The record of the People (Children) Scrutiny Panel held on 17 September 2015, copies of which had been previously circulated, was confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

There was a declaration ofinterest:

MrA Waltersdeclared aninterest in item7 ashe has amember ofhis familyat the school.

No petitions, deputations or questions from members ofthe public had been received.

No Notices ofNotice were received from Members.

No Notices ofMotion were received from Members.

Nomatter wasreferred tothe Panelfor adecision inrelation tocall inof adecision in accordance with Procedure Rule 206.

To receive Report No 221/2015 from the Director for People.

Report No.221/2015was receivedfrom MarkFowler onbehalf ofthe Directorfor People

During the discussion the following points were noted:

i.        There is a presumption that the school would join another Church ofEngland

Primary school and this is not always the case.

ii.       The inspectors were expected toreport back to the schools with their deliberations.

iii.      The Head teacher ofOakham C ofE Primary School explained thatthey had created more time to teach by changing other tasksin the school day.

iv.      Itwas agreed to invite the Head Teacher, Steve Cox and the school governor tothe Scrutiny Panel meeting in February.

v.       RCC will look into the matterof the misleading press release regarding the

‘Good’ result for the school.

During the discussion the following points were raised:

i.        A question was asked if the school would become an academy by 2016, and would there be another inspection before then. Officerstold the Panel that there would be another inspection

ii.       Afurther question was asked if it would be likely thatthe school join a group of schools, like Whissendine, Ketton St. Nicholas and Langham. Officers explained that this was quite likely.

iii.      There was concern thatteachers did not appear be knowledgeable enough in their own subject.

iv.      There was concern thatteachers were not setting challenging enough tasksfor the children.

v.       The Head ofLearning and Skills explained that there was an error on the report and that it was identified a year ago, when there was a temporary Head Teacher in post.The new Head Teacher and Governor would be invited tothe next meeting in February.

vi.      The panel asked who decides the Pupil Premium. Officersexplained that this is decided by the school.

vii.     The Panel expressed concern over a press report in the local paper stating that the school had a ‘Good’ rating and advertising forthe new intake.

AGREED:

The Panel approved the contents ofthe report.

To receive Report No 223/2015 from the Director for People.

Report No.223/2015was receivedfrom SteveTanner onbehalf ofthe Directorfor People Councillor Foster.

During the discussion the following points were noted:

i.     The next annual report would be available in July 2016 and we would endeavour to ensure an earlier presentation tomembers next year.

ii.     Government through the ADCS has proposed a proportionate distribution ofSyrian refugees across local authorities. AsRutland is so small this is likely to be around 2 families. We have had, however, a small number ofunaccompanied asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iraq.We try toensure an appropriate location and match forthe young person within their community and have used placements in Leicester. Ifa child or young person in care or care leaver ofanother local authority is placed in Rutland then the placing authority retains responsilbity forsupporting and funding.

iii.     RCC is currently recruiting forfoster carers forteenagers, sibling groups, and children with disabilities.

iv.     Head ofSafeguarding told the Panel that nearly all the children in care are in foster care or connected person’s placements. More teenagers in care in Rutland are “staying put” beyond 18 with their existing fostercarers. This will support them into independence however; this is reducing the availability ofplacements for new teenagers coming into care and is an additional costto the authority because we may have tobuy in the new placements from independent fostering agencies.

During the discussion the following points were raised:

i.     The Panel asked if there had been any potential improvement ofnumbers of foster carers in respect ofchildren from Syria. Thenumber of fostercarers overall has remained similar over recent years and we haven’t experienced an upturn in interest following the refugee crisis.

ii.     The Panel were concerned about unaccompanied refugee children. Ifthey move from the county, are we still responsible forthem? Officers explained thatwe would be responsible for them.

iii.     The Panel asked if there are any more fostercarers for teenagers.

iv.     Headof Safeguardingexplained thatthis areais achallenge, especiallyfor olderand disabled children although we are assessing some potential carers atthe current time.

v.     The Panel asked Officersfor the statisticsfor children in care are tobe brought to the next meeting.

AGREED:

The Panel noted the contents ofthe report.

To receive Report No 209/2015 from the Director for People.

ReportNo.209/2015 wasreceived fromSteve Tanneron behalfof theDirector for People

AGREED:

The Panel noted the Decision ofthe report.

To receive Report No.222/2015 from the Director for People.

Report No.222/2015was receivedfrom MarkFowler onbehalf ofthe Directorfor People

During the discussion the following points were noted:

       i.        Children with mental illness were included with children with disabilities.

      ii.        RCC would look into a cyber parent evening.

    iii.        The Head ofFamilies Support- Intervention and Early Years explained that all staffwas trained to recognise safeguarding issues and thatpeople could contact RCC to raise any concerns.

    iv.        The Deputy Director told the Panel thatwork had started in looking at a FrontDoor Service, so that advice and support could be accessed when needed. The Panel would be kept informed ofprogress on this service.

      v.        The Head ofLearning and Skills explained that had been training and there were several methods already up and running in schools about e-safety.

    vi.        The Head ofLearning and Skills reassured the Panel that the Community

 SafetyTeam was focused at primary as well as secondary schools.

