Verbal Update
Minutes:
Councillor Kaushika Amin, the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families gave a short overview of key developments within her portfolio and, in particular, the response to the Covid-19 crisis as well as the next steps. The following key points were noted:
a. The crisis had severely impacted on children and young people within the borough. The vast majority of them were currently not attending school and there were implications arising from this for their education and mental health and well-being;
b. There had been a recent High Court judgement which had been critical of the Council and specifically the Disabilities Team. A Peer Review of the service, led by an independent practitioner, had been set up by the Council in response. The approach was recommended by London Councils. There would also be an audit of cases to ensure that they were no others where there might be similar issues;
c. During the last three months, it had been necessary to conduct much work virtually or by mobile phone. The Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) had been mainly office based but engagement had also taken face-to-face, with the use of PPE if necessary;
d. There had been a considerable amount of work undertaken with schools, including twice weekly virtual meetings involving Haringey Education Partnership. There had also been meetings with Headteachers and teaching unions regarding safety concerns on the re-opening of schools. There were now over 4,000 children back in school; and
e. A full holiday programme for children and young people was planned, which would include both virtual and annual events. It would be advertised both through booklets and on-line.
Councillor Dogan reported that he and the Chair had met Councillor Brabazon, the then Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families and the Director of Children’s Services to discuss the court case and steps that had been taken to address the matters that had arisen. In answer to a question, the Cabinet Member stated that the Peer Review would aim to report by the end of June. It was to be led by Islington Council, who had been identified as Haringey’s “partner in practice”. The report would be available in six weeks’ time. The audit of all cases would be undertaken by an independent practitioner and would look at all live cases. There was also a court work project taking place that would aim to ensure that good practice was put in place. The aim of these processes was to identify what had gone wrong and to prevent it from happening again. The structure of the Disabilities Team would be looked at as part of this process.
In answer to a question, the Cabinet Member acknowledged the need for independence in the review so that those undertaking it were not familiar to people within the service. Haringey was part of a London wide project to share experience and challenge though and had been linked with Islington as part of this. It was nevertheless important that Islington was held to account for the robustness and impartiality of the process followed. The Director of Children’s Services reported that there was no formal requirement to inform OFSTED in this situation. This was only essential where there had been significant harm to a child or a death but OFSTED had nevertheless been informed.
In respect of drug and alcohol issues that impacted on children, the Director of Children’s Services reported that support was always available. It had been a long term issue and there were services in place to address the issue. These would have been part of virtual arrangements during the lockdown. An assessment had not yet been undertaken on the impact of the lockdown but could be done.
It was agreed that the Cabinet Member and relevant officers from the Children and Young People’s Service would be invited to an informal meeting of the Children and Young People’s Panel that would be taking place in July (Action – Principal Scrutiny Officer). The Director of Children’s Services stated that the issue of drugs and alcohol could be brought to a future Panel meeting. In addition, the Cabinet Member suggested that information regarding the role of the voluntary and community sector within this could also be considered.
In answer to a question regarding the powers that the local authority had over schools, the Cabinet Member stated that this was a complex issues due to the varying status of schools within the borough. However, the local authority had a clear role as employer to significant numbers of school staff and a responsibility to children within the area. The government’s initial advice regarding re-opening of schools had not been helpful but had since improved and there was now a wide range of guidance available.
In respect of school finances, the Assistant Director for Schools and Learning reported that school finance officers would be taking part in an on-line workshop. In addition, finance issues could be brought to the Schools Forum.
In answer to another question, the Cabinet Member reported that risk assessments had been undertaken when schools were re-opening. Health and safety had been looked at very carefully and there had been particular concern regarding BAME staff and children as well as children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).
The Assistant Director of Schools and Learning reported that the Council had been working very closely with schools during the lockdown. There had been a series of on line workshops on re-opening that had been very well attended. Plans for re-opening needed to be signed off by governing body Chairs and Headteachers. Processes had been quality assured and BAME issues taken fully into account. In addition, the Director of Public Health had provided advice.
The Cabinet Member reported that the impact of the lockdown on the most disadvantaged children would be assessed, both locally and nationally. In particular, the Department for Education (DoE) was providing catch up support, both to small groups and individually. This would include access to a national tutor programme. Work would also be undertaken with parents so that children were better able to access learning from home. Committee Members noted that lack of access to It equipment was a big issue. The Cabinet Member reported that schools had been trying to obtain equipment to assist families as part of a package of support. She would be happy to report further on the issue.
The Committee highlighted the drop in the number of safeguarding referrals following the lockdown and the increased proportion leading to a Section 47 investigation. The Director of Children’s Services reported that the lack of referrals from schools was key to this. The service was responding to this issue through the MASH and it was agreed that the Assistant Director for Social Care agreed to draft a briefing note for the Committee on the issue, including outcomes (Action – Assistant Director for Social Care). The Director of Children’s Services reported that referrals were now getting back to their normal level.
RESOLVED:
1. That the Cabinet Member and relevant officers from the Children and Young People’s Service be invited to an informal meeting of the Children and Young People’s Panel to be arranged to take place in July; and
2. That the Assistant Director for Social Care be requested to draft a briefing note for Committee Members on how the Children and Young People’s Service had responded to the drop in safeguarding referrals that had taken place during lockdown and the outcomes of action that had been taken.