Agenda and minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 26 January 2023, and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Panel considered and noted the report of the Head of Young People's Services providing an overview of the work of the service and plans to improve outcomes moving forward.

Councillor Paffey – Cabinet Member for Children and Learning, Robert Henderson -Executive Director Wellbeing (Children & Learning), Tim Nelson – Head of Young People’s Services, Anna Harbridge - Service Lead for the Youth Justice Service,   Sarah Ball - Service Lead for the Young People’s Service, Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy – Hampshire Constabulary, Nicola Iverson - Deputy Head Teacher Woodlands Community College were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

The Panel explored a number of issues outlined within the report including:

·  The local and national context of tackling youth crime;

·  The developing children’s social care response to serious youth crime;

·  The links between youth crime and exploitation and steps being taken to effectively address the issues;

·  The number of homeless 16 and 17 year olds and steps being taken to reduce this;

·  The support offered and enacted to prevent the admission of children into the care system;

·  The new TAS Initiative (Team Around the School Initiative);

·  The Panel explored what had been achieved since the amalgamation of 3 separate services: and 

·  The importance of vulnerable children’s access to education.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That a performance dataset would be circulated to the Panel outlining how the Young People’s Service is performing against set targets; and

(2)  That the Member induction programme for the 2023/24 intake of elected councillors includes a visit to the Hub, potentially as the setting for the mandatory corporate parenting training session.

The Panel considered the report of the Head of SEND presenting the new SEND Strategy and the Ofsted SEND inspection framework.

Councillor Paffey – Cabinet Member for Children and Learning, Robert Henderson Executive Director Wellbeing (Children & Learning), and Tammy Marks –Head of SEND were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points outlined within the report including:

·  Local and national trends relating to SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities);

·  Performance outcomes for children with SEND;

·  The plans for transformation of the SEND service and the need to meet the increasing demand; and

·  How the recently published national strategy for children with SEND compares to Southampton’s SEND Strategy, and the impact the proposals within the national strategy will have on services in the city.

RESOLVED that the Panel schedule a discussion on SEND in 2023/24 that includes a focus on the progress of the transformation programme, and preparation for adulthood.

The Panel considered the report of the Scrutiny Manager recommending that the Panel consider and challenge the performance of Children’s Services and Learning in Southampton.

Councillor Paffey – Cabinet Member for Children and Learning, Robert Henderson Executive Director Wellbeing (Children & Learning), and Stuart Webb – Head of Quality Assurance were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points within the report including:

·  A number of figures within the appendix indicated a discrepancy in the performance data between the February and December figures; and

·  The inconsistent quality of practice.

RESOLVED that an explanation is provided to the Panel of the discrepancies identified between the December 2022 and February 2023 published performance data.

The Panel received and noted the report of the Scrutiny Manager which enabled the Children and Families Scrutiny Panel to monitor and track progress on recommendations made at previous meetings.