Agenda and minutes

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services to report any changes to the Membership.

1.1       It was noted that Councillors Suhail Rahuja, Tim Roca and Patricia McAlllister were substituting for Councillors Robert Rigby, Ruth Bush and Rita Begum respectively.

1.2       The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee thanked Dr Saima Rana, Acting Principal, for agreeing that the meeting could be held at Westminster Academy and for the very informative tour around the school building.

1.3       The Chairman welcomed Councillor Danny Chalkley (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) and Councillor Paul Church (Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) to the meeting.

1.4       The Chairman advised that Councillor Steve Summers (Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Customer Services) would not be attending the meeting.  Any questions that Members had regarding his portfolio would be placed on the Committee’s Action Tracker.

To receive declarations of interest by Members and Officers of any personal or prejudicial interests.

2.1       No further declarations of interests in respect of items to be discussed were made, other than those noted in the circulated schedule as set out below in paragraph 2.2.

2.2       Table of Member’s interests tabled at the Committee Meeting was as follows:

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 8 October 2015.

3.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 8 October 2015 be approved for signature by the Chairman as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

a)    To note the progress in implementing the Committee’s Recommendation and Action Tracker.

b)    To provide comment and input into the Work Programme for 2015/16.

4.1       ACTION AND RECOMMENDATION TRACKERS

4.1.1   RESOLVED:

1.    That the Action and Recommendation Trackers be noted.

 4.2      COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME

4.2.1   RESOLVED:

1.    That an item on Year 6 to Year 7 and GCSE to ‘A’ Level School Transition to their Work Programme.

2.    That a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Task Group be established, which should include looking at Mental Health Champions in schools.

Report from Councillor Steve Summers (Cabinet Member for Sports and Leisure) updating the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

5.1       The Committee received a written update from the Cabinet Member which            covered current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

5.2       Councillor Patricia McAlllister referred to the table at paragraph 1.2 which indicated that the Jubilee Centre was very well used and therefore it was unfair to say that it was not decently used.

5.3       ACTIONS:

1.    That an update on the tennis provision at Paddington Recreation Ground be sent to the Members of the Committee.

2.    That an update on any further expansion plans to Westminster Sports Centre and the reason why the table in paragraph 2.1 gives % of Westminster residents in Marshall Street, Little Venice and Moberly Sports Centres as N/A be sent to the Members of the Committee.

3.    That a briefing note on how people were selected for the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme and who oversees it be sent to Members of the Committee.

Councillor Danny Chalkley (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

6.1       The Committee received an update from the Deputy Cabinet Member who responded to questions relating to:

·         the increase in Care Leavers engaged in Education, Employment or Training.

·         the tracking of 16-18 year olds whose education status is ‘not known’.

·         the availability of funding, sufficient and flexible two year old places to meet demand from eligible families.

·         the new duty on social workers, teachers and healthcare professionals to report known cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) to the police.

·         the importance of identifying young carers to ensure they access the support available to them and engage in the young carer group activity sessions.

·         the benefits of one to one mentoring offered to young people leaving custody and those at risk of custody.

·         the Multi-Agency Sexual Exploitation (MASE) Panel and their focus on changing young people’s attitudes and disrupting perpetrator’s activities.

The Committee will evaluate the key areas of success and identify area to be developed from the report.

7.1       The Committee received a report summarising the outcomes of this year’s tests and examinations in primary and secondary schools in Westminster and the key priorities for school improvement that emerge from the results.  The report also included summary data on OFSTED inspection outcomes for Westminster schools.

7.2       The Committee heard from Ian Heggs, Tri-Borough Director of Schools Quality and Standards and Richard Stanley, Assistant Director, (Schools Standards) who discussed with the Committee the provisional education achievement data that had been set out in the School Performance Report.  The Committee also discussed each point of assessment, future challenges and considered key areas of success and areas to be developed.

7.3       The Committee noted the following points:

·         Outcome for Looked After Children (LAC) had been very good at both Key Stage 1 and 2 and gaps in vulnerable groups continued to be smaller than the national average.  There had also been an improvement in reception year results.

·         In Key Stage 1 teacher assessments, the percentage of primary children achieving expected National Curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics remained above the national level.

·         In Key Stage 2 tests, there was a dip in the percentage of primary children achieving expected National Curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics, although Westminster’s performance relative to other Local Authorities remained high and is was provisionally fourth in Inner London and twelfth nationally.

