Agenda and minutes

Apologies recieved from Cllr Becky Haggar, with Cllr Judy Kelly substituing and Cllr John Oswell, with Cllr Tony Eginton substituting.

None.

None.

It was confirmed that all items were in Part I and would be heard in public.

RESOLVED - That the minutes from 28 November 2017 be confirmed as an accurate record.

Officers introduced the Standards and Quality in Education in Hillingdon 2016/17 report and provided a verbal summary. This was the annual report which would go to Cabinet on 15 February 2018.

The report provided the Committee with an overview of the standard and quality of education across Hillingdon schools and settings for Hillingdon's children and young people. The report focused on attainment, progress and achievement for the academic year 2016/17.

In summary, officers explained that there had been strong progress in the challenges the council faces. Hillingdon's Ofsted inspection data demonstrated an overall improvement in 2016/17 when compared with previous years with 87% of schools judged good or better by the end of the 2016/17 academic year, compared to less than 80% of schools judged good or better 2013/14. This was headline progress.

It was reported that within the early years and primary phases performance measures continued to rise. All of the key indicators demonstrating outcomes were performing above the national average and in line with London averages. Within the primary phase, good outcomes at Key Stage 1 meant that children in Hillingdon were now achieving more strongly than their peers nationally and were increasingly at a similar level to other children in the London region.

In relation to key stage two, officers explained that there had been strong attainment. Outcomes continued to compare positively with national averages and progress scores in Writing and Maths demonstrating strong outcomes.  Within the secondary phase, overall attainment using the new performance and progress measures had improved compared to 2015/16 and were now above the national comparators. Overall, outcomes were moving in the right direction.

Key stage 5 remained an area for development in the secondary phase.

The Committee acknowledged that there had no doubt been improvements.

During Member questions it was reported:

·         The gap between London averages and Hillingdon was growing. Reading in KS2 was a big area for concern in schools and a big focus going forward. To manage this there has been strong communications between officers and head teachers, a change of focus working intensively with schools which includes working with specialist staff.

·         Underperformance in key stage 5 was a complex area. Factors such as quality of careers and advice. Due to financial challenges schools were keen to keep children in their six form. Following the attendance at a head teacher conference, officers confirmed it was clear that schools worked together to ensure that children obtained the best results.

·         Funding was DFE generated and held to account by Ofsted.

·         Children with English as a second language had strong reading levels and outperformed London boroughs. Schools worked closely with pupils. Schools used EAL support.

·         Reading levels had gone down as a result of testing being changed. This had taken effect two years when the new reading test was introduced. There was previously a concern in relation to writing and that was reported to be poor, but this shifted to a focus on reading.

·         A large percentage of unaccompanied asylum seeking children needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

The Committee considered a report on the draft revenue budget and capital programme of the Children, Young People and Learning Services for 2018/19, along with indicative projections for the following years.

Following consideration by the Cabinet on 14 December 2017, these proposals were under consultation and would be discussed at each Policy Overview Committee.  The proposals were next due to be considered by Cabinet on 15 February 2018 and the report would include comments from the Policy Overview Committees.  Following that meeting of Cabinet, full Council would meet on 22 February 2018 to agree the budgets and council tax for 2018/19.

Overall, it was reported that despite the Council continuing to operate within the constraints of Government's deficit reduction programme, in addition to continuing demographic and demand pressures, the London Borough of Hillingdon still retained healthy balances. The Council was still also able to freeze council tax.

The report gave details of the savings proposals to meet the budget gaps and respond to the increases in costs pressures and contingency plans for development and risk. Officers gave a verbal summary of the key details.

The following contingency items related to services within the remit of Children, Young People and Learning Policy Overview Committee providing £3,326k additional funding to meet the costs of service delivery in 2018/19:

Asylum Service (£1,885k provision) - It was reported that there had not been a massive increase in asylum figures.  A provision of £1,885k was included within the draft budget to reflect the costs of supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Looked after Children's Placements (£797k provision) - During 2017/18 the number of Looked after Children has remained stable at between 220 and 230 placements. However it was reported that the specific needs are generally quite complex.

Support for Children with Disabilities (£367k provision) - The introduction of the Children's and Families Act 2014 had impacted upon the number of Children with Disabilities remaining within the care of Children's services, with greater numbers and more complex cases coming into the system than transitioning to Adult services. 

Social Worker Contingency (£277k provision) - As the market for recruiting Social Workers remained competitive, specific contingency provision to manage the premium involved in use of agency staff has been retained for 2018/19.

The Committee questioned the budget for troubled families. It was reported previously that there were 555 troubled families and there were now approximately 1990. Officers explained that there was a focus on the families and officers worked with families and the services the Council already had access too. The budget was working towards the expectation that the grant was decreasing. The local authority was required to report on action being undertaken to support troubled families and the LBH had done this. Data showed that families with two or more prescribed problems were being targeted.

In response to questions regarding the school capital programme, officers confirmed that there continued to be a focus on the provision of sufficient school places to meet the rise demand across the Borough.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Members had sight of the finalised report for the major review. Minor amendments were made to the wording of the recommendations which now read:

Recommendation one:

That Cabinet welcome the good collaboration between the Council and partners to work together in support of children with SEND.

Recommendation two:

Identification, Intervention and Transitions:

a.    That Cabinet notes the findings of the Children, Young People and Learning Policy Overview Committee that shows the importance of transition from the early years provision to the next stage.

b.    That officers continue to review the effectiveness of the tools used to support early identification.

c.    That officers monitor the effectiveness and timeliness of interventions; enabling families to have timely access to high quality interventions whilst ensuring best value for money.

Members were pleased with the structure and contents of the report. Overall, Members commended officers on their hard work in arranging the insightful witness sessions and producing a good, high standard final report.

RESOLVED -

1)    That the Committee grants officers the authority, in conjunction with the Chairman to make appropriate revisions to the report prior to the submission to Cabinet.

2)    The amended report be presented to Cabinet.

3)    That the report is sent to all witnesses thanking them for their attendance.

RESOLVED - That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

RESOLVED - That the work programme be noted.