To receive apologies for absence (to include reasons, where appropriate) from

Members/ Officers.

Apologies for absence were received from the following Members for the reasons so stated:

Councillor PA Davies – Other Council Business

Councillor DK Edwards - Other Council Business

Councillor DBF White – Work Commitment

Rev Canon Edward J Evans – Prior Commitment. 

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members Code of Conduct adopted by Council from

01 September 2008, (including whipping declarations).

None.

To receive for approval the minutes of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the following dates:-

17 February 2015

7 April 2015

RESOLVED:              That the minutes of the meetings of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 17 February and 7 April 2015 were approved as a true and accurate record subject to the Rev Canon Edward J Evans apologies being recorded in minute number 157 of the minutes of the meeting of 17 February 2015.    

Invitees

Deborah McMillan, Corporate  Director – Education and Transformation

Cllr Huw David, Cabinet Member Children & Young People

Nicola Echanis, Head of Strategy Commissioning and Partnerships

Michelle Hatcher, Group Manager - Inclusion

The Scrutiny Officer reported that in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17 of the Constitution, three Members of the Committee had requested that the decision made by Cabinet on 28 April 2015 to cease one Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) learning resource centre provision at Pencoed Primary School be Called-In.  The decision had been Called-In on the basis of: 

·              Insufficient information on the effects on standards;

·             Evidence not provided on the change in the profile on children’s     needs;

·             Lack of evaluation of the impact of closure on pupils affected;

·             No evidence of the impact on other schools with MLD provision;

·             Inadequate responses to some of the consultees questions.

The Monitoring Officer informed the Committee of the Call-In process in that the Committee, following it’s examination of the Cabinet decision, has the power to recommend that the decision be re-considered by Cabinet or request that Council review the decision.  He advised that in this case the matter which was the subject of the Call-In is a Cabinet function.

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation reported on a strategic overview of Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and stated that a review of the Learning Resource Centre provision had been undertaken at Pencoed Primary School including the re-structure of the inclusion service, to make it more robust.  She stated that there is a changing profile within schools in that staff are trained in schools to support pupils with moderate learning difficulties. 

The Group Manager Inclusion informed the Committee of the proposal to cease one Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) Learning Resource Centre at Pencoed Primary School.  She stated that the number of pupils attending the resource had declined, with 16 surplus spaces at the school in 2014-15.  The Committee was informed that criteria had been developed in order that the correct pupils received the most appropriate provision for their needs. 

The Committee referred to statements not being carried out by the authority and asked whether the profiling of pupils was being undertaken properly as some pupils’ needs may not be identified which could lead to the number of pupils who require specialist support could increase quickly.  The Corporate Director Education and Transformation informed the Committee that the authority was previously ranked 22^nd out 22 local authorities for statementing pupils but was now ranked first.  She re-assured the Committee that robust procedures are in place to ensure transparency and clarity and that a clear set of criteria had been developed.  Pupils were able to access additional provision without the need for a statement.  Applications are received a year in advance and information is collated from parents and schools on pupils for the LRC to make an assessment and every pupil is offered a place.  The Committee expressed concern at the conflict in evidence provided by Officers to that presented in the consultation report, in that from the consultation with parents and staff it suggested schools were having difficulty in securing visits from the Educational Psychology service which suggested there could be more pupils  ...  view the full minutes text for item 170.

Invitees

Deborah McMillan, Corporate  Director – Education and Transformation

Cllr Huw David, Cabinet Member Children & Young People

Caroline Rees, LA Link Inspector, Estyn

Mark Campion, Estyn Inspector

The Scrutiny Officer presented a report which informed the Committee of the outcome of the Estyn Inspection of the Children’s Directorate. 

The Committee was introduced to Caroline Rees, Local Authority Link Inspector from Estyn and Mark Campion, Estyn Inspector. 

The Local Authority Link Inspector presented the Committee with feedback from the Estyn Inspection of the Children’s Directorate which was undertaken in October 2012, which had resulted in the Authority being identified as requiring ongoing Estyn monitoring visits as a follow-up to the inspection.  She stated that the Authority had developed a Post Inspection Action Plan (PIAP) to address each of the five areas of Estyn’s concerns.  Progress against the PIAP had been monitored closely by Estyn with follow up inspection visits in March and December 2014. 

The Estyn Inspector informed the Committee of the significant changes in the senior management team of the Children’s Directorate since the inspection and that initially progress in addressing the recommendations had been slow, but the pace of change had since increased under the leadership of the new Director.  He stated the Council had made sufficient progress in relation to the recommendations following the inspection and was no longer in need of Estyn monitoring resulting in the removal of further follow-up activity.               

