Agenda and draft minutes

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting.]

Cllr Qaiser Azeem, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it was also being live streamed to the press and public.

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed.]

The Chair explained the process to be followed during the meeting and for asking questions.

Apologies were received from the following members of the panel:

Cllr Dr Michael Hardacre

Cllr Christopher Haynes – Sub Cllr Wendy Thompson

Cllr Stephanie Haynes – Sub Cllr Wendy Dalton

Cllr Lamina Lloyd

Cllr Jane Francis

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

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

The Panel agreed to amend the minutes to record Cllr Lovinyer Daley as being in attendance at the meeting.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2014, subject to the agreed changes, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Brenda Wile, Deputy Director of Education, and Helen Bakewell, Head of SEND and Inclusion, to present update.

[This item is being considered as pre-decision scrutiny and will therefore not be available for Call-in once a decision has been made by the Executive].

The Chair invited Helen Bakewell, Head of SEND and Inclusion, to present the update.  

The Head of SEND advised the panel that when the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Inclusion Strategy 2024-27 report was presented to the panel meeting on 31 January 2024 it was agreed that a further report would be presented to respond to specific areas of concern.  

The Head of SEND gave a summary of update actions and progress in the following areas in response to the issues highlighted: 

1.    Co-production and public consultation work 

2.    Financial pressures on the High Needs Block (HNB) funding 

3.    The language used in the strategy document 

The Head of SEND gave a summary of the changes made to the strategy document in response to comments from the panel. The Head of SEND advised the panel that the attached report would be presented to Cabinet on 20 March 2024 to approve the revised strategy document. 

The Head of SEND invited the panel to endorse the revised Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Inclusion Strategy 2024-27 

The Head of SEND also invited the panel to consider the questions in the briefing paper and to comment on the response. 

A panel member congratulated the Head of SEND on the revised draft and welcomed the changes made and hoped that they will improve what is currently being delivered. The panel member offered her thanks for all the work done in preparing the strategy and was confident that it would make a huge difference to lives of children and young people with SEND in Wolverhampton. 

A panel member while welcoming the further details about the financial pressures on the HNB funding commented that the members of the Schools Forum had a verbal rather than a written update report on HNB funding. The panel member commented that the Schools Forum High Needs Funding Sub Group had a written report on the HNB and queried if this could be shared with the panel at a future meeting. 

Bill Hague, Head of School Business and Support, advised the panel that he has responsibility for overseeing the functions of this group and agreed to take the recommendation to the meeting of Schools Forum High Needs Funding Sub Group and report back to the panel. 

A panel member welcomed the changes made to the original draft strategy but queried the lack of reference to KPIs in the document and expressed concern about decisions based on a low number of survey responses. The panel member also asked for details of the age range of pupils going Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and children requiring specialist SEN provision and the number of appeals currently in progress.

The panel member queried the distribution and promotion of the ‘Ready Steady Go’ leaflet which supports children and young people in the preparation for adulthood regardless of whether they have an EHCP. The panel member asked for evidence of progress. 

Brenda Wile, Deputy Director of Education, reassured the panel that as regards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[Laura Gittos, Head of Governance and Jaswinder Kaur, Democratic Services and Systems Manager, to present report]

The Chair invited Laura Gittos, Head of Governance and Jaswinder Kaur, Democratic Services and Systems Manager, to give the presentation.  

The Head of Governance advised the panel that when a previous report was presented on the performance of the appeals team it was agreed that a further report would be presented in 12 months to give an update on progress of plans for delivering further service improvements in the Schools Appeal Unit. 

The Head of Governance gave an update on progress of improvements since February 2023 and the current position against the agreed actions as of March 2024. 

The Head of Governance invited the Democratic Services and Systems Manager to present an update on the preparation for the normal round of school entry appeals. 

The Democratic Services and Systems Manager gave an overview of the number of appeals submitted, withdrawn, and upheld analysed by type of appeal comparing data for 2022/23 to 2023/24.  

The Democratic Services and Systems Manager outlined the preparations and the timelines for the normal round of school entry in September for 2024-25. The Democratic Services and Systems Manager outlined the key achievements of the service. 

A copy of the presentation is available. 

The panel were invited to comment on the presentation.

The Chair thanked the presenters for the report and welcomed the changes to make the process easier for the public to understand the school appeal process. The Chair invited panel members to comment on the presentation. 

A panel member congratulated the performance of the school’s appeal team for their hard work, particularly during the pandemic, to manage the high number of appeals. The panel member shared personal experiences of supporting parents through the appeal process and limited success of cases.

The panel member queried if training could be offered to newly elected Councillors to help them better understand the process. 

The Head of Governance thanked the panel member for their positive comments and advised the panel that the appeal process can be very emotional, and the service does of lot of pre-work with families to help them to prepare for the hearing. The Head of Governance highlighted the importance of having a permanent team which helps provide consistent messaging to families and to get the service right for everyone.

