Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the Chairman Ruby Sayed, John Fletcher and Marianne Fredericks.

There were no declarations.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 June 2019.

RESOLVED, that – the minutes of the previous meeting held 4 June 2019 be agreed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the City of London Family of Schools Safeguarding Review. The report provided Members with an update on the review of safeguarding arrangements across the City of London Family of Schools, including key findings from the audit, along with recommendations made for schools and the Education Unit of the City Corporation.

In the review, 15 schools across 6 local authorities were consulted to assess the effectiveness of the schools’ safeguarding arrangements. Overall, safeguarding across the schools was found to be effective. Recommendations included advanced safeguarding training for all governors; more robust management of Single Central Records; and the development of a DSL Forum for safeguarding leads across the Family of Schools.

RESOLVED – that, the report be received and its contents noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Education and Early Years Service Safeguarding. The report provided an update on the work that the Education and Early Years Service had undertaken since the work was last reported to the Committee in February 2019. The report addressed the following areas: location of all City of London children and their schools; 2016 children missing education (CME) regulations and the impact that this is having on the City of London; children at risk of missing education; electively home-educated children; performance licenses and work permits; learning from the Hackney case review. It was further reported that there had been an increase in focus on mental health services, including a Wellbeing and Adolescent Mental Health Services (WAHMS) Project established in September 2018, where clinicians were placed in schools to address mental health needs.

RESOLVED – that, the report be received and its contents noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Annual Report for 2018 to 2019. The report summarised the statutory requirements in the IRO service and how the City of London Corporation had performed. It was noted that there was more stability with placements, specified mental health services and independent fostering agencies. Members questioned how much fostering is promoted within the City, as only 1 child was placed within 5 miles of the City. Officers responded that the focus is on finding the right placement for the child, and when considering cultural and diversity needs of many children, the City often has few options due to lack of diversity.

RESOLVED – that, the report be received and its contents noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Private Fostering Annual Report. It was reported that no private fostering arrangements had been identified in the City of London for 2018 to 2019. The report informed Members of how the City met the National Minimum Standards for Private Fostering by raising awareness of private fostering arrangements with professionals and residents in the City of London. To raise awareness of private fostering, there has been an increase in information provided to schools, private fostering is covered in safeguarding training, a private fostering mobile app is being promoted which includes a quiz and information on private fostering and children’s social care teams. The City is also looking to establish joint initiatives with Tower Hamlets and Hackney. Members supported collaboration with other local authorities and agreed that the matter should be further discussed at a future meeting.

RESOLVED – that, the report be received and its contents noted.

The meeting became inquorate and the sub-committee discussed subsequent matters informally.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Annual Local Authorities Designated Office (LADO) Report. The report provided an overview of LADO activity which had taken place between April 2018 and March 2019. There had been six referrals to the LADO, indicating a 50% increase since the previous year. To raise the profile of LADO, training has been offered in schools, and a national LADO conference took place which resulted in an increase in referrals from local authorities.

Members noted an incident in the report which indicated a need for a professional to undergo training in professional boundaries. Officers clarified that this referred to boundaries in terms of addressing a child with behavioural issues.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

This item was discussed at the beginning of the meeting when the Sub-Committee was quorate.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2018/19. The report outlined the key achievements of the Board, areas for further development, and identified priorities for the Board in the coming year.

Members expressed concern with section 2.2 of the report, which reported that efforts to hear directly from people who have experienced safeguarding services were unsuccessful. Officers reported that no one came forward for the opportunity to meet with a psychologist, and new approaches were being explored. Officers noted that this was a sensitive area and needed to exercise caution in the approach taken.

RESOLVED – that, the report be received and its contents noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the annual report of the Virtual School Headteacher Academic year 2018/2019. The report summarised the work of the City of London Virtual School for the 2018/19 academic years, gave details of the cohort of young people in the programme and outlined the work in place to help them gain an education.

It was reported that the virtual head regularly engaged with all students. A tuition group was established at Golden Lane to provide increased educational opportunities. Bringing students from the virtual school together, who would otherwise be isolated, brought educational and social benefits. There is adaptability within the programme and new arrangements can quickly be made to accommodate the needs of new students. There was also a discussion and presentation on the enrichment programme that was run by the City of London School. Several of the looked after children participated and the Enrichment Programme had been successful for participants and boys from the school who participated. Members attended the celebration event for the looked after children who participated in these programmes.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Annual Quality Assurance Report. The report outlined the quality assurance activity that had taken place in relation to the Children’s Social Care and Early Help Service from May 2018 to June 2019. Audits included two independent audits, thematic audits and multi-agency audits. It was reported that there had been some change in the Child and Families team, which created an element of instability, however robust training and development measures were put in place as a result.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the action for Children Annual Survey. The survey found that overall, children and families were happy with the service they received and young people and care leavers had good relationships with their social workers. Officers reported significant engagement with children and young people. There had been a change of platform for the survey. Respondents preferred to respond in person, as opposed to an online survey. Members noted that it appeared some respondents did not understand all questions, for example Q22. Do you know how to contact the Virtual Headteacher. 4 responded ‘No – I do not know who it is.’ Members understand that the Headteacher is very involved with students, and the respondents may not have known that this was his role.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the City of London Corporation Sufficiency Strategy. The strategy set out options for services and support for children in care and care leavers. The strategy is renewed annually but continuously reviewed for improvement.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Service Development Plan 2019-20. It was reported that this plan would be used to drive forward work in all areas of Early Help and Social Care in 2019-20. It was noted that the full strategy did not appear in the agenda due to a technical error but was circulated separately. The Chairman requested the Service Development Plan be a standing item and appear on the next agenda.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Adolescent Safeguarding Self-Assessment for 2019. The report assessed adolescent safeguarding work, which is an area of focus in the City of London’s work with the London Regional Improvement Alliance. It was reported that safeguarding crosses over local authority boundaries, and the assessment was a dynamic tool to ensure that adolescent safeguarding remains robust. The City Corporation relies on local authorities for secondary school reporting. MACE group members are valuable in reporting as they are living amongst the communities and are able to identify early signs of problems with adolescents.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) update. The report provided statistical information regarding the number of children and young people with SEND who are known to the local authority. It was further reported that City resident children and young people attend over 80 different schools, which presented a challenge for the City in being able to know the number and long term outcomes of children and young people with SEND who were supported by schools from their own resources (SEN support). The numbers can be ever changing as SEN Support, such as speech and language support is sometimes a short-term intervention, while some interventions to support needs such as social, emotional and mental health, may be more long term. For children and young people with complex needs and who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, officers know where they are attending schools and are present at every annual review of their EHC plan, so are able to monitor their progress towards meeting their long-term outcomes.

The report was noted.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 June 2019 .

Due to the meeting being inquorate, the minutes of the previous meeting held 4 June 2019 were moved to the next meeting for formal agreement.

Report of the Director of Community and Children's Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to Children’s Safeguarding Report for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2018/19 and Quarter 1 (Q1) 2019/20.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Adult Safeguarding Performance Report for Q4 2018/19.

The report was noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services relative to the Adult Safeguarding Performance Report for Q1 2019/20.

The report was noted.

To be read in conjunction with the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Update at Agenda Item 16.

The appendix was read in conjunction with the SEND update at Agenda Item 16.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.