Agenda and minutes

CO-OPTED MEMBERS (VOTING)

Mr A Graham – Church Representative (Church of England)

Mrs K Blacker – Parent Governor Representative (Primary)

Ms J Ward – Parent Governor Representative (Secondary)

CO-OPTED MEMBERS (NON-VOTING)

Ms C Foote – Teacher Representative

Ms H Bellamy – Teacher Representative

Mrs A Kearsley – Early Years Representative

Ms C Hopkins – Young Lives Leeds

Ms D Reilly – Looked After Children and Care Leavers

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 25* of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(* In accordance with Procedure Rule 25, notice of an appeal must be received in writing by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting).

There were no appeals.

1.  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2.  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3.  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:

No exempt items have been identified.

There were no exempt 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.)

There were no formal late items. However, there was some supplementary information circulated to Members prior to the meeting in relation to Item 6 – Minutes of the previous meeting. This was a copy of the draft minutes of the Board’s Call-in meeting held on Wednesday 10^th October 2018 (minute 51 refers).

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.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were received from co-opted members Viv Bryden and Tony Britten.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th September 2018.

In relation to the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th September 2018, Co-opted Member Kate Blacker requested that Minute 34 be amended to reflect the point raised that not all schools have MindMate lessons and Champions, but should be encouraged to do so.

In relation to the minutes of the Call-in meeting held on 10^th October 2018, Co-opted Member Jackie Ward requested that Minute 43 be changed to reflect that the School Organisation Advisory Board (SOAB) had received maps during their meeting. 

In relation to Minute 43, Co-opted Member Kate Blacker requested that a paragraph within the minutes be changed to read as follows:

‘Co-opted Member Kate Blacker informed the Board that she was a governor at one of the schools in question and that in the case of that particular school, their ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted judgement was due to a number of other issues aside from the expansion of the school’

It was also requested that two further points be added under Minute 43 which the Board agreed to incorporate following a review of the audio recording of the meeting so that these are accurately reflected.  The points to be added are set out below:

·  The Board was informed that the expansion of Moor Allerton Hall Primary School, together with proposals to consider future catchment areas, would provide sufficient capacity in the area.

·  The Board noted the need to provide sufficient outside play space as part of the extension and discussed the preferred option to relocate the Children’s Centre and Community Centre onto the former New Highwood pub site.  Whilst noting that the site had been secured, the Board acknowledged that the decision still remained subject to feasibility and planning permission.

RESOLVED –

a)  That the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th September 2018 be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendment outlined above.

b)  That, following a review of the audio recording of the meeting, the minutes of the Call-In meeting held on 10^th October 2018 be approved as a correct record, subject to the above amendments.

To receive a report from the Director of Children and Families presenting information linked to the second session of the Scrutiny Board’s Inquiry and agreed thematic approach based around the five Children and Young People’s Plan Outcomes.

The Director of Children and Families submitted a report that presented information linked to the second session of the Scrutiny Board’s Inquiry and agreed thematic approach based around the five Children and Young People’s Plan Outcomes.

The following were in attendance:

-  Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Executive Member for Learning, Skills and Employment

-  Steve Walker, Director of Children and Families

-  Phil Mellen, Deputy Director for Learning

-  Anne Fell, Joint Interim Head of Learning Improvement

-  Kim Porter, Joint Interim Head of Learning Improvement

-  Hannah Lamplugh, Voice, Influence and Change Lead

The Director for Children and Families introduced the report, reflecting on some of the historical context and thanking schools, along with school improvement and school inclusion teams, for working in partnership to take forward an inclusive approach to education.

Members discussed a number of matters, including:

·  The impact of deprivation on educational outcomes. The Board noted that the report stated that the linkage between poverty, deprivation social class and parental educational achievement to the education outcome of children was stronger than the influence of a good school or teacher. Members commented that this was a powerful statement, and perhaps an area for further exploration.

