ITEM EX3 - ANNEX 2EXECUTIVE – 1 MARCH 2005Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 5.40 pmYouth Offending – Scrutiny
Review "The Executive thanks the review members for a useful and helpful report. Since the terms of reference for the review were drawn up much work has been done in the area of truancy and behaviour support, with particular reference to the extra difficulties faced by children in care. For instance: "(i) Monitoring of truancy is already taking place in areas where returns show the greatest need. "(ii) A revised Behaviour Support strategy was agreed in June 2004, and mailed to all head teachers and chairs of governors with a letter signed by the Executive members for Schools, Community Learning, and Children & Young People. "(iii) Revised guidance on schools' bullying policies was sent to schools in December with a request to them to review their own policies in the light of the guidance. The guidance notes that bullying can be a significant cause of truancy. "(iv) The 2005-06 budget contains a sum of £463k specifically for a package of measures to support both the educational attainment and the placement stability of children in care. The educational elements of this package will also benefit other disadvantaged children. "(v) A 'virtual school' will be established for children in care from September 2005. The head teacher will have responsibility for monitoring all aspects of the education of children in care, including attendance. "(vi) As pointed out in the report, the improvement of services for young people to prevent them being drawn into offending behaviour is one of the goals of the Council's plan. As such it is always within the sights of CCMT as a whole. "The Executive would like to give these measures time to become established and to work, rather than divert staff from them to pursue the same ends by other means. Any additional monitored information of truancy could well be added to the information reported on a quarterly basis to the Children's Panel."
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