Agenda and minutes

Introductions were made.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Prendergast and Ms. Cheryl Swainbank, Parent Governor Representative.

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2023

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2023, be confirmed as a correct record.

A petition from The Voice of the Families has been submitted containing 35 signatures. The petition states:

The Voice of the Families are petitioning Sefton’s Children’s Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee to ask for our representative to speak at committee regarding: We ask the Scrutiny Committee to show its commitment to Education and Healthcare Plans(EHCP) for those aged 16 to 25 by making this topic a regular separate and fixed feature on the agenda at each scrutiny committee, to have a designated member of the Scrutiny Committee responsible for this and that the Scrutiny Committee identify and publicise the names and contact details of the three people who are accountable for the provision and implementation of EHCPs for those aged 16 and 25 – these would be the one for social care, the one for health care and one for education. The 16 plus category is still full of vulnerable children who need support, especially considering the failures they have already experienced under Sefton as they were growing up.

A representative of The Voice of the Families will be allowed to address the Scrutiny Committee on the content of the petition for a period of 5 minutes.

The Committee considered a petition which had been received by the Council from The Voice of the Families group.

The petition requested that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Childrens Services and Safeguarding) should make Education and Healthcare Plans (EHCP) for 16–25-year-olds a regular and fixed feature on scrutiny committee agendas and designate a member of the scrutiny committee to be responsible for the EHCP agenda item. The petition also requested that the scrutiny committee should identify and publicise the names and contact details for the three people accountable for the provision of EHCPs.

A representative of The Voice of the Families was in attendance to present the petition.

The Committee responded with the following points:

·       The Committee was grateful for the issue of EHCP’s 16-25 year olds being brought to the Committee’s attention.

·       The Committee’s agendas were formatted to ensure that all areas within the Committee’s remit received specific attention.

·       Championing this issue, along with all other issues the committee scrutinised, was the responsibility of all Members of the Committee.

·       Parents and carers were reminded that if they had a complaint and felt the escalation process was not working for them, they had the right to contact their Ward Councillor.

·       Data on EHCP’s could be included in the data regularly presented to members via the Scorecard.

RESOLVED: That

(1)          the petition be noted; and

(2)          EHCP data for 16-25 year olds be included in the scorecard and reported to the Committee at each meeting.

A petition from a resident has been submitted containing 195 signatures. The petition states:

I am a resident of Sefton, Liverpool, and a service user who deeply cares about the quality of children's services provided by our council. It is crucial that those who use these services have an opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions directly to those responsible for providing them.

Currently, we are not given this opportunity. This lack of transparency and dialogue is concerning as it prevents us from fully understanding how decisions about our children's welfare are made.

In 2019/2020, there were 75,420 looked after children in England alone (source: Department for Education). As one of these service users in Sefton, I believe we deserve the right to speak at scrutiny committee meetings where decisions affecting us are made.

By allowing us five minutes to speak at these meetings, Sefton council can demonstrate its commitment towards transparency and inclusivity. This small change will empower service users like myself by giving us a platform to express our views and concerns.

Please sign this petition if you believe in promoting open dialogue between Sefton Council and its service users. Let’s ensure that everyone affected by decisions on children’s services has a voice in the process.

The lead petitioner or a representative will be allowed to address the Scrutiny Committee on the content of the petition for a period of 5 minutes.

The Committee considered a petition which had been received by the Council from a local resident.

The petition requested that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Childrens Services and Safeguarding) should allow members of the public 5 minutes to speak at its formal committee meetings.

The lead petitioner was in attendance to present the petition.

The Committee responded with the following points:

·       The Scrutiny Committee did not make formal decisions, it could scrutinise decisions and services and make recommendations.

·       The Committee was committed to making the committee process more accessible.

·       There would be a review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference (see agenda item 12 below), and public participation would be considered as part of this review. This petition would help inform discussions.

·       In the meantime, the petition route remained open to the public.

RESOLVED:

That the petition be noted and be taken into consideration as part of the review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer submitting the most recent update reports from the Cabinet Member – Children’s Social Care, and the Cabinet Member – Education, whose portfolios fell within the remit of the Committee.

The Cabinet Member update report – Children’s Social Care, attached to the report at Appendix A, outlined information on the following:

Children’s Social Care:

• Stability and capacity in the workplace
• Elected Member Training
• Early Help and Protection

Cared for Children and Care Experienced:

• The Sufficiency Strategy
• Quality Assurance of Commissioned Placements
• Unregulated and unregistered Placements

Safeguarding, review and Quality Assurance:

• Practice Week
• Quality Assurance

Youth Justice Service (YJS):

• Performance
• Key Performance Indicators
• Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI)Serious Youth Violence
• JTAI Headlines
• New His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Inspection Framework

The Cabinet Member update report – Education, attached to the report at Appendix B, outlined information on the following:

• OFSTED Local Area Inspection preparation
• Delivering Better Value
• SEND
• Inclusion
• School Improvement
• Early Years
• Virtual School
• School Attendance
• Exclusions

Councillors Roscoe and Doyle attended the meeting to present their reports and to respond to any questions or issues raised by Members of the Committee.

Members of the Committee raised the following questions/issues:

·       The Social Work Academy graduates and how many were being retained by Sefton Council upon graduation.

·       The Early Help offer and details of the Leeds/Bradford model and Early Help Hubs.

·       Progress made in the recruitment of Foster Carers.

·       The financial forecast and level of overspend.

·       Reasons for the overspend.

·       Practice Week in March 2024 and a reminder that Members could get involved.

·       The work around county lines issues.

·       The reasons for a high level of school exclusions and managed moves.

·       The recruitment of more SEND officers

·       The Zing Pilot.

