Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Ms Hawkins for whom Mr Lewis was present, and Dr Roper.

Mrs McArthur was in virtual attendance.

Mrs Game declared that she was a governor at Leyland Gap School.

Mr Barrington-King declared that he was a governor at St Simon Stock School.

Mr Dance declared that his daughter in law was a social care worker and therefore he would not take part in agenda item 16, 24/00109 - Transfer the 18-25 section of the Strengthening Independence Service (SIS) from the Children Young People and Education Directorate to the Adult Social Care and Health Directorate.

Mr Manion declared that he was a member of the Canterbury Diocese Board of Education.  

Mr Stepto declared that he was a governor at Nexus Foundation Special School.

Mr Sandhu declared that he was an invigilator for Leigh Academy Longfield.

Sir Paul Carter, although not a member of the Committee, advised that he was a Director of the Leigh Academy Trust.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2024 were a correct record.

1.    Mrs Chandler provided her Cabinet Member Verbal Update as follows: 

• Kent Youth County Council Elections

The elections saw a significant surge in youth engagement with a total of 22,866 young people casting their votes this year. This demonstrated a growing interest and participation in local democratic processes amongst the youth of Kent.  Further details about the Kent Youth County Council can be found on the Kent County Council website.

• Family Hub Community Practice Event

The event was held on 5 December 2025 and, along with Mrs Chandler, was attended by KCC Family Hub practitioner staff, CYPE Early Help system colleagues, Public Health colleagues, NHS Partners, representatives from the Department for Education (DfE) and representatives from the Department for Health and Social Care.  The event provided an opportunity say thank you to staff and partners for the hard work that had been done on the Family Hub transformation journey. Mrs Chandler also spoke about her visit to the Deal Family Hub on Christmas Eve, where she assisted with the distribution of hampers and had the opportunity to speak to staff and those benefiting from the service.

• Commissioned Family Hub Contracts

During the discussion at the Committee on 21 November 2024 it was set out that the current contracts ended on 31 March 2025.  Previous decisions established the service model in line with DfE guidance, the location of the Family Hubs, and the way in which grant money was to be spent. Each of these decisions combined in sequence to deliver the new operating model. The decision around the last two commissioned centres was the next step to establish a consistent operating model across the County.

The Committee requested to pause the decision while additional information was sought; to confirm details of the fourth year of grant money from the DfE; and to assess the value of the Family Hub assets in Margate.

The Infrastructure Division provided an estimated valuation of £250,000 to £450,000 for the Margate Family Hub depending on its future use, and Northdown Road had an estimated valuation of £200,000 to £400,000 depending on the future use.  The Cliftonville Hub was leased and therefore was not applicable for valuation.

The Government’s grant announcement last week still contained insufficient detail, however, it was understood that any funding would come with additional delivery requirements controlling how the money was to be used, and it would need to be spent within the next financial year.

Legal advice confirmed that the Council could not extend the contracts without incurring significant risk.  The contractual timescales would require the decision to be made very soon.

Since the previous Committee meeting, some Healthy Living Centre project funding from Public Health had been identified to allow the project to run from the Millmead Community Centre.  It was understood that this funding would support the Centre to continue to operate.  Mrs Chandler also agreed that existing budgets could be used to rent space at each centre for outreach support.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

1.    Ms Atkinson introduced the Performance Monitoring report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         Following discussions at the last meeting regarding the merit of targets for school exclusions, which were outside of the direct control of the Council, it was felt that a target should remain for monitoring purposes and that it should be reset to the current position.  There was concern that children who were not in school might not receive the support they needed as they could be harder to monitor.  Statutory guidance was in place regarding school attendance, and there was evidence of strong partnership working between schools and parents.

·         The exam attainment data was awaiting finalisation, but initial indications showed that the County’s results were equal to, or better than national averages.

·         The percentage of pupils at EYFS achieving a good level of development, had dropped to an amber rating.  This followed a nationwide trend resulting from the removal of some leniency in testing that was introduced following the Covid-19 pandemic.  

·         The target number of cases for a children’s social worker was 18, however, newly qualified workers managed lower caseloads.  A recent Ofsted review had found that social workers were satisfied with the support they received.

·         The percentage of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) issued within 20 weeks had continued to improve, and now received a green rating.  The Council could consider publicising the latest figures regarding EHCP performance, as the data recently published in the national press was out of date.  There had been strong improvement in the service over the last 12 months. 

3.  RESOLVED to note the update.

1.    Mr Oakford introduced the report noting that it was the second opportunity for Members to comment and make suggestions for consideration.

2.    Mrs Chandler and Mr Love outlined the areas of the report specific to their portfolios.

3.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         A new grant for Children’s Services of £4.1million had recently been announced and was not yet shown in the budget.

·         £11million would be transferred to General Reserves, this would return the Reserve to its target of 5% for the year.

·         The Safety Valve Agreement was giving the Council time to prepare its finances while continuing to make service improvements.  The DfE was expected to continue to contribute as part of the agreement, and the Council was on track to move to a financially sustainable position as planned.

4.    RESOLVED to note the report.

1.    Mr Adams introduced the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         There were concerns that some older buildings may not be suitable for accessibility improvements, and that resources could be insufficient in some areas.

·         Although the number of consultation responses were low, 750 people viewed the webpage and the Strategy was downloaded 200 times.

·         There would be a need for additional staff and facilities to implement the Strategy, some elements were reliant upon unsecured funding.

·         Once the Strategy was fully implemented, children with SEN could potentially excel in subjects that they previously could not access.

3.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)    Approve the adoption and implementation of the Education Accessibility Strategy 2025-28

(b)    Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children’s, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, to refresh and/or make revisions to the Strategy where changes do not require additional governance.

(c)     Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children’s, Young People and Education to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering into and finalising the terms of relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the above decision.

1.    Mr Adams introduced the report that was a pro-active step to make the process more transparent and robust.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         The Council, as the Local Authority (LA), received capital funding from Government for capital works at LA controlled schools. To be eligible for the funding works needed to support accessibility requirements and cost £10,000 or more.

·         Organisations had a duty to make reasonable adjustments to support accessibility.

3.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)    Approve the adoption and implementation of the Schools Access Initiative Policy and Procedure.

(b)    Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children’s, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, to refresh and/or make revisions to the strategy where changes do not require additional governance.

(c)     Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children’s, Young People and Education to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering into and finalising the terms of relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the above decision.

1.    Ms Stone introduced the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         The proposals were discussed at the School’s Funding Forum who were in support of the transfer.

·         When children and young people with SEN funding moved through the education system, their funding moved with them.

3.    RESOLVED to endorse the recommendations outlined in the report, namely:

(a)  That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to implement the proposals set out within the Kent Schools’ Local Funding Formula 2025-26 consultation.

(b)  Note that the Cabinet Member will take the relevant Key Decision during January 2025 in line with the Council’s decision-making procedures, following engagement with the Schools Funding Forum regarding proposals outlined in this paper relating to schools and early years, along with standard inflationary increases to Special Educational Needs payments made to schools/colleges.

1.    Ms Price introduced the report that was slightly delayed in publication in order to include the views from the recently held Schools Funding Forum.

2.    Sir Carter addressed the Committee and made the following points:

• There was some uncertainly among schools about how they would be impacted by the model.
• The issues faced by Kent schools were mirrored across the Country.  Government legislation was needed to provide clarity about the thresholds that entitled a child to receive a special school place, and what level of support could be expected from a mainstream school.  In the absence of Government legislation, the LA should provide this clarification.
• The LA bore the cost of supporting children with profound needs that were placed in Kent Schools by other LAs.  These costs were not currently recoverable from other LAs.
• The NHS needed to reduce the waiting time for young people to access mental health services, and to contribute to the funding of their support.
• Mainstream schools should be named and shamed if they did not accept children with special needs.
• The Informal Scrutiny Committee had diluted its findings, and he would continue to campaign on the matter.

3.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         The proposals were intended to set out the principles for the system moving forward.  More detailed information would be made available to schools in due course to help support their understanding of the impacts.

