Agenda and minutes

To note any changes to the Membership.

1.1       It was noted that Councillors Ruth Bush and Jacqui Wilkinson were substituting for Councillors Tim Roca and Adnan Mohammed respectively.

1.2       The Chairman welcomed Councillor David Harvey (Cabinet Member for Sports and Leisure) to the meeting.

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 to observe the Committee’s discussion.  Any questions that Members had regarding the Children and Young People’s portfolio would be placed on the Committee’s Action Tracker.

1.4       The Chairman welcomed Eugene Moriarty, Headteacher of St Augustine’s High School to the Committee.

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 7 December 2015.

3.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 7 December 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 Trackers.

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: The Committee agreed to add the following items to their work programme: GCSE to ‘A’ Level School Transition, Gangs and associated violence and Youth offending.

Councillor David Harvey (Cabinet Member for Sports and Leisure) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

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

·         the importance of having attendance figures for individual sport centres over a five to ten year period in order to understand emerging trends.

·         the procurement and re-let of the new sports and leisure facilities contract.

·         the demographics and future function of libraries.

·         the seasonal reduction in usage of the Paddington Recreation Ground and the possible refurbishment of the reception area of The Porchester Centre.

·         the importance of encouraging inactive people to participate in activities.

·         the current Sport and Leisure facilities in the South of Westminster as well as the sensitivities surrounding the Jubilee Sports Centre.

·         Community engagement, the management of the Volunteering Programme as well as the success of the time credit programme.

5.2       The Committee thanked Councillor Summers for all the hard work he put into the Sports and Leisure portfolio, especially regarding the successful introduction of the Westminster Mile.

5.3       ACTIONS:

1.    That information be sent on the seasonal usage of the Sports and Leisure Centre.

2.    That an update on Marylebone Library be sent to the Committee.

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

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

Martin Post, Regional Schools Commissioner, will be attending the meeting to give an overview of his role as Schools Commissioner.

7.1       The Committee received a report outlining the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner. 

7.2       The Committee welcomed Martin Post, North West London and South Central Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC), to the meeting who discussed with the Committee his role as RSC, his commitment to raising school standards in the region, the Education and Adoption Bill and the links currently being developed with Westminster Schools.

7.3       The Committee heard that there was considerable confusion surrounding the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) and that communicating the duties of the RSC and the Local Authority was necessary so that schools and parents had an understanding of the different roles.  The Committee noted the implications of the new coasting definition in the Education and Adoption Bill which applied to both maintained schools and academies.

7.4       The Committee discussed the responsibilities of developing Free Schools and alternative education provision and the necessity for there to be a basic need and strong vision for a school as well as it being sustainable in the long term.  The Committee further discussed the interventions taken when an Academy was deemed to be failing, the Academies Complaint Procedure, the sharing of expertise and the issues facing schools with the forthcoming changes to the schools funding formula.

7.5       RESOLVED: The Committee made the following comments which will be forwarded to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People for consideration:

1.    The Committee welcomed the important role played by the Regional Schools Commissioner in overseeing the quality and range of schools located in Westminster.

2.    The Committee noted the concerns regarding the confusion about the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner.

3.    The plans to clarify and communicate the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner were very welcomed and should be used to address any confusion regarding the role of safeguarding of children.

4.    The welcomed the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner in supporting the diversity of schools and ensuring that they were sustainable and develop high quality education.

To examine the identification, intervention and evaluation process of the Year 6 to Year 7 Transition and the work being undertaken in the wider context of the new ‘on track’ project.

8.1       The Committee received an updated report on how the Westminster’s Early Help (locality) Service supported vulnerable Westminster pupils going through Year 6 -7 transition and the interventions that were delivered after identifying the children who were likely to struggle with transition and prioritising these children into two levels of support   depending on their needs.

8.2       The Committee heard from Jayne Vertkin, Head of Early Intervention and Localities and Eleanor Abrahall, Early Help Development Manager, who discussed with the Committee the interventions delivered, including the delivery of the summer activity programme, the one day visit that the new intakes have to their secondary school and activities through local youth clubs.  The Committee noted the different approaches that primary and secondary schools could introduce to help children during this difficult period, the benefits of engaging the whole family in supporting their child during transition and the necessity of improving the evaluation and tracking of a child’s progress through the whole of Year 7.

