Agenda and minutes

The apologies of Councillor Burke and Rob Sanders were noted.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 25 January 2018 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January, 2018 be approved and signed as a correct record.

COUNCILLOR O’NEILL IN THE CHAIR

The panel considered the report of the Associate Director for Economic Development and Skills that outlined the position in Southampton with regard to Post 16 education and training.

Denise Edghill, Associate Director, Economic Development and Skills; Julien Kramer, Service Lead – Education; Amanda Percy, Post 16 Advisor;  Sarah Stannard, Principal, Southampton City College; Andrew Ball, Quality Manager, Itchen Sixth Form College; Alice Wrighton, Principal, Richard Taunton Sixth Form College; Paul Swindale, Director of Quality Assurance, Richard Taunton Sixth Form College; Liz Lee, Deputy Principal Richard Taunton Sixth Form College; James Rouse, Head Teacher, St. Annes Catholic School; and Paul Overton, Head of Sixth Form, Bitterne Park School; were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

The Panel particularly noted the following:

·  That the providers of post 16 Education in Southampton had shared information regarding the provision of post 16 education.  The Panel encouraged and welcomed initiatives that enabled the outcomes for Southampton students to be tracked, including those who attended schools/colleges located outside of the city.

·  That the number of school leavers that were Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) had dropped significantly this year.  The commissioned Youth Option NEET tracking service had made a significant contribution to the reduced NEET figures.

·  That the number of school leavers that had taken up Apprenticeships had reduced this year.  The Apprenticeship Levy, increased take up by Adults and the application process were considered the main reasons for the change.  Applications had been made for additional resources to support local employers with the provision of Apprenticeships. 

RESOLVED

  (i)  That the Panel would be provided with a brief update on developments relating to Apprenticeships

NOTE: Councillors Keogh (Chair) and Taggart (Vice Chair) declared a personal and pecuniary interest in the matter set out in the report as college lecturers employed by educational establishments, and stepped aside from their positions of Chair and Vice Chair of the Panel during its consideration.  They remained in the meeting and took part in the discussion. 

COUNCILLOR KEOGH IN THE CHAIR

The Panel considered the report of the Service Director, Legal and Governance that provided an overview of performance across Children and Families Services since December 2017.

Hillary Brooks, Service Director, Children and Families; and Jane White, Service Lead – Children’s Social Care; were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

The Panel noted that performance continued to improve overall.  It was noted that, for the second year running, staff had managed Children’s Services spending within the agreed budget.

The Panel also noted that the number of children who are Looked After Children (LAC) had reduced to the level at which the majority of children who were LAC had been court directed and cannot be taken out of care because of court orders.

RESOLVED

  (i)  That the LAC indicator in the performance report would include reference to the number of children who had been directed by the courts to be looked after.

The Panel considered and noted the report of the Service Director, Legal and Governance relating to recommendations made at previous meetings of the Panel.

The Panel noted that the information requested at the previous meeting of the Panel was not available for consideration at this meeting.

RESOLVED

  (i)  That the information requested about the Educational Attainment of Looked After Children at the previous meeting would be circulated to the Panel