Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance of the following duly constituted Reserve Member:

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee, Sub Committee, Panel or Forum;

(b)               all other Members present in any part of the room or chamber.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 October 2010 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 October 2010 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 51 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

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

Report of the Corporate Director Children’s Services.

The Chairman introduced the report which set out proposals for publicising the work of Corporate Parenting and Beyond Limits, Harrow’s Children in Care Council.

The Chairman advised that:

·                    it was an obligation of the Corporate Parenting Panel Members to make all Councillors aware of their responsibilities towards Children Looked After (CLA);

·                    Full Council meetings provided the best opportunity to host a display that would engage all Councillors of the work being conducted with Beyond Limits;

·                    the intention was to set up this display on an annual basis before the Full Council meetings in April, commencing in 2011;

·                    any further suggestions on how to engage all Councillors would be welcomed.

In response to questions, officers advised that:

·                    it was hoped that representatives of Beyond Limits would be able to attend the meeting.  Work would continue to establish commitment from the Members of Beyond Limits;

·                    the possibility of Beyond Limits performing a presentation for all Councillors would be investigated.

Resolved to RECOMMEND:  (to the Corporate Director of Children’s Services)

That the Corporate Director of Children’s Services be authorised to set up a display outside the Council Chamber on an annual basis before Full Council commencing in April 2011, showcasing the work carried out in conjunction with Beyond Limits.

Report of the Corporate Director Children’s Services.

An officer introduced a report which set out key data relating to Children Looked After (CLA) and Children with Child Protection Plans (CPP), plus a performance position for National Indicators for Children’s Social Care.

The officer advised that:

·                     the number of CLA remained low.  Due to additional pressures, the number of children subject to a CPP remained high;

·                     the provisional GCSE results were positive.  In comparison with statistical neighbours and results nationally, Harrow had performed better than expected;

·                     overall, there was demonstrable evidence of strong performance in key indicators.  Work would continue to identify any areas for improvement.

In response to questions, officers advised that:

·                     work on continuing positive trends would continue as a matter of priority;

·                     the Children in Need and CLA services remained in a strong position, with no vacant staffing positions;

·                     following an unannounced Ofsted inspection in November 2010, the lead inspector described the Children protection practice as ‘Exemplary’, in particular the work conducted in relation to adoption.  The results of this inspection found a number of strengths within its verbal and written reports.  The findings also cited three recommendations, with no priority actions be highlighted;

·                     a recent benchmarking exercise found that no other London Authority was awarded ‘outstanding’ for its work in relation to adoption;

·                     the non-political input of Members from the Corporate Parenting Panel was highly praised;

·                     there were currently two CLA at Key Stage 2 Level.  Twenty seven CLA formed part of the Year 11 cohort, with fourteen being placed in the Borough and thirteen in out of borough placements.  Exact numbers would be included in future reports to the Panel;

·                     an update report of the Virtual Headteacher would be provided at the next meeting of the Panel on 28 March 2011;

·                     there were 62 CLA aged 16 to 17, and 47 CLA aged 10 to 15.  A report detailing any available statistics on the achievements of CLA aged between 16 to 18 would be provided to a future meeting of the Panel;

·                     the vast majority of unaccompanied asylum seeking children were extremely ambitious.  Creative solutions at schools were being devised to cater for non-native speakers.  Any specific information relating to asylum seeking children would be identified and presented to a future meeting of the Panel;

·                     a report detailing how well young people coped when transferred to supported living, would be provided at a future meeting of the Panel;

·                     formal procedures were in place to tackle and resolve any allegations of racial abuse.  It was a statutory responsibility to maintain records of these allegations.  Information relating to these instances would be presented to a future meeting of the Panel.

Members of the Panel thanked officers for the report and congratulated them on receiving outstanding overall feedback from the Ofsted inspection.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               the report be noted;

(2)               the following be presented to future meetings of the Panel:

·                     Virtual Headteacher’s Progress Report;

·                     any available statistics on the achievements of CLA aged between 16 to 18;

·                     how well young people cope when transferred to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Which cannot otherwise be dealt with.

RESOLVED:  That no items were raised.