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  • Agenda and minutes
  • Agenda and minutes

    Venue: Online

    Contact: Emily Kennedy  03000 419625

    Media

    Items
    No. Item

    46.

    Apologies and Substitutes

    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Mr Constanti.

    47.

    Declarations of Interest by Members in items on the Agenda

    Minutes:

    There were no declarations of interest.

    48.

    Minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2021 pdf icon PDF 241 KB

    Minutes:

    RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee held on 14 September 2021 were correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

    49.

    Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2021 pdf icon PDF 238 KB

    Minutes:

    RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee held on 16 November 2021 were correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

    50.

    Verbal Update by Cabinet Members

    Minutes:

    1) Mrs Prendergast announced the launch of the SEND Inclusion Leadership programme which started from 11 January 2022 with leadership teams from 72 mainstream schools taking part in the first cohort.

     

    The transformation programme was commissioned by KCC from a consortium including the Kent based Learning Leadership South East (LLSE), the National Association of Special Educational Needs (nasen) and the Education Development Trust.

     

    360 Kent schools were to benefit from a professional development programme which had been shaped by input from officers, the Kent Association of Headteachers, The Education Endowment Fund and the organisations leading on delivery.

     

    Participating schools were to benefit from:

     

    ·       A bespoke development programme to help the school community improve their SEND inclusion,

    ·       locally developed materials and training,

    ·       expert support from a nominated Inclusion Leader of Education (ILE) and

    ·       funded release time for participating school leaders.

    Mrs Prendergast looked forward to seeing the impact of this and the other two big SEND school transformation programmes, Nurture schools and Supported Employment as they were being rolled out across the county.

     

    On Thursday, 6 January Cabinet agreed the Kent Commissioning Plan for Education Provision 2022-26, Cabinet noted that housebuilding was forecast to place significant pressure on school places, particularly in the medium to longer term and raised concern that whilst the current system of securing developer contributions was an imperfect one, some alternative mechanisms could disadvantage upper tier authorities such as KCC further.

     

    This issue was also raised by members of this committee when it discussed the KCP at its previous meeting. The issue was considered to be wide ranging and Mrs Prendergast was working with colleagues across Cabinet to seek that it was recognised by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as the Department considers any future national planning reforms.

     

    Whilst the KCP sets out the principles by which proposals were determined and future provision was forecast, the KCP was a live document and our Area Education Officers were to continue to work with schools, district and borough councils, diocesan authorities, KCC members and local communities, to ensure KCC meets its responsibilities as the Strategic Commissioner for Education Provision in Kent.

     

    The fluidity of the demographic trends was illustrated by the falling demand for secondary school places in the Thanet area, which led to the Minister’s decision at the end of last year not to proceed with the building of Park Crescent Secondary school. This decision had eased the pressure on capital funding which can now be redirected where we know there is continued growth. Thanks were given to all the officers that were involved in shaping this document and for their continued support.

     

    Schools played a critical role in rural communities and KCC remained committed to supporting schools to thrive. KCC were monitoring the potential impact on small schools of changes in the national funding formula, in resources available to Local Authorities and of the government’s intention to academize all schools.

    The Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, had written an open  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

    51.

    Performance Monitoring pdf icon PDF 931 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Katherine Atkinson, Assistant Director of Management Information and Intelligence was in attendance for this item.

     

    1) Ms Atkinson introduced the report. It was highlighted that all indicators for Integrated Services had remained stable with the majority RAG-rated as Green and some as Amber. In Education indicators, there had continued to be pressures within the SEN service with the work on EHCPs. The indicator had been changed to a monthly ‘snapshot’ rather than a yearly, rolling indicator.

     

    The section of indicators relating to vulnerable groups would be reinstated once data around pupil attainment gap and progress was available later in 2022.

     

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

     

    ·       The EHCP timescales indicator was being monitored very closely and was being discussed in more detail at the SEN Improvement Board.

     

    ·       Concerns were raised about district variations. This was due to staff pressures and the proportion of ECHPs being issued that were cleared from the backlog balanced with those within timescale.

     

    ·       There was a working group looking at how best to target families eligible for free early education places. A list was received from the DWP each term. It was thought that take up had been affected by the pandemic.

     

    3) RESOLVED to note the report.

     

    52.

    Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-agency Partnership's second annual report pdf icon PDF 203 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Jennifer Maiden-Brooks, System Improvement Manager, KSCMP, was in attendance for this item.

     

    1) Dr Maiden-Brooks introduced the report.

