Report of the Director of Education

The report from Manchester’s Virtual School Head for Our Children and Young People provides an overview of the work that has been undertaken, through the Corporate Parenting Partnership, during 2020-21 to promote the education, employment and training of the Children and Young People in the care of Manchester (referred to as Our Children and Young People from this point), Manchester Care Leavers, Previously Looked After Children who attend education settings within Manchester and Young People supported by the Youth Justice Service.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Education which provided an overview of the work that had been undertaken, through the Corporate Parenting Partnership, during 2020-21 to promote the education, employment and training of the Children and Young People in the care of Manchester (referred to as Our Children and Young People), Manchester Care Leavers, Previously Looked After Children who attended education settings within Manchester and Young People supported by the Youth Justice Service.

The main points and themes within the report included:

• Key educational headlines for children and young people;
• Attendance at education settings; and
• Key high-level priorities for the Virtual School.

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• Praise for the work of the Virtual School;
• Access to educational psychologists and training for teachers;
• How Manchester compared with other core cities, for example, in relation to the number of Our Children who were in education, employment or training post-16;
• Whether data was available broken down by ethnicity;
• Our Children and Young People who had Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND);
• The Virtual School’s new duties in relation to children and young people with a social worker; and
• What was being done to inform teachers about the work of the Virtual School.

Following a Member’s comments about young people becoming involved in crime and serious youth violence, the Chair reported that the Committee had previously visited Wetherby Young Offender Institution and Barton Moss Secure Children’s Home.  She suggested that the Committee visit them again, as a joint visit with the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee.  She suggested that the Committee consider bringing a joint report on knife crime, in conjunction with the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee.  The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services highlighted how the use of Personal Education Plans (PEPs) in Youth Justice had improved young people’s engagement with education, employment and training.

The Executive Member for Children’s Services informed the Committee that a Youth Justice Peer Review had taken place towards the end of 2021 and that they had been very impressed by the work being done in Manchester.

The Virtual School Head reported that the Virtual School commissioned additional educational psychology time for consultation, advice, guidance and training for teachers.  She informed Members that the Pupil Premium was paid to schools termly on receipt of a satisfactory PEP outlining how the money would be spent and that additional funding could also be provided to schools, where it was needed, including for staff training to support the needs of the child.  In response to a Member’s comments about exclusions, she reported that figures for fixed term exclusions for Our Children were currently higher than they wanted it to be but reducing and that permanent exclusions of Our Children were very rare.  She drew Members’ attention to the Inclusion Strategy which her service had been involved in developing and confirmed the service’s aspiration to reduce the number of fixed-term exclusions.

The Virtual School Deputy Head (Post-16) reported that Manchester compared favourably to other core cities, its statistical neighbours and other Greater Manchester authorities in relation the number of Our Children who were in Employment, Education or Training (EET) post-16.  She informed Members that the Virtual School undertook PEPs for those who were not in EET and she outlined how they worked to maximise opportunities for these young people.  In response to a question from the Chair, she reported that preventing exclusions post-16 was challenging as the Virtual School was not always informed beforehand but that using the designated teacher model had enabled them to develop stronger relationships, find out about issues earlier on and make alternative suggestions to prevent exclusion.

The Virtual School Deputy Head advised that they collected data on the ethnicity and gender of the children and young people as well as whether they had SEND through the PEP process, that this was monitored and that data could be provided.  She also informed Members about training that was being provided to carers, including in relation to SEND, and about the post-16 pilot, which included training colleges and Leaving Care Workers on SEND, as well as attachment and trauma.  She reported that the Virtual School provided challenge to schools if they were not recognising that a young person was likely to have SEND and responding appropriately.

The Virtual School Head advised that her team was well known to designated teachers and that it was the designated teacher’s responsibility to work with other staff within their school.  She highlighted the launch of the Virtual School’s website and outlined how they were informing schools about the Virtual School’s new duties in relation to children and young people with a social worker.

The Chair reminded Members that all Councillors were Corporate Parents and invited to the meetings of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

Decisions

1.            To arrange a visit to Wetherby Young Offender Institution and Barton Moss Secure Children’s Home, in conjunction with the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee.

2.            To further discuss bringing a joint report on knife crime, in conjunction with the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee.