Agenda and minutes

There were no items on the agenda.

The following Councillors declared that they had a non registerable interest as a close family member, had knowledge of and/or used the SEND service being discussed.

Councillor Hempshall

Councillor L Bluff

Councillor Reid

Councillor S Cox

Councillor T Needham

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 9^th December, 2021 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

(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 made at the meeting.

The Panel received a presentation from the Youth Council relating to it’s Election held on 19^th December 2021, the “Make You Mark” priorities and actions undertaken on Domestic Abuse.  From the presentation, Members noted:

·      18 schools were represented on the Youth Council;

·      There had been 42 newly elected Youth Councillors;

·      “Make Your Mark” ballots, requesting the main areas of concern amongst young people, were then divided into Area Priorities;  and

·      Domestic Abuse had been the top “Make Your Mark” issue in November 2020 – the Youth Council worked closely with South Yorkshire Police, Doncaster Children’s Services Trust and the Domestic Abuse Team on the work undertaken, including:

Ø  Formalising a logo, and creating a #ReduceDomesticAbuse hashtag;

Ø  Presented ideas to the Domestic Abuse Theme Group, and secured funding from the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU);

Ø  Circulated a survey in schools on healthy / unhealthy relationships;

Ø  Promoted the hashtag throughout Domestic Abuse Awareness month;

Ø  The Youth Council collaborated with local mural artist Natasha Clarke to develop an abstract art piece raising awareness of coercive and controlling behaviour.  This would be displayed in DGLAM in May 2022;

Ø  Produced a short film with a local filmmaker titled ‘Red Flags’ planned and scripted to highlight the signs to look for in a coercive / controlling relationship.  This will be released as an advert in Doncaster’s two cinemas throughout April 2022. 

The film was well received by the Domestic Abuse team, and has already had an impact.  Young people can call Doncaster Children’s Services Trust about a ‘red flag’ and they will be able to skip the safeguarding assessment form and instead receive direct advice and guidance;  and

Ø  Produced posters to be used across Doncaster bus stops  designed to include some of the signs highlighted in the ‘RED FLAGS’ film.

The posters will include reference to toxic behaviours such as:
- Gaslighting;

- Lovebombing;  and

- Location tracking.

The Following areas were discussed in further detail:

Representation on the Youth Council across the whole borough – a Member stressed it was unfortunate that not all schools had a representative on the Youth Council but noted that work was being undertaken to try and ensure as many young people as possible were aware of the Youth Council to encourage their schools to take part.  For example, posters were being display in bus stops to encourage involvement and to reach as many young people as possible.

Voting and ballots used – due to the Covid pandemic the Panel noted that traditional paper based voting mechanisms could not be used therefore voting through a Google forum was undertaken adapting to more online methods.

Partnership working – whilst working on the Domestic Abuse campaign, Youth Councillors acknowledged that the topic was very sensitive and to avoid accidentally offending people, they worked closely with the Domestic Abuse Team, South Yorkshire Police and the Doncaster Children’s Trust who helped them correctly focus the work undertaken.

The Panel was absolutely delighted with and commended the work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

A Presentation was provided outlining the refreshed Special Education Needs Strategy, the six priorities that underpin the Strategy alongside the progress made over the last two years in its implementation.

Further to the presentation the following issues were addressed:

Early help – in response to a question it was accepted that systems were required to respond more quickly and that Covid could not be ignored in playing a part of slowing some systems down.  When the pandemic hit there was a need to address pressures and ensure children were safe particularly because they were not attending school. 

It was stressed that the cause of many issues being raised and not symptoms required addressing earlier, with early help support being provided through Hubs and well-being.  It was noted that all staff working in this support field needed to be aware of how and where to seek assistance to provide support as quickly as possible, with commitment through the Early Help Strategy providing this.

Children with Social Emotional and Mental health (SEMH) – with regard to provision for children and young people with need in this area, it was explained that accessing wellbeing support in a nurturing environment was essential, through a hub but to also ensure support was available through mainstream education rather than in a special school.

Early Help Strategy – It was noted that this would be finalised within 6 to 8 weeks of the meeting and Members suggested that it be shared with the Panel with regular updates throughout the following year being provided.  It was acknowledged that babies and infants thrive during a good pregnancy to 2 years old, including a good birth, secure environment and stimulation but for some families this could be challenging.  It was stressed that 96% of Doncaster’s childminding services were good and outstanding therefore the service needed to be accessed by parents.  It was noted that when a child was born they were registered with a Family Hub but there were still a few difficulties to resolve in relation to this issue.

Literacy and Development during Covid pandemic – for some children born during this period, their development would not be as advanced as it should be, therefore the Local Authority was committing funding to address the issue for the next two to three years.

Children seeking asylum – The commitment from the Local Authority to take families from other countries was recognised providing good homes, schools and wrap around services.  There was a specific asylum seeking allocation figure that the Local Authority was required to meet, however the number of families provided with care had reached over and above the required allocation.

Domestic abuse – if a report was received from South Yorkshire Police about a child or young person being subject to or had observed domestic abuse they were immediately placed in social care.   The Local Authority know how many children and young people live in homes where there were reports of domestic abuse, the age range and support services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

The Chair reminded the Panel that it would hopefully be meeting with Headteachers on 26^th April at 9am to discuss front door referrals.

The Senior Governance Officer reminded the Panel that it was nearing the end of the current Civic Year and if any Member had an area they wished to discuss then to email both the Chair and the Senior Governance Officers.

RESOLVED:  That the discussion, be noted.