     

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

     

    ·       There were 3 equally responsible partners: KCC, Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group and Kent Police.

    ·       A peer-on-peer sexual abuse audit tool was available for schools on the Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency partnership website. A survey was being designed to establish how effective the toolkit was so further refinements could be made.

     

    2) RESOLVED to note the report.

     

    53.

    Budget Proposals Report pdf icon PDF 197 KB

    Report to follow.

    Minutes:

    1) Mr Oakford introduced the report and said that the 2022-23 Budget and Medium-Term proposals had been developed against a background of considerable uncertainty and volatility. It was recognised that there were always some uncertainties within the Budget as it was difficult to predict spending on demand led budgets with a high degree of accuracy. The presentation of the capital programme had been enhanced to show a 10-year horizon. It was essential that additional borrowing was minimised to avoid pressures on the Revenue Budget and only borrow where it was essential to meet statutory obligations. It was not a legal requirement to set a balanced medium-term financial plan. However, a medium-term financial plan was important to demonstrate the financial sustainability of the authority.

     

    KCC was facing exceptional spending demands in the forthcoming year including as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which had significantly changed demands and there was additional latent demand, increasing complexity, changes in social and working lives as well as the economic impact of rising inflation. It was vitally important to distinguish between known changes, variances from the current approved Budget or known changes in the forthcoming year as there was little scope other than to accept and fund these and the forecast for future changes. Within the forecast challenging targets had been set to bear down on future prices and demand pressures in order to set an affordable and balanced Budget.

     

    Provisional grant allocations had been included in the draft Budget but these were not enough to fully fund growth pressures. Hence the council will have to continue to find savings. It was proposed to increase council tax within the government’s 2% (+1% social care levy) referendum limit.

     

    2) Mrs Chandler said that the consultation responses had indicated that respondents were most uncomfortable with savings within Children’s Social Services and early intervention to prevent the need for more costly interventions was also strongly preferred by respondents. This had been reflected in the Integrated Children’s Services draft Budget. Savings were focused on improvement of service outcomes rather than reduction of services.

     

    3) Mrs Prendergast said that the biggest financial challenge was the funding of support for children with SEND. There had been a large increase in children accessing home to school transport. It was expected that the inclusion agenda would relieve pressure in this area as more children would receive their education closer to home.

     

    4) Further to questions from Members, the following points were noted:

     

    ·       There was to be a central contingency budget. Funds from this budget could be applied for if demography impacts could be evidenced. This had been agreed in consultation with the corporate directors.

    ·       There had been delays in delivering some savings due to the impact of the pandemic.

    ·       Savings relating to school transport had not been possible previously, but work was underway to look at efficient ways of transporting children such as standard pick-up points, charging for post-16 and pass price increases. Any changes would be subject to consultation.

     

    3) RESOLVED to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

    54.

    Special Educational Needs Strategy 2021 - 2024 - Update pdf icon PDF 297 KB

    Minutes:

    Mark Walker, Director of SEND and Matt Dunkley, Corporate Director of CYPE were present for this item

     

    1) Mr Walker introduced the report.

     

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

     

    ·       Staff were being ‘skilled up’ and given training around early intervention so that educational needs are met.

    ·       There were a large number of independent non-maintained schools and Kent had a large special school sector in comparison to neighbouring local authorities. Moving forward, children would be support within their local mainstream schools

    ·       Good work was being undertaken in re-calibrating KCC’s relationship with parents through the Parents and Carers Together organisation.

     

    3) RESOLVED to agree the recommendations as outlined in the report.

     

    4) Dr Sullivan, Mr Brady and Mr Lehmann asked for it to be recorded that they did not support the proposed decision.

    55.

    Coordinated Scheme of Admissions pdf icon PDF 120 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Craig Chapman, was in attendance for this item.

     

    1) Mr Chapman introduced the report.

     

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

     

    ·       The process of children moving from infant to junior schools could not be automated.

     

    3) RESOLVED to agree the recommendations as outlined in the report.

    56.

    SEND update pdf icon PDF 1 MB

    Minutes:

    Mark Walker, Director of SEND was in attendance for this item.

     

    1) Mr Walker introduced the update.

     

    2) In response to questions from Members, the following points were noted:

     

    ·       The consultation on the Special Educational Needs Strategy 2021-24 showed that parents and carers wanted children to be included in more local schools.

    ·       There was engagement with young people through a jointly funded SEND Youth Participation Officer and success with engagement would be built on.

     

    3) Members RESOLVED to note the update.

