All those members who were School Governors disclosed an interest.

ACTION: City Solicitor

Resolved –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 November 2016 be signed as a correct record.

ACTION: City Solicitor

The following referral was received form the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 11 January 2017.

RISK MANAGEMENT UPDATE

Resolved –

(1)          That the Executive ensures that Portfolio Holders review Departmental Risk Registers in their respective areas of responsibility.

(2)          That this Committee requests that all Overview and Scrutiny Committees consider Departmental risk Registers relevant to their area of responsibility.

(3)          That a progress report be presented to this Committee in 12 months time.

Note: In receiving the above recommendation the Chair agreed to discuss the matter further with officers and report back to the Committee for a decision on how to take the matter forward.

ACTION:        Overview & Scrutiny Lead

Bradford Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB) has produced an annual report covering the period April 2015 to March 2016.    The report of the Director of children’s Services (Document “AB”) sets out the context of partnership work to safeguard children in the Bradford District, outlines the key areas of work and the key challenges and successes.  The report also contains information about the governance, resources and accountability of the Board.

 Recommended -

That the Committee read and note the attached Annual Report of the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board.

                                                                        (Jenny Cryer - 01274 434333)

Bradford Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB) had produced an annual report covering the period April 2015 to March 2016.    The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “AB”) set out the context of partnership work to safeguard children in the Bradford District, outlined the key areas of work and the key challenges and successes.  The report also contained information about the governance, resources and accountability of the Board.  It was noted that the Board had undertaken significant work on Child Sexual Exploitation(CSE) and that a full update would be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 14 February 2017.  Reference was made to the work of the Child Death Overview Panel and it was noted that death rates of children in the District were reducing year on year although they were still higher than the national rate.

The following answers were given to member questions:

·         The difference in the number of child deaths and those which were reviewed was because delays in inquest and other investigations could effect the year in which the death was reviewed.

·         Newer challenging forms of abuse to which children were vulnerable included on line grooming, on line bullying and issues regarding social media.

·         Parents were communicated with to advise them that the Child Death Review Panel reviewed all child deaths.  Officers would look into a instance raised by a member of a parent that had not been notified.

·         Work had been undertaken with GPs on raising awareness of genetic conditions.  Specific work had been on going for a number of years with staff to talk about cousin marriage and consanguinity.  Steps were taken to ensure that families that had been effected were offered input and appropriate advice.  A generic leaflet was provided on genetic conditions and a specific leaflet  on cousin marriage and risk was provided to ensure that families had the right information to make the right choice.  A simpler version of the leaflets was going to be produced and a short video was to be made pointing families to the leaflet or to their GP.  People specifically trained about cousin marriage had been working with communities to increase understanding and encourage discussion among communities.

·         It was noted that the on going work had been successful in bringing down infant mortality rates but that they were still high.

·         Interviews were taking place on 7 February 2017 to appoint a new Chair of the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board.

·         The Child Death Overview Panel worked very closely with the Born on Bradford project and analysed data from the project.  Recommendations from the Panel would have an impact on improving heath in the district.

·         Information on the number of taxi licences that had been revoked in 2015-16 as a result of involvement in CSE offences would be provided for members.

·         It was noted that Madrasahs could be encouraged  to take up safeguarding training for staff but that the authority could not insist on this.  However there was a good working relationship with supplementary schools  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

There is a national issue with regards to the recruitment and retention of teachers across all sectors. This is acknowledged by all teaching unions, professional bodies and schools. In May 2016, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee criticised the DfE's attempts to recruit teachers and stated in a report that the Department had no plan for how to meet its ITT recruitment targets and did not understand ”the difficult reality that many schools face in recruiting teachers”.

Bradford has been the first local authority to commission a designated post to address these concerns at a district level. This model has now been replicated in other authorities such as Walsall and Lincolnshire.

The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “AC”) will explain how the Recruitment & Retention Strategy Manager is addressing the key issues, progress to date and next steps.

Recommended –

That the report be noted.

                                                                                    (Judith Kirk – 01274 439255)

There was a national issue with regards to the recruitment and retention of teachers across all sectors. This was acknowledged by all teaching unions, professional bodies and schools. In May 2016, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee criticised the DfE's attempts to recruit teachers and stated in a report that the Department had no plan for how to meet its ITT recruitment targets and did not understand ”the difficult reality that many schools face in recruiting teachers”.

Bradford had been the first local authority to commission a designated post to address these concerns at a district level. This model had now been replicated in other authorities such as Walsall and Lincolnshire.

The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “AC”) explained how the Recruitment and Retention Strategy Manager was addressing the key issues, progress to date and next steps.

