Meeting documents

Children's Services Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday, 23 May 2006

CH230506-addenda

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CHILDREN’S SERVICES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 23 MAY 2006

ADDENDA

ITEM

7. Charging in Schools

Additional documents from Abingdon Citizens Advice Bureau are attached (download as .doc file)

11. Tracking Scrutiny Items

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

    • Children & Young People’s Plan

Councillor Fooks, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, generally welcomed the Plan and particularly the summary produced for children and young people. She referred to the comments of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee, particularly in relation to bullying in schools as the issue of widest concern among young people, the need for an increase in facilities for cycling as part of health promotion and the need for development of the number and range of youth centres. She also referred to the need for improvements in the recruitment and retention of foster carers.

Councillor Turner, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement, also endorsed the Plan but expressed concern that the wording on the reduction of drug and alcohol abuse appeared to sanction a degree of illegal use. He suggested specific objectives to stop all illegal use and reduce the level of alcohol use. He also requested information on services/events in Oxford and Banbury to launch Learning Matters in those areas and whether the Learning Matters information pack was to be distributed further.

Councillor Chapman thanked the officers involved for their hard work and enthusiasm. Responding to the comments made she confirmed that changes would be incorporated in the Plan as a result of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee advice but expressed caution on suggestions that cycle track schemes omitted from the Local Transport Plan might be reinstated, in view of government funding restrictions. She expressed the hope that the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee would assist with overseeing the implementation of the Plan by nominating a champion for each of its main themes.

In response to Councillor Turner, Councillor Waine agreed to that the wording regarding drug and alcohol misuse needed tightening. He also confirmed that Learning Matters events were being organised in the coming months for the Oxford and Banbury areas, hosted by the three MPs, and that he would look at ways to ensure the information pack reached the right people.

RESOLVED: to:

    1. RECOMMEND the Council to approve the Children and Young People’s Plan, subject to any final consequential and editorial adjustments by the Director for Children, Young People & Families in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families;

    2. request officers to inform the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee periodically on progress in implementing the Plan to enable the Committee to review and advise on elements of the implementation programme as they might see relevant.

    • Children & Young People’s Board

Councillor Chapman thanked the officers involved and welcomed the comments made by the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee. In response to comments from Councillor Couchman she indicated her acceptance of the principle that Oxfordshire magistrates should be represented on the Children and Young People’s Partnership.

RESOLVED: to:

    1. endorse the approach set out in the report for securing improvement in outcomes for children, young people and families and in particular the proposals for:

      1. the establishment of a Children and Young People’s Board with effect from April 2006;

      2. the establishment of a Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership that would report to the Board;

      3. the plan to develop a Joint Commissioning Team in line with the Council’s directorate realignment;

      4. the plans to establish a "collective voice" for the children and young people voluntary sector;

    2. authorise the Director for Children, Young People & Families, in consultation with the various partner bodies, to agree the detailed arrangements for the implementation of (a) above including, in consultation also with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, formal terms of reference for the Children and Young People’s Board.

    • Locality Working and Integrated Support Services for Children, Young People & Families

Councillor Fooks, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, commented on the disappointing response received from the consultation process, particularly on agencies’ willingness to devote time and resources to the administration/coordination process. She also expressed a lack of confidence that the child index would function adequately when considering central government’s history with large-scale ICT projects. She supported continuing with the trial but urged the importance of a coordinated system.

Councillor Chapman, Councillor Waine, the Chief Executive and Mrs Bingham responded to Councillor Fooks’ comments and to questions by other members of the Cabinet. Pilots had already been conducted on a system for the child index and would need to be subject to a rigorous assessment. This would be overseen by one of the steering groups being set up for the various strands of the project; reporting and accountability issues for these groups were currently being resolved and officers would report back as appropriate to the Children and Young People's Board and the Cabinet. It was noted that the Scrutiny Committee also wished to review progress in due course.

RESOLVED: to:

agree the development of local, multi-disciplinary teams across Oxfordshire to meet the needs of children, young people and families on the basis described in the report;

    1. ask the Director for Children, Young People & Families:

      1. to work with partners on the detailed arrangements for implementation; and

      2. to report to the Children & Young People’s Board on the proposals for their advice and endorsement;

    2. subject to (b) above, authorise the Director for Children, Young People & Families, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, to agree the detailed arrangements for the implementation of the proposals.

    • White Paper: Higher Standards, Better Schools for All

    • The Cabinet had before it a schedule recording the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee’s advice on the three motions referred by Council to the Cabinet via the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Fooks, as proposer of two of the motions, referred to the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee’s advice, commenting that education should help every child to fulfil their potential, the proposals would result in less democratic accountability, extending choice of schools would be meaningless in rural areas, the proposals concerning school admissions would work against the provision of good local schools for every child and that local authorities should be able to support school governors in improving schools experiencing difficulties rather than being encouraged to close them down.

Councillor Waine stated that he broadly welcomed the Bill, commenting that many of the initiatives were already in place. He proposed a basis for the advice to be given to the Council on behalf of the Cabinet, highlighting in particular the importance of parental responsibility; the role of ‘specialist diplomas’ in ensuring that non-academic children were also able to fulfil their potential; that the ‘choice’ aspects of the Bill were not necessarily relevant to rural areas; that control over funding should be returned to local authorities; and that admission arrangements needed to be seen as fair and transparent.

RESOLVED: to:

    1. note the advice of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee in relation to the three motions and forward the advice to the Council;

    2. advise the Council that the Cabinet:

      1. broadly supported the direction of the White Paper and the Education and Inspection Bill currently before Parliament, with the aim of improving schools for every child;

      2. welcomed:

        1. moves towards a mixed economy of schools that were available to offer parents real choice in large urban areas;

        2. the intervention proposals;

        3. the discipline proposals;

        4. the proposals that underlined parental responsibility;

        5. the strengthening of performance management;

        6. the development of ‘specialist diplomas’ to  recognise vocational  education;

        7. support for personalised learning;

      3. was concerned that:

        1. the ‘choice’ aspects of the Bill were city orientated and were not necessarily relevant to rural areas, where choice would not always be possible and where the financial costs of transport, and potentially the environmental costs also, would be high;

        2. the Bill failed to address 16-19 funding issues and if the local authority was to have a truly strategic role then the Learning and Skills Council should be abolished;

        3. the Bill contained real contradictions in respect of the local authority taking a strategic role;

      4. accepted that, with diversity, the local authority’s role in admission arrangements would change, but considered that this did not prevent it fulfilling the role of being best placed to work with all schools to ensure fair admission policies and practice across the authority.

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