Agenda and minutes

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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 Abela.

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).

There were no Items of Urgent Business.

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.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

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 meeting on 19^th November were agreed as a correct record.

The Panel received a report which informed Panel members of the findings from the evaluation of the Early Help Strategy 2021-24, as well as the priorities for the revised strategy for 2024-2027. The report was introduced by Jackie Difolco, AD Early Help, Prevention and SEND, as well as Simone Common, Head of Service, Early Help & Prevention, as set out at pages 9-60 of the published agenda pack. Cllr Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools & Families was also present for this item. The following arose during the discussion of this item:

a.    The Panel sought assurances around the circa £550k payment by results grant (PBR) and the percentage of the overall budget that this comprised. In response, officers advised that the PBR was in addition to £1.1m of Supported Families grant, and that combined, the two made up roughly one-third of the Early Help budget. In response to a follow-up, the Panel was advised that the evaluation process was local, but that it drew down on robust sources such as case studies with partners, quality assurance, performance management, and conversations with parents.

b.    The Chair queried the reasons behind why the number of early help assessments had gradually declined. In response, officers advised that the numbers of assessments had dropped due to an improvement in supporting families to access universal services at an earlier stage. It was also commented that the organisation was seeing its partners be more confident in delivering help at the pre family support stage.

c.    The Chair queried the reasons why the early years assessments were concentrated in key areas in Tottenham, and the extent to which this was linked to deprivation. In response, officers advised that there was a significant correlation with deprivation and that prior to Covid, they were seeing a lot of families in acute financial stress. However, post Covid, there had been a significant increase of mental health support needs, and this tended to be cross-borough.

d.    The Chair also sought clarity around who the Council’s voluntary sector partners were and which groups we offered training to. In response, officers advised that they were working in partnership with the Bridge Renewal Trust, and that they were looking to widen their training offer as wide as possible. The training would also be offered online and shared through the training academy

e.    The Panel requested figures for the numbers of households engaging with early help services who were either homeless or in TA, and any figures around the differences in outcomes for those families who were dealing with homelessness. The AD for Early Help, Prevention and SEND advised that she would provide a written response. (Action: Jackie Difolco).

f.     Officers advised that since the process of working with Housing colleagues around Council Tax arrears and rent arrears, the service had found that families were not disclosing their financial difficulties to Early Help, and that through sharing information between the two services, they had been able to prevent some families from being made homeless. It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

The Panel received a report which informed Members of the education results in Haringey in the summer of 2024. The report was introduced by Jane Edwards, AD for Schools and Learning, as well as James Page, Chief Executive of Haringey Learning Partnership, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 61-80. Zena Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families was also present for this item. A summary of the key points put forward as part of the introduction is set out below:

• The results for the summer 2024 were characterised as being the best results in Haringey’s history. This extended all the way through early years to A-Levels
• Mr Page advised that it was important to recognise the incredible work being done by schools, with 98% of schools being rated good or outstanding. Nearly one-third of schools were rated outstanding by Ofsted.
• It was commented that this was partly a result of really close working between the local authority and HEP to provide support to schools. In many other authorities that support did not exist.
• It was suggested that the context was that the success had been achieved against a difficult backdrop, with schools recovering from Covid, and a disproportionate impact on the disadvantaged and racially minoritised. There was also a tightening financial envelope, with pupil numbers decreasing.
• At reception class level 74% of students achieved a good level of development, this was only 1% below the pre-Covid position and was ranked 8^th in England. Phonics screening test at Year One scores were at 84%, which was back to pre-Covid levels.
• At KS2, the combined score for reading, writing and maths had seen Haringey move from the bottom 5 in London to close to the London average, at 68%. SEND and Black Caribbean cohorts did particularly well in comparison to nationally.
• At GCSE level for attainment, the average grade was 4.8 with a national average of 4.6. Students made an average of one-third of grade progression above the national cohort.
• At A-Level the average points score had risen from 50^th nationally in 2019 to 13^th nationally in 2024
• Overall, there had been strong outcomes across the board for disadvantaged students and SEND pupils at all phases. There had been a big improvement at primary level for Black Caribbean students, and a more modest improvement at primary level for Turkish/Kurdish students.
• Mr Page advised that HEP was not yet where they wanted it to be and the hope was that Haringey could push on to the next level and that children in Haringey achieved as well as anywhere in the country.
• In recognition of areas where improvements were required, it was noted that outcomes for Black Caribbean pupils at secondary stood out and that this needed to be the number one focus going forward. Similarly, results for Turkish/Kurdish students in Early Years and primary also required improvement. Further focus on reading and writing at primary level was also required, as well as closing gaps for disadvantaged  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

Verbal Update

The Panel received a verbal update from the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families on recent developments within her portfolio. This was followed by a question and answer session. The Cabinet Member advised that:

• A Youth Justice inspection took place just before Christmas. It was commented that overall, it went well and that the full report would be available in due course.
• One of Haringey’s primary schools has been renamed from Seven Sisters Primary to South Grove Primary.
• The Council was consulting on the future of Tiverton Primary, and there would be a report to Cabinet detailing the outcome of that consultation in due course. It was noted that the wider context to this was an ongoing school funding crisis, precipitated by falling pupil numbers. Haringey was in the middle for London for percentage of vacant school places.
• The October Budget allocated additional funding for SEND, with an uplift in the High Needs Block of 7.4%. There was an increase in funding for all blocks but this would be mitigated by school numbers being down across the board.
• There was also an uplift in Early Year’s with an increase in the rates for every age group.
• The Children’s Wellbeing Bill received its second reading in Parliament. It was noted that the Bill would give local authorities much greater powers around school place planning and over academies. The Bill also included provisions around children’s social care, particularly in terms of looking at the relationship with private providers. The Cabinet Member cautioned that there would be no quick fixes in terms of managing the mixed economy of schools.
• The Education Committee in Parliament was holding an inquiry into solving the SEND crisis. They were requesting evidence and were looking for examples of good practice and proposals for change.

The following arose during the discussion of this item:

1. The Co-opted member of the Panel advised that, SEND Power had been invited to provide evidence to the inquiry. The DCS advised that she hoped the local authority and SEND Power could work together to amplify their voice. The Chair welcomed the fact that Haringey would be contributing to the inquiry.
2. The Panel sought clarification about the proposed change in the Children’s Wellbeing Bill that gave local authorities the power to intervene for children who were home schooled, and whether this related to safeguarding or quality of provision. In response, officers advised that in addition to compulsory registration, where the local authority had safeguarding concerns, it could require children to be educated in school. In response to a follow up, the Cabinet Member advised that no announcement had been made about whether there would be additional funding in support of this provision.
3. The Panel raised the recent high profile case of Sara Sharif, and queried what the Council was doing to safeguard home schooled children. In response, officers advised that Surrey Council was undertaking a serious case review and that once that was published, Haringey would review it and respond accordingly. It was noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

13^th February 2025

13^th February 2025

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

N/A