8.3       The Committee discussed the potential benefits of the ‘on Track’ pilot work and noted that the full report on outcomes would be completed in June 2016. 

8.4       Some of the key issues that emerged from the Committee’s discussion were:

·         the recognition that Westminster’s Early Help Teams saw the Year 6-7 transition as a key opportunity to offer targeted support to vulnerable children, who may be more at risk of becoming late entrants to care.

·         the important joint approach and work being carried out with partner organisations to identify vulnerable young people and create a more consistent and systematic framework through the year 6-7 transition work.

·         the importance of sharing good information about the pupils in Year 6 to their chosen secondary schools in and outside of the borough.

·         the transition programme undertaken by the Serpentine Gallery and the possibility of rolling it out as a ‘tool kit’ to schools.

·         the important role that parents play in supporting their children during transition and the possibility of encouraging more parent participation. 

·         the importance of reporting back the outcomes and successes of the intervention programme and that any successes be communicated to Westminster’s secondary schools to use for all Year 7 pupils.

·         the possibility of looking at the programme and activities delivered during the Year 6-7 transition to children not identified as having special needs and track how quickly they settle into secondary school life.

8.5       RESOLVED: The Committee made the following comments and recommendations which will be forwarded to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People for consideration:

1.    The Committee welcomed the ‘On Track’ pilot work to support the most vulnerable children during the Year 6 to Year 7 transition to secondary school.

2.    The Committee highlighted the need for the findings of this programme to be fed into best practice and the universal support for all Year 7 pupils.

3.    The Committee noted the important role that parents played in supporting their children during Year 6 to Year 7 transition and that the council should  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To note the update on the needs of children of Service Personel.

9.1       The Committee received a report outlining how the Council currently meets the needs of children of military families with accessing school places and examining if military families find it difficult to access children’s services nursery and youth facilities. 

9.2       The Chairman heard from Steve Bywater, Children’s Services Policy Manager, who discussed with the Committee the impact regularly moving from place to place has on a child and looked at how the Council could enhance and improve their services for Children of Service Personnel.

9.3       The Committee heard that the main issue for families with young children was accessing affordable child care in Westminster and to help alleviate this problem funding had been received in 2015 from the Armed Forces Community Covenant to train parents from Service families to become childminders in Westminster.  Those who successfully completed the training could work as childminders elsewhere and/or use it as an opportunity for employment in other parts of the childcare sector.

9.4       The Committee heard that were no children of secondary school age from a Service family were recorded as attending local schools which suggested that there may be an issue with local schools being made aware of or recording their status although it could be that they attend schools in other boroughs or were educated in residential schools and that

9.5       The Council discussed how the Council could enhance and improve their services for Children of Service Personnel and some of the key issues that emerged from their discussion were:

·         the need to clarify the numbers and location of children of service personnel of secondary school age attending Westminster secondary schools and/or schools in other boroughs or residential schools.

·         the importance of signposting the council’s services such as summer and holiday clubs, and sports and youth facilities to children of military families.

·         the importance of increasing the awareness of the Service Pupil Premium to secondary schools, the military forces and the parents themselves.

·         the need for affordable childcare places for military families with young children and the funding and training that had been made available to train parents from Service families to become childminders in Westminster. 

·         the need to encourage further outreach, awareness building and parent participation between the Council and service personnel with children from the military, navy and air force. 

9.5       RESOLVED: The Committee made the following comments and recommendations which will be forwarded to the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People for consideration:

1.    The Committee welcomed the success of the programme.

2.    The Committee welcomed the scheme funded by the Armed Forces Community Covenant to train parents from Service families to become childminders in Westminster.

3.    That work in conjunction with local schools and the armed forces be undertaken to provide greater clarity and certainty relating to the number of secondary school children of service personnel in Westminster and their respective circumstances.

4.    That further outreach, awareness building and parent participation between the Council and service personnel from the military, navy and air force be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Verbal Update (if any)

10.       EXEMPT REPORT UNDER LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

10.1     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

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

11.1     The Committee received an update in relation to three serious case reviews.

12.       TERMINATION OF MEETING

12 .1    The meeting ended at 9.06pm.