Agenda and minutes

[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.]

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.

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

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.

There were no apologies recorded for the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

The Panel is asked to note the following:

1. This item is being considered as pre-decision scrutiny and will therefore not be available to call-in once a decision is made by the Executive.

[Brenda Wile, Deputy Director of Education,to present report]

The Chair invited Cllr Michael Hardacre, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Work, to make some introductory remarks about the report.

The Cabinet Member outlined the background to the findings from an earlier inspection in September 2021 by Ofsted and CQC of the local area SEND services and provision in Wolverhampton.  The Cabinet Member commented on the work done in response to an earlier inspection of the SEND service provision which identified areas where improvements were required and areas of good practice to implement reforms detailed in the Children and Families Act 2014.  The Cabinet Member commented on the range of work done to build on existing good practice and respond to areas where further improvements were needed since the earlier inspection.

The Cabinet Member commented on the findings in the current inspection report and the plans detailed in the Written Statement of Action (WSOA) which set out the response to the six areas of significant weakness identified. The Cabinet Member invited the panel to comment on the draft report which will be presented to Cabinet and Council for approval before it is submitted to Oftsed.

The Chair invited Emma Bennett, Executive Director of Families, to make some introductory remarks about report. The Executive Director commented on the work done in preparation for the inspection and the work done since to draft the WSOA to respond to the weaknesses identified by the inspectors during their visit. The Executive Director reminded the panel that the inspection covered services delivered by different partner agencies who also share responsibility with the Council for implementing the disability and SEND reforms in Wolverhampton.

The Executive Director of Families outlined the key dates before the draft WSOA document is submitted to Ofsted for approval.

The Executive Director of Families commented on the range of performance and information sources from education, health and social care sectors that was shared with the inspectors.

The Executive Director invited Brenda Wile, Deputy Director Education, to give the detailed presentation and to comment on the WSOA.

The Deputy Director Education commented on the ‘6 focus areas’ in the WSOA referenced in Appendix 1 to the main report and the detailed action being taken to address areas of significant weakness.

The Deputy Director gave further details on each of the areas identified in the report, the plans for drafting the WSOA and an update on the draft work plan to address the issues. The Deputy of Director gave an overall assessment of the work being done by the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group to respond to issues detailed in the Appendix 2 to the main report. The document is still in draft and further details will be added.

The Deputy Director advised the panel that the local authority and area clinical commissioning group are jointly responsible for submitting the WSOA to Ofsted by 16 February 2022 for approval. The Deputy Director advised the panel that Oftsed then have 20 days to make comments on the WSOA, which could require further changes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.