Agenda and minutes

Apologies received from Cllr Jane Palmer, Cllr Dominic Gilham and Cllr Kauffman with Cllr Brian Stead substituting.

Apologies also received from Cllr John Oswell, with Cllr Lynne Allen substituting and Cllr Kanwal Dheer.

Cllr Lynne Allen declared a non pecuniary interest in agenda item 6 as she had family that worked in an academy in the Borough.

None.

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

The following changes were agreed by the Committee:

·         Agenda item 6 - Standards and Quality: The inclusion of the information relating to student attainment. This information had the attainment levels of pupils at the end of key 2 showing all London boroughs. In the London Borough of Hillingdon, 27/33 for key stage 2 at 64% and 32/33 for key stage 2 disadvantaged at 48%.

·         Agenda item 7 - to correct a typo from children centre to children centres.

·         Agenda item 8 - To clarify that the reference to children's centres and the management of approach was in relation to the levels of uptake.

RESOLVED - That the minutes from 16 January 2018 be confirmed as an accurate record, subject to the above changes.

Officers introduced the report entitled "Update on Major Review of the Council's Current and Future Relationship with Academies and Free Schools".  The report provided details on the recommendations made by the Committee in its major review during 2016/17.

In summary, it was highlighted that the recommendations had been actioned and positive progress was being made. The following key points were noted:

·         A new and dedicated email address had been made available for Head Teachers with contact details for relevant teams within the Council. To date this email address had been used by five schools.

·         The Head of School Improvement met with the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) regularly in person, by telephone/ email to discuss performance in Hillingdon. These meetings were helpful as it was an opportunity to raise and discuss any issues.

·         In academies where there was evidence of progress and attainment concerns, the Council's School Improvement Team worked closely with the RSC to manage these matters. In other schools, School Link Officers were allocated to provide support and challenge services. It was expected that where there were areas of concerns, schools would develop clear action plans to improve. 

·         The Council's Schools Improvement team worked closely with the Hillingdon Schools Strategic Board, and routinely challenged governing bodies and Head Teachers regarding governance processes. There were clear communications and updates provided to all governors regarding Council activities that affected governance. Officers from the Council's education teams also attended the Hillingdon governors meeting which took place every term.

·         The Council worked closely with schools transitioning to academy trusts.

·         In light of changes to funding, the Council had a BID review of education services to evaluate and present best ways to deliver statutory and strategic priorities for school improvement in the Borough.

Members commented that there was clear positive work being undertaken in this area.

Members questioned what work was being undertaken to engage with the schools that did not engage with the Council. It was reported that there was a diverse education community with a mix of schools including academies and maintained school. Big Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) had their own organsiation structure and tended to get on with it but support was still provided if necessary. Generally most schools were cooperative and engaged with the Council. In academies, if there were any concerns about performance, these were usually raised with the RSC.

In relation to exclusions, children that were excluded tended to have underlying behaviour needs. Although, it was recognised that generally schools did everything in their power to offer support. To manage this area, cross education and social care meetings took place to try and find measures to intervene and identify and concerns at an early stage. The Council worked with schools to try and manage challenging behaviour and it was considered that the right level of coaching could provide the best service.

Officers confirmed that there were approximately 20 new Head teachers in the Borough and this was due to heads moving on for a variety of reasons,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

Officers introduced the report entitled "Update Previous Review of the Committee - Early Intervention Services". The report provided details on the recommendations made by Committee during their major review of the Effectiveness of Early Help to Promote Positive Outcomes for Families in 2015 - 2016.

In summary, it was highlighted that good progress had been made in areas but there still remained areas of development. The following key points were noted:

·         The service continued to develop and implement its early intervention and prevention delivery model. Services continued to progress and evolve within the strategic and operational environment it worked in.

·         Further work was being undertaken to remodel the children and families division of the service. The report detailed how the services were developing an integrated locality based approach for council managed child and family developmental services. Recruitment for the new locality model was almost complete

·         Officers had developed partnership working with regard to the delivery of early intervention and prevention services. Four key behaviours underpinned the strategy and this included; understanding together; planning together; delivering together and learning together. A number of initiatives and projects had been developed to increase data and information sharing.

·         In order to promote the early help offer to families and professionals, officers had created a portal called "Connect to Support" which included the Local Offer for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Officers, parents and practitioners had worked together to develop the website.

Members commented that it was a good report and it was good to see improvement.

There were some concerns raised in relation to the figures relating to children missing education referrals received. Members expressed concern about 29 referrals   a month and considered it to still be high. Officers explained that there was expected to be a seasonal reduction in referrals. There were a range of checks in place. Also a contribution to this figure could be owed as a result of families moving elsewhere.

Members questioned how the reorganisation of childrens centres was progressing.  Officers confirmed that there was significant change introducing the new models in children centres. The model was fully recruited, with more senior posts being filled. The best people for the roles had been appointed. It was considered that the new model would bring a new perspective. Although new recruits may not know the area they worked in well, they would be able to offer other skills and experiences.

The main ambition for children in the Borough was to ensure that every child got the best start in life and that they were able to transition to adult life with the right support mechanisms in place.

Members also questioned whether more could be done on prevention to raise awareness of the different services available to parents and their children. Members asked whether there was any way the Council could work with schools to reach out and let them know what was on offer such as LINK and educating parent. Officers confirmed that there were strong communication with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

RESOVLED - That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

RESOLVED - That the work programme be noted.