RESOLVED: That

(1)          the update reports from the Cabinet Member – Children’s Social Care and the Cabinet Member – Education be noted; and

(2)          Reports on the following issues be brought to future meetings of the Committee:

(a)  Exclusions and the Graduated Approach in Early Years

(b)  The Zing Pilot

(c)  Early Help Hubs

(d)  Quality Assurance on EHCPs

To receive a verbal update from the Executive Director of Children’s Social Care and Education.

The Committee received a verbal update from the Executive Director of Children’s Services on progress made on the Improvement Programme.

The Committee was advised that an Ofsted Monitoring Visit had recently taken place, details of which could not be shared until the official letter outlining the findings was received by the Council. This would be in January 2024.

RESOLVED:

That the update be noted.

Joint report of the Executive Director of Children’s Social Care and Education and the Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Health/NHS Place Director

The Committee considered the joint report of the Executive Director of Children’s Social Care and Education and Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Health/NHS Place Director presenting the draft Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Joint Commissioning Strategy for 2023 – 2026.

The report detailed the process of development and highlighted the key points.

The following appendices were attached to the report:

• Equality Assessment Report
• The SEND Joint Commissioning Strategy 2023 – 2026
• Plan on the Page

Members of the Committee raised the following questions/issues:

·       The cost implications and delivering best value.

·       Training for social workers on Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

·       The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS).

·       Personal health budgets and how people were encouraged to make the best use of them.

·       The national shortage of education psychologists and how the strategy supported this issue.

RESOLVED: That

(1)           the information provided be noted; and

(2)           a further report be submitted to a future meeting, to include information on budget implications, the graduated approach and commissioning and information on SENDIASS.

Report of the Assistant Director Children’s Services (Quality Assurance and Safeguarding)

The Committee considered the report of the Assistant Director of Children’s Services (Quality Assurance and Safeguarding) that set out the quality assurance and performance headlines for the period August to October 2023.

The performance Scorecard was circulated on a supplementary agenda and provided data and analysis of the Key Performance Indicators identified as illustrative of ‘system health’.

Members of the Committee raised the following questions/issues:

·       The figures for child protection conferences held within 15 days.

·       The figures for the number of assessments completed within 45 days.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  Members noted as performance capacity increases, data was now beginning to focus on key areas of the service which were driving high or low performance.

(2)  Members noted assessment performance was an area where the level of detail was supporting our understanding.

Members noted the quality assurance section of the report detailed the findings of audits, amendments to the quality framework as well as the focus of Quality Assurance activity for the coming period.

Report of the Assistant Director of Children’s Services (Education)

This agenda item was postponed to a future meeting.

Report of the Assistant Director of Children’s Services (Education)

This agenda item was postponed to a future meeting.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officerproposing a review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference in response to a petition received from the Voice of the Families group at the meeting held on 26 September. The petition requested representation of a further three independent people on the Committee who had lived experience.

Subsequent to the meeting on 26 September 2023, Committee Members had met informally to consider the request from the Voice of the Families group; the membership of the Committee, including co-opted members; the Terms of Reference for the Committee; and how best the Committee could obtain views of service users.

It was noted that the Committee already had several co-opted members from the Diocese, Archdiocese and Parent Governor Representatives, as required by the Council’s Constitution. In addition, associate members from Healthwatch and an independent advisory member were also on the Committee.

Members felt that the Terms of Reference within the Council’s Constitution could be streamlined to reflect statutory requirements and the priorities of the Committee.

It was noted that the Committee would continue with its programme of informal meetings and visits and would continue its efforts to seek the views and perspectives of parents, carers and young people.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  A review of the Terms of Reference for the Committee, as set out in the Council’s Constitution, to include the use of co-opted members and the possibility of establishing a sub-committee to formally meet with parent groups, be undertaken and any proposals for amendments be submitted to the Adjourned Annual Meeting of the Council to be held in May 2024; and

The Committee should continue to meet informally with groups of parents, children and representative groups and expand this throughout the Municipal Year, with the aim of ensuring that the voices of those with lived experience are heard and inform the work of the Committee.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that sought to:

• seek the views of the Committee on the Work Programme for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2023/24;
• indicate whether representatives of the Police and other Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team members should be invited to attend a future formal meeting of the Committee, or if the item should be referred to an informal meeting of Committee Members;
• note that there were no items for pre-scrutiny by the Committee from the latest Key Decision Forward Plan;
• note the informal meetings of Committee Members and site visits to be undertaken during 2023/24;
• note the training proposals available from the Local Government Association (LGA) and in-house;
• consider the topic of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as a potential item for in-depth scrutiny during 2023/24; and
• receive an update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED: That

(1)           the Work Programme for 2023/24, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be noted, along with the additional items agreed during this meeting as follows:

(a)Exclusions and the Graduated Approach in Early Years

(b) The Zing Pilot

(c) Early Help Hubs and the Leeds/Bradford model

(d) Quality assurance on EHCP’s

(e) Further report on issues raised on the SEND Joint Commissioning  Plan report;

(2)          The Police and other Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) team members be invited to attend a future formal meeting of the Committee;

(3)          the fact that there are no items for pre-scrutiny from the Key Decision Forward Plan that fall under the remit of the Committee, on this occasion, be noted;

(4)          the informal meetings of Committee Members and site visits to be undertaken during 2023/24, as set out at Appendix B be noted;

(5)          the training proposals available from the Local Government Association and in-house be noted;

(6)          the topic of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) be approved for in-depth scrutiny by Members of the Committee during 2023/24 and relevant activities be included in the schedule of the informal meetings of Committee Members and site visits to be undertaken during 2023/24, as set out at Appendix B; and

(7)          the update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted.