Agenda and minutes

Councillor Nick Turner declared a Personal Interest in Agenda Item 6 by virtue of his position as the person responsible for safeguarding of children at his place of employment (Drayton Leisure).

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2010 (CH3) and to note for information any matters arising on them.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 9 November 2010 were approved and signed.

10:10

Contact Officer: Meera Spillett – Director for Children, Young People & Families, tel (01865) 815122

The Director will give a presentation to the Committee which will provide a high level overview of the services provided by the Directorate and the challenges which will need to be addressed to meet the target.

The Committee is invited to receive a presentation from the Director to be followed by and question & answer session.

The Director for Children, Young People & Families reported that she had attended the National Children and Adult Services; shaping the present, building the future Conference held in Manchester in November.  The National Children and Adult Services Conference was an established event that saw an audience of approximately 1200 high-level attendees coming together for three days to discuss and debate the latest issues affecting children and adult services. The 2010 conference was held in Manchester at the newly revamped Manchester Central.

This year's programme included a mix of keynote/ministerial addresses and other significant plenary sessions by key players in adult and childrens services. There was also the opportunity to take part in a variety of participatory breakouts and networking sessions.  Key speakers at the conference included Sarah Teather MP, Tim Loughton MP, Andrew Lansley, Michael Gove, Sir David Nicholson and Professor Eileen Munro.

She reported on the Key messages coming out of the conference as follows:

DfE Vision

·        We are committed to transforming our education system so all children, regardless of their background, thrive and prosper.

·        For parents to have more high quality schools to choose from, more opportunities to open new schools, and more opportunities to get involved in the running of existing schools.

·        To replace top-down targets and a culture of inspection with more transparent arrangement and a focus on underperformance.

·        To support those who work in our schools and children’s services.

·        Where government has a role to play, we will empower families and ensure that all children are protected from harm and neglect.

Schools

·        The process for identifying underperforming schools to convert to academy status and the process for allowing all schools to convert are scheduled to begin in Dec 2010;

·        Guaranteed Unit of Funding for Schools will be introduced in 2011 

·         New floor standards - these will apply from January 2011;

·        Education Endowment Fund to which Schools and LAs can apply to support Schools to  improve both their levels of attainment and the progress they make with their pupils;

·        Proposals for University Technical Colleges will be progressed by March 2011, with the aim of opening the first such technical college in Sept 2011;

·        Future revenue funding arrangements for schools will be contained in the Schools White Paper and are likely to include a National Schools single formula;

·        Reading tests at age 6 will be piloted from June 2011;

·        Plans to improve apprenticeships will be published by March 2011 to begin by Sept 2011;

·        Reform to inspection of schools by Dec 2011;

·        Proposals to improve teacher training and CPD will be published by Dec 2010;

·         Proposals on teachers’ pay and performance management relations will be presented in 2011-12.

Social Care & Social Work

·        New standards for the employers of social workers will be developed for May 2011, and for social workers by Sept 2011.

·        Reform to inspection of local authorities is expected to be implemented by May 2012.

·        Details of the early intervention grant will be included in the local government settlement in December 2010.

·        The number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

11:10

Contact Officer: Jim Leivers – Interim Head of Services for Children & Families, tel (01865) 328271

To receive a presentation on the latest position in the County Council on safeguarding Children

The Committee is invited to receive a presentation followed by a question & answer session.

The Committee received a detailed presentation from Mr Jim Leivers, Head of Children’s Services, Ms Penny Browne, Assessment & Family support and Ms Karen Palmer, Area Service Manager C&F North on current safeguarding issues in Oxfordshire.  A copy of the presentation is appended to these Minutes and to the signed copy of the Minutes.

Following debate, the Chairman encouraged Members to take up the offer to spend time with assessment teams within their areas.

The Committee thanked the officers for their presentations and AGREED to ask officers to report back to the Committee at its May Meeting once budget implications were known.

12:10

Contact: Roger Edwards, Policy & Performance Tel (01865) 810824

The Children’s Scrutiny Educational Attainment working group concluded this year’s work on specifically primary educational attainment with a Select Committee on the 29^th June 2010. Based on the findings from the working group’s 16 schools visits, three areas were covered on the day: Children’s Centres; Improving the School Environment; and Collaborative working. The outcomes and recommendations from the Select Committee’s discussions will be set out in the briefing paper to be circulated separately.

The Committee is asked to consider and approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before them a report (CH7) which presented the findings of the Educational Attainment Working Group on primary educational attainment.

Following debate, Members of the committee made a number of minor suggestions which the Working Group agreed to take into account when finalising the report prior to the recommendations being sent to the Cabinet Member for School Improvement and the Director of Children, Young People & Families.   Members further agreed to request an update on progress in November 2011.

12:30

To approve the updated work programme.  Members of the Committee have received a briefing paper under separate cover giving background detail on Special schools and admission at nursery age.

The Committee is asked to approve the work programme.

The Committee AGREED the work programme attached at CH8, subject to adding the following item “Special schools and admission at nursery age” to a summer meeting.

12:40

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, together with details of what it thinks could be achieved by looking at any items.

The Committee identified no items from the current Forward Plan on which it wished to have an opportunity to offer advice to the Cabinet before any decision was taken.