Archived decisions

p S. Allgood

p C. Bailey

p D. Blampied

p Mrs E.M. Byrom

p B.D. Dash

a P. Edgar

p K. Evans

p Mrs J.K. Frankum

a K. Gill

p Mrs K. Heron

p G.M. Hockley

p R.J. Kimber

p Mrs P.G. Peskett

p S.H. Read

a J.K. West

p S. Wheale

11.

APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillor P. Edgar, K. Gill and J.K.West.

ACTION

12.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

There were no declarations of interest made by members under this item.

13.

MINUTES

The Minutes of the Committee held on 10 October 2006 were signed as a correct record.

14.

CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman was pleased to report that in the 2006 Annual Performance Assessment (APA) for Children and Young People in Hampshire County Council, the CSCi and Ofsted inspectors awarded the following grades:

· The contribution of the Local Authority's Children's

Services in maintaining and improving outcomes for

children and young people was judged to be good (grade 3)

· The contribution of the local authority's social care services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people was judged to be good (grade 3)

Overall the County Council's capacity to improve its services for children and young people was judged to be excellent/outstanding (grade 4). Members of staff were thanked for their hard work in helping to achieve these gradings.

The Chairman also took this opportunity to remind Members to respond to the Deaf and Hearing Impaired consultation by the deadline of 5 January 2007. A list of points that needed further clarification was circulated at the meeting and the chairman strongly suggested that Members consider these points in their own responses.

In addition the Chairman set out the changes to the Committee meeting dates which would be followed up by Democratic Services.

15.

NON COUNTY PLACEMENTS AND INDEPENDENT FOSTERING PROVIDER PLACEMENTS

The Committee considered the report and recommendations to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services (Item 5a(i) in the Minute Book) on the action being taken to manage the placement needs of children looked after.

In considering the report, Members noted with interest that the number of children looked after had steadily increased in recent years. At the same time the numbers of children cared for and supported in other ways such as adoption, residence order and kinship care had also increased.

It was noted that data about Hampshire's position compared with other shire counties would be available in March 2007. It was suggested that this information be made available to the PRC in the March information despatch.

In respect of non-county placements for children with disabilities, Members noted that the Health Service contribution was low and work had begun with the new Primary Care Trust to re-establish a more robust protocol for shared funding arrangements. The Committee were advised that the PCT had given its commitment to take this forward and it was suggested that an update be given to the PRC in due course.

Director of Children's Services

(Kate Hart)/ Chief Executive's Dept. (Karen Widdowson)

Director of Children's Services (Kate Hart)

In respect of the contract for the provision of supported lodgings, concern was expressed that the savings target of £440,000 would not be achieved with only £100,000 predicted as a saving.

The Committee supported the recommendation to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services.

16.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES

The Committee considered the report and recommendations to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services (Item 5a(ii) in the Minute Book) on the plans in place to deliver additional early intervention services to the children and families of Hampshire by creating new locality teams and implementing the Common Assessment Framework (CAS).

It was noted that a key element of the new arrangements would be the establishment of the role of the lead professional who would be someone known and trusted by the child and his/her family. The task of the lead professional would be as a single point of contact for children and their families, and to ensure that professional involvement was rationalised, coordinated and communicated effectively.

It was reported that it was the County Council's intention to have a phased roll-out programme with Rushmoor and Basingstoke being rolled out in January 2007 and the three other locality area teams being in place by the end of March 2008. It was noted that areas had been chosen according to a range of considerations and steps had been taken to build on the strength of inter-agency working. Members were mindful that inter-agency working was integral to the success of the locality teams. It was suggested that a further report highlighting the evaluation of phase 1 of the roll out and implications for the future development of the service be submitted to the PRC in due course.

Director of Children's Services (Kate Hart)

The Committee supported the recommendations to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services.

17.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN'S CENTRES

The Committee considered the report and recommendations to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services (Item 5a(iii) in the Minute Book) on the proposals for a review of the Children Centres Project and the principles upon which the review would be based.

