Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that:-  the minutes of the meeting held on 29^th February, 2016 be signed and agreed as a correct record.

(A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up to 5 members of the public on matters within the Panel’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be considered or contribute towards the future development of the Panel’s work programme).

There were no public statements.

The Panel considered a summary of the Education White Paper 2016 - Education Excellence Everywhere published by the DFE in March 2016.  The Panel noted the wide range of proposals for changes across the Education landscape and implications for the Council and Borough’s schools.

Members noted the three key threads running through the paper in an increasingly school-led system:

1. Concept of competition whereby the most successful MATs (multi-academy trusts) grow in size and the less successful are taken over by other MATs;
2. An ever-increasing level of autonomy delegated to schools, including the accreditation of teachers;  and
3. The ever-increasing influence of regional school commissioners.

Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) – covers 17 local authorities for the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber area.  Concern was expressed by Members with regard to the RSC’s influence and discussed a number of areas. 

It was noted that the RSC would be responsible for holding schools to account and held the same powers as those held by the local authority.  Examples of the powers include, where a school is failing or causing concern the RSC can issue warning notices or put in place an interim Executive Board or partnership with another school.  It was highlighted that where there was a dispute when resolving issues, the RSC has powers to overrule the Local Authority.

It the Local Authority has concerns about any school then information can be forwarded to the RSC for consideration and action if required.  It was noted that the RSC may not be aware of what was happening in schools, but Local Authorities do have an awareness and any issues of concern were gratefully received by the RSC.

It seemed that Local Authorities could have an advocacy position but it must be borne in mind that this benefits the children in Doncaster’s schools and the approach maintained in Doncaster and relationship with the RSC was effective and working in practice.

The RSC held regular meetings with the Local Authority with open dialogue but ensuring that Doncaster’s schools were a priority for the Council with their intervention being welcomed with underachieving Academies.

It was noted that Local Authorities would still hold responsibility for Special Educational Needs, ensuring their voice was heard.

All Schools moving to Acadamisation – All schools were consulted in January, 2016 to outlining future options for our schools.  Each school has declared its intentions, with some wishing to stay with the Local Authority and others identifying that they wish to join other organisations.  It was noted that the schools had been very open thinking about their futures either with or without sponsors and wished to work through the issues to ensure the correct decision was made for the school.

Local Authority becoming a MAT – It was noted that a successful local authority could become a MAT sponsor.  Currently it was not clear what “a successful local authority” would be classed as but if Doncaster was to be in this position it would need to look at whether being a MAT would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To accompany the report, the Head of Performance and Business Intelligence from Doncaster Childrens Trust provided a detailed outline of the Contract performance monitoring arrangements and the Panel addressed areas detailed below.

Case File Audits – It was explained that the Childrens Trust held concerns with regard to this therefore so undertook additional work addressing quality of case work, how much is the child’s voice was heard ensuring a positive difference was being made to the child’s life.  Members noted that the Trust had struggled with the long standing culture of lack of compliance with regard to recording all details on case work files but were now working with the Auditors to address the situation.  A high bar had been set and it had been found that the quality of work was improving with the last 50 cases improving significantly.  The LGA had stated that all children were safe without exception.

Following concern expressed by Members it was acknowledge that it was imperative for all files to be updated with correct information and capture key events in a child’s life, particularly if the case worker was away from work for a long period, to ensure as much detail is available about a child, otherwise the latest position could revert to square one.  It was noted that if a member of staff was absent from work, the case files became the responsibility of the team manager to ensure they were supported correctly.

Agency Rates – It was explained that there had been an active recruitment campaign and the need to remain competitive to attract the right people for positions but it was noted that the turnover rate was low and sickness was at its lowest ever.   It was stressed that staff should not be overloaded with cases.  It was also accepted that due to the nature of the work, there would always be a need to employ agency staff.

NEET Figures – It was confirmed that Job Centre Plus had not been commissioned to provide provision for young people in care, however, it was reported that partners had submitted a large bid to the “Innovation Programme for Children in Care” to equip them with the appropriate employment skills required.   There was a real enthusiasm and engagement from partners and it was recognised that Doncaster was a good place for young people at the present time with £4m of investment over 3 years to strength the virtual school and holding providers to account. 

It was stressed that if the bid was not successful, there were other targeted activities being undertaken through the Youth Service, including with youth crime prevention.  The Panel required if details of training providers and the number of care leavers engaged in training be provided before the next meeting.

Suitable Accommodation – In response to Members expressing concern with regard to the percentage showing red of children in care aged 19 to 21 in suitable accommodation, it was explained that this relates to those young people that case workers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel considered a report relating to its current arrangements for holding the Childrens Trust to account.  Practice had developed whereby Members currently considered quarterly performance reports directly from the Trust, however, this does not fully meet the contractual expectations to effectively hold to account both the Council and the Trust.  The Panel needs to be supported to hold the Council to account for its contract management of the Trust.

It was noted that a number of monthly and quarterly meetings between the Trust and the Council are undertaken to assure continuous improvement including Finance and Performance.

Members supported the need to move towards a more rounded approach which challenged both the Council and the Trust, but were keen to retain some of the important performance information measures when future reports are presented, for their consideration.

Following discussion it was noted that the Trust is accountable to both the Council and the Secretary of State, and there needed to be a system where work was not duplicated and more focused.  It was therefore supported that a split screen approach report in two phases be provided to future meetings.  The first phase would hold the Council to account for its monitoring of the Trust against the service delivery contract and the second phase would provide an invite to the Trust to respond to the Council’s report and the specific performance issues which the Council report had raised.

RESOLVED:  that a ‘split screen’ approach report including key performance indicators for future meetings, be provided.

The Panel considered the work plan for the 2016/17 year and noted the Mayoral response to the review into children with disabilities during 2015/16.

The Senior Governance Officer reminded Members of the Mental Health joint meeting with the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Panel on 25^th January, and to ensure that it was detailed in their diaries.

The Chair outlined that he would be attending future Youth Council meetings and would report back to the Panel.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.