Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of Children’s Services which updates the Board on key developments within Children’s Services

  Further to Minute No. 33, 13^th September 2007, the Board received a report from the Director of Children’s Services which updated Members on several key areas of work being undertaken across children’s services, and provided an overview of the progress made in relation to the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) for Leeds. In order to assist the Board in monitoring the progress made in relation to the delivery of the CYPP’s priorities, the report focussed upon two of the CYPP’s priorities: reducing teenage conception; and enabling the engagement of parents and young learners in early years and primary schools. 

  Appended to the report was a chart illustrating Leeds’ Children Trust arrangements, in addition to Leeds’ CYPP priorities.

  Councillor Richard Brett, Lead Executive Member for Children’s Services, Rosemary Archer, Director of Children’s Services, Stephanie Taylor, Parent Partnership Officer, Education Leeds, Andrea Richardson, Quality and Standards Manager, Early Years, and Martin Ford, Head of Commissioning – Children and Maternity Services, Leeds Primary Care Trust, were all in attendance to answer Members’ questions.

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

  Issues Relating to Parental Participation

·  With reference to the priorities of the CYPP, Members emphasised the need to ensure effective parental participation when pursuing such priorities, which needed to be undertaken in a multi agency way, in order to address the needs not just of young people, but of the whole family;

·  Members made enquiries into the existence of performance related data concerning the work which had been undertaken in relation to the engagement of parents and young learners in early years and primary schools. Having made reference to research which had been carried out by Durham University on the outcomes achieved by the Surestart programme, Members were advised that relevant data would be submitted to the Board for information.

  General Observations

·  Members highlighted the need for Leeds to continue to publish a plan which was dedicated to all issues and priorities concerning children’s services, rather than such issues being subsumed within a larger, strategic plan. In response, the Board was assured that there continued to be a statutory requirement to publish a dedicated CYPP, and noted that discussions were currently ongoing on the most appropriate way to incorporate these issues within the Leeds Strategic Plan;

·  The Lead Executive Member for Children’s Services made reference to the fact that approximately 500 young people from the 8,000 in each Year 11 cohort were identified as disengaged. He suggested that this was a cross-cutting issue which needed to be addressed in a multi-agency way, and a matter which the Board may wish to consider in the future;

·  With regard to the levels of teenage conception in Leeds, Members were advised that Scrutiny Board (Health and Adult Social Care) were currently undertaking a piece of work on this issue, and that following an invitation from that Scrutiny Board, Councillor Lancaster had been nominated to participate in the piece of work, as a representative of Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services).

  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.