Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor MacMull, Reverend Canon John Smith, Karen Nicholson, Vicky Double and Jane Goodman.  Councillor Will Harmer attended as alternate for Councillor MacMull.

The Chairman also recorded his thanks to two Members who had previously sat on the Children and Young People PDS Committee.  Former Councillor Jenny Hillier had been a long standing Councillor and had had significant involvement in the area of Children’s Services for a number of years.  Former Councillor Martin Curry had sat on the Committee for 12 years and had had a significant contribution to the work of the Committee.  The Chairman requested that the Committee’s thanks to these two former Councillors be recorded.

The Committee considered a report outlining Co-opted Membership appointments for 2010/2011.  The Chairman introduced the new Co-opted Members and reported that Jane Goodman had withdrawn her nomination to the Committee and therefore the position as representative for Looked After Children would be vacant until a new nomination had been sought.  An application for the vacant position of Young Peoples Representative had also been received and the Chairman proposed that Miss Vicky Duble be appointed to this position.

RESOLVED that

(1)  the following Parent Governor Representative Appointments be made to the CYP PDS Committee for 2010/11 with voting rights:

·  Mr Brian James as Special School Parent Governor

·  Mrs Nancy Thompson as Primary Parent Governor

·  Mrs Delores Bray-Ash as Secondary School Parent Governor

(2)  The Revd Canon John Smith representing the Church of England and Mrs Joan McConnell representing the Roman Catholic church be appointed as Co-opted Members for the CYP PDS Committee for 2010/11 with voting rights;

(3)  The following membership appointments be made to the CYP PDS Committee for 2010/11 without voting rights:

·  Mrs Karen Nicholson as Independent Schools Representative;

·  Mr Michael Youlton as Primary Schools Representative;

·  Mrs Alison Regester as Pre-School Settings Representative;

·  Mr Pearce Jarrett and Victoria Duble as Young Peoples Representatives; and,

·  Dr Jenny Selway as NHS Bromley Representative.

Councillor Stephen Wells declared a personal interest in respect of Item 16(e), the Part 2 report on Worsley Bridge Junior School.  Councillor Judi Ellis declared a personal interest as her son was a teacher in the Borough.  Councillor Roxy Fawthrop declared a personal interest as her sister attended Newstead Wood School.  Councillor David McBride declared an interest as a teacher in LB Bexley.  Councillor Ernest Noad declared a personal interest as his wife worked for Bromley Welcare.  Mr Brian James declared Personal interests as a Trustee of Bromley Family Link, Bromley and Bexley Advocacy Service and as the Chairman of Governors of a school outside the Borough.  Mrs Alison Regester declared a personal interest as she ran a private day nursery in West Wickham.

To hear questions to the Committee received in writing by the Legal, Democratic and Customer Services Department by 5.00pm on Wednesday 9^th June 2010 and to respond.

No Questions were received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd April 210 be agreed.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett highlighted that there was not sufficient information in the Matters Arising report and that the purpose of this report was to ensure that issues requiring follow up remained current until updates were provided.  The Chairman stated that the points made had been taken on board.

The Chairman went through the minutes and identified areas where further updates were required:

Turning to the Bromley Youth Music Trust that Chairman asked Mr James if he had pursued the meetings with head teachers.  Mr James reported that he had been in communication with special school head teachers and Paul King.  Mr James reported that he was happy with the progress being made.

The Chairman asked the Director CYP if she could provide an update regarding the publication of the CYP Plan.  The Director reported that the accountable body was the CYP Trust Board.  There was a Local Authority representative sitting on the Trust Board; the Portfolio Holder, Councillor Ernest Noad.  The Director also reported that the future of the Trust Board could be under review due to recent national political changes.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett requested an update on Langley Park School for Girls’ and the Head of CYP Finance reported that he had been involved in meetings with the school and he had advised they proceed with planning permission for the proposed scheme.  The school had taken this advice on board and was now moving forward with planning permission.

The Chairman asked whether the relevant papers from the CYP PDS Committee were now being circulated to the Chairman of the Foster Panel and the Chairman of the Adoption Panel.  The Democratic Services and Scrutiny Officer reported that email links to the agenda and reports would be provided to the two Chairmen for their information.