The Committee was advised of initiatives such as the “bus tours” for final year students and the establishment of the “Bradford Talent Bank” .  Consideration was being given to the development of teacher apprenticeships.

The following questions were asked by members and responses given:

·         What steps were being taken to recruit existing teachers who had left teaching?  Refresher training was being offered for teachers wanting to return to teaching.

·         How are issues of retention identified by new head teachers?  All new head teachers had a mentor for 12 months to identify hot spots or potential issues in schools and undertake advisory work in schools.

·         Are specialist teachers being recruited in maths and science?   The focus had been working on specialist areas at a local level.

·         Had there been any reduction in in the number of newly qualified teachers (NQT) leaving the profession as a result of the introduction of new teacher training routes?  The first cohort was being monitored and work was being undertaken with universities and teacher training providers on the recruitment process to ensure that the right people were recruited onto courses.

·         What percentage of  NQT’s trained in Bradford stayed in Bradford?  There were approximately 500 NQT’s in Bradford each year and a high proportion of them were from local training centres.

·         What was being done to recruit more men into teaching?  Two upper schools were part of a pilot involving sixth formers who had shown an interest in teaching which would be monitored and rolled out into the district.

·         Would having an apprentice in a class reduce the amount of teacher contact time and questioned what rates of pay would the apprentices receive.

The following comments were made by members:

·         The importance of conducting exit interviews with teachers leaving the service was stressed.

·         There was a need to monitor the stability index.

·         The percentage of staff on a support plan would identify areas of stress.

·         Head teachers were discouraging teachers returning from maternity leave to work part time.

·         Can more be done to promote teacher fellowships and sabbaticals to provide a career path over time?

·         Nepotism in schools effects morale. It was noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee has asked for a regular update on the work of the Schools Forum.  The Director of children’s Services will present an update (Document “AD”)

Recommended -

Committee Members are asked to consider and to note the information provided in this update.

(Andrew Redding – 01274 432678)

Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee had asked for a regular update on the work of the Schools Forum.  The Director of Children’s Services presented an update (Document “AD”).

The Committee was advised that the government proposals regarding the National Funding Formula were cash neutral but not neutral in their impact and did not respond to local pressures.  Early Years funding would be reduced by £2.4m and there was concern about the position of nursery schools which the government had protected for three years.  Approximately £13m would be lost from primary and secondary schools.  The level of funding was not keeping pace with needs.  High needs funding presented an immense challenge going forward.   In total cash terms there were some gains and some losses. 

The decisions of the Schools Forum held on 11 and 18 January 2017 were circulated at the meeting.

The following comments were made by members of the Committee:

·         In the light of the funding reducing year on year there was a need to ensure that the demographics of the district, special educational needs and English as an additional language were understood by government in agreeing the funding formula.

·         The Schools Forum was thanked for the considered and thoughtful way in which it  undertook it’s work in dealing with challenging issues.

·         There was a need to monitor the effects of the National Funding Formula on early years.

It was noted that the National Funding Formula transferred money from primary and secondary schools to the High Needs Block and that a £7m funding gap next year had to be met and a key decision made about where the money would come from to fill the gap.

I was noted that approximately ¾ of primary schools and ¼ of secondary schools had sufficient carry forward balances to absorb the funding gap for one year.

Resolved –

(1)          That the information provided in the update be received.

(2)          That the Schools Forum and officers be thanked for the diligent and conscientious way in which the budget recommendations to the Executive have been produced.

ACTION: Strategic Director of Children’s Services

The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “AE”) provides information on the Children Services 2017-18 and 2018-19 budget proposals. 

Recommended –

The Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee to note the details of the budget saving proposals for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

(Michael Jameson – 01274 431266)

The report of the Director of Children’s Services (Document “AE”) provided information on the Children Services 2017-18 and 2018-19 budget proposals.  He referred to the challenging financial situation facing the Council at a time of increasing demand and noted that funding relating to CSE had been protected.

In response to a member question about the reduction of the child protection teams form 14 to 10 the Strategic Director advised that the proposal was the subject of consultation and on going discussions.  He gave an assurance that the proposals would not result in reducing the number of front line social workers.  A workload analysis was being undertaken and there was an assumption that the changes could be made by streamlining and efficiencies and creating a senior practitioner role within the teams.

Resolved –

That the details of the budget saving proposals for 2017-18 and 2018-19 be noted.

No action

The report of the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Document “AF”) presents the Committee’s Work Programme 2016-17.

Recommended –

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

(Licia Woodhead – 01274 432119)

Resolved –

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

ACTION: Overview & Scrutiny Lead