Agenda and minutes

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personalinterest in any business on the agenda. They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting. Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

23.1     In accordance with the County Council’s code of conduct the following declarations were made:

23.2     Cllr Linehan declared a personal interest as the parent of a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), under agenda item no 5.

23.3     Cllr Smith declared a personal interest as the parent of a child with an EHCP, and a member of the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum, under agenda item no 5.

23.4     Cllr Cherry declared a personal interest as the Vice-Chairman of Governors at the Burgess Hill Academy, which is a member of the University of Brighton Academy Trust, under agenda item no 6.

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances, including cases where the Committee needs to be informed of budgetary or performance issues affecting matters within its terms of reference, which have emerged since the publication of the agenda.

24.1     No urgent matters were raised.

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2023 (cream paper).

25.1     Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2023 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is asked to note the responses to recommendations made at recent meetings.

26.1     Resolved – That the Committee notes the responses to the recommendations provided from recent meetings.

Report by Director of Children, Young People and Learning

The Committee is asked to scrutinise the County Council’s plans and actions to address areas requiring improvement including preparation for the local area SEND inspection.

27.1     The Cabinet Member, Cllr Russell, introduced the report highlighting that following the full Ofsted inspection in spring 2023 the leadership team had undertaken a comprehensive review of all areas of the service and concluded that Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) was an area of priority for transformation.  A full review had been undertaken along with a refresh of SEND governance and partnership arrangements which had resulted in a more robust independently chaired SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy and Partnership Board (S&APSPB) to provide challenge and support.  A transformation programme had been put in place that could take up to two years to fully implement.  Since the despatch of the agenda papers the SEND area inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission had begun and the outcomes would be fed into the transformation programme.  The Cabinet Member confirmed the commitment to improving outcomes for children and families was confident that there were robust plans in place to deliver the improvement needed.

27.2     The Director of Children, Young People and Learning and the Interim Assistant Director (Learning and Skills) summarised the key points from the report.

27.3     The Committee heard from Mrs Westwood, Chief Executive Officer of the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum (WSPCF), who thanked the County Council for the involvement of the Forum in the new SEND improvement plan.  The Forum team felt they were being listened to and their contributions valued, but WSPCF do not have full confidence in the plan.  There was visible energy and drive around the world of SEND and a commitment in putting together robust plans.  However, Mrs Westwood said she struggled to reconcile the work seen with the reality that parents were facing, from her own perspective as a parent and giving an example of a parent who had been in contact with the Forum.  She felt the delays in completing the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment process were not solely down to recent increased demand and the extension of requests to those up to 25 years of age.  They were also the result of years of unchallenged underperformance.  It was felt there was a lack of transparency in every part of the service and she hoped the recovery plan would not only address performance but focus on improving outcomes for children and their families.

27.4     Mrs Westwood reported that the WSPCF had undertaken a survey to seek parent carer views on the EHCP process.  She had shared a presentation with the S&APSPB on the outcomes of the survey and would be happy to share with the Committee members.

27.5     The members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

27.6     The Committee highlighted the impact the current performance was having on children and their families, with some members raising that levels of performance had not been where they needed to be for some time.  Parents needed to see actions and changes to the current position.  Communication with parents was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of September 2023.

The Committee is asked to examine the County Council’s corporate performance, finance, savings, delivery and business performance for the services within the remit of this Committee for the period July-September 2023.

28.1     The members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

28.2     Performance Measure 2 – Percentage Early Help Plans closed with outcomes met – The Department of Levelling Up and Communities (DfLUC) has a strict criteria that the service is measured against, and that does not necessarily equate to whether the circumstances for the child or family have improved, e.g. outcomes might not be met if parental consent is withdrawn.  Officers were confident this was not a reflection of the quality of service provided by early help and a huge amount of work was underway to raise performance to meet DfLUC outcomes.

28.3     Performance Measure 7 – Stability of children looked after placements – The data sets for these figures report on a yearly basis, figures are still being impacted by the closure of a national provider of a significant number of children’s homes and the movement from unregistered to registered placements, however it is an improving picture. 