·         Schools would be empowered through the decision, and the amount of funding for the high needs block would remain unchanged.

·         The LA could not wait for the Government to re-organise SEN provision.

·         A lot of work had taken place with school communities to establish what the model should look like, and to develop some general principles. There was recognition that the existing model was not working as effectively as it should.

4.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)  Approve the funding arrangements for the Communities of Schools’ process as per Key Decision and as set out in this report.

(b)  Approve the transition arrangements of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) funding system for state funded schools between April 2025 and September 2026.

(c)  Note that the development and establishment of the long-term plan to adopt an overarching SEN funding policy and system, will be subject to further governance and decision making in consultation with schools.

(d)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to implement the funding arrangements for the Communities of schools process as per Key Decision - 24/00026 - The Locality Model for Special Educational Needs Inclusion

(e)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to proceed with transition arrangements, between April 2025 and September 2026.

(f)   Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

1.    Ms Dann introduced the report.

2.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)  Adopt the SEND Strategy 2025-2028 on behalf of Kent County Council.

(b)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to refresh and/or make non-substantial revisions to the Strategy as appropriate during the lifetime of the strategy.

(c)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of, and entering into required contract or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the decision.

1.    Ms Holden and Ms Sheppard introduced the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         It was anticipated that the Link Practitioner model would be adopted.  This model had the potential to increase capacity within the service.

·         Specialist teaching budgets varied across the County.  Some schools were subsiding the service, held vacancies open and some had staff that undertook dual roles.

·         Most consultation responses agreed that the service should continue to be funded. The proposal to bring the service in-house was not specifically consulted on, however it was explained in the consultation document and respondents were able to add comments.

·         The funding of the existing service was unsustainable. The proposal to bring the service in house would address its financial sustainability. The Link Practitioner model would provide a consistent offering across the County that had the flexibility to change with the developing needs of the service.

·         The consultation identified that schools highly valued the service, and the preference was for it to be funded by the Communities of Schools, rather than directly by schools themselves.

3.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)  Approve the funding arrangements and revised model for the continued delivery of the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service (STLS) beyond 31 August 2025 when the Service Level Agreements cease:

a.    that funding for school age STLS will be funded from the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and this funding will form part of the Communities of Schools’ budget for local decision making.

b.    that funding for the early years STLS will be funded from the early years block for central services from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG)

c.    change of delivery from commissioned provision to being managed in-house.

d.    an extension to the existing Service Level Agreement, if required, in order to implement this transfer.

(b)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, to implement the revised Specialist Teaching Learning Service model.

(c)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, to enter into extensions to the existing Service Level Agreements as required to implement the transfer of STLS from a commissioned to an in-house service.

(d)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, to take other relevant actions, including but not limited to entering into relevant contracts or other legal agreements as required to implement this decision.

The meeting adjourned at 12:47 and recommenced at 12:56.

1.    Ms Stone introduced the report.

2.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)  Approve the distribution the Teacher’s Pension Employer Contribution Grant in line with the terms and conditions of the grant;

(b)  Approve the distribution the Core Schools Budget Grant in line with the terms and conditions of the grant;

(c)  Approve the distribution of the Early Years Budget Grant to Early Years Providers in line with the terms and conditions of the grant; and

(d)  Delegate authority to the Director of Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to take other necessary actions, including but not limited to making any further necessary changes to funding rates in light of any final affordability issues, and entering into contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement the decision.

1.    Mrs Chandler introduced the report advising that this decision was to allow the Council to accept a fourth year of funding for Family Hubs from Government. Once the decision had been made the funding would appear in the 2025/26 budget.

2.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services agree to:

(a)  Approve, the acceptance of the Year 4 Family Hub Grant Award; subject to final review and consideration of detailed terms and conditions from the Department for Education, and the deployment of the grant funding in accordance with the grant conditions and the adopted service model;

(b)  Delagate authority to the Director of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health to review and agree the terms and conditions to enter into the necessary grant agreements;

(c)  Delagate authority to the Director of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of Public Health to deliver the requirements of the grant;

(d)  Delegate authority of required expenditure to the Director of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, to be managed in line with Council procurement rules;

(e)  Delegate authority to the Director of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of Public Health, to take other necessary actions, including but not limited to entering into contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement the decision.