During the Discussion the following points were raised:

i.        The panel asked if there was a confidential hotline forpeople who need to speak to an experienced person foradvice. Officers explained thatanyone concerned with a safeguarding issue can always call RCC.

AGREED:

The Panel approved the report.

Mr S Tanner and Mr M Fowler leftthe meeting at 8.00pm

To receive Report No 220/2015 from the Director for People.

Report No.220/2015was receivedfrom BernadetteCaffrey onbehalf ofthe Directorfor People.

During the discussion the following points were noted:

i.          CouncillorConde thanked Bernadette Caffrey and her team forspending time with him going over this report.

During the discussion the following points were raised:

i.          The Panel queried the direct debit payments and how do you know it is used forwhat it was intended to. The Head ofFamilies Support-Early Years and Intervention explained thatprocesses are being put in place to track the direct debit payments and thatthe money is being used correctly.

AGREED:

The Panel noted the contents ofthe report.

To receive Report No 213/2015 from the Director for People.

Report no 171/2015 was received from the Head ofEducation

AGREED:

The Panel noted the contents ofthe report.

To receive Report No 219/2015 from the Director for People.

During the discussion the following point was noted:

i.        The Head of Families Support-Early Years and Intervention told the Panel that the balance ofexpenditure is our obligation. It is resource intensive, due to the need ofthree or four officers at a youth club.

ii.       The Deputy Director told the Panel thatthe universal services can only be accessed atone point. In reality it is never the case and toget the measure of the true impact is very difficult and it is hard toget the metrics correct. Some local authorities questioned whether they should use volunteers or supply the resources themselves.

iii.      The Portfolio Holder forLifelong Learning suggested involving the military in making provisions foryoung people that could not easily access activities, due tonot having their own transport.

iv.      The Deputy Director explained thatthe longer it is left the less savings would be made. February’s meeting may be too late as it has gone through the processes so far.

During the discussion the following point was raised:

i.        Concern was raised over the higher coststhan previously expected.

ii.       The panel was concerned thatit was difficult to support Option 3 when there was not much background toit.

iii.      Referring topoint 2.6.1 the numbers seemed low to the amount of money put into it.

iv.      The Panel questioned the value formoney and if it was too indulgent. v. The Panel asked the Officers,how many trips went ahead.

vi.      The Panel questioned the Advocacy Worker and how often this person was used.

vii.     Queried what would work as not many youths have the access toa car or able to drive, and this proves difficult in rural areas.

viii.    The panel expressed concern over needing tovote, but feel thatthey need more financial information before they approve Option 3.

ix.      The Panel feltfrustrated that they hadn’t been more involved in the past with

Youth Services and explained thatit was their oversight and not the Officers.

 x.      The panel suggested thatthree panel members could work with Officersin a Task and Finish Group

xi.      The Chair suggested thatgiven extra time on this would benefit all round.

xii.     The Panel said thatif a working group was put in place with the Portfolio Holder and Officers,then bring suggestions, recommendations and bring them back through the Portfolio Holder tothis meeting.

xiii.    The Panel suggested thatthe Chairman in conjunction with the Portfolio holder contact the leader as a concern and tosee about it being raised at Cabinet and Scrutiny.

xiv.    The Panel asked if this time it was too late tomake much impact on this that we look ata Task and Finish Group for2017/18.

xv.     Concerned that the paper came toScrutiny too late and that in future thatit be best if came earlier in its process.

xvi.    Councillor Lammie recommended that the Panel take a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 399.

To receive Report No 205/2015 from The Chief Executive

Report No.205/2015for the ChiefExecutive wasreceived  Thepurpose ofwhich wasto provide thePanel withthe opportunityto be consultedon thecouncils StrategicAims and Objectives and tofeed back to Cabinet any comments as part ofthe consultation process.

During the discussion the following point was noted:

i.        The Deputy Director explained that there is a risk of overlaying other target groups.We need tohave objectives that we can all meet.

 During the discussion the following point was raised:

i.        The Panel felt thatthe report was encouraging under health foryoung children. A brighter future forall and that we should be supporting all schools.

AGREED

The Panel noted the contents ofthe report.

To receive Report No 217/2015 from the Chief Executive

(Circulated under separate cover)

ReportNo.217/2015 fromthe Directorfor Resourceswas received.The purposeof whichwas to inform the Panel on the Council’s performance forthe second quarter of 2015/16.

AGREED

The Panel noted the contents of report.

To receive Report No 206/2015 from the Director for Resources.

(Circulated under a separate cover)

ReportNo. 206/2015from theDirector forResources wasreceived. Thepurpose ofwhich was toinform thePanel ofthe fullyear forecastposition asat Quarter2 for 2015/16,and to alertthem toissues thatmay impacton theMedium TermFinancial Plan.This willenable them to maintain sound financial management ofthe Council’s operations.

AGREED

The Panel noted the contents of the report.

Members noted the Programme of Meetings and Topics

Members noted the forward plan.

To receive any other items of urgent business which have been previously notified to the person presiding

There was no other urgent business.

Thursday 14 January at7pm.

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TheChairman declared the meeting closedat 8.40pm.

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