Agenda item

1. Mrs Fordham, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, gave a verbal update on the following:
   1. Mrs Fordham began by expressing condolences to the families and young people affected by the recent meningitis outbreak. She advised that the Council was working closely with Public Health and the UK Health Security Agency on managing the situation and communications.
   2. Mrs Fordham outlined a wide-ranging programme of recent visits to education and skills settings across Kent.
   3. Mrs Fordham reported that she and Mrs Palmer had attended the Local Government Association Children’s Leadership Conference in Coventry, which had provided learning on the national White Paper, partnership working, governance, scrutiny and strategic thinking. She advised that they were considering how to apply this learning in Kent.
   4. The Committee was updated on work with local partners in Cranbrook to explore options for re-establishing mainstream education provision, potentially through a satellite model. An update was also provided on involvement in the Isle of Sheppey Employment Forum, supporting the development of local opportunities for young people.
   5. Turning to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Mrs Fordham highlighted that the publication of the Government’s White Paper and SEND reform proposals, alongside a live consultation running to May and the requirement to submit Kent’s proposals to the Department for Education by June, created a significant context for change. These submissions would influence future funding and the proposed write-off of 90% of the accumulated high needs deficit. This activity sat alongside the ongoing SEND transformation programme and Accelerated Progress Plan, which comprised 116 improvement projects.
   6. Mrs Fordham reported on a recent visit to the Elective Home Education Team, which supported children not educated in school. She highlighted the team’s ideas for transforming the service, including more data-driven approaches and advised that she would be following up to support further projects.
   7. Mrs Fordham then summarised the rationale for bringing the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service (STLS) back in-house. She explained that the aim was to establish a stronger, more consistent county-wide model of support for schools and early years settings. However, despite high engagement and positive feedback, data did not show consistent improvements in inclusive practice or a slowing of EHCP growth. A static budget that was unevenly distributed across districts led to variation in capacity and delivery and overall service capacity was insufficient to meet demand, requiring streamlining. Following the transfer to KCC, a formal TUPE process was undertaken, with initial delays caused by essential checks such as DBS, IT access and mandatory training. In response, a consistent core offer aligned to the continuum of need was developed, and the training offer was fully overhauled and shared with schools.

2. In response to comments and questions it was said:
   1. Mr Chapman, Interim Deputy Director for Education: Access and Inclusion, explained that the industrial action within STLS related to disagreements over terms and conditions within the Council and expectations of ongoing working practices, not to budget cuts. He confirmed that a formal consultation and TUPE process had been followed and that staff were moving onto standard Kent teaching terms and conditions. He reported that, as at 12 March, there were 78 active STLS staff compared with 90 at transfer, with most reductions in administrative roles and some in teaching and higher-level teaching assistant posts. He advised that negotiations with unions were ongoing, and the Council had responded to their latest demands. Ms McInnes, Interim Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, added that there had been no cuts to the STLS budget and emphasised that this was not the reason for the industrial action.
   2. A Member raised concerns about communication and timing of notifications to staff regarding changes and asked whether lessons learned reviews would be undertaken for future changes. Mrs Fordham confirmed that lessons learnt from this experience would be taken on board for future transformation and commissioning activity.
   3. A Member asked about recent changes to post-16 transport policy for learners with EHCPs, including the timing and clarity of communications to parents, schools and members and requested further training on members’ roles in the appeals process. Mr Chapman summarised the communication undertaken during the post?16 transport consultation. Initial information was issued in early 2025 to current users and families of EHCP learners who might require transport in the next two years. Following the July 2025 decision, a further update was sent in October to confirm that the changes applied only to future intakes. Additional engagement included targeted social media, meetings with schools, including special schools and a Member briefing in November 2025. It was explained that an increase in appeals was anticipated, and work was underway to develop further Member training and guidance. The Chairman confirmed that a recording of previous training on this was available on the Member SharePoint site.

3. Mrs Palmer, Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services, gave a verbal update on the following:
   1. Mrs Palmer reported that recent weeks had been relatively quiet in terms of external visits but there had been extensive internal work with service directors on a range of planning and improvement activity within children’s services.
   2. Referring to recent media reports about the Council’s budget, Mrs Palmer stated that reports of a £1.2m cut in fostering services and a £700k cut in disabled children’s services were incorrect. She clarified that these figures related to efficiency savings, largely through the use of technology to streamline processes, and not to reductions in service provision.
   3. Mrs Palmer updated the Committee on preparations for the launch of the Best Start in Life offer through family hubs on 31 March. She thanked Ms Crisan, Ms McInnes and their teams for their work and reported on her attendance at a family hub staff conference, noting the commitment and hard work of staff.
   4. Mrs Palmer highlighted the introduction of online safety training for parents through family hubs, aimed at helping children to be confident, capable and safe online.
   5. Mrs Palmer updated the Committee on youth justice work. She explained that following national changes to police guidance in December 2023, the Council had experienced issues with incomplete information on youth offending reports, particularly around victims, which affected the ability to undertake restorative work. She advised that, after sustained challenge, the police had updated their IT systems so that reports involving young people could not be submitted unless all required information was provided and that Kent’s records were now up to date.

4. In response to comments and questions it was said:
   1. A Member asked about the future of specific family hub sites, including Priory Road in Ramsgate and sought assurance that services would be maintained in local communities. Mrs Palmer emphasised the importance of family hubs in delivering Best Start in Life and Families First initiatives, including support up to age 25 for young people with SEND. She advised that all existing family hub sites had been secured for the next three years. Ms Crisan, Director for Operational Integrated Children's Services, confirmed that there were no plans to close any family hubs.
   2. Mrs Palmer highlighted that the current children’s services leadership team worked collaboratively across portfolios to identify ways to save money without cutting services and that the team had jointly developed the current efficiency proposals.

RESOLVED that the verbal updates were noted.