Agenda and minutes

A Member must declare any disclosable pecuniary interest where it relates to any matter being considered at the meeting. A declaration of a disclosable pecuniary interest should indicate the interest and the agenda item to which it relates. A Member is not permitted to participate in this agenda item by law and should immediately leave the meeting before the start of any debate.

If the Member leaves the Chamber in respect of a declaration, he or she should ensure that the Chairman is aware of this before he or she leaves to enable their exit from the meeting to be recorded in the minutes in accordance with Standing Order 37.

None.

Minutes of the Panel meeting held on 29 June 2023 – to approve as a correct record.

Minutes of the Panel meeting held on 29 June 2023 – to approve as a correct record.

Recommended: that the minutes of the meeting of 29 June 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Assistant Director, Education Partnerships.

The report was presented by the Head of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) after an introduction by the Interim Director of Children’s Services, and set out the structure and findings of the most recent SEND self-evaluation. This was due to be shared with Ofsted the following Monday in their first SEND engagement in the region. The report showed that progress was being made and was felt to be a good reflection of SEND in North Somerset.

Further work to be done in the next twelve months was highlighted, including on the Pathway to Adulthood but work on this was in progress. The Alternative Provision framework was discussed, as well as the ethos of Alternative Provision being an intervention, and not a destination for children and young people.

The following topics were raised in discussion:

·       The joint working with Adults Social Services on the Pathway to Adulthood;

·       That children and young people waiting for an assessment could access an EHCP (Education, Health, and Care Plan), and that resources for parents and schools needed to be communicated;

·       That growth in SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) needs being higher than the national average was due to North Somerset starting from a historically low base and the resulting inability to intervene early on;

·       The hurdles to getting 100% parental involvement in Statutory Needs Assessments up from the current 82%;

·       That many parents still were having difficulty understanding how to access direct payments;

·       The plan for any schools that were flagged as not meeting the needs of children with SEND;

·       Members were grateful for the glossary attached at the bottom of the report, which was very helpful in deciphering acronyms.

Recommended: that the report be received and comments forwarded to officers in the form of minutes.

Report of the Interim Director, Children’s Services.

The Interim Director of Children’s Services spoke to the report, which gave a summary of the activity of our Regional Adoption Agency in the 2022-23 period. There had been two ILACS (Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services) of participating authorities over the reporting period, both of which had noted the strength of the work of Adoption West.

In the discussion that followed the presentation, Members queried:

·       Whether the scarcity of social workers was one of the factors affecting the timeliness of adoption – a much larger role was played by the behaviour of family courts, which showed differences in outcomes nationally.

·       Early permanence, where children were placed with foster parents with the intention of adoption, was well used in North Somerset, and was a strength.

·       That ‘adoption is a last resort’ referred to older children with existing familial relationships for whom adoption was not always the best option.

Recommended: that the report be received and comments forwarded to officers in the form of minutes.

Report of the Interim Director, Children’s Services.

The Interim Director of Children’s Services presented the report covering 2022 to 2023. Although children’s safeguarding had been an area of concern, an improvement was starting to be seen due to the efforts of all the members of the Partnership, some of whom had been very active. Partners from education were being reintroduced after a hiatus of some years, and officers were looking to do joint work with the Adults Safeguarding Board.

In discussion the following topics were considered:

·       the narrative behind the increase in children going missing – it was important to understand the reasons for this, and an emphasis was being placed on the return to home interviews; the report lacked clarity on the number of children involved versus the total number of episodes which would be improved on in future.

·       The use of the MOMO (Mind Of My Own) app to support children and young people to communicate their views and needs, and how children and young people’s voices could be used to improve services.

Recommended: that the report be received and comments forwarded to officers in the form of minutes.

Report of the Policy and Scrutiny Senior Officer.

The Senior Policy and Scrutiny Officer discussed the Panel’s work plan and invited discussion with Members for additional items to add to it, as well as picking up any actions from the meeting.

Members requested that the invitations for working group meetings be sent to all CYPS Members, and not only those who had previously expressed an interest in attending.