Agenda and draft minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Grosskopf and Cllr Dunstall. Apologies for absence were also recived from Camilla Borwick-Fox.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business (late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with as noted below).

None.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

None.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the previous meeting on 15^th January 2026 were agreed as a correct record.

The Panel received a report which provided an update on the implementation of Haringey’s Autism strategy, which was a 10-year, all age strategy to improve outcomes, experience and inclusion for autistic people, and was agreed in 2021. The report outlined the area of improvement to date and future improvement plans. The report was introduced by Tim Miller, Assistant Director of Place, Integration, Transformation and Delivery (Haringey), North Central London ICB, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 7-16. Ann Graham, Corporate Director of Children’s Services, Jackie Difolco, Director Early Help, Prevention and SEND and Cllr Zena Brabazon were also present for this item. The following arose during the discussion of this item:

1. The Panel welcomed the work that was being done to support young people in this cohort into paid employment, including supported internships. The Panel queried whether there was any data on the number of people in supported internships that go into employment. In response, the Panel noted that officers had supplied this information via email in January. In 2023/24 there were 34 people in supported internships, 12 of which ended up in employment. In 2024/25 there were 45 supported internships, 6 of which ended up with an employment outcome. The Chair sought clarification about the drop in the number of employment outcomes over the two years. In response officers commented that there had been a pre supported internship programme introduced in recognition that many of the young people were not quite ready to go on to employment., and that that this likely accounted for part of the reduction. Officers agreed to look into the reasons and provide a more detailed response in writing. (Action: Jackie Difolco).
2. The Panel queried the extent to which the Council was able to offer supported internships in the employment pathway that the young person was interested in. It was suggested that this could be a contributing factor to the reduction in the number of employment outcomes. In response, officers acknowledged the importance of being able to offer the types of internships that young people wanted and that they had received specific feedback on this point from young people. Officers set out that a lot of work had already been done to offer internships in non-traditional sectors, such as the Youth Justice Service, at the local airport and placements in the arts. Officers commented that work would continue to expand on the type of internships available.
3. The Panel sought clarification about the type of disparities identified at page 16 of the report, and the targeted interventions that were used to improve equity oversight. In response, Mr Miller set out that NCL had looked at ethnicity and deprivation groups and that some of the work done was to improve drop-in services and to develop different ways to access support. Mr Miller agreed to go back to colleagues and provide a more detailed response via email. (Action: Tim Miller).
4. The Chair sought clarification about the report referencing the launch of a support line, querying  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

Verbal update.

The Panel received a verbal update on consultation feedback for the SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy. The update was given by Jackie Difolco, Director of Early Help, Prevention and SEND. The consultation period for the strategy had recently closed, hence the verbal update. The Panel was advised that a full strategy and consultation report would be present to the next meeting of the Panel. A summary of the key points presented to the Panel is set out below:

• The SEND Executive agreed 5 priority areas to consult on: Early Intervention/ High quality Local Provision/ Responsive Local Offer/ Authentic coproduction/ Preparation for Adulthood
• Consultation ran from 8 Dec – 31 Jan, short extension on request of parent carers
• 1,400 unique visits to consultation pages on the website
• Approx 150 responses, 35% increase on 2021
• 193 new subscribers to the SEND newsletter, now approx. 4,000
• The Service are still going through printed responses from libraries
• Elevated Youth, SEND Power Steering Group, Parent Carers session, SENDIASS
• 45% Parent/Carers = 44% Professionals, 64% lived in Haringey
• Strong agreement across all 5 priority areas, most important 1 and 2, Early Intervention and High quality local provision, most valued was no 4 authentic co-production
• Summary of views:

-          more staff training, particularly in schools

-          more local provision

-          earlier support more support within mainstream schools

-          Inclusive practice within mainstream schools

-          specialist skilled staff

-          training

-          more waiting well services

-          reduce waiting times to access assessments and timelier access to therapies

-          clearer information and support on transitions and more respite

-          schools to do more co-production with children and parent carers

-          parent carers to be involved more in decisions, strategy and co-design of services across all services

-          more supportive pathways post 16 and focus on independence

-          need for clearer accountability, transparency, and follow?through

-          need for better coordination with Health services.

-          interest in movement?based, outdoor and activity?based support.

• Specific feedback from young people

-          earlier disability education in primary schools, improved teacher training on recognising SEND needs, and more specialist support within classrooms

-          ensuring EHCPs are followed in schools and clearer information before annual reviews so they know what will happen and when, and they want better guidance to ensure families are aware of the support that is available

-          help to understand and communicate their needs, clearer SEND pathways in schools, and more representative youth participation structures in their school councils. 

-          Less waits for NHS CAMHS and SEND?friendly community health spaces in Haringey

-          Clearer information about work experience opportunities, and better education on career paths. 

