In the interest of transparency the following were disclosed:

(1)  Councillor Peart disclosed an interest in Minute 23 as she worked in a school which had a sixth form.

(2)  Councillor Engel disclosed an interest in minute 23 as any potential changes may affect her children.

(3)   All those who were school Governors disclosed an interest.

(4)  Councillor Ward disclosed an interest in Minute 21 as his wife worked as an Education Social Worker.

(5)  Gull Hussain disclosed an interest as he was a governor at two schools.

(6)  Councillor Dale Smith disclosed an interest in Minute 22 as his son was a barrister and may have knowledge of CSE cases. He also disclosed an interest in Minute 23 as he was a Cooperation Member of Bradford College which was a sponsor of academies.

(7)  Tina Wildy disclosed an interest in Minute 21 as she worked in the nursing specialist service.

(8)  Councillor Mullaney disclosed an interest in Minute 22 as she managed a childcare centre and occasionally had Looked After Children in the centre.  Councillor Mullaney also disclosed that she had two family Members that worked in Care homes.

Action: City Solicitor

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Fatima Butt – 01274 432227)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

No referrals to the Committee had been received.

The Strategic Director Children’s Services will submit Document “I” which provides an update to the report presented to the Committee on 8^th October 2015 and subsequently to the District’s Area Committees regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE). It sets out the arrangements that have been put in place, and which continue to develop, to safeguard children from CSE.

Recommended-

(1) That contents of the report be noted.

(2) That a further report be presented in to the Committee in 12 months time.

                                                                                    (Paul Hill – 01274 434361)

The Strategic Director Children’s Services submitted Document “I” which provided an update to the report presented to the Committee on 8^th October 2015 and subsequently to the District’s Area Committees regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE). It set out the arrangements that had been put in place, and which continued to be developed, to safeguard children from CSE.

The Manager of Bradford Safeguarding Children Board reported that:

·        Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation continued to be a national priority

·        An Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was established by the former Home Secretary and would investigate whether public bodies and other institutions had taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales (further details were included in paragraph 2.4 of the report).

·        On 29 July 2016, the Chief Executive of Bradford Council wrote to the then Chair of the Inquiry drawing her attention to the call for an independent inquiry into CSE in the Bradford area by Ms Angela Sinfield; the Chief Executives letter went on to invite “robust scrutiny” of Bradford’s record and arrangements.

·        The Government decision, in 2015, to designate CSE a “national emergency” had reinforced the increasingly high priority given to CSE in local authorities and police forces.

·        Bradford Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB) had developed a 9 Point Strategic Response to CSE which identified the priorities agreed by all partner organisations working with children and families in the Bradford District (further details were included in paragraph 2.8 of the report).

·        One of the responsibilities of BSCB was to ensure that professionals learn from past experience and that organisations make improvements based on that robust learning; BSCB had commissioned an independently led case review (SCR) into a particular case of CSE; this SCR would be published when concluded.

·        BSCB also undertook “Challenge Panels” which looked at a number of cases in depth, some cases were chosen as it was acknowledged that they presented particular difficulties for agencies and others were chosen from a random sample to look at how other, similar cases had been responded to.

·        The Multi-Agency CSE Hub had grown since it was established in early 2012; the Hub also had responsibility for managing enquiries into and coordinating support for children who go missing. 

·        In the last report on this issue to this Committee (8^th October 2015) it was reported that there had been 431 referrals to the Hub from 1^st April 2014 – 31^st March 2015. That report also stated that if the trend of the first four months of the 2015/16 year continued, there would be a year on year increase of 29% in referrals to the Hub during 2015/16. Final analysis of data for 2015/16 shows that there were in fact 713 cases referred to the Hub which is an increase of 65%.

• There was a continuing rise in the cases of potential or actual CSE that were referred to the Hub.
• In the course of 2015/16 there were an average of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

The Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) will submit Document
“J” which presents information on the workload of Children’s Social Work Teams and updates Members on key pressures on the service. The workload analysis is based on activity up to 30^th June 2016.

