Minutes:
1) Mrs Prendergast said there were challenges in regard to the overspends on the High Needs Dedicated Schools Grant - which was used to support Children with SEN with an accumulated overspend of over £100m.
As had recently been confirmed by Matt Dunkley at the Governance & Audit Committee, the Council had been invited to take part in the Safety Valve Programme conducted by the Department for Education. This programme was intended to support those Councils with the highest High Needs Dedicated Schools Grant Deficits in the development of a deficit recovery plan - aimed at reforming our High Needs System - and moving the Local Authority to a sustainable footing as quickly possible:along with agreeing additional funding to help pay off the accumulated deficit. The initial meeting with the DfE was expected to take place by the end of May 2022 and was to inform KCC’s approach in both the further development of the plan - aligning this with KCC’s SEN Strategy and finalising the financial agreement with the DfE over the coming months.
The DfE published its new White Paper, Opportunity for all: Strong schools with great teachers in March 2022.
The paper set an ambitious target to improve school standards and through applying evidence-based practice and enabling collaborations between teachers, schools, and wider children’s services so that every child was supported to realise their potential. There was an intention to reform the academy sector through statutory changes including the introduction of new trust standards and the government had confirmed its ambition that all schools should be in an academisation process by 2030. The DfE had also proposed Local Authority run Multi Academy Trusts - there was limited information but more detail was expected imminently.
KCC was taking the lead in developing a co-constructed action plan to help young people achieve their goals after leaving school by providing better pathways to post-16 education, skills, and training.
This followed an in-depth review into the post-16 offer in the county, commissioned by KCC to develop a deeper and shared understanding of the issues faced by both young people andeducation, skills, and training providers. Students, their parents, schools, colleges, and training providers were among the many people who took part in the interviews, surveys, and consultation work of the review.
The findings from the review offered a unique and up-to-date insight into the challenges and experiences of young people and post-16 providers.
Mrs Prendergast had been very encouraged by the participation in the review and the response to the findings, conclusion, and recommendations. There was a clear desire and commitment across the sector to look afresh at post-16 provision and collaborate to improve the offer and experience for young people - making Kent a county that worked for all 16 to 19 year olds.
Families had continued to arrive in Kent through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine. Admissions guidance had been provided to schools and the admissions team was supporting individual cases as appropriate. Wider guidance and advice was available through The Education People. KCC was awaiting further information from DfE about funding to support the education of Ukrainian children, but this was not a unique position with many schools in Kent already having welcomed refugee children, and existing good practice was being applied.
Mrs Prendergast and Ian Watts visited a number of recently opened primary schools within the considerable development coming forward in the Ebbsfleet area - and all of them embraced being at the centre of their new and diverse communities. School leaders shared the challenges posed by the pandemic and those that were emerging. Without exception, all showed tremendous resolve to be inclusive of children regardless of their ability and to ensure that they were fully supported and very much part of the school community. Thanks were given to school leaders, staff and children at Springhead, Ebbsfleet Green, River Mill and Cherry Orchard Primary schools for their welcome and for all their good work.
2) Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted:
· Young people had been actively involved in the in-depth review into post-16 provision.
· No issues had been reported regarding delays in children coming from Ukraine being placed in schools.
3) Mrs Chandler said she had recently met the Children’s Social Work Teams in Swale and Gravesham and listen to some of the issues that face our social workers. The impact of lockdown was still being felt by KCC’s front-line workers, Thanks were given to the Children’s Social Work teams for their continued hard work.
The most recent decisions that had either been taken or were in the midst of being taken by other lead members that also fall within the CYPE directorate were outlined.
o 22/00051 Procurement of the Bespoke Support Service – This decision was due to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health. Members were to have the opportunity to comment on this decision as part of the normal decision process.
o 22/00034 - External Community Opportunities for People with Learning and Physical Disabilities – Again, this decision was due to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health. Members were to have the opportunity to comment on this decision as part of the normal decision process.
o 22/00040 - Domestic Abuse Duty: 2022 to 2023 funding – This decision was due to be taken by the Leader. Members were to have the opportunity to comment on this decision as part of the normal decision process.
Mrs Chandler said a huge well done to Caroline Smith and her team for organising the Education, Training and Employment Care Leaver event on 28 April. As Corporate parents, KCC supported over 2000 care leavers and it was a fantastic opportunity to be joined by some of Kent’s Care leavers to learn about what more could be done to help support these young adults to reach their full potential in life.
The Virtual School Kent awards nominations were open. The award categories included outstanding or greatly improved:
· academic achievement
· engagement and/or attitude towards learning
· education, training, or employment placement
· contribution to the community
· or Wider achievements of note
The deadline to make a nomination for Year 12, Year 13 and for KCC Care Leavers was Friday 3 June. Nominations for Early Years and Year R to Year 11 closed on Friday 8 July.
KCC were promoting Mental Health Awareness week which ran from 9 to 15 May. The theme for this year's Mental Health Awareness Week was loneliness. Supporting young people in recognising when they were feeling lonely, understanding their thoughts and feelings, and identifying the supportive connections they had, was really important.
There were a range of ways in which Kooth (a support service which provided anonymous and personalised mental health support for children and young people) could support this week, and it was all free. This included assemblies, a range of workshops and training staff in confidently signposting young people to the service.
Further information about Kooth was available online and Members were encouraged to disseminate this to appropriate persons.