Agenda and minutes
Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday, 10th November, 2021 2.00 pm
Venue: Council Chamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension. View directions
Contact: Rachel McKeon
Media
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To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2021. Minutes: Decision
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2021. |
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Children and Education Services Directorate Budget 2022/23 PDF 277 KB Report of the Strategic Director for Children’s and Education Services
Following the Spending Review announcements and other updates the Council is forecasting an estimated shortfall of £4m in 2022/23, £64m in 2023/24 and £85m by 2024/25. This report sets out the high-level position. Officers have identified options to balance the budget in 2022/23 which are subject to approval. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services which stated that, following the Spending Review announcements and other updates, the Council was forecasting an estimated shortfall of £4m in 2022/23, £64m in 2023/24 and £85m by 2024/25. This report set out the high-level position. Officers had identified options to balance the budget in 2022/23 which were subject to approval.
The main points and themes within the report included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Chair suggested that the Committee receive a report on Home School Transport at a future meeting. The Director of Education explained the eligibility criteria for Home School Transport and the challenges facing this provision. She advised that the Council would be reviewing its policy on this in co-production with parents and carers. The Chair also requested that the Committee receive a report on homeless families being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation outside of the city and the impact of this, such as the higher costs of home school transport.
The Director of Education advised that there were a number of individual grants available to schools relating to decarbonisation and that the Council was undertaking a piece of work which included bringing all that information together in one place. She informed the Committee about a report being considered at the next meeting of the Schools Forum on undertaking condition surveys of school buildings for local authority-maintained schools, including factors such as energy efficiency. She advised that this would be a basis from which the Council could understand the current position and look at how the capital maintenance budget could be used most effectively and could also be used to provide targeted advice to schools on grants that they could apply for to undertake the work identified by the survey.
The Deputy Director of Children’s Services recognised the improvements in quality of practice while also drawing Members’ attention to challenges from an increasing population, the number of children needing referral from Early Help into statutory services and the medium to long term impacts from the pandemic.
Decisions
1. To request a report on Home School Transport.
2. To request a report on homeless families, in particular ... view the full minutes text for item 51. |
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Adoption Counts - Regional Adoption Agency PDF 338 KB Report of the Strategic Director Children and Education Services
In 2015, the Government announced its intention to legislate to ensure that all local authority adoption services have merged with neighbouring services to form larger regional adoption agencies (RAA) the target date set for this was 2020 at the latest. In 2017, the Senior Management Team (SMT), Executive Member for Children’s and Education Services and Executive supported a proposal from the Strategic Director of Children’s Services for Manchester’s adoption service to merge with four other local authorities (Stockport, Trafford, Salford, and Cheshire East) and two voluntary adoption agencies (Adoption Matters and Caritas) to form a regional adoption agency which is known as ‘Adoption Counts’.
Stockport were nominated as the host organisation for the regional adoption agency, and it was agreed in 2017 to temporarily second adoption staff from Manchester, Trafford, Salford and Cheshire East into Stockport whilst the RAA was established and developed.
This report seeks approval to formally and permanently transfer staff from Manchester into Stockport Council (host organisation) under TUPE regulations.
Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services) which sought approval to formally and permanently transfer staff from Manchester into Stockport Council (the host organisation) under TUPE regulations. The report explained that in 2015, the Government had announced its intention to legislate to ensure that all local authority adoption services had merged with neighbouring services to form larger regional adoption agencies (RAA) and that, in 2017, the Senior Management Team (SMT), Executive Member for Children’s and Education Services and Executive had supported a proposal from the Strategic Director of Children’s Services for Manchester’s adoption service to merge with four other local authorities (Stockport, Trafford, Salford, and Cheshire East) and two voluntary adoption agencies (Adoption Matters and Caritas) to form a regional adoption agency which was known as ‘Adoption Counts’. It stated that Stockport had been nominated as the host organisation for the regional adoption agency, and it was agreed in 2017 to temporarily second adoption staff from Manchester, Trafford, Salford and Cheshire East into Stockport whilst the RAA was established and developed.
The main points and themes within the report included:
The Executive Member for Children’s Services advised that information appeared to demonstrate that Adoption Counts was delivering positive outcomes for Manchester’s children and that it, therefore, made sense to move to these more formal arrangements.
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Deputy Director of Children’s Services assured Members that there was a well-established HR protocol relating to staff consultation and advised that staff concerns often related to their individual circumstances, which would be taken into consideration. He reported that Adoption Counts had been operating since 2017, with Manchester staff having been seconded to the service since then, and that staff would remain on Manchester City Council’s terms and conditions so he did not anticipate that this transfer would create many cultural issues. He informed the Committee that staff could also choose not to transfer to Stockport and instead to be found an alternative position within Manchester City Council. In response to a question from the Chair, he advised that Stockport’s HR and back office support had been very good, although he did not have the information on how Stockport had been chosen as the hosting organisation from 2017.
The Chair requested that the Committee receive a report on adoption at a future meeting which included what difference the move to ... view the full minutes text for item 52. |
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COVID-19 Update This will be a verbal update from the Director of Education. Minutes: The Committee received a verbal update of the Director of Education which outlined new developments and significant changes to the current situation, particularly in relation to schools.
The main points and themes within the verbal update included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
In response to a Member’s question about face coverings, the Director of Education reported that schools were currently being advised that pupils should wear face coverings in communal areas but not in the classroom and that special schools had been included in this advice, although some pupils would be exempt. She stated that this advice was considered to be proportionate, based on the current situation and had been arrived at in consultation with the Director of Public Health. She reported that she was not aware of any anti-vaccine campaigns outside of Manchester schools but that schools had been sent some guidance on dealing with this if there was a protest which was creating a problem, such as causing an obstruction. She advised that a lot of information had been provided to parents about the vaccine, primarily through schools. She also advised that, while vaccines were being provided at schools, parents also had the option of having their child vaccinated at another site at a later date, to give them more time to discuss it and reach a decision. The Director of Public Health informed Members that parents had the opportunity to further discuss any concerns they had at these other vaccination sites and that they could also call the COVID-19 helpline. In response to a Member’s question, he outlined the reasons for the vaccination booster programme and who was eligible for this.
The Director of Education advised that further information on the impact of the pandemic on children’s education would be provided in the next agenda item but that schools were working to address this, tailored to what their pupils needed. She advised that this was partly about helping pupils to re-adjust to being back in the school routine, rather than trying to cram a lot of learning into a short space of time. A Member who was a Teacher ... view the full minutes text for item 53. |
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Report of the Director of Public Health
This report offers a data-driven retrospective analysis of the academic year 2020/21 in Manchester. The report explores the impact of COVID-19 on school settings across Manchester, levels of school absence, and confirmed cases in school-age children resident in the City.
Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Director of Public Health which provided a data-driven retrospective analysis of the academic year 2020/21 in Manchester. The report explored the impact of COVID-19 on school settings across Manchester, levels of school absence, and confirmed cases in school-age children resident in the city.
The main points and themes within the report included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Director of Education agreed that the impact of the pandemic on children and their education was a longer term issue and shared Members’ concern about this not being recognised and responded to in future years. She advised Members that part of the reason for publishing the report had been to demonstrate this impact and that this information had also been shared with Manchester schools. She highlighted the impact on Early Years and school readiness and advised that this age group needed to be monitored, ensuring they were meeting developmental milestones and were given the opportunity to develop basic social skills which they might have missed out on. In response to a Member’s question, she outlined the support available to Early Years settings. Regarding children entering Year 7 and post-16 education, she advised that Manchester had excellent schools and colleges which had been working hard to support children and young people transitioning during this period. She advised that, where young people were not on the right course for them, the post-16 providers supported them to find the best option for them, such as reducing the number of A-levels they were taking, changing courses or moving to a different setting, where appropriate. She reported that larger institutions also had Career Connect staff on site. She advised that schools and post-16 providers had a point of contact within the Education Service for advice and support and, where particular themes were emerging, the service addressed this strategically. The Chair noted the number of Ofsted inspections which had been initiated in recent weeks and expressed concern about whether Ofsted would take into consideration the impact of the last two years.
The Director of Public Health informed Members that at present both the old-style and new-style tests were being used. He reported that it appeared that a lot of people were testing themselves but not recording the results online and that the ... view the full minutes text for item 54. |
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Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit
This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree. Minutes: A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.
The Chair thanked Mr Duffy for his many years of service as a Co-opted Member, as this was his last meeting. She also reminded Members about the Ofsted Subgroup meeting that was taking place on 24 November 2021 and asked any other Members who wanted to join the Subgroup to let the Scrutiny Support Officer know. She advised that she would discuss the work programme with officers after the meeting.
A Member requested that report authors indicate what elements of their report related to the city’s zero carbon ambitions or, where this was not relevant, state this in the Environmental Impact Assessment section of the report, to demonstrate that this had been considered.
Decision
To note the report and agree the work programme, subject to the above comments. |