There have been a slight change to the overall workloads of social workers, and pressures upon the service since the last report was presented. The report demonstrates that Social Work Services for Children & Young People in the District remain strong, robust and well managed.

Recommended-

That the Committee consider further reports in the 2016-17 work programme to ensure the continuation of safe workloads and practice into the future given the current financial climate.

                                    (Di Watherston/Cat Moss – 01274 437077)

The Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) submitted Document
“J” which presented information on the workload of Children’s Social Work Teams and updated Members on key pressures on the service. The workload analysis is based on activity up to 30^th June 2016.

There have been a slight change to the overall workloads of social workers, and pressures upon the service since the last report was presented. The report demonstrates that Social Work Services for Children & Young People in the District remained strong, robust and well managed.

Social Workers attended the meeting and spoke about their workloads and the positive support they were receiving from management.

In response to a Members question it was reported that on going support and supervision was taking place.

It was reported that staff views were collected through surveys.

Members stressed the importance of social worker workloads being manageable and the effect it could have if this was not the case.

It was reported that staff were being supervised every month and child protection was working well.

A Member raised concerns in the rise in Looked After Children and the difficulty Legal Services was having in getting Care Orders to Court; outsourcing legal work may be a cheaper option.

Members were informed that the Authority needed to ensure that it was looking after the right children and did not have children in care longer than they required; the authority looked at other permanent arrangements that could be explored; the issue for the authority was the time it took to do that and the legal resources; in some cases children were placed with parents but remained looked after.

A Member asked whether the service had capacity to deal with the 97 unaccompanied child asylum seekers.

It was reported that the new arrivals would be spread over the year; negotiations were taking place with the Home Office on how best to support the children; the pressure was in residential work. 

Resolved-

(1)          That the Committee considers further reports in the 2016/17 Work Programme to ensure the continuation of safe workloads and practice into the future given the current financial climate.

(2)          That the Social Workers be thanked for their contribution and attendance at the meeting.

Action:          Deputy Director, Children’s Services

The Strategic Director, Children’s Services will submit Document “K” which reports that this is a period of significant change for post-16 education and training locally and nationally and the Council with the support, participation and cooperation of a range of key partners has led a local review of post-16 provision within the District to ensure that we have a sustainable, high quality offer that delivers the best outcomes for our young no matter where they start.

Recommended-

(1)That the Committee note the contents of the report and work with partners to promote and deliver the actions set out in section 9 and specifically 9.1 of Document “K”.

(2)That the Committee support the Council with the engagement of a broad range of partners from education and business with the development of the post-16 agenda and partnerships in Bradford.

                                                            (Philip Hunter – 01274 439575)

Members agreed to defer consideration of Document “K” to a future meeting this item to a future meeting.

Resolved-

That consideration of the report be deferred to a future meeting.

Action:          Scrutiny Lead

Bradford Council’s Local Authority’s arrangements for school improvement were inspected by Ofsted between 15 and 19 June 2015. Following the publication of the report, in the form of a letter, on 21 August, an action plan was developed to address the issues raised in the report. The plan was submitted to Ofsted on 28 September and a response was received on 26 October. This led to some minor revisions to the final plan.

The Deputy Director, Education, Employment and Skills will submit Document “L” which provides an update on the continued delivery of the action plan throughout the academic year 2015/16, and the next steps in revising the plan. Information on the post-Ofsted Action Plan was previously provided to the Children’s Services O&S meeting on 12 January 2016.

Recommended-

That the information provided be considered and noted.

                                                            (Judith Kirk – 01274 439255)

Members agreed to defer consideration of Document “L” to a future meeting.

Resolved-

That consideration of the report be deferred to a future meeting.

Action:          Deputy Director Education, Employment and Skills/Scrutiny Lead

The Chair of the Committee will submit the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2016/17.

Recommended-

That the 2016/17 Work Programme continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

                                                            (Licia Woodhead – 01274 432119)

The Chair of the Committee submitted the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2016/17 (Document “M”).

Resolved-

That the 2016/17 Work Programme continues to be regularly reviewed during the year.

Action:          Scrutiny Lead