The Estyn Inspector informed the Committee of the progress made against the five recommendations.  In the case of Recommendation 1, outcomes had improved; however there were a number of schools performing close to the average, with few schools performing showing excellent or poor performance. He also informed the Committee that the Central South Consortium Joint Education Service which provided school improvement service on behalf of the Council had brought greater consistency to the way in which schools are evaluated.  Challenge advisers evaluate the quality of leadership and management in schools.  Schools within the Consortium are working more closely together to support each other through a range of approaches which the Consortium and local authority are facilitating, which were at an early stage of development.  It was too soon to judge the impact of them on standards and provision across the authority’s schools.  He stated that the authority is using its statutory powers more effectively to intervene in schools was causing concern. 

In respect of Recommendation 2, attendance at secondary schools had improved, with attendance at primary schools remaining near to the Welsh average but showing an improvement.  He stated that the authority had reduced the level of persistent absentees in both primary and secondary schools and the authority had a level of permanent exclusions.  He also informed the Committee of a zero tolerance approach adopted by the authority in authorising holidays in term time and of issuing fixed penalty notices for poor attendance. 

The Estyn Inspector informed the Committee that in respect of Recommendation 3, the authority used self-evaluation to understand what is working well, but the self-evaluation did not fully evaluate impact in all areas, such as Inclusion Services, Looked After Children, Gypsy and Traveller children and children with Special Educational Needs.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 171.

Invitees

Deborah McMillan, Corporate  Director – Education and Transformation

Cllr Huw David, Cabinet Member Children & Young People

Nicola Echanis, Head of Strategy Commissioning and Partnerships

Michelle Hatcher, Group Manager, Inclusion

Sue Roberts, Group Manager – School Improvement

Conclusion

The Committee agreed to defer the item on Exclusions due to there being insufficient information within the report in order for Members to carry out their role effectively and make informed conclusions and/or recommendations.

Invitees

Deborah McMillan, Corporate  Director – Education and Transformation

Cllr Huw David, Cabinet Member Children & Young People

Nicola Echanis, Head of Strategy Commissioning and Partnerships

Sue Roberts, Group Manager – School Improvement

Michelle Hatcher, Group Manager - Inclusion

Lorraine Silver, ALN Casework Manager

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation presented an update on children and young people who are educated outside the Authority (OOA pupils) and on local Authority changes to the statementing of children with Special Educational Needs.  She stated that prior to the re-structure of the Inclusion Service in 2014, the Authority did not have a system in place for tracking children placed OOA.  The cost to the Authority of OOA provision was extremely high, with the quality of provision and ability to meet the needs of the young person often unchallenged. 

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation reported that Bridgend was the worst performing Authority in Wales for statutory assessments of children’s special educational needs.  The aim was for children and young people to remain within their local community with family and friends, attending a local authority school which was able to meet their educational needs.  She informed the Committee that a strategic approach had been adopted and a data base implemented which had led to significant improvements being made.  The data base identified type of Additional Learning Need, current placement and the date of statutory annual review.    The data base had identified that 32% of statemented pupils educated OOA have a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, (ASD).  A significant development had been a proposal for two classes for pupils with ASD attending Ysgol Bryn Castell Special School commencing in September 2015 to accommodate KS4 and KS4/5 pupils.   

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation informed the Committee the Authority’s approach to statementing pupils had changed with greater emphasis placed on the statutory assessment of pupils to ensure the right decision had been reached by the Authority in matching educational provision to need and that this was captured in a statement.  She stated that the Authority’s performance had risen to 100% new requests for statements being issued within 26 weeks, with the Authority now placed 1^st out of 22 in Wales for performance in 2014/15.   

The Corporate Director Education and Transformation informed the Committee of the estimated savings of £304k in 2014/15 through the ending of external placements.  A net saving of £152k had been identified of providing ASD support within Bridgend.  She stated that the Authority had been able to avoid £200k additional costs by multi agency working which meant two pupils with complex needs being kept in county instead of being placed out of county. 

The Committee commented that they were impressed of the changes being made so that pupils were educated locally as opposed to being educated out of county. 

The Committee questioned whether there had been resistance from parents where children were brought back into county.  Officers had identified issues of resistance from parents to bring children back in to county due to the potential for disrupting children.  However this had been prevented by the Children’s Commissioner in some cases.  Officers advised that communication with parents and young people is of paramount importance.      

The Committee questioned the suitability of the new provision for pupils with ASD  ...  view the full minutes text for item 173.

The Scrutiny Officer presented a report seeking nominations for the Standing Budget Research and Evaluation Panel in line with the Corporate Resources and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations made as part of the 2014-15 budget setting process.

RESOLVED:           That the Committee appointed the Chairperson and Councillor C Westwood to sit on the Standing Budget Research and Evaluation Panel with Councillor G Phillips being appointed as a reserve Member. 

The Scrutiny Officer presented a report which detailed the items to be considered at the meeting of the Committee to be scheduled at the Annual Meeting of Council and sought confirmation of the information and invitees required.   

Conclusions:                  

The Committee noted the items to be considered at its meeting to be scheduled at the Annual Meeting of Council.

To consider any item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in

accordance with Part 4 (paragraph 4) of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.