• Next steps: detailed analysis of responses, going to our SEND Exec Board Away Day April, full report to Scrutiny in June for comment/ endorsement prior to publication.

RESOLVED

Noted.

The Panel received a presentation and covering report which provided an update on the implementation of the Healthy Weight Strategy 2022-2025 and progress on tackling unhealthy weight in childhood. The presentation was introduced by Linda Edward, Senior Commissioner Public Health and Benjamin Seifert, Public Health Officer as set out in the agenda pack at pages 17-46. Maria Ahmed, Public Health Officer was present for this item. Ann Graham, Corporate Director of Children’s Services was also present for this item along with Cllr Zena Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children Families and Schools. The following arose as part of the discussion of this item:

a.    The Panel commented that listing the wards with children that were most unhealthy could lead to negative connotations and suggested that future reports should focus on characteristics rather than whole wards. In response, officer acknowledged this feedback and advised that there were trying to illustrate the areas that needed extra support.

b.    The Panel queried the impact that the introduction of free school meals had on healthy weights in children. In response, officers advised that no outcome change had been seen yet, but cautioned that they wouldn’t have expected to have seen a difference for a number of years yet, given that the children in the first cohort would need to get to Year 6 before any comparison could be made.

c.    The Panel queried the extent to which healthy weight was being captured in the Council’s licensing and planning policies and requested some examples of this. In response, officers advised that there was a team in the Council that worked to ensure that health was reflected in all policies across the Council. The team had been able to affect the new Local Plan for instance, including making amendments to allocations of fast food outlets in the borough. Officers acknowledged that licensing policy could be tricky as it was set by national government and that there was a ‘duty to permit’ in the legislation. It was also commented that the community impact policy had a very high evidence threshold. Officers also set out that part of the solution was to lobby for national change to things like labelling of food and nutrition standards.

d.    The Panel commented about the role played by ultra processed foods and the fact that less people cooked at home. The Panel also commented on the lack of affordable high quality/fresh food and the fact that unhealthy foods tended to be cheaper and more prevalent in deprived areas. The Panel also referred to cultural factors in relation to food and the fact that some traditional foods could be high in carbohydrates but not necessarily unhealthy. In response, officers acknowledged these comments and advised that BMI was a useful measure for looking at broad trends. However, officers set out that they were aware that it was not a perfect measure and that children’s weights could fluctuate. Officers provided assurances that they tried to be careful and measured in the language that was used in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Verbal update.

The Panel received an update from the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families on developments within her portfolio, which was followed by questions from the Panel. As part of this item, the Panel received a tabled set of slides which provided an update on the outcome of a recent Ofsted inspection of local authority children’s services (ILACS) which took place between 12-16^th January. The slides were introduced by Cllr Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Schools and are published on the website as part of the agenda papers for this meeting. Ann Graham, Corporate Director of Children’s Services was also present for this item.

·       The Panel was advised that Children’s Services had achieved an Outstanding rating from Ofsted for the first time. The authority had gone from a 2017 Joint Targeted Area Inspection which had resulted in the award of a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating, through the 2023 rating of ‘Good’ to achieving an Outstanding rating in January.

·       During the inspection in January, Ofsted reviewed the experiences of children and young people across Children’s Services. The Ofsted inspectors commented on several areas of excellence, including: 

§  Skilled and dedicated social workers who benefited from strong training and support, helping them stay focused on the lived experiences of children. 

§  Effective early help services that ensured families could access the right support quickly.

§  Outstanding support for care leavers from highly experienced and committed practitioners.

§  Robust safeguarding arrangements, including a highly effective multi?agency safeguarding hub (MASH).

§  Strong strategic leadership that drove consistently good or outstanding practice across services, supported by political leaders who prioritised children’s social care despite financial pressures.

·       The Cabinet Member commended the dedication and hard work of staff across Children’s Services and highlighted the consistent and outstanding leadership of the Corporate Director and her team.

·       Officers advised the Panel that the framework was changing and that from 1^st April 2026, authorities would no longer receive a single word judgement, instead there would be five criteria. Haringey would retain it’s one word judgement until another full inspection was carried out. It was suggested that this would likely be in three to four years.

·       The inspection raised one area for improvement around the assessments carried out by the disabled children’s team; ‘management oversight was not always clearly recorded, and for a small number of children, safety planning and partner communication is not always sufficiently timely when significant harm is suspected’.

·       Officers set out that the Youth Justice Service had a good with outstanding award, the SEND service had been awarded outstanding and now Children’s Services had been awarded an outstanding rating.

The following arose as part of the discussion of this item:

a.    Panel members paid tribute to officers across the service and to the Cabinet Member for achieving an award of outstanding. The Panel commented on the quality of leadership shown by senior managers.

b.    The Panel highlighted the inspection outcome’s emphasis on Haringey’s organisational culture within Children’s Services and the skills of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

RESOLVED

The Panel noted the work programme.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

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