Agenda item

To consider a report from the Director of Children’s Services which seeks to update Members on the progress made in relation to the preparation for the inspection of children’s services later this year, and also invites Members to consider the Board’s engagement in the ongoing review of the Leeds Children and Young People’s Plan

A report was submitted by the Director of Children’s Services which sought to update Members on the progress made in relation to the preparation for the Annual Performance Assessment (APA) and Joint Area Review (JAR) of children’s services later in the year, in addition to engaging the Board in the ongoing review of the Leeds Children and Young People’s Plan.

In addition to the information detailed within the report, a summary of the emerging issues from the Children and Young People’s Plan Review was tabled at the meeting for Members’ consideration.

Rosemary Archer, Director of Children’s Services, Adam Hewitt, Public and Political Executive Support Manager, and John Maynard, Strategic Leader, Intelligence and Innovation, all from the Director of Children’s Services Unit, were in attendance to answer Members’ questions.

Members of the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services) made the following comments arising from their discussion on the emerging priorities for the Children and Young People Plan Review:-

The Review Process for Leeds’ Children and Young People’s Plan and Issues for Possible Inclusion

·  Members acknowledged the work being done to review the Plan, especially in light of national changes in the requirements for the Plan;

·  Members stressed the need for clear action plans to complement the priorities identified within the finalised Plan;

·  They also highlighted that there needed to be clear and explicit links to the Vision for Leeds themes of Narrowing the Gap and Going Up a League, demonstrating how the Children and Young People’s Plan links to the wider agenda for the city, and how resources were being targeted at the most deprived communities in partnership with other agencies in the city;

·  That leaders within Children’s Services needed to be aware and alert to the fact that policies instituted for good reasons may have unintended consequences, for example a deliberate drive to reduce exclusions from school resulting in additional stress for school staff that also needed to be addressed;

·  The need to be wary of having only one measure of success for some issues. For example, Members indicated that the issue of behaviour should not just be measured in terms of the numbers of exclusions, as the underlying issues were far wider and more complex than simply the number of pupils permanently excluded from school, however positive a reduction in this figure was in its own right;

·  The Board asked that officers considered whether there were issues arising from the Board’s recommendations in its inquiry report on adoption in Leeds that should be reflected in the Plan;

·  The Board indicated that the Plan should include reference to transitional issues between children’s services and adult services.

Comments Relating to the Provision of Children’s Services in Leeds

·  Members welcomed the emphasis on mental health services as an identified priority, and stressed the need to increase the availability of preventive services and early intervention;

·  Members challenged the availability of effective child health measures, recognising that this was considered to be a national problem. They noted that attempts were being made to address this challenge at a local level;

·  Members had ongoing concerns about community access to PFI schools in relation to extended services;

·  The Board raised concerns over the reduction in the number of staff who had experience of teaching young people with learning difficulties, and the resultant burden which was being placed upon Teaching Assistants;

·  Clarification was sought on whether all schools in Leeds were part of an extended services cluster, with particular reference being made to the North West Leeds Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre (SILC).

General Observations

·  Members noted the relatively low rates of children on the Child Protection Register in Leeds and sought further details on the Local Authorities which Leeds had been compared to as part of the process. In response, Members were assured that such information would be provided to the member in question.

In conclusion, Members resolved that they needed to agree arrangements for the Scrutiny Board to monitor progress against the priorities and actions in the revised Children and Young People’s Plan on an ongoing basis in the new municipal year.

RESOLVED –

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

(b). That the progress made against the priorities and actions in the revised Children and Young People’s Plan be reviewed by the Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services), or its successor, on an ongoing basis throughout the new municipal year.

(At this point in the meeting, the Chair extended his best wishes, on behalf of the Board, to Councillor Cleasby, who had been nominated to serve as Leeds City Council’s Lord Mayor for the 2007/2008 municipal year)

(Councillor Cleasby left the meeting at 11.30 a.m. at the conclusion of this item)

(Mr P Gathercole declared a personal interest in relation to this item due to being a representative of NCH which provided services to Looked After Children)