An opportunity to question the Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Councillor Zena Brabazon, on developments within her portfolio.
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Councillor Zena Brabazon, reported on recent developments within her portfolio:
· Good progress had been made in setting the new multi-agency safeguarding arrangements for the borough, which were due to be launched next week. The arrangements made the local authority, Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Police equal partners;
· She had recently attended a conference on Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) achievement in education. This was an issue of particular relevance to Haringey and she was proposing to hold an all Member event to consider the issue further once the data on summer exam results had been finalised;
· In response to the Youth at Risk strategy, a review was taking place of Alternative Provision (AP);
· There had been publicity recently regarding unregulated children’s homes. She was aware that there were some of these within the borough. This was an important issue and she felt that the government should be lobbied to take action regarding it. In the meantime, she had asked the Children and Young People’s Service to find out the location of any such homes in Haringey;
· The implementation of the Invest to Save programme that had been approved recently by Cabinet was proceeding. This included action to improve Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND) transport which she acknowledged required improvement;
· She was undertaking a programme of visits to schools and had recently visited Gladesmore School with Councillor Mark Blake as part of this.
The Panel noted that exam data from the summer was still being validated. Eveleen Riordan, Assistant Director for Schools and Learning, reported that schools would be contacted regarding their results, especially where there had been under performance.
In answer to a question, Councillor Brabazon reported that she would report back to the Panel on proposals for capital expenditure on schools, including clarification of the position regarding Fortismere School. In answer to another question, she said that she was not aware of any proposals to close schools in the borough due to declining levels of intake. She nevertheless felt that there needed to be discussion about the decline in pupil numbers, which was being experienced across the whole of London. The borough now had additional school places that had been provided by free schools and these had taken pupils from community schools. There were issues arising from churn and, in addition, housing also had a major impact. She reported that there had been a useful meeting recently with schools and they would get some budgetary uplift as a result of the recent government announcement. Haringey nevertheless already funded its schools well. There would also be an increase of £4 million to the high needs block of funding. In addition, an increase of 10p per hour had been agreed by the government for providers of the two-year-old early nursery care offer. She noted the concerns that had been raised about the disproportionately large salaries that had been paid to senior executives of the Tri Borough Alternative Provision (TBAP) Multi Academy Trust, who were commissioned to run the Octagon Pupil Referral Unit and felt that this was something that should be looked at further.
In answer to a question regarding concerns about SEND transport, she agreed that there were problems that needed addressing. The Panel noted that a report had been submitted to Cabinet regarding the transformation of the service. Changes had been made to the service in 2013, which included the setting up of pick up points, but these had not proven popular with parents. There had also been concerns expressed about the application process. In addition, there had also been issues regarding service providers which had caused disruption. Work was proceeding to implement improvements. Consideration was being given to how communication with parents could be improved as part of this. The Cabinet Member stated that improving SEND transport was a high priority for the Council.
In answer to a question regarding the waiting time for Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, Ms Riordan reported that it was acknowledged that these were too long. During the last six months, action had been take to reduce them and compliance with the 20-week time limit had improved. The majority of cases were now dealt with within this and it was expected to hit 100% later in the year. Support could be provided ahead of receipt of the formal plan though, if necessary. The Cabinet Member commented that the funding for SEN was complex. Schools were responsible for paying the first £6,000 of support and there was a disincentive for them to take pupils with SEN. Schools were facing funding challenges and staff who provided support for pupils with SEN had been let go in some cases. In addition, the high needs funding block was currently overspent by £4 million.
Panel Members expressed concern regarding the future of Blanche Neville School due to the decline in pupil numbers. Ms Riordan reported that the Children and Young People’s Service was aware of the falling numbers and she had met with the Interim Head Teacher to discuss planning for the future.
In answer to a question, Ann Graham – the Director of Children’s Services - reported that the views of parents had been listened to in developing the Invest to Save transformation programme, which would provide additional support and capacity so improvements could be made. The proposals had been subject to challenge at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the comments made had helped to inform the subsequent Cabinet decision. The programme included improvements to SEND services and, in particular, SEND transport. In answer to a question regarding outsourcing and insourcing, she reported that a hybrid model had been adopted. Services were commissioned externally if there was not the necessary expertise in-house.
In answer to a question regarding the proposed amalgamation of Stamford Hill and Tiverton schools, Ms Riordan reported that the final decision would take place in January. She was not aware of any school years at Stamford Hill school with only two pupils but they would still have a class teacher should this be the case.