Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Sandra Pentelow (0113) 37 88655  Email: sandra.pentelow@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

21.

Late Items

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

Minutes:

The following late information was submitted to the Board:

 

-  Agenda item 7 – SILC attendance data 2014/15 to 2015/16.

-  Agenda item 9 – School data in relation to the Board’s inquiry into the impact of child poverty on attainment, achievement and attendance.

 

The above information was not available at the time of agenda despatch, but was subsequently made available on the Council’s website.

 

22.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared to the meeting.

 

23.

Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillor C Gruen and Co-opted Member, Ms C Bewsher.

 

Notification had been received that Councillor P Gruen was to substitute for Councillor C Gruen.

 

24.

Minutes - 20 July 2017 pdf icon PDF 74 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2017.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2017 be approved as a correct record.

 

25.

Aspire, Empower, Accomplish - Supporting Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Leeds - Tracking of scrutiny recommendations/desired outcomes and Progress made following the SEND Ofsted inspection February 2017 pdf icon PDF 3 MB

To consider the report of the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and the Director of Children and Families, which sets out the progress made since the Scrutiny Board inquiry and the Ofsted/CQC inspection.

 

Minutes:

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and the Director of Children and Families submitted a joint report which outlined the progress that had been made in response to the recommendations arising from the Board’s inquiry into Aspire, Empower and Accomplish – Supporting Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Leeds.

 

The following information was appended to the report:

 

-  Recommendation tracking flowchart and classifications

-  Details of progress made against each recommendation

-  Ofsted / CQC Area SEND Inspection Outcomes.

 

The following were in attendance:

 

-  Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Deputy Executive Member, Children and Families

-  Steve Walker, Director of Children and Families

-  Andrew Eastwood, Chief Officer, Learning Improvement

-  Barbara Newton, Head of Service, Complex Needs

-  Dr Jane Mischenko, ?NHS Leeds South and East CCG.

 

The status of recommendations were agreed as follows:

 

·  Recommendation 1 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring)

·  Recommendation 2 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring)

·  Recommendation 3 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring)

·  Recommendation 4 – Achieved

·  Recommendation 5 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring)

·  Recommendation 6 – Achieved

·  Recommendation 7 – Achieved

·  Recommendation 8 – Achieved

·  Recommendation 9 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring)

·  Recommendation 10 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring)

·  Recommendation 11 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable.  Continue monitoring).

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  An update on support for young people leaving custody, particularly through development of a personalised action plan.

·  The level of specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in Leeds.

·  The types of support for children and young people with an Education and Health Care (EHC) plan.

·  An update on progress in relation to the supported internship pilot.

·  Concern that some young people’s needs could only be met outside of Leeds.

·  Clarification sought regarding waiting times for children diagnosed with autism.  The Board was advised that latest data indicated good progress and that resources were in place to support further improvements.

·  Clarification sought regarding longer term care for young people that had been diagnosed with autism.  The Board was advised about waiting times and wrap around support provided by the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), the speech and language therapy service and tier 4.

·  The low percentage of dyslexia diagnosis locally compared to nationally.

·  A suggestion that future reporting included target dates and outcomes.

·  The access to training and support for schools in relation to SEND.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(a)  That the above status of recommendations be approved.

(b)  That future reporting included target dates and outcomes.

 

26.

Ofsted - Areas for Improvement - Inspection March 2015 pdf icon PDF 222 KB

To consider the report of the Director of Children and Families which provides the second annual update on the progress against the areas for improvement identified by Ofsted in March 2015.

Minutes:

The Director of Children and Families submitted a report which presented an update on the progress made against the areas of improvement identified by Ofsted.

 

The following were in attendance:

 

-  Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Deputy Executive Member, Children and Families

-  Steve Walker, Director of Children and Families

-  Jancis Andrew, Head Teacher, Virtual School

-  Andrew Eastwood, Chief Officer, Learning Improvement.

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  An acknowledgement regarding the significant progress that had been made.  Board members expressed concern about the length of time taken in some areas with recognition that there was still more to be done in terms of improving outcomes for vulnerable young people. 

·  Confirmation about a reduction in the level of pupil premium funding despite an increase in the number of deprived children, and issues associated with accessing funding.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(a)  That the Board notes the progress made on the Ofsted areas for improvement.

(b)  That an update report be presented to the Board in 2018/19.

 

27.

Scrutiny Inquiry - The Impact of Child Poverty on Attainment, Achievement and Attendance pdf icon PDF 84 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support which provides information relating to the second session of the inquiry.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report which provided information as part of the Board’s inquiry into the impact of child poverty on attainment, achievement and attendance.

 

The following were in attendance:

 

-  Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Deputy Executive Member, Children and Families

-  Mariana Pexton, Chief Officer, Strategy and Resources

-  Steve Walker, Director of Children and Families

-  Andrew Eastwood, Chief Officer, Learning Improvement

-  Peter Storrie, Head of Service, Performance Management and Improvement.

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  Concern that there was a need for clear understanding about the progress and impact of child poverty work strands undertaken by, or in partnership with the council in order to understand effectiveness and if objectives were being achieved.  Board members expressed concern that any gaps in service to mitigate the impact of, or prevent child poverty were not currently known.

·  Concern that the Child Poverty Sub-Group had not met for some time and a suggestion that more work was needed to consider cross-cutting themes and strategies, how these were integrated and what further action was required.

·  The Board felt that the limited data provided did not facilitate the selection of schools and cluster and requested that the Chair made the selection following advice from the scrutiny officer and consultation with representatives from children’s services.

·  The data that was required to support the November session of the Board’s inquiry.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(a)  That the issues raised as part of the Board’s inquiry into the impact of child poverty on attainment, achievement and attendance, be noted.

(b)  That the Chair selects appropriate schools and school cluster to visit with advice from scrutiny following consultation with representatives from children’s services.

 

(Councillor K Renshaw left the meeting at 11.55am, Councillor P Latty and Mrs S Hutchinson at 12.15pm, Mr A Graham at 12.20pm and Councillor J Akhtar at 12.35pm, during the consideration of this item.)

 

28.

Work Schedule pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2017/18 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report which invited Members to consider the Board’s work schedule for the 2017/18 municipal year.

 

The Board was advised that there had been changes to the schedule for November.  A November Board meeting replaced the scrutiny inquiry visits that had been previously scheduled.  The visits were now to take place in late November.

 

RESOLVED – That subject to any on-going discussions and scheduling decisions, the Board’s outline work schedule be approved.

 

29.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Thursday 19 October 2017 at 9:45am

 

(pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9:15am)

Minutes:

Thursday, 19 October 2017 at 9.45am (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.15am)

 

 

(The meeting concluded at 12.40pm)