Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 June were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The following questions were received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5) and were put to the Chairman of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

Questions asked by Mr. M. Hunt CC:

“Earlier this Summer the Director of Corporate resources said that without new interventions the High Needs block deficit is forecast to continue to increase over the MTFS period and is not financially sustainable, despite the improved position in 2023/24. This creates a significant and unresolved financial risk to the Council. What new Interventions are we likely to see and what impact are they expected to have on the end of year outturn?

Would the Chairman provide a table of annual savings budgeted for annual savings achieved and the end of year accumulated deficit from 2022/23 and relevant projections to 2027/28?

The TSIL Programme is focussing significantly on ensuring that all data within the SEND system is robust and this has focused in part on data on individual pupils. Could the Chairman state how this has been conducted and whether parents or guardians have relevant access to the data”.

Reply by the Chairman:

As part of the continuous improvement phase of TSIL, future cost reduction

opportunities of up to £12.7m have been identified. Areas identified include improved commissioning and effective management of Independent Special School places, ensuring appropriate contributions from partners, effective EHCP reviews and transitions to adulthood. As savings under development, it is not expected that they will deliver any financial impact on the 2024/25 outturn but can be expected to impact on future years.

The current financial position on the Dedicated Schools Grant forecast at the end of the first quarter of 2024 is shown in the table below. The position is currently under review now that pupil destinations for the 2024/25 academic year are known.

TSIL savings as reflected in the 2024/25 MTFS are shown below:

Data has been central to the work of the TSIL programme, ensuring improvements are evidence based using a range of data to identify, test and implement improvements within local authority SEND services. The impact of improvement activity is regularly monitored through performance data. The local authority is working with the SEND Hub to establish data sharing requirements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

Mr. R. Martin declared an Other Registrable Interest in Agenda Item 8 (Transforming SEND and Inclusion in Leicestershire (TSIL) Programme Update) as a Co-Chair of the Leicestershire SEND Hub.

Mrs. S. Jordan declared an Other Registrable Interest’ in Agenda Item 8 (Transforming SEND and Inclusion in Leicestershire (TSIL) Programme Update) as a trustee of the Leicestershire SEND Hub.

There were no declarations of the party whip.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Children and Family Services which provided an update on the Transforming SEND and Inclusion in Leicestershire (TSIL) programme, including progress and achievements made to date and next steps, as well as an overview of the current High Needs Block financial position. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were raised:

      i.         In response to a question relating to the role of Educational Phycologists in the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment process, the Director explained that they played a vital role when assessing the needs of children with special education needs in order to determine the most suitable support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. The SEND Code of Practice included the requirement for Local Authorities to have Educational Psychologists Advice as part of the assessment process. Members noted that there was a national shortage of Educational Psychologists and that the Service was considering the best way to address this issue as part of a review of the overall assessment process.

     ii.         The Lead Member for Children and Families highlighted that the majority of children with special educational needs could be supported within a mainstream school setting, unless there was a specific need for specialist provision. She stated that the number of EHCP requests had been a symptom of issues with school funding, and that she would continue to lobby Government on fair funding for schools.

    iii.         Increasing demand continued to affect the financial position of the High Needs Block of the Dedicated School’s Grant. It was suggested that an analysis of unit costs associated with specialist placements would be valuable in order to understand how costs varied between settings, and to inform how the Service could consider what could be done within legislation to address the issue and lobby for change. The Commissioning Service within the Department had analysed data relating to demand and unit costs, although it was acknowledged that more could be done to focus on specific placement costs and to understand the reason for increasing costs. The Director agreed to undertake an analysis of costs relating to specialist SEND placements, alongside work already which was being undertaken to strengthen the understanding of the demand for placements.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the Director be requested to undertake an analysis of costs relating to specialist SEND placements, alongside work being undertaken to strengthen the understanding of the demand for placements.

b)    That the update on the Transforming SEND and Inclusion in Leicestershire (TSIL) programme, including process and achievements made to date and next steps, as well as an overview of the current High Needs Block financial position, be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Children and Family Services which provided the outcome of a recent Ofsted inspection of children’s social care services in Leicestershire. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were raised:

      i.         The Committee congratulated the Director and the Department on the overall effectiveness of children’s services in Leicestershire having been judged to be Outstanding.

     ii.         Members noted that the Department would continue to deliver services to the high standard outlined within the inspection report and would undertake work to address two areas for improvement.

    iii.         The Lead member for Children and Families thanked officers for their hard work and congratulated the Department on the result. She highlighted that the result would be positive for staff, children and families, and would also have a positive impact on recruitment and retention.