    57.

    Specialist Teaching and Learning Services pdf icon PDF 601 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    1) It was agreed by Members that the item be deferred to the next meeting, as further information had been requested by Members.

     

    58.

    Schools Funding Arrangements for 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 333 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Karen Stone, CYPE Finance Business Partner was in attendance for this item.

     

    1)Mrs Prendergast introduced the report.

     

    2) Ms Stone outlined the report regarding the setting of budgets. Reference had been made to Appendix B in the agenda report but this had not been included so was to be distributed separately.

     

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

     

    ·       Schools were funded by their number at the October census and in year admissions were managed by schools within their core budgets.

     

    4) RESOLVED to agree the recommendations as outlined in the report.

    59.

    Adoption Partnership South East, Regional Adoption Agency -Annual Report pdf icon PDF 235 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Sarah Skinner, Head of Service, Adoption Partnership South East Regional Adoption Agency and Sarah Hammond, Director of Integrated Children’s Services (Social Work) were in attendance for this item

     

    1) Ms Hammond and Ms Skinner introduced the report.

     

    2) RESOLVED to note the report.

     

    60.

    Young Carers Overview - Commissioned Service pdf icon PDF 345 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Christy Holden, Head of Strategic Commissioning (Children and Young People’s Services); Helen Cook, Senior Commissioner; Stuart Collins, Director of Integrated Children’s Services (Early Help Lead) and Matt Dunkley, Corporate Director of CYPE were present for this item.

     

    1) Ms Holden introduced the report.

     

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

     

    ·       Part of the current contract and moving forward was workforce development, with an element looking at recognising ‘hidden’ young carers.

    ·       The provider had continued to over-deliver on the contract and did outreach into school and other settings to develop their skillset as well as the skillset of other partners. Attendance of training was being monitored and it had increased since sessions had been delivered online.

    ·       Further work was to be done in collaboration with the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services to look at whether this work could be further extended and a further report was to be brought to the Cabinet Committee.

     

    3) RESOLVED to agree to note the report.

     

    61.

    Swale Secondary Provision. Temporary expansions of Sittingbourne Secondary Schools for September 2022 and September 2023 pdf icon PDF 596 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Nick Abrahams (Area Education Officer - West Kent) was in attendance for this item.

     

    1) Members asked questions and it was noted:

     

    ·       There were Kent and national benchmarks for school places; permanent places or on a temporary basis for ‘bulges’ in the numbers of pupils.

    ·       Concerns were raised about the impact of the temporary expansions on transport.

     

    2) RESOLVED to agree the recommendation in the report.

     

    62.

    Proposed Expansion of Snowfields Academy pdf icon PDF 237 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    1) RESOLVED to agree the recommendation in the report.

     

    63.

    Proposal to permanently expand Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Abbey Place, Faversham, ME13 7BQ from 150 to 180 places for September 2023 (allocation of funding) pdf icon PDF 373 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    1) RESOLVED to agree the recommendation in the report.

     

    64.

    Allocation of Additional Basic Needs Capital Funding Towards Proposed Expansion of Invicta Grammar School pdf icon PDF 236 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    1) RESOLVED to agree the recommendation in the report.

     

    65.

    Information report on Academy Trust consultations and projects in East Kent pdf icon PDF 493 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    1) RESOLVED to agree the recommendation in the report.

     

    66.

    Proposal to change use of Garlinge Children's Centre building to provide a 16 place Specialist Resource Provision (SRP) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as part of Garlinge Primary School and Nursery and that will serve Thanet children with ASD pdf icon PDF 398 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Nick Abrahams (Area Education Officer - West Kent) was in attendance for this item.

     

    1) Members asked questions and it was noted:

     

    ·       There would not be any change or decrease in the activities of the Children’s Centre but Members raised concerns that the additional hours being provided at Birchington were not adequate due to the distance from Garlinge.

    ·       There had been significant engagement with the community including a leaflet drop and drop-in sessions. The majority of responses had been very positive.

     

    2) RESOLVED to agree the recommendation in the report.

     

    3) Dr Sullivan asked for it to be recorded that she did not support the proposed decision.

     

    67.

    Ofsted Update pdf icon PDF 591 KB

    Minutes:

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

     

    1) Members asked questions and the following was noted:

     

    ·       Extensive school improvement work was being undertaken though The Education People with Pupil Referral Units.

     

    2) RESOLVED to note the report.

    68.

    Work Programme pdf icon PDF 109 KB

    Minutes:

    1) Members noted the work programme.