Agenda item

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which invites Members to consider key performance issues relating to quarter 1 of 2007/2008 which are considered to be of corporate significance for the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services)

The Head of Policy, Performance and Improvement submitted a report which invited the Board to consider key performance issues from quarter one of 2007/2008, which were considered to be of corporate significance for the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services). The report also advised Members of a predicted Corporate Performance Assessment  (CPA) score for 2007/08.

Appended to the report was a table detailing all relevant Performance Indicators for the Board.

Councillor Richard Harker, Executive Member with responsibility for Learning, and Keith Burton, Deputy Director of Children’s Services (Commissioning and Partnerships), were in attendance to present the report and answer Members’ questions.

Having received a brief summary of the key issues detailed within the report, a question and answer session ensued. The main areas of debate were as follows:-

Fully Flexible Integrated Provision

·  The Board discussed the percentage of schools in Leeds which offered Fully Flexible Integrated Provision (FFIP), and the challenges which existed for the Local Authority as it attempted to improve delivery in this area. Members were advised that quarter one statistics for this indicator were rarely positive, as the beginning of the academic year was usually the main date for starting any new provision;

·  The Board noted that Leeds was one of sixteen Local Authorities currently participating in a pilot scheme, and was therefore a Pathfinder in this field;

·  Members also enquired why there was no acknowledgement within the performance indicators to the contribution being made by private sector providers in Leeds. In response, officers concurred with Members’ comments and acknowledged the vital contribution made by private sector providers, but emphasised that the performance indicators within the report were set nationally and therefore did not reflect the mixed economy of provision which currently existed.

Statements of Special Educational Need

·  Members sought clarification on the data relating to the preparation of statements of special educational need, and enquired why Leeds did not perform as well as other core cities in this area. In response, the Board was advised that whereas some statements only required the input of the Local Authority, others depended upon contributions from external agencies, such as local health authorities, and therefore the time taken to prepare statements of special educational need often relied upon the relevant agencies prioritising such work;

·  Members requested further information on the performance levels relating to those statements which required an input from external agencies;

·  Members raised concerns about the extent to which service provision was signposted to parents. In response, Members learned of the procedures in place for issuing statements, and the appeal mechanisms open to parents whose children had not been issued with statements.

General Observations

·  Following Members’ enquiries, the Board received an explanation of the relationship between the proportion of performance indicators achieving target at year end and those showing year on year improvement; 

·  Members made enquiries into the number of teenage pregnancies in Leeds;

·  Members highlighted the importance of maintaining performance levels concerning the number of pupils visiting museums and galleries. In response, the Board learned that the data presented only reflected visits to Council run facilities;

·  In response to Members’ enquiries, the Board learned of the services provided in Leeds for homeless families;

·  Further information was sought on the number of looked after children who had left school in the previous year, and what had happened to them.

RESOLVED –

(a). That the report and information appended to the report be noted;

(b). That the information requested by the Board be forwarded to Members for consideration.

(Mrs S Hutchinson declared a personal interest in relation to this item, due to being a provider of private childcare)