·  ‘Poverty Proofing the School Day’. The Board’s previous inquiry into child poverty identified an initiative developed to mitigate the impact of poverty on a child’s day at school, and Members were pleased to hear some examples of buy-in from Leeds schools. In response to Members queries, officers also felt confident that Pupil Premium and Pupil Premium Plus funds were being allocated appropriately by schools in Leeds.

·  Cluster Partnerships. Members raised concerns about some schools, including academies, disengaging with the Clusters and sought clarity as to why this was the case, and if the schools who were not part of the Clusters were providing adequate alternative support to pupils. Members heard that some schools disengaged with the Cluster Partnerships because of funding restraints or because they felt that they could offer associated services within the school and local community. However the majority of schools continue to subscribe to their local Cluster Partnership and valued the benefits of a multi-agency approach. Members also heard that there were no checks to ensure alternative support is provided by those who do not subscribe, however outcomes for all children within the community and Cluster are monitored, along with referrals to statutory services.

·  Parental influence. The Board recognised the importance of engaging parents and enabling them to effectively support their child’s education, but also some of the stigma attached to parents seeking help. Members praised some of the work taking place in children’s centres, and suggested that parenting skills sessions could be facilitated more widely in schools. Members were informed that regular meetings take place with children’s centres and learning improvement teams to share good practice, however more could be done to engage with hard to reach groups of parents. Members also heard thatvoice and influence parent groups had been established in some schools across the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

To consider the report of the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and the Director of Children and Families presenting the progress made in relation to the previous Scrutiny recommendations and Ofsted/CQC inspection.

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 a previous Scrutiny inquiry into Aspire, Empower and Accomplish – Supporting Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Leeds.

Appendix 3 of the report also set out the specific areas for improvement as identified in the Area SEND Ofsted/CQC Inspection outcome letter and details of progress made to-date.

The following were in attendance:

-  Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Executive Member for Learning, Skills and Employment

-  Steve Walker, Director of Children and Families

-  Phil Mellen, Deputy Director for Learning

-  Sue Rumbold, Chief Officer for Partnerships and Health

-  Val Waite, Head of Service for Learning Inclusion

-  Victoria Coyle, Statutory Assessment and Provision Lead

The status of recommendations were agreed as follows:

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

·  Recommendation 2 – Achieved

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

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

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

·  Recommendation 10 – Stop Monitoring

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

The following key points were also raised during consideration of this item:

·  The Board agreed to continue tracking progress against recommendation 1 and requested that some anonymised EHC plans be shared next time to allow for Members to observe the improvements to quality.

·  Members sought clarification as to how young people who lack mental capacity are enabled to influence their pathways, and were informed that this was a challenge.  However teams endeavour to triangulate information from the family and school, along with accessible activities for young people to have their say.

The Chair asked the Director of Children and Families to provide the Board with an update regarding the recently announced Ofsted inspection, which was due to commence on Monday 29^th October 2018. The Director of Children and Families provided some more information regarding the new Ofsted Inspection Framework for Inspections of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS). Members were informed that Ofsted would be completing a standard inspection, examining all aspects of Children and Families services, and the authority will be given a graded judgement. Members also heard that inspectors had indicated that they would be spending most time with front-line practitioners, as opposed to Members and senior officers.

RESOLVED –

a)  That the contents of the report be noted.

b)  That the above status of recommendations be approved.

c)  That the information requested during discussions, be provided to a future tracking meeting.

Councillors Stephenson and Bruce, and Co-opted Member Claire Hopkins, left the meeting during discussion of this item.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2018/19 municipal year.

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report which invited Members to consider the Board’s Work Schedule for the remainder of the current municipal year.

The Chair advised that Board Members would be informed of the date of the additional working group meeting in due course.

RESOLVED – That the work schedule be updated and approved in accordance with the above.

Wednesday, 23^rd January 2019 at 10.00 am (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.45 am)

Wednesday, 23rd January 2019 at 10.00 am (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.45 am)

The meeting concluded at 12:45pm.