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Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Council Chamber, County Hall, The Rhadyr, Usk, NP15 1GA

Contact: Democratic Services 

Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

2.

Public Open Forum

Minutes:

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

3.

Wales Audit Office Whole Authority Review of Children's Safeguarding report and the Council's Management Response pdf icon PDF 205 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Context:

 

To scrutinise the Wales Audit Whole Authority Review of Children’s Safeguarding report and the Council’s Management response.

 

Key Issues:

 

The Wales Audit Office had concluded that the children’s safeguarding policy and procedures have recently improved, but there are shortcomings in some critical areas of policy and operation.

 

Proposals for improvement were identified as follows:

 

Proposal 1

 

Integrate safeguarding across the Council’s policy framework. In particular:

 

a.    Produce a ‘project plan’ identifying the underpinning work required and associated timescales to fully incorporate the Council’s approach to integrating child and adult safeguarding.

 

b.    Re-frame the strategic risk register, to enable a smarter approach to measuring impact of actions taken in mitigation of identified risk.

 

c.    Strengthen safeguarding policy and guidance in the areas identified in the report. Including:

 

-       data protection arrangements and guidance linked to safeguarding.

 

-       embed whistleblowing policy arrangements through training and awareness raising.

 

-       revise taxi licensing arrangements strengthening health and safety requirements.

 

Proposal 2

 

Embed all aspects of safe recruitment, induction and training consistently. In particular:

 

a.     Improve training records on safeguarding to show why the person received that particular level of training, when the training was received, and when it needs to be reviewed.

 

b.     Ensure all people who have a specific role in safeguarding undertake appropriate training.

 

c.   Clarify when enhanced DBS checks are required and ensure these are obtained in line with guidance.

 

Proposal 3

 

Ensure control arrangements are consistently applied and improve performance monitoring arrangements around safeguarding to include all areas of service operation to address all gaps in accountability. This should include issuing clear guidance to managers on information on safeguarding that should be included in reports to Members.

 

Proposal 4

 

Improve the Council’s commissioning and contracting arrangements in relation to safeguarding children by finalising guidance on commissioning, contracting and volunteering from a safeguarding perspective.

 

The Management response to the Wales Audit Office report was outlined.

 

Member Scrutiny:

 

·         There is a need for further scrutiny in respect of safeguarding / wellbeing issues of children regarding home to school transport provision with a view to identifying where responsibilities lie and that this matter be added to the Select Committee’s forward work programme. Taxi services that transport children to school should also be included to address any potential safeguarding issues.

 

·         There are two areas that could assist in addressing safeguarding issues around home to school transport provision. Firstly, when services are being procured and secondly, the Head of Public Protection can pick up this area of potential risk.

 

·         With reference to the Service Improvement Plans (SIPs), there is going to be a much stronger emphasis in the newer iteration around the safeguarding element of service areas. To enhance this, a system called a ‘safe’ has been established which is an audit of each of the service areas, carried out with safeguarding in mind. As a safeguarding unit, the lead has been taken to support all directorates in managing their safes.

 

·         As part of the Whole Authority Safeguarding route, the issues around bed and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Project 5: Proposal to develop a joint multi-disciplinary intensive therapeutic fostering service for Looked After Children and young people pdf icon PDF 118 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Context:

 

To scrutinise the proposal to develop PROJECT 5: A Multi-disciplinary Intensive Therapeutic Fostering Service for Looked After Children and Young People. The project is proposed as a partnership with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, under the governance of the Regional Children and Families Partnership Board and initially funded by the Integrated Care Fund (ICF).

 

Key Issues:

 

In April 2016, Children’s Services established Delivering Excellence a three year improvement plan. Workstream 3 of this programme concerned the development of services to ensure the right service offer is in place for all children and families needing support.  A key element of workstream 3 is to increase the number of Monmouthshire foster carers available to provide high quality foster placements for Monmouthshire children. Project 5 supports the delivery of Workstream 3 to support in-house carers to meet the needs of the most complex and troubled children.

 

Now in year 3 of the overall improvement programme, Children’s Services has achieved a stronger position regarding attracting in-house carers and retaining a stable, permanent workforce within children’s services. This means that there is a firmer foundation on which to build further, more specialised services including an intensive therapeutic fostering service through Project 5.

 

Member Scrutiny:

 

·         In response to a Select Committee Member’s question, it was noted that this proposal was not a cost cutting exercise. The proposal is about quality outcomes for Monmouthshire’s Looked After Children.  Evidence suggests that the outcomes that are being achieved for people in high cost situations, often located outside of Monmouthshire, are not good, is not value for money and are not good outcomes for individuals. The proposal is a method of reducing the pressures that exist but also adding significant value and ensuring that there are better outcomes for our Looked After Children.

