the young people in youth custody were among the most complex, vulnerable group of young people.

1.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

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 2018/19 be noted.