The Committee considered rumours to the effect that neighbouring Authorities were considering changing their admission arrangements.  The Director CYP reported that the issue was being pursued through the Admissions Forum and with advice from the Legal Department.  Councillor McBride reported that Kent had been heavily promoting selection criteria outside the County boundary and that Kent had been heavily marketing in Bexley.  Councillor Humphrys reported that he had read an article in a paper suggesting that Kent was thinking about adopting 2 separate admissions criteria, one for inside the boundary and one for outside the boundary.  The Director advised that these issues were being followed up by officers in the admissions team.

Another Member asked for an update around the issue of opportunities for young people attending special schools to mainstream schools.  The Director CYP reported that the Assistant Director for Access and Inclusion had been working with head teachers on this aspect and would provide a further update to the Executive Working Party within future reports as the SEN Strategy.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett stated that there had been a new government in place for five weeks and there was nothing on the Committee’s agenda to reflect the changes that were taking place at a national level.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Chairman outlined the role of the CYP Trust Board and explained to the Committee that the Portfolio Holder was currently the Chairman of the Trust Board.  The Chairman suggested that the Committee focus its scrutiny on three items on the agenda:

Item 6: Bromley Mytime creating leisure opportunities for the borough

The Portfolio Holder explained that he had requested this report as there had been very little information from Bromley Mytime relating to the services they were providing for disadvantaged young people in the Borough. The Portfolio Holder also recorded his concerns with the lack of engagement with Bromley Mytime at Trust Board level.  The Portfolio Holder stated that it was unfortunate that Bromley Mytime were not at the PDS meeting to respond to questions but that members of the Committee was welcome to attend the Trust Board meetings.

A Co-opted Member stressed the importance of statistical information which differentiated between young people who had a disability that limited their mobility and those who had a disability that did not affect their mobility.  It was suggested that there were limited services available to young people who were wheelchair bound with very limited mobility.

The Committee expressed regret at the definition of “disadvantage” used in the report stating that a number of young people in the Borough who did not fall into the categories defined by the Mytime report could also be considered as disadvantaged, and a Member suggested that it was more important to focus on the needs of individuals rather than reviewing opportunities available to social groups.

Another Member suggested that Bromley Mytime had not highlighted all the activities available to young people in the Borough, as she was aware of a number of free clubs and activities that were not reflected in the report.

Item 7: Workforce Development and Integrated Working  - Progress Report

The Chairman expressed concern at the statement in the report highlighting that some areas of the workforce had not been consulted on partnership working.  The Director CYP responded that staff had been consulted and that the report did not adequately reflect this.  The Director explained that the language used in the report reflected the language required for submission to the former DCSF.  The Director stressed that there had been a great deal of engagement with schools and school representatives had been involved at all levels.

Item 8: Draft Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2010-13

A Member stressed the need to involve young people in community-based activities and highlighted that traditional youth clubs were in decline.  The Member suggested that social activities such as those run in partnership by Churches and the Police should be promoted.  The Director CYP responded that the Anti Social Behaviour Strategy had superseded the Positive Behaviour Strategy, which had gone a long way to address the issues highlighted by the Member.  The Director CYP reported that a decision had been taken by the Local Strategic Partnership to develop a cross-portfolio Anti Social Behaviour Strategy.

To hear questions to the Children and Young People Portfolio Holder received in writing by the Legal, Democratic and Customer Services Department by 5.00pm on Wednesday 9^th June 2010 and to respond.

No questions were received.

To note decisions of the Portfolio Holder made since the previous meeting of the Committee.

The Committee noted the decisions taken since the last meeting held on 22^nd April 2010.

The Committee considered a report updating Members on progress during Quarter 4 (January to March 2010) and for the full year 2009/10 year against the key actions and indicators for Children and Young People Services in Bromley.

The Performance and Statistics Manager introduced the report and highlighted areas of good and poor performance.  In respect of under-18 conceptions, data suggested that numbers of conceptions were increasing.  However, the Performance and Statistics Manager reported that the numbers of Under-16 conceptions had been steadily decreasing over the past 4 years.  The Committee were also informed that figures relating to the termination of pregnancies in the under-16 age group were higher than for those in the under-18 age category.

A Co-opted Member sought clarification surrounding the definition of a termination and Dr Jenny Selway reported that these statistics would relate to terminations conducted by the PCT which could include drug induced terminations but would not include the over the counter morning after pill.

Pearce Jarrett raised the issue of young people who fell into the NEET category and asked what was being done to support the many young people in education who were not able to find jobs.  The Assistant Director for Learning and Achievement reported that these young people received targeted youth support and that Officers worked with young people to ensure that they were prepared for employment.  Following a suggestion that there needed to be more support for young people who were struggling to enter the employment market Councillor Judi Ellis suggested that Pearce should be provided with a copy of the report of the NEET Working Party as it would be helpful for him to review the recommendations and have some input into the report.

Referring to the National Indicators focusing on GCSE achievement a Member asked Officers to comment on the levels of achievement reported for Looked after Children.  The Assistant Director for Learning and Achievement reported that there had been a number of Looked After Children who had been statemented and had not been entered for GCSEs.  In relation to the indicators focusing on progress on maths and English at Key Stage 2, the Assistant Director reported that there had been a national reduction in progress in these areas. 

Referring to National Indicator 67, percentage of child protection cases which are within the required timescales, a Member asked whether technology such as video and telephone conferencing could have been used to ensure that snow did not impact the completion of reviews.  The Director CYP reported that the child protection review schedule was a statutory duty and that some of the cases referred to in the report had related to children who had been placed outside the Borough and that distance had been a major factor in not meeting this target.  The Director CYP reported that an update on this issue would be provided to the Committee as part of a report on the Ofsted Inspection Action Plan following the inspection of Safeguarding and Looked after Children that would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Children and Young People Portfolio Holder to present scheduled reports for pre-decision scrutiny on matters where he is minded to make decisions.

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report outlining nominations for LA Governor Appointments for eighteen schools in the Borough.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett noted that three of the candidates were simply listed as being from London and requested that more specific information be provided.  The Director CYP reported that the information considered by the Committee was a summary but that she would ask for more detail to be provided to Members in future.

The Portfolio Holder commented that only 4 of the individuals listed were new appointments.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the following LA Governor Appointments subject to CRB checks:

The Portfolio Holder presented the annual review of progress against the summary action plan within the Children and Young People’s Plan 2009-2011.

The Chairman asked for an update on the temporary closure of the Mottingham Unit. The Director CYP responded that Mottingham Primary School had been struggling to achieve sustainable improvement for some time.  The Director felt that it would not be good practice to place statemented children in the autistic unit at the current time.

The Committee considered the Foyer Scheme and the Director CYP reported that the issue had been flagged up in inspections.  A Member asked whether any of the other developments in the Borough had been considered for the Foyer Scheme.  The Portfolio Holder reported that he had every intention of continuing with the policy and that it was regrettable that the development had not been passed by the Planning Committee but there was still scope to continue talks with Adult and Community Services and pursue the issue.  Another Member suggested that more flexibility should be adopted when considering locations for the scheme.  Councillor McBride asked if it would be possible to receive a briefing from Adult and Community Services outlining how the matter was being pursued.  The Director suggested that this would be a good area for review in the post-inspection action plan and also suggested that Officers from the Housing Department be asked to attend the meeting when the Inspection Action Plan was considered. 

With respect to the delivery of services within the Children and Family Centres Councillor Judi Ellis reported that there was not a crèche available at the Cotmandene Centre and questioned why the report stated that all centres ran activities and sessions.  The Strategic Commissioning Manager stated that he could not respond to the question at the meeting and would provide clarification outside the meeting.

With respect to the issue of 3 year CRB checks, Alison Regester reported that she did not believe that the checks were taking place in early years settings and that she was wary of the whole of Area of Focus 6 as it may not reflect the true picture.  The Strategic Commissioning Manager reported that the figures listed related to children of statutory school age and not pre-school children.  The Director CYP reported that this issue had been reported to Ofsted who had jurisdiction for pre-school settings and that Officers would continue to pursue this issue.

Alison Regester also reported that some pre-school providers had been considering changing their provision, which would have an impact of overall provision in the Borough.  Mrs Regester reported that as far as she was aware the changes were not being tracked.  The Director CYP undertook to investigate the issue.

The Portfolio Holder highlighted that the format of the CYP Plan was likely to change in the future as a result of legislative changes that would be made.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to note the progress made as at April 2010 in addressing the priorities included in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11b

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report updating Members on the 16-19 strategic commissioning requirements and funding responsibilities transferred from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to the Local Authority from 1 April 2010.  The report also outlined the role of the Council within these new responsibilities and set out the National Commissioning Framework and financial regulations provided by the Young People Learning Agency.

The Portfolio reported that he was satisfied with the way the way the transfer of funding had progressed and that he had considered the Local Authority had been fortunate in how smoothly the transfer had gone.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

(1)  The Portfolio Holder be recommended to note the statutory arrangements for 16-19 Commissioning following the transfer of responsibility from the Learning and Skills Council to the Local Authorities from April 2010.

(2)  The Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the proposed processes and indicative timescales or preparation of the Bromley Post-16 Commissioning Pan for 2011/2012 for which his approval will be sought in November 2010.

(3)  The Portfolio Holder recommend to Council that the Children and Young People budget be adjusted to reflect the 2010/11 payment responsibilities of £47 million offset by a corresponding increase by YPLA funding.

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report requesting the Executive to agree to the release of £81,000 Intensive supervision and Surveillance grant from contingency and for this sum and the expenditure it supports to be added to 2010/11 Children and Young People Youth Offending Team budget.

The Head of CYP Finance reported that the service would continue to be run in the same way and that the proposals involved a simple change in funding.  The Head of CYP Finance highlighted that the service supported a small number of people at a high cost but that the Local Authority had a statutory duty to do this.

Councillor Judi Ellis asked whether the Service Level Agreement with the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) would continue and the Head of CYP Finance reported that his understanding was that the arrangements were staying the same but that he would check this and report back.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to request the Executive approve the release of £81,000 Intensive Supervision and Surveillance grant from contingency and for this sum and the expenditure it supports to be added to the 2010/11 Children and Young People Youth Offending Team budget.

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report outlining a proposal brought by the Governing Body of Coopers School seeking Local Authority approval to sell land (0.034ha) in the school grounds.  The proposal was linked to a recent land acquisition by housing developers of land adjacent to the school from the London Borough of Bexley.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

(1)  Approve the proposal of the Governing Body of Coopers School for the sale of non-playing field land;

(2)  Require the Governing body to use the proceeds of any sale to improve the security of the school site;

(3)  Ensure that provision for alternative parking places be made on the site if necessary to alleviate the potential impact of any increase in parking congestion in the area.

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report outlining the final outturn position for 2009/10 financial year and highlighting the variations which would impact on future years. The Schools’ Budget , funded from the Dedicated Schools’ Grant, had a surplus of £3,165,000 at 31 March 2010.  Time-limited capital grants had funded major schools projects, and as a result a £3,350,000 funding contribution was not required until 2010/11 to fund the Capital Programme.  This underspend was, in part, offset by a cumulative overspending of £185,000 on services including those for children with Special Educational Needs and reimbursements for school staff costs such as maternity cover.  This overspend would be funded from the 2010/11 Dedicated Schools’ Grant.

The controllable part of the non-schools’ budget had overspent by £85,000 (0.2% of the approved budget) after allowing for a £500,000 saving in the schools’ budget from Area Based Grant.  The pressure on children’s social care budgets due to increased referrals which have increased by 149% since 2007/08 and initial assessments which have increased by 88% in the same time period had previously been brought to the attention of Members. Since the last budget monitoring report, there had also been increased pressure from the cost of locums for social worker and senior management vacancies, and additional temporary social workers due to a high increase in the number of referrals and initial assessments.  Management action taken by the Director of CYP Services elsewhere in the overall CYP budget had substantially offset the overspending in social care services.  The report stated the joint view of the Director of CYP Services and the Head of CYP Finance. 

Councillor Nicholas Bennett asked the Head of CYP Finance to explain recommendation 2.2 and the head of CYP Finance provided clarification surrounding the need for the recommendation.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett requested that he was not in favour of this recommendation as he believed that the Children and Young People Department should find the money from within its existing budget.

