Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 October 2017 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 October 2017, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with paragraph 16 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

Questions will be asked in the order in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, 4 January 2018.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions, petitions or deputations were received at this meeting.

Report of the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL)

The Panel received a report of the Head of Children’s Services and Operations, CNWL NHS Foundation, which set out the delivery of health services to Harrow’s Children Looked After (CLA) during 2016/17 in line with national guidance.  The report reviewed performance indicators, clinical work undertaken by the CLA health team, service improvements, including gaps or challenges identified.

Emma Hedley, Named Nurse – CLA Harrow/CNWL, introduced the report and reported initially on the key aspects of the quarterly position, as follows:

·                     bi-monthly monitoring meetings between the CCG and the Council  continued, including the monitoring of tuberculosis (TB) and blood screening referrals. Whilst the data obtained was good, officers would continue to  look at methods of improving data collection and monitoring;

·                     training had been delivered to ten social workers and students and weaning sessions with foster carers would continue.  In response to a question from a Member, Emma Hedley clarified that information and training on weaning, including attachments, would be provided to carers and that the official advice from the Department of Health stated that babies should start to be weaned from milk alone onto solid foods at six months;

·                     she was proud to have attended the CLA awards ceremony at The Hive Football Stadium, a wonderful event which celebrated the achievements of CLA and their carers;

·                     the creative and advocacy work being undertaken in relation to health assessments, as set out in the examples in the report, indicated that multi-agency approach was paying dividends.

Emma Hedley also reported on the Annual Report on Children Looked After Health Service (Harrow) 2016/17, as follows:

·                     partnership working had strengthened and partners were developing procedures and processes in order to maintain high standards of care.  Emma explained that due to CNWL administrative issue 93% of Review Health Assessments (RHAs) were achieved in June compared to 100% every month  despite the high increase in the number of CLA.  Comparatively, 93% of RHAs was higher than the England average but slightly lower than statistical neighbours;

·                     the data collected on the RHAs was good and that every assessment was quality assured.  A dip sample had shown that all CNWL assessments were graded either excellent or good;

·                     immunisation data required attention but the direction of travel was positive. It would take a few years to improve the take up. The number of dental checks had increased by 4.6% to 93% and, in the last year, 100% of children under five had had up to date developmental assessments;

·                     in relation to emotional health, improvements had been made in the levels of CLA who had completed Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) due to a concerted effort from the social workers and CLA health team.

·                     medical summaries for all CLA was requested from GP’s practicing in and out of the borough. Members welcomed this approach;

·                     tuberculosis (TB) screening process was working well but it was important to recognise that the NHS had introduced new processes.  The CLA health team worked closely with the TB service at Northwick Park Hospital and had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 172.

Report of the Corporate Director of People.

The Panel received a report of the Corporate Director of People, which provided an overview of the Performance and Standards of Children Looked After (CLA) by the end of key stage, an analysis of attendance and exclusions, an overview of the work of the Virtual School and development priorities for the Virtual School for 2017-18.

The Headteacher of Harrow Virtual School introduced the report and set out the key aspects of the report.  She informed Members that since April 2017, the remit of Virtual Headteachers had changed in that they now assumed new duties concerning promoting the educational achievement of previously CLA, such as the provision of advice and information to adopted children and their parents, those with special guardianship orders and school staff.

The Headteacher provided an overview of the key areas monitored by Harrow Virtual School in the academic year 2016/17, and drew attention to the various statistics provided in the report, as follows:

·                     year 1 phonics test – there were four children who were eligible to sit the assessment and they all met the expected standard;

·                     key stage 1 – of the five children in Year 2, only one pupil was able to sit the SATs papers.  The cohort had had various needs, including complex ones, and close monitoring was required;

·                     further analysis of CLA schooled in Harrow compared to those outside was required to identify the issues in attainment and how these could be addressed.  Currently, CLA schooled in Harrow performed better than those outside the borough;

·                     headteachers often sought advice from the Virtual Headteacher prior to making a decision to exclude CLA.  To assist, intervention and support was provided to schools to ensure that extremely vulnerable children were not unnecessarily excluded.  Recent figures showed that more girls than boys had been the subject of fixed term exclusions (FTEs) and the pie chart in the report showed the types of behaviours that led to exclusions, including physical assaults.  For secondary schools, the number of FTEs increased, particularly for those with Special Educational Needs (SEN);

·                     key stage 2 – performance in SATs of CLA children was good.  The results obtained in reading, writing and mathematics of 60%, 90% and 70% respectively were considered to be good.  There was no regression due to the support provided which had helped to ensure momentum and pupil engagement;

·                     key stage 4 – the grading structure for GCSEs had been amended and there had been a move from letters to numbers 9-1 where 9 was equivalent to A*.  Level 4 was considered a pass at GCSE.  Last year there had been four CLA who passed eight GCSEs.  There were two CLA who passed eight GCSEs of level 4 and above.  58% of CLA passed 1 GCSE and, overall, CLA were better at getting through five GCSEs instead of eight.  The challenge for social workers was to increase these figures;

·                     ethnicity also played a part in achievement levels and further work was required to understand and improve poor levels of attainment in order  ...  view the full minutes text for item 173.

Report of the Corporate Director of People.

The Panel received a report of the Corporate Director of People, which set out activity for Children Looked After (CLA) and care leavers at 30 September 2017, where available, as well as provisional performance position at end of October 2017-18.  Where appropriate, national and comparator data had also been included to provide context.

The Head of Business Intelligence introduced the report and referred to the earlier discussions which had alluded on the key challenges and successes regarding the activities of the CLA.  He added that whilst the number of CLA had decreased following the historic high, the figure was not at its lowest level.

The Divisional Director of Children and Young People and the Head of Business Intelligence agreed that there was a long way to go to meet the challenges and that, to assist, a Children’s Analysis Tool ( ‘CHAT’) had been introduced with gusto.  It providedthe opportunity for standardised holistic screening and assessment.  The CHAT was the tool that would be used by Ofsted for data analysis in future inspections and the Divisional Director of Children and Young People had suggested it be used now as part of ‘business as usual’ and would feed into the performance reports on an ongoing basis.

Overall, the indicators had shown that the direction of travel was positive and Members were informed that Ofsted had commented that the Council understood the challenges it faced and was self-aware of its role as corporate parent for CLA.  Ofsted had carried out a further visit in November 2017 and the outcome had been positive.  There would be further annual visits from Ofsted until the next Inspection in three years.  The Inspectors had thanked the Head of Service of Corporate Parenting for solidifying the care arrangements of CLA.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Reason for Decision:  To be availed of performance in the role as Corporate Parents.

For consideration.

The Panel received the Forward Planner, which set out the items planned for future meetings.  The Divisional Director of Children and Young People reported that an information report on foster care allowances would be presented to the next meeting.  He added that foster care allowances had been reviewed recently by stakeholders and different ways of remunerating foster carers would be included in the report.  It was intended to implement the scheme in the 2018/19 financial year.

RESOLVED:  That the Forward Planner be noted and that an additional item on foster care allowances be included in the Planner for reporting to the next meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 27 March 2018.

Reason or Decision:  To be availed of the programme for future meetings.

[See also Minutes 172 and 173 regarding additional reports.]

Start Time of Corporate Parenting Panel Meetings

The Chair suggested a 7.00 pm start time for future meetings of the Panel.  Members were of the view that this had previously been raised.

The clerk stated that in, accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution, she would consult the nominated Member and report back.  She added that the Chair had the power to alter the time if she believed it to be appropriate for the conduct of the business of the Panel.

Officers Present: