Meeting documents

Children's Services Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday, 26 September 2006

CH260906

Notice of Meeting

Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee Tuesday 26 September 2006 at 10.00 am at County Hall, Oxford

Membership

Chairman – Councillor Mrs Anda Fitzgerald-O’Connor Deputy Chairman – Councillor Melinda Tilley

Councillors:	Jean Fooks	Deborah Glass Woodin	Sue Haffenden
	Steve Hayward	Bill Service	Val Smith
	Keith Stone	Lawrie Stratford	David Turner
	Nicholas P. Turner	Carol Viney
Co-opted Members:	Mr Chris Bevan	Mr Ben Jackson	Mrs Sue Matthew
	Ms Bernadine Spencer

Notes:

What does this Committee review or scrutinise?

Services for children, young people and families; preventative services; child protection; family support, educational policy
Primary & secondary schools; special education; pupil services; school transport; music service
Conduct of best value reviews as specified in Paragraph 9 of Schedule 2 to the Functions Regulations

How can I have my say?

We welcome the views of the community on any issues in relation to the responsibilities of this Committee. Members of the public may ask to speak for up to 5 minutes on any item on the agenda or may suggest matters which they would like the Committee to look at.

For more information about this Committee please contact:

Chairman - Councillor Mrs Anda Fitzgerald O’Connor
E.Mail: anda.fitzgerald@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Committee Officer - Deborah Miller, Tel: (01865) 815463
E.Mail: deborah.miller@oxfordshire.gov.uk

For Scrutiny Review Officers contact - Chris Spurgeon, Tel: (01865) 815029
E.Mail: scrutiny@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Derek Bishop
Head of Democratic Services

September 2006

About the County Council

The Oxfordshire County Council is made up of 74 councillors who are democratically elected every four years. The Council provides a range of services to Oxfordshire’s 630,000 residents. These include:

schools	social & health care	libraries and museums
the fire service	roads	trading standards
land use	transport planning	waste management

Each year the Council manages £0.8 billion of public money in providing these services. Most decisions are taken by a Cabinet of 10 Councillors, which makes decisions about service priorities and spending. Some decisions will now be delegated to individual members of the Cabinet.

About Scrutiny

Scrutiny is about:

Providing a challenge to the Cabinet

Examining how well the Cabinet and the Authority are performing

Influencing the Cabinet on decisions that affect local people

Helping the Cabinet to develop Council policies

Representing the community in Council decision making

Promoting joined up working across the authority’s work

Scrutiny is NOT about:

Making day to day service decisions
Investigating individual complaints.

Five Scrutiny committees ‘scrutinise’ or review and challenge decisions made by the Cabinet or the appropriate Cabinet Member and help it develop Council policies. There are Scrutiny Committees for:

Corporate Governance
Children’s Services
Environment & Economy
Community Safety
Social & Community Services

There is also a Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee which brings together councillors from the County and the five district councils in Oxfordshire to scrutinise health issues.

What does this Committee do?

The Committee meets up to 6 times a year or more. It develops a work programme, which lists the issues it plans to investigate. These investigations can include whole committee investigations undertaken during the meeting, or reviews by a panel of members doing research and talking to lots of people outside of the meeting. Once an investigation is completed the Committee provides its advice to the Cabinet, the full Council or other scrutiny committees. Meetings are open to the public and all reports are available to the public unless exempt or confidential, when the items would be considered in closed session.

AGENDA

Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments

Declarations of Interest - see guidance note

Minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2006 (CH3) and to note for information any matters arising on them.

