Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Earl Piggott-Smith  Tel: 01902 551251 or Email: earl.piggott-smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Introductions

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting. The Scrutiny Officer will then read out a list of those invited to the meeting to confirm who is in attendance.]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Rita Potter, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it was also being live streamed to the press and public. Cllr Potter advised that she was not expecting any exempt or restricted items on the agenda. A recording of the meeting would be available for viewing on the Council’s website at a future date

2.

Meeting procedures to be followed

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed, how questions are to be asked and any matters of meeting etiquette.]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Potter explained the protocol to be followed during the meeting for asking questions and reminded everyone that microphones should be muted and cameras off unless they have been invited to speak.

3.

Apologies

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from the following members of the panel:

 

Cllr Clare Simm

Cllr Christopher Burden

4.

Declarations of interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

 

5.

Minutes of the previous meeting (14 July 2021 ) pdf icon PDF 647 KB

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2021 be approved as a correct record.

 

6.

Feedback on the outcomes and lessons learnt from the Yo! Summer Festival programme pdf icon PDF 5 MB

[Andrew Wolverson, Head of Service Children's Strategy and Partnership, to present report]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Andrew Wolverson, Head of Service Children’s Strategy and Partnership gave an overview of the Yo! Summer Festival Programme.  The programme of activities follows on from previous programmes aimed families and young people in Wolverhampton. The Head of Service outlined the four objectives of the programme and gave an analysis of the data under each in terms of level of community engagement and the number of events.

 

The Head of Service commented that the Council is committed to providing activities and opportunities for children and young people and to create opportunities for local organisations to benefit from the funding available.  The Head of Service added that over 18,000 young people and parents enjoyed activities during the programme.

 

The Head of Service commented on the community and leisure offer to vulnerable children and their families during the programme of activities. The Head of Service added that 5000 children took up the offer of six-week programme of activities which was co-ordinated and supported by members of Voice for Parents.  The Voice for Parents co-ordinated the SEND offer for the programme and commissioned over 15 organisations.

 

The scheme was funded by DFE and aimed at children in receipt of free school meals to allow them to access an activity, which also included an offer of a meal. To avoid being stigmatised when attending events, a holiday activity card was issued and piloted to allow people to register for events. The Head of Service commented that the scheme worked well and was developed by ICT. The card was scanned 2,800 times during the programme. In total, 21 local organisations across the city were commissioned to deliver activities as part of the holiday programme.

 

The Head of Service commented on the efforts from across the Council to support the delivery of the summer programme, which cover over £700,000 to deliver.

 

The Head of Service commented on the extra wider support provided for disadvantaged families and children who were particularly affected by the impact of Covid pandemic. The project was funded by over £900,000 from the Government’s Covid Support Grant. The Head of Service gave a breakdown of how the money was spent on different projects and activities between June 2021 and September 2021. 

 

The Head of Service commented on the success of the Beat the Street scheme and that 3 out 4 players who took part were from the most deprived communities.

 

The Head of Service commented on positive comments from children during the programme and an analysis of internet traffic when people have used the Yo! Programme website. There are plans to further develop the site to become the main source for information about sources of help and advice on different aspects of family life.

 

The Head of Service commented on plans to build of the success of the summer programme and outlined plans for the October 2021 half term school holiday.  The service has received 20 applications from organisations to provide activities in the holiday and 17 have since been granted funding by members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

SEND Update (report to follow) pdf icon PDF 4 MB

[Brenda Wile, Deputy Director of Education, Helen Bakewell, Head of Inclusion and Empowerment  and Sarah Baker – Voice of Parents to present report]

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Dr Mike Hardacre, Cabinet Member Education and Skills, gave a brief introduction to the report which gives details about the Ofsted/CQC inspection of the Local Area special education needs and disabilities (SEND) support and provision.

The Cabinet Member commented on the change in approach to the inspection of SEND services by over the years and the focus is now on having a dialogue with the local authority about any issues highlighted during their visit.  The Cabinet Member advised the panel that the Council was being assessed against the current inspection framework. A new SEND assessment framework will be issued in April 2022. The framework has been informed by the lessons learnt and experience of how the current framework works.

The findings from the inspection completed in September 2021 will report on areas that the Council is doing well and areas for improvement. The SEND report findings will be published in the early 2022 and the Council will have the opportunity to comment on the draft before publication.

The Chair invited Brenda Wile, Deputy Director of Education, to give the detailed presentation to the panel on progress made provide services for children, young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). The Deputy Director advised the panel that the update on SEND provision would cover the SEND leisure offer provided during the Easter and summer programmes, an update on the Ofsted/ CQC inspection of the Local Area SEND support and provision, and comments from Councillors who visited Green Park School recently.

The Deputy Director of Education added that representatives from Voice for Parents who contributed to the development of the SEND holiday provision will also be sharing their experiences.

The Deputy Director of Education stated that the vision of the SEND policy was that families with children with special educational needs and disabilities have good quality, ordinary life and are supported to achieve their full potential.  The stated vision for SEND links to the priorities in the Relighting Our City plan to support people who need us most and create more opportunities for young people.

The Deputy Director of Education gave further details about the vision and priorities of the SEND strategy and the background to how it was developed and would be used to support the provision of services in the future. The Deputy Director of Education outlined the planned key actions for 2021 – 2022 for implementing the strategy and explained how the service will be focused on moving the service forward. The plan will be reviewed when the new SEND framework is published. The Deputy Director invited Sarah Barker, Voice for Parents, to brief the panel about their role in the development of the Easter activity sensory and wellbeing pack 2021.

Sarah Barker, Chair Voice for Parents, advised the panel that an application was made to the Council earlier in the year to fund the development of a sensory pack for families, who felt isolated and wanting opportunities for their children. At the same time Voice  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Transforming Children Services programme, vision and annual report 2020-2021 pdf icon PDF 905 KB

[Emma Cleary, Programme Manager, to present report]

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Emma Cleary, Programme Manager, to present the annual Transforming Children’s Services report for 2020 – 2021 to the panel. The Programme Manager explained that this was the first report on the work done to deliver a range of services improvements which has led to better outcomes for the children and young people across the city. The Programme Manager explained that the programme evolved five years ago from several projects ongoing across the directorate at the time.  The programme has been live since 2016.

 

The Programme Manager advised the panel that when it was decided to join the directorates of children and education in 2019 under a single portfolio holder and Director it was decided to take the opportunity to refresh the programme and ensure that all the priorities were aligned through the transformation plans. The Programme Manager advised the panel that in July 2020, the Transforming Children’s Services Programme (TCSP) Board collectively agreed to reflect on key achievements from the last five years and refresh the programme to ensure that transformation going forward represents the integrated priorities of Children's Services and Education.

 

The Programme Manager outlined the key achievements of the programme during the period April 2020 to March 2021 and of the young people involved and advised the panel that many of the projects in the programme have ended with successful outcomes. The Programme Manager advised the panel that when asked in a survey young people commented on their highlights of being working with service, for example, the opportunity to make new friends and gain confidence over the past five years.

 

The Programme Manager outlined the key strategic policy drivers for the programme and listed the outcomes linked to each of them. The service is working with members of Transforming Children Services Board to make sure that our programme is aligned to the diverse needs of children and young people. The Programme Manager commented on the responses from young members when asked to share views about what ‘good support’ looks like.

 

The Programme Manager commented that the TCSP Programme will have children, young people, and families at the heart of all its activity and it will be developing ambitious and innovative programme that will improve outcomes for children and young people in Wolverhampton, generating the opportunity equitably and inclusively. The Programme Manager outlined further details of the vision for the programme. The Programme Manager shared a short audio clip of an interview with a young person to share their experiences of the support they had received.

 

The Programme Manager gave further details of the programme outcomes and the linked key measures that will be used to assess progress. The Programme Manager commented on the priorities moving forward and the importance of celebrating successes and keeping stakeholders informed. The decision to bring the annual report to the panel is example of this.

 

The Programme Manager commented that the service is learning from the experience of Covid 19, and the key priority is to ensure that where there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Children, Young People and Families Scrutiny Panel 2021-2022 Draft Work programme pdf icon PDF 558 KB

[Earl Piggott-Smith,Scrutiny Officer, to present report]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Earl Piggott-Smith, Scrutiny Officer, presented the report. The Scrutiny Officer advised the panel that there were other opportunities for the panel to add other items to the work programme and to meet informally with lead officers and site visits to discuss issues.

 

The Scrutiny Officer advised the panel that an extra date will be added to the work programme to consider the findings from the SEND Area Inspection.

 

Resolved:

 

The panel agreed the proposed changes to the draft work programme report.