·         GCSE results went down slightly at 67% but Westminsterhad maintained its 8^th position out of all Local Authorities in England and was 1^st in Inner London.

·         ‘A’ Level results were lower than GCSE results at 56% but were above the national average.  Members heard that students were less prepared for ‘A’ Levels than GCSEs and this was an issue London wide.

·         95% of primary schools were either good or outstanding in Westminster.

7.4       The key issues that emerged from the Committee’s discussion were:

·         the importance of raising the attainment of ‘A’ Level results by ensuring that there was good teaching at ‘A’ Level and that students were fully prepared for the demands of education at this level.

·         the importance of ensuring 14-16 years olds were supported when choosing their post-16 learning pathway and providing students with viable alternatives to ‘A’ Levels such as vocational courses and Apprenticeships Schemes.

·         the importance of measuring the success of other courses/pathways that young people take after leaving school.

·         the additional funding that Westminster provided to schools that was used towards providing additional support to students which had fallen behind in their school work.

·         the need for school leavers to obtain the right skills for the work environment and that schools acquire good links with business and industry.

·         the possibility of future difficulty in recruiting and maintaining good teachers, especially in light of the high rents/house prices in Westminster and the initiatives and training courses being developed to support teachers in furthering their career.

·         the importance of maintaining the educational levels in Westminster schools along with strong leadership and governance within schools.

·         the need  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee will critically examine the changes to Children Centres across the Borough.

8.1       The Committee received a report updating them on the changes to Children’s Centres since the revised budget and new service delivery arrangements started on 1 July 2015. 

8.2       The Committee heard from Jayne Vertkin, Head of Early Interventions and Localities, who discussed with the Committee the main changes to the Children’s Centres.  The Committee heard that resources were now being focused on those families with greatest need, that a reduction in staffing, property and overheads had taken place and that one of the main aims was achieving greater joint working and integration with health professionals.  The Committee noted that although this had been a challenging time of budget reductions all twelve Children’s Centres had remained open.

8.3       The key issues that emerged from the Committee’s discussion were:

·         the stay and play sessions were offered universally to parents and not just to families that were eligible for the 2 year old offer.

·         the challenge of identifying adequate cost effective space for eligible children and parenting classes.

·         the important work carried out by Outreach Workers and Community Champions in encouraging parents to take up the offer and the marketing strategies used to encourage parents to take up the 2 year old offer and the 2 year old developmental review.

·         the importance of greater integration with health with the development of a new information sharing agreement between key partners to track families through the system to ensure eligible families received all the support available to them. 

·         the concern that there was a further move away from play and education in the Children’s Centres to a public health service and how Vitamin D supplements were dispensed to parents.

·         the need for Stay and Play sessions to offer opportunities and services to parents that they found useful and supportive.  The Committee noted that some parents used the sessions to socialise with other parents whilst other parents needed specific support and wrap around care.

·         the importance of safeguarding and flexible after school provision in Children’s Centres for working parents and the possibility of primary schools providing after school provision.

·         the importance of tackling childhood obesity with healthy eating programmes and active play as overweight children did not perform as well as their peers at school reducing their future prospects.

8.4       ACTION: That the detailed spreadsheets with what percentage of children use/do not use the Children Centres be sent to Members of the Committee.

8.5       RESOLVED: That the following recommendations be forwarded to the Cabinet

            Member for Children and Young People for consideration:

1.    That the Committee welcomed the report and how the service had focused on improving their reach to the most vulnerable families and those eligible to the two year old offer.

2.    That the Committee noted the continued availability of some targeted universal provision in Children’s Centres.

3.    That the Committee noted the plans of the Council to reduce the cost of delivering these services by reducing facility and staffing costs and looking at options for co-production with communities and parents.

4.    That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Verbal Update

9.         EXEMPT REPORT UNDER LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

9.1       RESOLVED: That under Section 100 (A) (4) and schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business because it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information on the grounds shown below:

            Item No           Grounds                                                          Para of Part 1 of

                                                                                                            Schedule 12A of the Act

                 9.                Information relating to an individual                1

10.       UPDATE ON SAFEGUARDING ISSUES (verbal update – see agenda item 9)

10.1     The Committee received an update in relation to the relation to two serious case reviews.

11.1     ACTION: That the Action Plan and the summary of the findings from the serious case reviews be sent to the Members of the Committee.

11.       TERMINATION OF MEETING

11 .1    The meeting ended at 8.58pm.