1.    The Chair stepped back from the role following his declaration of interest and Mr Dendor, Vice Chair, chaired the meeting for this item.

2.    Mr Kasaven introduced the report.

3.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         The transfer would allow direct oversight of the service by the directorate that had statutory responsibility for it. The service provision and staff providing the service would remain unchanged.

·         There were around 900 individuals who used the service.  Those aged 18-25 who received care through an EHCP would continue to receive services from the CYPE directorate.  The CYPE directorate would also retain responsibility for the high needs education funding.

4.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet agree to:

(a)  Transfer the statutory functions delivered by the 18-25 section of the Strengthening Independence Service, including the transfer of workforce in services, from the Children Young People and Education Directorate to the Adult Social Care and Health Directorate from 1 April 2025;

(b)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health and Corporate Director Children, Young People and Education to take the relevant actions, including but not limited to, awarding, finalising the terms of and entering into the relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the decision.

5.    In accordance with paragraph 16.31 of the Constitution, Mrs Dean, Ms Meade and Ms Dawkins, wished for it to be recorded in the minutes that they abstained from voting on the motion.

1.    Ms Gleave introduced the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         The LA issued an apology and have incorporated changes as a result of the lessons learnt.

·         The case dated back to 2019 and there has since been a change of culture within the Service.  It was right that the LA was open and honest when things went wrong.

·         The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman specified the amount of compensation that it deemed as appropriate.

·         It would be normal practice for the LA to endeavour to ensure that appropriate tuition was in place until a placement could be found. 

3.    RESOLVED to note the contents of the report and the actions the Council intends to take as a result.

1.    RESOLVED to note the work programme.

Motion to Exclude the Press and Public

RESOLVED that the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Open Access Minutes

1.    Mr Kasaven introduced the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         Children must be matched with other children of similar needs.  There was a small cohort of children with very complex needs who were difficult to find placements for.

·         There were around 1300 children from other LA’s that were placed in the County, these LAs often paid above market rates for the placements, and this made placements scarce and costly for the Council.  There was a strong business case to offer in house provision.

·         Small units offering two beds, in a central location appeared to be optimal. Some companies with larger units had experienced difficulty in filling the rooms because children must have similar needs in order to be placed together. 

3.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services agree to:

(a)  Approve the establishment of in-house provision for children and young people.

(b)  Note that the progression of establishing an in-house model will require £3.8m capital funding to be allocated through the 2025 budget setting process.

(c)  Agree that progression will be subject to Full Council’s approval of the budget.

(d)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young people and Education to design and implement the staffing and asset utilisation model to support the establishment of in[1]house provision for children and young people.

(e)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young people and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services, to initiate and progress the OFSTED registration process.

(f)   Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young people and Education to take other relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of and entering into required contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the decision.

(g)  Delegate authority to the Director of Infrastructure, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services, Corporate Director for Finance, and General Counsel, to approve and execute all relevant property matters as required to implement the decision.

1.    Mr Watts introduced the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

·         The availability of additional funding would help to avoid any further delays, and any unused funds would be returned to the capital budget.

·         Part of the scheme was funded by the DfE and verbal confirmation had been received from the DFE that they would add to their contribution. 

·         Costs would continue to be closely monitored.

3.    RESOLVED to endorse the proposed decision, namely:

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to:

(a)  Authorise the allocation of an additional £2,063,000, thus creating a revised project budget of £16,963,000 from the Basic Need capital budget for the expansion of Rosherville Church of England Academy, London Road, Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 9JQ, increasing the Published Admission Number (PAN) from 20 places per year group to 60 places per year group, facilitated by a relocation onto a new site on Crete Hall Road, Northfleet, DA11 9AA.

(b)  Delegate authority to the Director of Infrastructure to, in consultation with the Director of Education, enter into any necessary contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision; and

(c)  Agree for the Director of Infrastructure to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements, with authority to enter variations as envisaged under the contracts.