Agenda item

WITNESSES:

(A) ADE ADETOSOYE, DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ECHS, LBB

(B) DAVID BRADSHAW, HEAD OF ECHS FINANCE, LBB

(C) GILLIAN PALMER, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, LBB

(D) ROB BOLLEN, HEAD OF STRAGEGIC PLACE PLANNING, LBB

The Committee had been provided with a comprehensive report in advance of the meeting.  Included within the report was the background to the budget, the current 2018/19 forecast, information about population growth, and information around the accuracy of school place planning forecasting. 

The Chairman welcomed Mr Ade Adetosoye, Ms Gillian Palmer, Mr David Bradshaw and Mr Rob Bollen to the meeting.  Members of the Committee explored a number of themes and issues with the witnesses.

The Head of ECHS Finance introduced the report highlighting that the overspends within the budget were mainly around Transport.  The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) remained an issue, especially in the High Needs Block, however in the main Bromley remained low cost.  Historically Bromley had been poorly funded and as a result of this it had been necessary to identify ways to efficiently deliver services.

In terms of pupil projections, the Head of Strategic Place Planning reported that whilst there had been a slight dip in primary numbers, a trend evidenced across London, the size of the pupil population would continue to grow.  The real challenge for the Local Authority would be around migration.  This was one of the unknowns, due to external factors such as Brexit, and would remain a risk for the Local Authority.

The Chairman noted with interest that the growth in the number of secondary pupils in Bromley was significantly lower than other London Boroughs.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director (ECHS) highlighted to the Committee that the budget was predicated on the need for the Local Authority to deliver its statutory duties.  These statutory duties were the minimum services that the Local Authority was required to deliver.

SEN Transport

The Director of Education explained that the request to extend the existing contract would enable a root and branch review of the current SEN Transport provision.  Over the past few years Members of the Committee had supported a continued drive to support greater independent travel and transport.  Supporting independent travel and transport would continue to be a theme as the new contract was being developed.  One key risk with the new contract that had already been identified was that of increasing fuel costs.  Over the past few years whilst fuel costs had increased Officers had worked hard to minimise the impact on the cost of the contract.  As the new contract was tendered there would need to be an awareness of the possible impact of increased fuel costs on the cost of the contract.

The Chairman emphasised the importance of ensuring that as costs increased each bus was utilised to the maximum and this would necessitate further consideration of how to combine Adult Passenger Transport and Children’s Passenger Transport.

In response to a question concerning the need to ensure that the staff on the buses were properly trained, the Director of Education confirmed that the need for adequate training was stipulated in the contract.  Expectations were clear and DBS checks for staff were mandatory. 

A Co-opted Member queried whether there had been a survey of parents as transport was a key issue and it was important that the needs of the child were taken into account.  The Director of Education emphasised that it was recognised that travel was an important part of the children’s school experience and the quality of that experience.  The Local Authority regularly liaised with Bromley Parent Voice.  There would be full consultation with parents at the point that the Local Authority was making a proposal for the new contract.  It was noted that the Local Authority had a statutory obligation to get children to school on time and sometimes it was necessary to make minor alterations to routes in order to maximise use of the contract framework.

The Chairman reported that he had been given the opportunity to undertake a journey in one of the buses.  It was suggested that any Member who wished to experience a journey on one of the buses should contact the Committee Clerk who could make the necessary arrangements.

Statutory Assessments for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities

The Director of Education explained to the Committee that assessment processes began in schools.  One of the duties placed on schools was to ensure that they put in place provision that met the needs of the child.  For most children the provision put in place by the School worked and the children made expected progress.  For a minority of children further support was required and the schools needed to call upon the additional expertise of the Local Authority.  At this stage a statutory assessment would take place.

In Bromley it was recognised that there were issues around the quality of Education Care and Health Plans (ECHPs) that had been produced.  The statutory timescales that were imposed had been met but at the expense of quality.  The 20 week timescale was a statutory timescale established in the SEN Code of Practice.  The role of the proposed Case Work Manager was twofold: (1)  to quality assure the plans and ensure that they were delivered in good time; and (2) secure compliance.  This year there had been a focus on delivering plans that would help the child to thrive, make progress and prepare for their adult life.  Through the creation of the Case Work Manager role the Local Authority was seeking to put in place improved mechanisms for supervision and managing caseloads.

The Director of Education explained that the dedicated Lawyer was an important role as this should help to reduce the number of Tribunal cases conceded by the Local Authority as a result of the failure to follow procedures.  Informed legal advice at an early stage of the process would ensure that policies were being followed and provide for a good service from the outset of the process.  An internal lawyer would be in a position to identify early on if essential parts of the process had been missed.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director (ECHS) emphasised that his designation of Statutory Director of Children’s Services afforded the discretion to exceed statutory timescales in order to secure good quality plans.  This would mean that performance timescales were not met but it was felt that this was a price worth paying for good quality plans that benefitted children.

In response to a question concerning the prevalence of Speech and Language as a primary need for 41% of children in Bromley who had an ECHP, the Director of Education reported that it was recognised that a deep dive into this issue was required and colleagues in Public Health had been asked to review this issue in terms of the issue being identified by Health Visitors at developmental checks for two year olds and educational assessments of children at age 5.  The Committee requested that it be provided with further information on this issue.

Pressures within the DSG High Needs Block

A Member noted that it appeared that there was a growing gap in high needs funding which was currently being address through the use of reserves.  The problem with this situation was that reserves were finite and would eventually run out.  In response the Deputy Chief Executive  highlighted that securing adequate local provision would be an important step towards addressing the funding pressures.  Less reliance on more expensive independent provision would have a significantly positive impact on the budget position as local provision would be far less costly than independent provision.  The Director of Education also highlighted the important role of early intervention in order to identify how more children could be supported to remain in school.

Again, the Director of Education emphasised that there was no suggestion that children that had already been placed in independent provision would be moved.  It was accepted that it would be wrong to do this.  The proposed new provision would meet the needs of children entering the system in the future.

School Admissions

Members noted that the cost of processing applications for admissions to schools was just under £600,000.  The Chairman suggested that it would be useful for Members to know how much had been saved by the move to on-line admissions.

In response to a query surrounding whether there were any opportunities for commissioning out school admissions, the Director of Education reported that she was not aware of any local authority that had gone down this route due to the high risks involved.  The Committee were also reminded that there were certain functions that statutorily had to be undertaken by the Local Authority and therefore could not be commissioned out.

In concluding the discussion the Chairman noted that the budget under consideration was not a big budget.  In addition to this the majority of the budget was not in the gift of the Local Authority.  As a result of the constraints on the controllable budget, the Chairman highlighted the importance of charging the maximum for services for which the Local Authority could charge.  Members requested further information on the sold/traded services offered by the Local Authority.