The Head of Governance welcomed the idea of offering training on schools appeals to new Councillors and advised the panel that there have been discussions with colleagues in school admissions about including this issue as part of the Councillor induction programme.

The programme of training which includes a session on school’s appeals has been presented to Governance and Ethics in recognition of the increase in queries to Councillors. 

The Head of Governance advised the panel that the increase in school appeal queries would suggest that a more dedicated session would be more beneficial and added that details of the training will be shared with the panel when confirmed. 

A panel member commented on the experience of supporting a parent who became stressed when asked to provide  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

[Courtney Abbott, Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner,to present report]

The Chair invited Courtney Abbott, Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner, topresent the report. 

The Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner advised the panel that the presentation would provide a summary of the main findings from the annual health checksurvey of employees in social work and wider workforce working with children, young people, and families in Wolverhampton.The purpose of the health check survey is part of ongoing assessment of the service.  

The Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner advised the panel the attached report gives further details of the background to the survey, the main findings, and actions.The survey helps identify strengths and areas requiring greater focus and informs Workforce Development Planning. The survey also supports the continuous improvement of Children's Services practice throughout Wolverhampton. 

The Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner explained that in addition to completing the survey online there was also the option to complete a paper form and return in to ballot boxes locatedin different areas of the city. The aim of the change was to encourage more people to take part in the survey.  

The Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner advised the panel that the action plan drafted in response to the survey findings will be overseen by Children's Education and Skills leadership team. A report is presented quarterly to provide an update on progress against actions. 

The panel were recommended to comment on the findings of the report and to give feedback and challenge on the proposed actions to improve practice conditions for the health of social workers and wider workforce.  

The Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner highlighted the key improvements and achievements reported in the survey responses and the action plan. 

A copy of the presentation is attached. 

The Chair thanked the presenter for the report and the improvements compared to the findings in the previous annual report. The panel were invited to comment on the report. 

A panel queried which colleagues in education referenced in the report were invited to participate in the survey and commented on findings that teachers were reporting that they were working fewer hours compared to last, did not reflect her understandingof the situation and wanted some clarity. 

The Quality and Improvement Advanced Practitioner advised the panel that education service falls under Childrens Social Care and includes colleagues in education psychology, SEND assessment, sensory inclusion services, specialist learning support who were invited to take part in the survey. 

A panel member congratulated the service on the achievement of Wolverhampton Council being rated among the top 25 percent of Councils providing children services and that it was an excellent report, and the work of social work teams was very much appreciated. 

A panel member queried if the survey included both permanent and agency employees.  

Jennifer Rogers,Principal Social Worker, advised the panel that the survey includes student social workers, social workers and newly qualified social workers and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Lisa Preston ,Deputy Director Social Care, to present report]

The Chain invited Lisa Preston, Deputy Director Social Care, to present report.  

The Deputy Director advised the panel there is more detailed self-assessment document which covers activity for the period April 2022 to end of September 2023 (Quarter 2). The presentation would provide a summary of the main findings and performance data. 

The Deputy Director advised the panel that as part of self-assessment process all local authorities are required to complete a form every six months which is sent to Ofsted to review. The form is used to inform Oftsed about the key strengths and areas for development and the services plans progress those areas of development that impact on the lives of children and young people in Wolverhampton. The Council must provide evidence of the impact on all the families it works with.  

The Deputy Director advised the panel that when Ofsted visit to inspect the Council, they will use the self-assessment document to identify any key lines of inquiry they want to investigate further. The Deputy Director explained the reasons for the delay in presenting the report to the panel and that the aim will be to present the next report in November 2024, which would cover the fullyear. The Deputy Director reassured the panel that while the data relates to evidence collected before September 2023that the continuing good performance of the service has been consistent since this period. 

The Deputy Director gave details of performance of the service and areas of performance for further monitoring. The Deputy Director gave a summary of the Aiming for Excellence Plan 2023- 2024 which was relaunched in February 2023 and commented on the progress and key actions completed. 

The Deputy Director gave a summary of the Children’s Social Care Priorities for 2023 – 2024 and the key achievements for period April to September 2023. 

The Deputy Director invited panel members to comment on the report and presentation. 

A copy of the presentation is available. 

The Chair thanked the presenter for the report and invited panel members to comment on the report. 

A panel member expressed concern about the lackof family support provision such as Family Hubs in area and stressed that were families in need in others of the City. The Director of Children's Services acknowledged that there had been previous conversations about the issue and commented on funding factors. The Director highlighted the achievements of the service and examples of targeted and general support available to families across Wolverhampton. 

The Deputy Director commented the next report to the panel will include further achievements. 

A panel member commented on a local review of children’s oral health and advised that a report on the findings will be presented to future meeting. 

A panel memberexpressed concern about 519 children being homeschooled and commented that where possible, a child should ideally be educated in school. The panel member asked for details about the educational performance of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.