Speaking to or Petitioning the Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2006/07

10:10

Background Information:	In July, the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group agreed that presentations should be given during the September round of Scrutiny meetings, highlighting key areas in Directorate budgets for the next financial year and that the relevant Cabinet Members should be invited to give these presentations in conjunction with the Director. This presentation has been arranged to allow Members to have an early indication of key issues, and is intended to assist their scrutiny of the budget at the December meeting.
Why has it been included?	To enable Members of this Committee to receive a presentation on the key budget issues relating to this Committee for the coming financial year.
How is the Committee going to deal with it?	The Cabinet Members for Schools Improvement and Children, Young People & Families together with the Director for Children, Young People & Families will give a brief presentation on the Budget. The Committee will then have the opportunity to ask questions on areas of interest. *The Committee is asked to consider whether it would wish to set up a Task Group to identify a particular area within the Budget for the committee to focus on.***
When are they going to do it?	During this meeting.
Who is going to take part in this piece of work?	All Members of this Committee.
Work to be done prior to the meeting:	None.
Documents Members should bring to the meeting:	None

Scrutiny Review of Gifted Children: Draft Review Report

11:10

Background Information:	On 27 September, this Committee agreed as part of their work programme to undertake a scrutiny review of Gifted Children and appointed Councillor Deborah Glass-Woodin, Hilary Hibbert-Biles, Val Smith and Melinda Tilley to the Lead Member Review Group. Having collected a wide variety of evidence, the review group now presents its findings in this draft report CH6 (download as .pdf file), for the Committee’s consideration.
Why has it been included?	This item has been included on the Agenda to enable the Committee to offer any advice on how to improve the draft Review Report, in order to assist with the production of the final report.
How is the Committee going to deal with it?	Members of the Review Group will talk to the draft Review Report, highlighting the key findings and recommendations in the Report. The Committee will then be asked to evaluate the response paying particular regard to whether the Review has achieved its objectives and if the findings and conclusions follow from the evidence.
Who is going to take part in this piece of work?	All Members of this Committee. Professor John Geake, and Councillor Hillary Hibbert-Biles, Chairman of the Lead Member Group have been invited to attend to contribute to the discussion on this item.
Work to be done prior to the meeting:	Members are asked to consider the report attached at CH6, in preparation for the discussion.
Documents Members should bring to the meeting:	None.

Stability of Placements for Children Looked After Scrutiny Review

12:10

Background Information:	The former Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee undertook a Review of the Stability of Foster Care Placements. The purpose of the Review was to: establish the current situation in Oxfordshire and the Council’s policies on placement; establish the statistics concerning the breakdown of placements; establish whether there was any way of improving the likelihood of successful foster care placements; ensure that adequate support was available and given to support foster carers and the children being fostered and to ensure that inappropriate placements were not being made to foster care; make comparisons with best policy and practice in other local authorities and to incorporate these into Oxfordshire’s policy and practice so that "looked after children" had the best chances of stable placements which should improve their life chances. The Review was prompted in the knowledge that the service for "Looked after children" was good but that it could be even better. The Review was informed by a range of evidence outlined in the Executive summary to the report. The main findings were around the need for more and/or better: Recruitment of foster carers. Training & payment for skills of foster carers. Placement choice. Support for foster carers and the children. Involvement & consultation with the children themselves. "Specialised" foster care. Supported lodgings and leaving care housing provision. Financial remuneration for foster carers. The recommendations focused on these main findings. The Scrutiny Committee was keen that the Review should be completed in sufficient time to have an impact on the implementation plan for the Social & Health Care Directorate’s "Placement Matters" strategy. The timing of this work coming before the Cabinet means that it will be able to do so. On 12 July 2005, this Scrutiny Committee agreed the report of the review group as submitted and referred it to the cabinet for consideration. On 19 July, the Cabinet resolved to endorse the response of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People (attached at CH7).
Why has it been included?	At its Meeting on 28 February 2006, this Committee received a 6 month update in relation to the progress of implementing the Review recommendations and agreed to ask for a further update in 6 months time. The Committee is asked to question the Head of Service, Early Years & Family Support in relation to any further progress achieved in implementing the Review recommendations that the (then) Executive endorsed.
How is the Committee going to deal with it?	By means of a question and answer session.
When are they going to do it?	During this meeting.
Who is going to take part in this piece of work?	All Members of this Committee. The Head of Service, Early Years & Family Support.
Work to be done prior to the meeting:	Members are asked to consider the response attached at CH7 in preparation for the discussion. A copy of the full Scrutiny Review has been sent out to all Members of this Committee. A copy will be available for public inspection and is also available on the County Council’s website www.oxfordshire.gov.uk or from Deborah Miller on (01865)815463, or e-mail: deborah.miller@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Documents Members should bring to the meeting:	Members may wish to bring their copy of the full Scrutiny Review to the meeting.

Healthy Schools Scrutiny Review

12:40

Background Information:	On 27 September, this Committee agreed as part of their work programme to undertake a scrutiny review of ‘gifted children’ and appointed Councillors Mrs Anda Fitzgerald O’Connor, Keith Stone and Jean Fooks to the Lead Member Review Group. The final scoping template was agreed by the Lead Member Review Group in consultation with a Scrutiny Review Officer and submitted to the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group for approval. On 31 July 2006, the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group approved the resources for this Review, a copy of which is attached for information at CH8 (download as .doc file).
Why has it been included?	*To endorse the scoping template and receive an oral update from the Lead Member Group on progress and ask questions on areas of interest.*
How is the Committee going to deal with it?	During this meeting and at future meetings.
Who is going to take part in this piece of work?	All Members of this Committee.
Work to be done prior to the meeting:	None.
Documents Members should bring to the meeting:	None.

Tracking Scrutiny Items

12:55

Report back on advice by this Committee to the Cabinet or Council.

Post 16 SEN provision

The Cabinet considered a report (CA8), which addressed options for delivering the framework for change to post 16 SEN provision in Oxfordshire.

Councillor Fitzgerald-O’Connor, speaking as Chairman of Children's Services Scrutiny Committee, commended the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee and expressed regret as to the apparent lack of understanding on the part of the Learning & Skills Council about the position in Oxfordshire.

Councillor Turner, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement, urged the adoption of option 3 within the report. He cited Oxford and Cherwell Valley College as a good example of SEN provision but suggested that overall there were few such examples among the colleges. He accepted that re-allocating responsibility for Post-16 SEN provision to schools would not be without expense, but believed that there were signs that the LSC would consider some funding if the County Council agreed to make such provision. He believed that this should be pursued.

Councillor Moley, speaking as a local member for the Fitzwarren Special School, also spoke in support of option 3, referring to the anomalous position of Oxfordshire in relation to Post-16 SEN provision.

In line with the recommendations of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee the Cabinet -

RESOLVED: to:

carry out further work, including the assessment of resource implications and consultation with parents, around Option 3 set out in paragraphs 20 – 24 of the report;

continue negotiations with the Learning & Skills Council and the Department for Education & Skills for further funding options and robustly press the case for additional central funding to be made available to the County Council;

support the proposals (a), (b), (d) and (e) set out in the written submission from CHOICE, namely that:

"post 16 school based provision should be provided as soon as possible with a binding timetable for positive change that is open to public scrutiny;

"all parents, including those with SEN children in mainstream schools, must be kept up-to-date on all proceedings;
"the Curriculum framework should be adopted as soon as possible and then used as a predictive tool to calculate the future need and placement of children enabling accurate cost estimates to be developed;

"Oxfordshire needs to be brought into line with best practice. With the adoption of the same educational practices as the rest of the country SEN children will enter FE colleges at 19 when they are more emotionally able to cope with this major change. Therefore college numbers should not go down; instead pupils will enter college later. If Oxfordshire colleges were to manage this transition by retaining the current cohort of 19 year olds, there would be no problem with dwindling student numbers as a transitory lower intake will be balanced by the retention of older students."

Forward Plan

13:00

The Committee is asked to suggest items from the current Forward Plan on which it may wish to have an opportunity to offer advice to the Cabinet before any decision is taken.

(Please bring along to the meeting the latest copy of the Forward Plan which, at the time of writing covers October 2006 to January 2007).

(Members are asked to contact the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and/or the Committee Officer at least 3 days before the meeting should they wish to raise an item on the Forward Plan for possible consideration).

If you have any special requirements (such as a large print version of these papers or special access facilities) please contact the officer named on the front page, but please give as much notice as possible before the meeting

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