An opportunity to question Councillor Zena Brabazon, the Cabinet Member for
Children, Schools and Families, on developments within her portfolio.
Minutes:
Councillor Zena Brabazon, the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families, outlined key developments within her portfolio. She reported that Roland Hill Nursery School had recently been inspected by Ofsted and rated as outstanding. This meant that all three maintained nursery schools in the borough were now rated as outstanding. Bearing in mind the threats that nursery schools were under and the decline in their number nationwide, this was a fantastic achievement. In addition, three other maintained early years settings were also currently rated as outstanding. The importance of high quality early years provision in giving children a good start in life had been reinforced by demonstrated by the impact of Covid and the lockdowns associated with it. Special educational needs were a high priority in nursery schools and children were able to make excellent progress.
The Rising Green Youth Centre in Wood Green had opened in July and was proving to be very popular. It had been open throughout the summer and was now opening in the afternoons and early evenings. It was currently hosting the Wood Green Voices public consultation. The Haslemere Road children’s residential centre had also recently been prepared to become operational. It is the first children’s residential centre to be brought back in house so far, as part of the Council’s strategy of moving from outsourcing to running its own provision and bringing children and young people back into the borough.
The social workers in schools scheme had started through the government’s What Works innovation programme. The programme was making a crucial difference by bring children’s social care into the forefront in schools. It was hoped to expand the programme into all secondary schools and to primary schools, subject to funding being identified. The programme had made a significant difference to schools and families.
Good progress had been made with the Safety Valve scheme, with the Department for Education (DfE) agreeing in principle to the Council’s proposals. Although the Council had been obliged to participate in the scheme, she nevertheless welcomed the challenge of making progress with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision. Significant progress had also been made with the written statement of action that had been required following the Ofsted inspection of SEND. Of particular note was the fact that the SEND Parent Carer Forum now had over 100 families involved with it. The SEND local offer was also vastly improved. The newsletter was now distributed to over 2,000 families. The SEND transport policy was now out to final consultation. There had been no complaints at all regarding home to school transport in September, which was a remarkable achievement. The number of children registered with social care or child protection was stable. Numbers were constantly monitored. There was a Looked After Children event later in the month and the details of this would be shared in due course.
In answer to a question regarding falling school rolls, the Cabinet Member reported that the annual school place planning report was due shortly to go to Cabinet. This showed all of the schools that had agreed to reduce the number of their forms of entry. There was a schools master plan and she had convened a group to look at the options arising from it. She had understood that meetings had taken place with school governors but was happy to meet with them to explore the issues. The impact of falling rolls was most acute in the east of the borough. There was a need to consider the drivers behind the issue and to plan ahead.
In answer to a question regarding the Safety Valve programme, she stated that the number of children with SEND in schools had not gone down. There was a need to think creatively regarding how the schools estate in the borough could be used to meet their needs and for SEND provision to be reconfigured so that it could be delivered in-borough. The impact of the reduction in school rolls need not necessarily all be disadvantageous as it could open up other opportunities. Schools and governors would need to be engaged in the process though.
Ann Graham, Director of Children’s Services, reported that it was her view that there had been extensive engagement with schools during this and the previous year on schools rolls. The work that had been done was not something that the local authority could do in isolation. Particular efforts had been made to reach agreement with headteachers on future plans, including reductions in Planned Admission Numbers (PANs). Ms Keever stated that school governors had met with officers to provide feedback regarding the challenges that they faced as part of this process. They had stated that they wished to have more intensive involvement in the process but this had not materialised. They were willing to collaborate and were anticipating that an overall plan would be developed. Ms Graham responded that she was happy to arrange further discussions if more were required. There was still work that needed to be done to respond to reduced rolls.
Councillor Brabazon reported that there was a need to include both diocesan authorities and the local authority in discussions. There was widespread concern about the reduced school rolls. There was a need to continue with consultations. She was happy to meet with chairs of schools governing bodies in order to develop further the dialogue.
In answer to a question regarding the safety valve programme, Councillor Brabazon reported that the Department for Education would write off a portion of the overspend in the high needs funding block if agreement was reached with the Council regarding a change programme. Ms Graham stated that the Council would know whether the government were agreeable to its proposals in December so that the necessary arrangements could be put in place for the new financial year.
In answer to a question, Beverley Hendricks (Assistant Director for Safeguarding and Social Care) reported that there was no evidence that the organisation called Mermaids had been engaged in any schools in the borough. Schools had recently been written too in order to confirm that this was the case and none had so far indicated that they had involved Mermaids. In answer to a question regarding the Think Family protocol, she stated that social workers in schools were part of leading the response in schools and could involve others, such as Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) partners, if necessary. Many schools had invested in their pastoral structures and could bring access counselling support as appropriate and necessary.
In answer to a question regarding racial incidents in schools, Councillor Brabazon reported that the Ms Graham chaired the Race Equality Group, which brought together Headteachers, teachers and school governors to consider such issues. Most schools had now signed the Black Caribbean and BAME Achievement Pledge and were now putting it into action. Whilst the Council had expectations of schools, they were self-governing and held records of any racial incidents and exclusions. However, the local authority held records of any permanent exclusions, including any that were considered to have a racial element to them. She was glad to report that there had been none of these this year. Information on any racial incidents or exclusions would be included in Headteachers reports to school governing bodies. Challenge was provided by the school governing body, although there was extraneous advisory support.