RESOLVED:

That the outcome of the recent Ofsted inspection of children’s social care services in Leicestershire, be noted.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chief Executive and the Director of Children and Family Services which provided an update on the Children and Family Services Department’s performance for the period April to June 2024 (Quarter 1). A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were raised:

      i.         In response to a question relating to the process for utilising the Funded Early Education Entitlement (FEEE), the Director advised that parents would be required to obtain a code from a government website which would then be presented to an educational setting. The educational setting would then invoice the Council, which received the funds from Government. Members noted that there had been some issues in receiving funds from Government.

     ii.         There had been an announcement made by Government that overall ‘single word judgements’ would be phased out of Ofsted inspection reports and would be replaced by report cards. The Director would consider how Ofsted performance would be presented to the Committee in future performance reports.

    iii.         In response to concern raised relating to the increasing number of children being Electively Home Educated (EHE), the Director acknowledged that this continued to be a concern and stated that the trend was being observed nationally. Members were assured that the Department was undertaking work to understand the reasons why families had chosen to EHE children.

   iv.         Concern was also raised regarding the number of permanent exclusions from Leicestershire schools. The Director assured Members that the number of exclusions was lower than that in other local authorities but that the figure was still high. The Department had a robust policy for supporting children at risk of exclusion and working with schools on the issue. The Director would consider work which could be undertaken to address the issue. The Lead Member for Children and Families stated that issues with school funding could have contributed to the increased use of exclusions by schools.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the Director would consider how Ofsted performance would be presented to the Committee in future performance reports, following a phasing out of single-word Ofsted judgements. 

b)    That the update on the Children and Family Services Department’s performance for the period April to June 2024 (Quarter 1), be noted.

[At this point Mr. M. Hunt CC left the meeting.]

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Family Services which provided a summary of the Children’s Social Care Statutory Complaints and Compliments Annual Report for 2023/24. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 11’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were raised:

      i.         In response to concern raised relating to the safeguarding in place for children with SEND needs who required taxi transport to school, the Director assured members that robust safeguarding processes were in place which ensured the safety of children whilst being transported to school, and that safeguarding issues would be thoroughly investigated. The Director asked that any individual concerns relating to SEND transport be reported outside of the meeting so that these could be passed on to the Director of Environment and Transport, who held responsibility for SEND transport.

     ii.         Members noted that complaints relating to staff conduct would relate to staff of Leicestershire County Council rather than staff within schools.

    iii.         A Member asked which complaints were referred to as Corporate Complaints. The Director advised that any complaint made to the Council where there was no statutory process in place was referred to as a Corporate Complaint. This included complaints relating to SEND transport.

RESOLVED:

That the summary provided on, and the contents of, the Children’s Social Care Statutory Complaints and Compliments Annual Report for 2023/24, and the Corporate Complaints & Compliments Annual Report 2023/2024, be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Children and Family Services which sought the views of the Committee on the draft Annual Report of the Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Partnership for 2023/24. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 12’ Is filed with these minutes.

In response to a question relating to the Councils responsibility for supporting women and children with domestic violence cases, the Director stated that the Department undertook various pieces of work alongside partner agencies to support children and work with adult victims. The Department had a responsibility for a Domestic Abuse Plan and Strategy, and a responsibility to carry out needs assessments. It managed a grant for domestic abuse which focussed on responsibilities for domestic violence cases and supporting individuals to live safely outside of abusive relationship. A Domestic Abuse team worked alongside the Police and with the Front Door colleagues to review referrals. The Service had a dedicated officer who delivered safer relationship work with care leavers as they became young adults. In addition, the Department was responsible for undertaking work on parental conflict and providing support with resolving family issues healthily. Members noted that social workers were not specifically trained on dealing with court cases but had the relevant experience in order to support children and adult victims through the court process.

RESOLVED:

That the draft annual report assessing the impact of the work undertaken in 2022/23 on safeguarding outcomes for children in Leicestershire and Rutland be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Children and Family Services which presented the Annual Report of the Independent Reviewing Officer with regard to children in care. The report evaluated the extent to which Leicestershire County Council had fulfilled its responsibilities to these children for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 13’ is filed with these minutes.

The Lead Member for Children and Families highlighted that the Service undertook vital work with regards to supporting children in care.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the Annual Report of the Independent Reviewing Officer with regard to children in care, and the extent to which Leicestershire County Council has fulfilled its responsibilities to these children for the period 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024, be noted.

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place on 5 November 2024.

RESOLVED:

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on 5 November 2024 at 14:00.