Agenda item

1) Mr Love provided his Cabinet Member Verbal Update as follows:

1.1 Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman’s findings (published on 6 July) were being taken very seriously. Measures had been put in place to improve the way enquiries and complaints were handled.  The Ombudsman’s recommendations would be actioned, and families would receive written apologies for the delays experienced.

1.2 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Staffing Update.

Since the new SEND staffing structure went live at the end of April, significant work had taken place to fill over 100 vacant posts.  The recruitment to permanent posts had gone well, and the service would be nearly fully staffed when these new employees started work.  Additional temporary staff would help tackle the back log of work that had built up.

A professional development programme had been put in place for SEND staff to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge to undertake their roles, this would also help retain staff.  There were no quick fixes to the challenges the service faced, but the right steps were being taken to get the service where it should be as soon as practically possible. 

1.3 Countywide Approach to Inclusive Education (CATIE) Feedback.

Mr Love shared some of the positive feedback that had been received from parents and carers.  A mother and grandmother of a child attending Westmeads Community Infant School in Whitstable reported that they had seen significant improvements over the year in his wellbeing and learning.  The school took a ‘team around the child’ approach that offered tailored support from the teaching staff rather than using a one-to-one approach. The school’s ethos of ‘parents as partners’, and ‘everyone is welcome’ helped to build inclusion and ensure full engagement with parents.

1.4 Reticulated Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (RAAC).

KCC temporarily closed four primary schools at very short notice in response to a recent change in the Department for Education’s (DfE) risk assessment criteria relating to RAAC. CYPE officers worked with schools to provide alternative education provision within a couple of days of the closures.  Two additional primary schools were also partially shut to allow works to be carried out. Thanks were offered to the officers involved who delt with the situation quickly and minimised the disruption to the education of the children involved.

1.5 Exam Results Day.

A Level results would be announced on 17 August and GCSE results would be announced on 24 August.  Mr Love wished everyone who would be receiving results good luck.

1.6 School Visit.

Mr Love attended the Simon Langton Girls’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Encompass Festival at the end of June.  The event was very well received, students spoke about their projects and there was a performance by the School’s Soul and Funk Band.

1.7 In response to comments and questions from Members, Mr Love confirmed the following:

• The importance of women studying STEM subjects was very important, the profile should be promoted and encouraged whenever possible.
• When Members bought incidents of poor performance to Mr Love’s attention, it would often trigger further investigation, he felt that he had always been honest about areas of poor performance and what was being done to put things right.
• Ms McInnes would provide Members with a written response detailing the allocation of staff following the SEND restructure, it would show that there had not been a reduction in the overall number of staff positions within the service.
• A detailed improvement plan would be prepared in the Autumn, when the full capacity of the service would be known and the newly recruited employees would be in post.
• KCC had undertaken an RAAC assessment of KCC maintained schools to identify which schools were high, medium, and low priority.  Remediation works were complete at all the high priority schools, and work was currently underway at the medium priority schools.  KCC had also liaised with the non-maintained schools to ensure they were aware of the new technical standards introduced by the DfE.
• The CATIE reinforced KCC’s position on inclusion within schools, and officers would continue to work with schools to support and encourage inclusive practices.

2) Mrs Chandler provided her Cabinet Member Verbal Update as follows:

2.1 Family Hubs.

The consultation process would run from 19 July 2023 until 13 September 2023, and there would be face-to-face events throughout July and August 2023. The aim was to engage with as many people as possible.  Full details of the consultation and engagement events were available on www.kent.gov.uk.

Two pilot family hub sites launched on 13 July.  The sites were Seashells Children’s Centre in Sheppey and Millmead Children’s Centre, Margate.  They provided services up to the age of 19, and SEND support for people up to the age of 25.  They would be good test models for the family hub programme.

2.2 Start for Life.

The Start for Life Programme was recently considered at Health Reform and Public Health Cabinet Committee.  The programme was a key part of the Family Hubs model and focused on the time from conception to the age of two; the goal was to reduce inequalities in health and education for babies, children and families.

A multi-agency Start for Life Board had been set up and would work in conjunction with the Family Hubs Board to oversee and monitor progress, more information was available on the website: www.kent.gov.uk/startforlife.

2.3 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC).

A report was considered at the County Council meeting on 13 July 2023, it provided Members with an update from the Monitoring Officer on the challenges faced by KCC in meeting its statutory duty.

KCC has continued to take children into care through the Safe Care and Reception Service.  There had been a rise in children originally from Turkey; it was believed that this was mainly due to a recent earthquake in the region but could also be because of a change in the political framework within the country. 

The Safe Care and Reception Service often went beyond the basic requirement of caring for children.  A recent example of this involved children taking part in a cricket event hosted by Tonbridge School that was very well received. 

2.4 County Councils Newsletter – Childrens Services Article.

The article gave a very good national perspective on the challenges faced by children’s services.  These national challenges mirrored those faced by KCC and many of the initiatives identified to help mitigate the challenges were in place within the Kent.

2.5. Try Angle Awards.

Mrs Chandler presented the final award at the Spirit of Try Angle Awards, held on 2 July at Port Lympne.  The award recognised young people’s personal achievements, overcoming adversity and contributions to the community.  This year there were 420 nominations.  Congratulations were offered to the winners and nominees, and thanks were offered to everyone involved in making the awards a success.

2.6 In response to comments and questions from Members, Mrs Chandler confirmed the following:

• The Try Angle Award was a fantastic event and should not be politicised.  The heats for the award were held during the pre-election restriction period (purdah) however, Mrs Chandler would look at how invitations were issued to Members.
• All Members had received an email in connection to the Family Hub Consultation that tried to clarify the amount spent on Universal Open Access.  An additional email would be circulated to Members with further information.
• An academy for Social Workers was one of the initiatives detailed in the County Council Newsletter.  KCC had an academy and it helped manage the challenges faced by the service.
• The Family Hubs Consultation made its relationship with the Community Assets Consultation clear, it also provided time scales for both projects.
• The Local Childrens Partnerships were an excellent forum to encourage effective engagement with the Family Hub Consultation.