 

·         The Looked After Children with very specific needs are few in number.  However, the Authority will work with schools and other partners to identify how these children are going to be integrated into an appropriate educational setting.

 

·         The type of therapies that Project 5 (MyST: My Support Team) uses are creative and play therapies which is a psychologically informed service.  It is about upskilling and supporting therapeutic foster placement. Foster carers are provided with additional training and support so that they understand the impact of trauma and how to provide appropriate support. A key area is the provision of wrap around care to ensure that foster carers never feel that they are unsupported and are also able to access appropriate support at any time of the day.

 

·         There is a psychologist and therapists that are a part of this model as well social workers and family support workers.

 

·         The Select Committee agreed to receive a report regarding Team around the family at a future meeting.

 

·         Wrap around care is important as it can help to reduce the number of Looked After Children placements.

 

·         Monmouthshire’s special school for children with social and emotional behaviour difficulties is only for boys of secondary school age.  This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

2018 End of Key Stage Teacher Assessment Outcomes and National Test results - Monmouthshire pdf icon PDF 431 KB

Minutes:

Context:

 

To scrutinise the 2018 end of Key Stage Teacher Assessment Outcomes and National Test results for Monmouthshire.

 

Key Issues:

 

All schools are subject to rigorous reporting and monitoring of standards each year, with the principal focus in Key Stages 2 and 3 being on English / Welsh first language, mathematics and science, and the percentage of pupils achieving the expected level in all three core subjects – the core subject indicator (CSI).

 

In the Foundation Phase schools report on the performance of 7 year olds in language, literacy and communication (English or Welsh language) (LLC), mathematical development (MD), and personal and social development, wellbeing and cultural development (PSDWCD). The foundation phase indicator (FPI) measures the percentage achieving the expected outcome in all three areas of learning.

 

Member Scrutiny:

 

·         The Foundation Phase, Key Stages 2 and 3 are teacher assessed. Key Stages 4 and 5 are assessed via external examinations.

 

·         With regard to the Donaldson report and reference to curriculum changes, this is still a work in progress. The Education Achievement Services (EAS) is working on its six areas of learning and experience.  Within those six areas there are a number of what matters statements and in these statements there are a number of progress steps. It is not yet known how the Authority will be reported on in respect of these areas.  However, for the next two years, we will continue to receive updates in the current format.

 

·         The report indicates that one in two children are more able. The key issues are that if we are placing reliance on teachers’ assessments there is a need to ensure that these figures at the end of Key Stage 2 translate much better to the end of Key Stage 4.

 

·         Analysis of the Fischer Family Trust data, which maps children’s progress from the end of Key Stage 2 to the end of Key Stage 4, will be presented to a future meeting of the Select Committee.

 

·         Primary school children also sit nationally marked reading, numeracy and procedural tests. These are scored on a standardised basis and the Authority has this data for all of its schools.  Historically, the Authority would be able to use this as a guide to correlate schools’ performance in national tests. However, from this year onwards, the national reading and writing tests are now adaptive, whereby, children undertake these tests on a computer and the test changes for that individual child as the child answers the questions.  Therefore, there is no longer a standardised score that the Authority can work from.

 

·         Welsh Government considers that an upward trend in our PISA outcomes would be highly valued. 

 

·         In October 2014 the Foundation Phase Areas of Learning were revised to align them with the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework, as well as making them more demanding. They were introduced on a statutory basis from September 2015. This means that the cohort of children that started Reception in September 2015 were the first children to be formally assessed against the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Confirmation of Minutes pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the Children and Young People Select Committee meeting dated 6th September 2018 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

7.

Children and Young People Select Committee Forward Work Programme pdf icon PDF 220 KB

Minutes:

The Children and Young People Select Committee Work Programme was noted. 

 

In doing so, the following items would be added to the Work Programme:

 

·         Key Stage 4 update.report (29th November 2018 meeting).

 

Special Meeting in January 2019 to scrutinise:

 

·         Safeguarding arrangements in terms of Home to School Transport.

 

·         Family Support Services.

 

·         Future options for Mounton House.

 

 

·         In response to a Select Committee Member’s question regarding Pioneer schools, it was noted that this matter was in the Work Programme and would be reported to the Select Committee in due course.

 

·         In response to a Select Committee Member’s question regarding the draft new curriculum, it was noted that a draft is anticipated to be available in the spring 2019 school term.  The whole process has been led through schools with expertise from universities being drawn upon. It is unsure whether there will be a full public consultation on this matter.

 

 

8.

Council and Cabinet Business Forward Work Programme pdf icon PDF 39 KB

Minutes:

The Cabinet and Council Forward Planner was noted.

9.

Next Meeting

Minutes:

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 29th November 2018 at 10.00am.