28.4     Performance Measure 8 – Support for care leavers to achieve their aspirations – A variance of 10% on the target figure would be the difference between amber and red.  Recently the County Council agreed a notice of motion to treat care leavers as a protected characteristic.  Work is ongoing with HR colleagues through a specific task and finish group on skills to extend the apprenticeship scheme within the authority to care leavers.  A scheme is also underway with a large employer in the region.  Discussion is also taking place with neighbouring authorities who have adopted the same protected characteristics on reciprocal arrangements for care leavers.

28.5     Performance Measure 27 – Percentage achieving expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at the end of Key Stage 2 – The drop in performance for the academic year 2021/22 when pupils did not have enough time practicing writing due to the pandemic, has led to a writing project with a group of schools to develop good practice.  This will be shared with other schools across the county.  Early indications for the 2022/23 results show West Sussex results tracking the national average.  More data can be provided including demographic detail.  It was noted that the Committee had identified Educational Attainment as an item for future scrutiny.

28.6     Performance Measures 56 and 57 – More challenging targets are being worked on. Under measure 57, the figure is a good indicator of inclusivity.

28.7     9 Bedelands Academy (Capital Programme) – The process of preparing a retendering document is under way, it is hoped to appoint a contractor in spring 2024.

28.8     Resolved – That the Committee:

1.   Acknowledges the current performance and budget position, noting the budget pressures on increased high costs placements and the home to school transport as a result of the increase in EHCPs. 

2.   Would like to understand the attainment challenges in writing at Key Stage 2 and the work being done to address this, and will look at this when considering an item  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services.

The Committee is asked to review the County Council’s budget pressures, proposed budget reductions and Capital Programme for 2024/25 within the remit of this Committee. Feedback from the Committee will be considered by Cabinet in preparing the final draft budget and Capital Programme 2024/25 that will be presented to County Council for approval in February 2024. 

29.1     The members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

29.2     Initiatives were in train through a task and finish group to look at ways to reduce the costs for external taxis and minibuses for home to school transport e.g. reviewing policy to look at what is statutory and non-statutory and the differences in cost, providing independent travel training for young people particularly for after primary school, vehicle occupancy numbers and parent’s mileage allowance.

29.3     Work to improve the use of kinship placements was being undertaken to provide the same level of support and an uplift in fees as foster carers.  Kinship carers are also entitled to the same level of support for adaptation and adaptions as foster carers.

29.4     It was highlighted that the budget reductions being put forward for this portfolio were efficiency savings rather than cuts to services and it was important to make this clear in any future communications on the budget.  The Cabinet Member confirmed that areas of improvement and future demand had been looked at to offer these efficiencies and subsequent savings.

29.5     Resolved – That the Committee:

1.   Recognises the pressures on the home to school transport budget, and welcome the work being undertaken to review the current arrangements. 

2.   Recognises the impact of reduced government funding on the budget, and supports the continued lobbying of government by the Cabinet Member on this.  The Committee would welcome to be kept updated on any lobbying. 

3.   Wishes to explore of whether any performance measures around those with EHCPS not accessing education and the SEND journey should be included.    

4.   Highlights that any communications should be clear that the budget reductions being put forward for this portfolio are efficiencies rather than cuts to services. 

The Committee is asked to agree its draft work programme (Appendix A) in accordance with the scrutiny checklist attached (Appendix B) and highlight any further possible items for future scrutiny.

The Committee is also asked to review the Forward Plan entries relevant to its remit (Appendix C) and consider whether it wishes to enquire about any of the forthcoming decisions within its portfolio.

30.1     The Committee agreed to move the Family Safeguard Model item to the June meeting and move the School Place Planning item to the January meeting.

30.2     The Committee noted the revised Work Programme and the Chairman reminded Committee members that any items for consideration could be put forward at any time for consideration by the Business Planning Group.

There have been no requests for call-in to the Scrutiny Committee within its constitutional remit since the date of the last meeting.  The Director of Law and Assurance will report any requests since the publication of the agenda papers.

31.1     There had been no requests for call-in to the Scrutiny Committee within it constitutional remit since the date of the last meeting.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on 17 January 2024 at 10.30 am at County Hall, Chichester. 

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by 4 January 2024.

32.1     The next meeting would be held on 17 January 2024 at 10.30am.