A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Via Zoom

Contact: Jane Narey  01572 758311

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME AND APOLOGIES RECEIVED

Minutes:

Councillor Ainsley welcomed everyone to the meeting including Councillor Paul Browne who was a new member of the Committee.  Apologies were received from Councillor Sue Webb and Gill Curtis, Head of Learning and Skills

2.

RECORD OF MEETING pdf icon PDF 224 KB

To confirm the record of the meeting of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee held on the 24th June 2021.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held the 24 June 2021 were confirmed as an accurate record.

 

Councillor Ainsley stated that the previous minutes reported that the final draft of the Children’s Services Offer would be distributed for consultation at the end of September 2021.  However, work was still ongoing with the document as a few minor amendments were required but that it would be ready for distribution in early October.

 

Councillor Ainsley also stated that the revised quality assurance framework for Children’s Services was in place and that if issues regarding quality of partners practice were identified then they were raised with the relevant partner and escalated through the safeguarding partnership procedures

 

3.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Minutes:

Councillor A Brown reported that he was a family magistrate on the Leicestershire and Rutland Magistrates Courts.

Councillor Harvey reported a possible conflict of interest regarding Report No. 125/2021 as she was a member of the Children’s Services Improvement Board. 

4.

PETITIONS, DEPUTATIONS AND QUESTIONS

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from Members of the Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 216.

 

The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes.  Petitions, declarations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received.  Questions may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the Committee Administrator 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

 

The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes.  Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice.  Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

 

Minutes:

None were received

5.

QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE FROM MEMBERS

To consider any questions with notice from Members received in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules No 218 and No. 218A.

Minutes:

None were received

6.

NOTICES OF MOTION FROM MEMBERS

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No 219.

 

Minutes:

None were received

7.

CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE FOR A DECISION IN RELATION TO CALL IN OF A DECISION

To consider any matter referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to call in of a decision in accordance with Procedure Rule 206.

 

Minutes:

None were received

8.

APPOINTMENT OF THE VICE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

Minutes:

The Chair reported that, since the last meeting, he had received one nomination for the post of Vice-Chair of the Committee from Councillor S Harvey.  The nomination was seconded by Councillor A Brown.  There were no other nominations received.

 

RESOLVED

 

a)    That Councillor S Harvey was APPOINTED as the Vice-Chairman of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

 

9.

ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF COVID ON THE EDUCATION OF RUTLAND CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE pdf icon PDF 287 KB

To receive Report No. 127/2021 from Dawn Godfrey, Strategic Director of Children and Families

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 127/2021 was received from Dawn Godfrey and Lizzie Papworth with an accompanying presentation (copy attached).  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·         The Department for Education (DfE) would not be publishing examination results/education performance data for 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 due to the pandemic.

·         Early Years provision was all about the relationships and everyone had pulled together during the pandemic and a lot of support had been provided to parents and children.

·         A new level of need has been identified post pandemic with children in the early years setting regarding parental attachment and food issues.

·         The film regarding the Summer Camps – Health and Wellbeing Support can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-IoK2dK1o

·         Councillor Wilby thanked all the presenters for an excellent report and presentation.  He stated that all the Rutland schools and the Local Authority staff had done a colossal amount of work during the pandemic.

 

--oOo---

Councillor P Browne joined the meeting at 20:05

---oOo---

 

·         Councillor Begy queried the wording regarding tutoring for Year 10.  Lizzie Papworth confirmed that the wording for Catmose College Year 10 tutoring should read ‘given’ and not ‘offered’ as stated in the presentation and that the school had seen a good take up by pupils for the English and Maths tutoring. 

·         Lizzie Papworth also confirmed that the same processes and standards had been undertaken by all three Rutland secondary schools. The schools had worked together and received Ofsted monitoring visits that ensured best practice had been put in place and shared.

·         Councillor Begy asked if there had been any reported differences between the state and private schools. Morag Tyler stated Resilient Rutland’s offer between the two was slightly different so no comparison of data could be done.  However, all they had all experienced increased issues regarding child anxiety.

·         Councillor Begy asked if there was any data regarding the number mental health requirements before, during and after the Covid lockdown.  Bernadette Caffrey, Head of Early Years, SEND and Inclusion confirmed that there had been an increase in the number of referrals for support, but this had shown a mixed picture for the support required, as it had also done nationally.

·         Councillor Begy stated that report item 3.6 stated that two nurseries had been inspected and enquired why it was not stated in the report that one of the nurseries had been classed as inadequate.     Dawn Godfrey replied that the report confirmed that two nurseries had been inspected but did not state the inspection result for either service provision.  However, the link to the full inspection reports had been included in the report for members to access and view for themselves.  Lizzie Papworth confirmed that the Head of Service and officers had met with the managers of the nursery to ensure actions were being carried out and that monitoring visits by the Local Authority had been arranged for September, November and December.

·         Councillor Coleman thanked everyone for the presentation and asked if school staff showed any signs of long Covid.  Sharon Milner confirmed that yes,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

REVIEW OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES OFSTED IMPROVEMENT PLAN pdf icon PDF 471 KB

To receive Report No. 125/2021 from Dawn Godfrey, Strategic Director of Children and Families

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 125/2021 was received from Dawn Godfrey and Lydia Bennett with an accompanying presentation (copy attached).  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·         Councillor Wilby informed attendees that Children’s Services was previously not in a good place.  There had been plenty of enthusiasm and hard work but systems had lacked process and attention to detail.  The service had greatly improved under the direction of Dawn Godfrey and Emma Sweeny, Head of Service for Children’s Social Care.  Monthly improvement meetings were held and empty posts were filled, with the new staff bringing new ideas and ways of working.

·         There was a seamless transition over to Lydia Bennett when Emma Sweeny went on maternity leave in April 2020 and Lydia has continued the great work in Emma’s absence.

·         The social worker trainees had decided to stay with Rutland County Council after graduating and brought much enthusiasm to the service.

·         The service continued to work well with partners particularly so as part of the Children and Young People Partnership Group.

·         The Corporate Parenting Board continued to work well and the use of virtual meetings and social media during the pandemic ensured our continued connectivity with young people.

·         Cllr Wilby stated that he was pleased with the progress made by the service, was very proud of the team and was confident that Children’s Services would successfully meet the next Ofsted challenge.

·         Text Box: https://rutlandcountycouncil-my.sharepoint.com/personal/lbennett_rutland_gov_uk/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Flbennett%5Frutland%5Fgov%5Fuk%2FDocuments%2FVideo%2F%27A%20day%20in%20the%20life%27%2Emp4&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Flbennett%5Frutland%5Fgov%5Fuk%2FDocuments%2FVideo&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly9ydXRsYW5kY291bnR5Y291bmNpbC1teS5zaGFyZXBvaW50LmNvbS86djovZy9wZXJzb25hbC9sYmVubmV0dF9ydXRsYW5kX2dvdl91ay9FYkM1M2FHdVlHRkptT25aZkQzazBHUUJzMncwZWlnMk11cDd0bHhxYmJsWHFnP3J0aW1lPUdPWk9QZ3VCMlVn Lydia Bennett briefed attendees using the presentation and showed the video ‘A Day in the Life of Social Worker’ – link detailed below:

·         Lydia Bennett confirmed that, apart from one vacancy, the service had a permanent workforce.

·         Councillor A Brown thanked Lydia Bennett for the presentation and requested clarification regarding the Through Care Team.  Lydia Bennett stated that the Through Care Team was a newly restructured team within the service to support care leavers and prepare them for adulthood from an early age.

·         Councillors confirmed that they felt happy and confident that the service had improved and would continue to improve.

·         Councillor Coleman queried the results from the staff exit interviews and Lydia Bennett confirmed that conversations had been held with leavers to discover what the service could have done or done better to ensure team stability.

 

--oOo---

Councillor Ainsley proposed the meeting was extended and this was unanimously agreed at 21:27

---oOo---

 

·         Councillor Ainsley thanked Dawn Godfrey and Lydia Bennett and their staff for all their hard work and the progress made by the teams. He asked if the improvement plan would be updated.  Dawn Godfrey confirmed that the service was currently updating their self-assessment data for sharing with Ofsted in the annual engagement meeting in October and that a new development plan would be available in November.

 

RESOLVED:

 

a)    That the Committee NOTED the progress of the Children’s Services Improvement Plan in response to the areas for improvement identified by Ofsted and offered comment on any areas where they felt progress was slower than expected.

 

11.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES PERFORMANCE AS AT END OF QUARTER ONE 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 438 KB

To receive Report No. 126/2021 from Dawn Godfrey, Strategic Director of Children and Families

Minutes:

Report No. 126/2021 was received from Dawn Godfrey and Jon Weller.    During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·         Dawn Godfrey confirmed that the item was for information and not an agenda item for discussion.

·         She stated that she would circulate future performance reports as and when they were issued rather than present them at the next scrutiny meeting.

 

RESOLVED:

 

a)    That the Committee NOTED the performance information as at the end of quarter one (April – June) 2021-22.

 

12.

REVIEW OF FORWARD PLAN AND ANNUAL WORK PLAN pdf icon PDF 138 KB

To consider the current Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee Annual Work Plan, or to request further information.

 

The Forward Plan is available on the website at:

 

https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/mgListPlans.aspx?RPId=133&RD=0

 

Minutes:

There were no amendments

 

--oOo---

Lydia Bennett left the meeting at 21:34

---oOo---

 

13.

ANY OTHER URGENT BUSINESS

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

 

Minutes:

None

14.

DATE AND PREVIEW OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, 16 December 2021 at 7 pm

 

Proposed Agenda Items:

 

1.    Review of Commissioned Services and Youth Offending

(Report from Head of Early Help SEND and Inclusion, Head of Children’s Social Care and Head of Commissioning)

 

2.    SEND Recovery Plan: Projects Update

(Report from Head of Early Help, SEND and Inclusion)

 

3.    Quarter 2 Performance Update

(Report from Business Intelligence Manager)

Minutes:

Thursday, 16 December 2021 at 7 pm. 

 

It will be agreed nearer the date if the meeting will be held via Zoom or in person.

 

Proposed Agenda Items:

 

1.    Review of Commissioned Services and Youth Offending

(Report from Head of Early Help SEND and Inclusion, Head of Children’s Social Care and Head of Commissioning)

 

2.    SEND Recovery Plan: Projects Update

(Report from Head of Early Help, SEND and Inclusion)

 

 

 

Closed 21:35