A Co-opted Member asked about the levels of independent scrutiny applied in respect to the transfer of staff from employment agencies and questioned whether the recruitment of overseas social workers had proven to be successful.  The Head of CYP Finance explained that the Local Authority had experienced problems in securing staff who would be willing to transfer to the Authority from Employment Agencies.  The Head of CYP Finance also reminded the Committee that when staff transferred from employment agencies, a ‘finder’s fee’ might also be payable which could increase the costs faced by the Authority.  In response to the question of overseas recruitment, the Director CYP reported that the Authority had been relatively successful in recruiting from overseas.  14 members of staff had been employed following the American recruitment campaign, and of this 12 remained with the Authority.  The Director CYP explained that due to the social workers personal circumstances they were unlikely to remain indefinitely as they were likely to return to the USA once their partner postings in the UK ended.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11f

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report outlining the forward rolling work programme for the year ahead, based on items scheduled for decision by the Children and Young People Portfolio Holder and items for consideration by the Children and Young People PDS Committee.  A Rolling Programme of contracts/service level agreements had also been provided for scrutiny by the CYP PDS Committee.

The Chairman noted that the Special Portfolio Holder meeting would not now be held as the Inspection Action Plan would be considered at the next PDS meeting in July.

The Committee also requested an update on the new Government’s education priorities and the Director CYP agreed that a report providing as much detail as possible on the priorities would be provided for the 20 July meeting.  The Director CYP reported that the information relating to academy status was beginning to become available, but initially Governing Bodies had been considering any potential applications based on the letter sent by the Secretary of State and information on the website.  The Committee were told that Officers were reviewing the implications of this and the report would contain as much information as possible.

With respect to the Contract Register, a Member sought an update on the SEN Transport contract and asked whether a report could be provided to the Committee’s next meeting.  The Head of CYP Finance reported that the closing date for tenders was the end of the week and as a result of the timescales involved it would be very difficult to draft a report in time for the next meeting.  The Head of CYP Finance also explained that the letting of the contract would be a decision for the Executive.  The Executive Assistant suggested that a report should be considered by the SEN Working Party.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to agree the forward rolling work programme.

The briefing comprises:

• Duke of Edinburgh Award: update

Members and Co-opted Members have been provided with advance copies of the briefing via e-mail.  The briefing is also available on the Council’s Website at the following link:

http://sharepoint.bromley.gov.uk/Shared%20Documents/Meeting_Documents.aspx?@Key=13

Printed copies of the briefing are available upon request by contacting Kerry Nicholls on 020 8313 4602 or by e-mail at kerry.nicholls@bromley.gov.uk.

There were no questions.

The Committee considered a report providing information on all revenue and capital balances held by Primary, Secondary and Special Schools as at 31 March 2010, and also providing a comparison to the balances held at the same time in the previous year.

The Chairman asked for an explanation of the deficit that had been recorded for Cator Park.  The Head of Schools’ Finance Team reported that a deficit recovery plan had been put together and Officers were working with the school.  The recovery plan that had been developed had anticipated that there would be an increase in the deficit as it would take time for the recovery to have an impact.  The Head of Schools’ Finance Team reported that towards the end of the five year period the school would see its balances recover.

A Co-opted Member highlighted that the deficit at St Peter and St Paul Primary School represented a significant part of their budget and that as a primary school they might struggle to address the problems.  The Head of the Schools’ Finance Team reported that the school had entered into a large photocopying contract which they had been forced to buy themselves out of.  This had had an impact on the budget but there was action the school could take to limit the impact.

The Chairman asked if there was advice available to schools and the Head of CYP Finance reported that the department provided advice on procurement and contracting.  The Committee was also told that the Head of CYP Finance was trying to set up a formal service level agreement with the Head of Procurement to formalise the arrangements currently in place.

In response to a question from a Member, the Head of the Schools’ Finance Team reported that Officers worked with schools on an individual basis in order to put a recovery plan in place that was right for the school and took into account the circumstances of the school. 

The Director CYP highlighted the importance of the ongoing review of school places.  The Committee was reminded that the Local Authority had a good track record of matching projected pupil numbers to the number of school places available.  The Director stressed that pressures would continue over the next few years and she reported that the Working Party reviewing this issue would be reinstated as difficult financial situations approached.

A Member also suggested that the national policy of providing pockets of funding to schools should be reviewed and it was suggested that the Government should be encouraged to provide more certainty for schools in the budget setting process. 

RESOLVED that the financial position of Primary, Secondary and Special Schools at the end of 2009/10 financial year be noted.

The Committee is asked to refer to the report at Item 12g above and:

• Agree future PDS items to come before the Committee as listed at Appendix 1; and,
• Consider the Contracts/Service Level Agreements listed at Appendix 2.

This item was considered at Minute 11(f).

The Chairman to move that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report

Members considered and supported the recommendations in the report