Meeting documents

Notice of Meeting

Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee Tuesday 11 July 2006 at 10.00 am at County Hall, Oxford

Membership

Chairman – Councillor Mrs Anda Fitzgerald-O’Connor

Deputy Chairman – Councillor Melinda Tilley

Notes:

Derek Bishop
Head of Democratic Services

July 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 622,000 people. These include:

The Council employs 18,840 people. Each year the Council manages £0.7 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.

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 and help it develop Council policies. There are Scrutiny Committees for:

• Corporate Governance
• Children’s Services
• Environment & Economy
• Community Safety
• Health & 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

1. Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments
   
   
2. Declarations of Interest – see guidance note
   
   
3. Minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2006 (CH3) and to note for information any matters arising on them.

4. Speaking to or Petitioning the Committee
   
   
5. Post-16 SEN Provision

10:10

Background Information:	Oxfordshire is unique in that none of its special schools caters for pupils beyond the age of 16. In the 1980s a decision was taken by the County Council to create its post 16 provision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) in what were then the LEA’s colleges of further education. The rationale was that these colleges had expertise in helping "non academic" pupils make the transition into adult life and were better placed to meet the needs of this group than 12 relatively small special schools. Upon incorporation in 1993 the capital and revenue budgets for this provision transferred to the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC), which has, subsequently, been replaced by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). This arrangement may have been appropriate at the time but in recent years the colleges have not felt able to meet the needs of all pupils who have to leave special schools. This, and a lack of confidence in college provision, has led parents (many represented by CHOICE, a parent group) to ask the Council to offer continuation in special school as an option. It has also led to a small, but significant, number of students having to be placed outside Oxfordshire, often at great expense to the County Council. While Oxfordshire is 14th lowest user of out-county places in England overall, its post 16 usage is twice the national average. Parents also express their concern that in most authorities post 16 pupils with severe learning difficulties remain in special schools until the age of 18 or 19 and then transfer to college for a further period of education.
Why has it been included?	To enable this Committee to comment on the report prior to the consideration by the Cabinet.
How is the Committee going to deal with it?	During a one meeting session. The Committee is asked to consider what advice, if any, to offer to the Cabinet.
Who is going to take part in this piece of work?	All members of the Committee. Mr Simon Adams, Senior Education Officer will attend to give a brief presentation outlining the main proposals in the report and to answer any questions which the Committee may wish to ask. Mr David Ansell, Executive Director of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire has also been invited to attend to talk about this issue and answer any questions which the Committee may wish to ask.
Work to be done prior to the meeting:	Members are asked to consider the report (CH5), in preparation of the discussion.
Documents Members should bring to the meeting:	None.

6. Faith Schools Scrutiny Review: Evaluation

11:10

Background Information:

The Executive made decisions in respect of the recommendations from this Scrutiny Review on 24 July 2004 and 19 July 2005. it is now your chance to hold the Cabinet to account for what it has done since last year. The main objectives of the review were to:- Gather a wide range of information/responses from many sources and the implications of these for existing schools and the community as a whole.

	Consider the local and national context in relation to the education of Muslim pupils and provision of faith-based secondary education. Provide a briefing paper to guide the County Council’s medium-to long-term response to these and related issues and; Make recommendations.
Why has it been included?	It has now been over a year since the (then) Executive agreed the recommendations of this Scrutiny Review. The Committee is asked to question the Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement in relation to the progress of 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 and the Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement.
Work to be done prior to the meeting:	A reminder of the main objectives of the Review and suggested lines of inquiry is attached at CH6. A copy of the full scrutiny review has been sent to all members of this Committee. A copy of this report will be available for public inspection and is also available on the County Council’s Web site www.oxfordshire.gov.uk or from Deborah Miller on (01865) 815463, 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.

7. Scrutiny Review of Gifted Children

12:00

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 Deborah Glass-Woodin, Hilary Hibbert-Biles, Val Smith and Melinda Tilley to the Lead Member Review Group.
Why has it been included?	To inform the Committee of current progress on this review and to enable members to ask questions on areas of interest.
When are they going to do 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.

8. "Healthy Schools" Scrutiny Review
   
   (download as .doc file)
   

12:10

Background Information:	On 27 September, this Committee agreed as part of their work programme to undertake a scrutiny review of ‘gifted children’ and appointed Councillors Mrs Anda Fitzgerald O’Connor, Keith Stone and Jean Fooks to the Lead Member Review Group.
Why has it been included?	To inform the Committee of current progress on this review and to enable members to 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.

9. Tracking Scrutiny Items

12:20

• Home to School & College Transport

RESOLVED:

1. to defer consideration of Proposal 1 (transport to faith schools) for review in the context of the budget for 2007/08 and future years;
2. not to pursue Proposal 2, which would end free transport to Chiltern Edge School for those not resident in Oxfordshire;
3. not to pursue Proposal 3, which would introduce of transport charges for post-16 SEN students;
4. not to pursue Proposal 4, which proposed the use of free school meals/working tax credit as grounds to waive the concessionary charge in place of existing criteria.

• Charging in Schools

10. Forward Plan

12:40

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