Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed members, officers, and residents.  He welcomed Cllr Elphinstone to her new role as a member of the Committee and noted that Cllr Povolotsky would be joining the Committee from 1 April 2023.

Apologies were received from Ruth Bennie and from Cllr Thomas (substitute: Cllr Povolotsky).

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2023                       (POSC4) and to receive information arising from them.

The Committee is recommended to AGREE the minutes as an accurate record having raised any necessary amendments.

7/23 The Committee noted that the minutes recorded that the Council response to the Parent Carer Forum recommendations described in agenda item 7 would be circulated to the Committee.  The Committee was disappointed to have only received it on the morning of the Committee which had given no opportunity for members to consider the response.  There was a call for the item on SEND to be moved to a later date to enable proper consideration.

The Chair was asked to provide officers with a firm deadline three or four working days in advance of Committee meetings for submissions to be received.

9/23 The Committee noted that it had also requested a third action including a full data report on all aspects of schools, including exclusions, part-time education, off-rolling, and suspensions.

With that amendment, the Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2023 as a true and accurate record.

Anneliese Miller addressed the Committee on agenda item 8 and explained that she was a member of the Save our Bus Seats campaign group representing 235 families.  Ms Miller reported that the group had undertaken a vast amount of research and that, collectively, the group understood the subject better than anyone else.  She called for the implementation of the removal of the spare seats policy to to be paused and described how the Spare Seats Scheme was a source of income and not a cost.  She called for the Council to work with Save our Bus Seats on a payment model and to show that the Council agreed every child in the county mattered and not just those living within the Oxford ring road.

Cllr Snowdon also addressed the Committee on agenda item 8 and praised those parents affected for their support and hard work and described them as driven and organised. He commended the report in the main whilst raising concerns about some elements of it and thanked officers for answering his questions.

Anna Antell addressed the Committee on agenda item 6.  She explained that she was a grandparent carer of a child who had been excluded from mainstream education in December 2021.  He had started at Huckleberry School in January 2022 and had only three hours contact per day until he was excluded from there in May 2022.  Ms Antell reported that she had received only one telephone call and two emails from the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) team between December 2021 and January 2023.  She explained that, whilst it had been argued that central government funding was the root cause of all problems relating to SEND, it was not central government funding that caused the appalling lack of communication.

A fourth speaker addressed the Committee on agenda item 8.  She explained that her son had been diagnosed as autistic when he was four and that he had an EHCP.  Through the hard work and commitment of staff at Stadhampton Primary School and at Icknield Community College, her son has progressed and had now chosen his GCSE options.  Removing the Spare Seats Scheme would be terrible for her son: a change in transport would be overwhelming and a change of school would be devastated.  She implored the Council not to undo all the positive changes that her son had experienced.

She asked that members read the document sent to them and that they should believe it.  None of the 235 children, exclusively from rural areas, would get seats yet the Spare Seats Scheme income offset free places.  As a single parent in social housing about to lose her livelihood as a result of the change, the speaker called on the Committee to stop the removal of the scheme

Cllr Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, thanked the Chair for allowing him to address the Committee on agenda item 8, although he had not been on the original list of speakers.  He explained that he had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/23

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, and Kevin Gordon, Corporate Director for Children’s Services will lead on presenting a report on SEND developments.

The Committee is recommended to consider the report, ask any questions and AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising from the report and discussion.

Cllr Liz Brighouse,  Cabinet Member for Children, Education, and Young People’s Services, attended to present the report on developments in Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).  She was accompanied by Kevin Gordon, Director of Children’s Services, Hayley Good, Deputy Director for Education, and Kate Bradley, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).  Cllr Brighouse introduced the report and explained that SEND had been one of the most difficult challenges faced by the administration since it took office when there was a £17m deficit in the High Needs Block.  That deficit had increased and it was a national issue rather than one unique to Oxfordshire.

Cllr Brighouse reported that she had recently met councillors from across the country who had asked a minister at the Department for Housing, Levelling Up, and Communities (DHLUC) to raise the issue with the Chancellor of the Exchequer because, without it being taken off the books, local authorities across the country were likely to go bankrupt.  At national level, leaders across the political spectrum were talking to representatives of local government to address the issue.

Cllr Brighouse explained that the national SEND strategy which had been issued tied in with the approach taken in Oxfordshire to focus on support in local schools.  She reminded the Committee that the Council had applied for another two special schools but that those bids were not successful.  She described how the Council was considering how to better support resource bases within mainstream schools and how, not least as the grandmother of a 17 year old on the autistic spectrum without an EHCP, she is determined that the Council will make a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable children.

The Director of Children’s Services reminded the Committee that this was the second paper relating to SEND submitted in successive meetings.  This report focused on performance and what had happened nationally.  He described SEND as one of the biggest responsibilities the Council held and explained that, in his view, the Committee should never not be considering SEND and that his team was always considering SEND. 

The Deputy Director reported that the Government paper on SEND and an alternative provision improvement plan had been issued very recently.  She explained that it was helpful in some ways but had not given the level of detail for which many had hoped.  At a local level, the Council continued to follow the priorities the team had been working on, particularly how to support the implementation of more early intervention.  The Council was well aware that the earlier the intervention the more impactful it was

The Head of SEND gave a summary of the report and explained that, whilst there were no legislative changes, the plan includes national standards, a national Education Health Care Plan template, focused initial teacher training in SEND, and a refreshed National Award for Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinators.  She particularly welcomed the focused training.

Ms Bradley explained that there would not be an immediate change as much of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15/23

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services and Hayley Good, Deputy Director for Education will lead on presenting a report and presentation on the Council’s 2022 Pupil Education Outcomes data.

NB The presentation contains a number of confidential slides. Should members of the committee wish to discuss the content of the slides in detail it will be necessary to go into confidential session.

The Committee is recommended to consider the report, ask any questions and AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising from the report and discussion.

In order for the report on Educational Outcomes to be considered in appropriate depth, the Committee agreed to appoint a sub-group to consider the report.

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee previously established the Home to School Transport Working Group. This group has now concluded its work and a draft of its report is attached. Cllr Graham, as Chair of this group, will present it to the Committee. The Committee is recommended to AGREE for the report to be adopted by the Committee and sent on to Cabinet accordingly having raised any questions or suggested amendments.

Cllr Graham introduced the report of the Home to School Transport Working Group and thanked members of the Group for their work as well as to the officers who had provided evidence to it.  Cllr Graham wished to pay particular thanks to Marco Dias, Interim Scrutiny Officer, for his support in producing the report.

After discussion and exploration by the Committee, the Committee resolved to AGREE for the report to be adopted by the Committee and sent on to Cabinet with the following recommendations, as well as the report making clearer that the content of paragraphs 43 and 44 were taken from the national guidance rather than being the view of either the Council or of the Working Group:

1.    The Council engage with schools regarding whether there are circumstances in which they would consider providing home to school transport for pupils entitled under the Home to School Transport policy.

2.    That Cabinet decide between:

A: Home to School Transport only be provided for post-16 students at the beginning and end of a school day.

B: Budgets to remain the same for travel to after school clubs and respite care, with the Service ensuring that budgets are not overspent.

3.    The Council pilot adjusting a small number of Home to School Transport routes to fill as many unfilled spare seats as practicable.

4.    The Council’s Home to School Transport Policy be amended so that spare seat prices are commensurate with the cost of providing them, including through the introduction of further price bands which better align with the costs of different routes.

5.    That a moratorium on changes to the Spare Seats Scheme is set up swiftly to allow time for the Council to address outstanding issues.

6.    The Council reassess Home to School Transport entitlement when a child begins to receive the majority of their tuition at a different site of a split-site school to that in relation to which their transport entitlement was originally assessed. The entitlement to be re-evaluated when they move to the second site or at the start of their tuition, taking both sites into consideration and planning accordingly.

7.    The Council look at possible exceptions and transitional arrangements to provide spare seats to children if a new school has become the nearest available, but one or more siblings attend the previously nearest school.

8.    That walking route safety assessments are regularly and consistently reassessed where circumstances may have changed, ensuring councillors are consulted (i.e. at localities meetings) and that data on assessments is made publicly available. Route safety assessments should also consider both short and long term weather conditions.

9.    The Council to explore investing to save in supporting independent travel by increasing the budget, exploring delivery models and recruiting more independent travel trainers.

10.Feedback from transport eligibility appeals to be used to improve digital capabilities (communications, guidance and data collection) and to improve outcomes.

11.That the contents of this report be referred to the next Climate Action Program Board.

To consider an update on previously-agreed actions and recommendations.

The Committee is recommended to NOTE the status of current actions and recommendations having raised any questions on their contents.

The Committee resolved to NOTE the status of current actions and recommendations.

The Committee is asked to consider the proposed work programme. The Scrutiny Officer will present any suggestions arising from the BMMR review meeting attended by the Chair and vice Chair. In deciding the work programme the Committee is also asked to consider the relevance of any items on the Cabinet’s Forward Plan.

The Committee is recommended to AGREE its work programme.

The Committee resolved to AGREE its work programme.

None to report.

There were none.