Members were advised that it was not financially viable to deliver fifty two Children's Centres by March 2008 and the possibility of reducing the programme by more than six centres would help maintain a balance between financial viability and ensuring that communities continued to receive services planned under phase 2 of the project.

Discussion at the meeting centred on appendix 2 relating to the management and governance of Children's Centres. In particular, the Committee were concerned about distinguishing between governance and management and the implications for schools where centres shared a school site. It was noted that the deadline for representations on the governance and management arrangements would close on 19 February 2007 and Members were encouraged to respond.

PRC Members to respond to governance arrangements consultation paper by deadline 19.2.07

The Committee supported the recommendations to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services.

18.

DEVELOPMENT OF EXTENDED SCHOOLS - PROGRESS REPORT

The Committee considered the report and recommendations to the Executive (Lead) Member for Children's Services Item 5b(i) in the Minute Book) on the progress being made in Hampshire with the development of extended schools and proposals for the future direction of this initiative.

In considering the consultation section of the report, reference was made to the regular meetings of the new stakeholder group. It was suggested that a list of who constituted the stakeholder group be issued to Members of the PRC. It was also suggested that the PRC receive a progress report in due course including a breakdown of projects and responsibilities.

Dir. of Children's Services (David Wright)

19.

DATA ON ANNUAL SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS

The Committee received a short presentation and a briefing paper on the exclusions data for the academic year 2005/06 (Item 5b(ii) in the Minute Book refers) and were informed about excluded children's education outside mainstream schooling.

Discussion at the meeting centred on the general downward trend in the number of exclusions, the reasons for exclusions and the Government's consultation paper on proposals to have full time education provision in place by the sixth day of exclusion.

In considering the data, Members requested that any future data include information about EOTAS and more detailed reasons for exclusions. There was also discussion about the link between exclusions and crime. Minute No. 26 below considers this in more detail.

20.

PLACEMENT STABILITY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE EDUCATION OF LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN

The Committee received a short presentation and a briefing paper (Item 5c (i) in the Minute Book refers) about the degree of stability which children in care experience in their care placement and the impact it has on the different elements of a child's life.

It was noted that Hampshire matched the national position in that there was no direct link between the educational outcome of children looked after and the number of placement moves. It was considered that a number of factors, including placement stability, contributed to the educational attainment of children looked after.

21.

14 - 19 CURRICULUM

The Committee received a short presentation and briefing paper (Item 5c(ii) in the Minute Book refers) on the key issues relating to the future direction of education and training for 14-19 year olds in Hampshire and the likely implications for the County Council.

Discussion centred on the delivery of the curriculum and in particular the joint working required between the Local Education Authority, Connexions and the Learning and Skills Council(LSC). It was reported that the Policy and Resources PRC had identified relationships with the LSC for further investigation and that the intention was to invite the LSC to start a dialogue with the Policy and Resources PRC to discuss the issues of joint working on the 14-19 curriculum. Members felt that this piece of work would be better done within the Children and Young People PRC. Question to be taken to Policy and Resources PRC for clarification.

Chief Executive's Dept.(Emma Gordon)

22.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITEPAPER "STRONG AND PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES"

The Committee considered the briefing paper (Item 5d in the Minute Book) outlining key issues from the recent Local Government White Paper. It was suggested that any views be forwarded to the Chairman as soon as practicable.

Members to forward views to the Chairman

23.

HEALTH SCRUTINY SUPPORT PROGRAMME

The Chairman reported that there was some monies available from the Centre for Public Scrutiny's health scrutiny support programme to undertake five days of consultancy.. A number of possible topics were suggested and the PRC agreed that consultancy work be undertaken for "Respite for families of children with severe disabilities" with particular emphasis on the eligibility criteria for respite and the relationship between the Health Service and the County Council.

It was noted that the topic would need to be scoped and the outcomes from the consultancy would be available in due course.

Chief Executive's Dept. (Emma Gordon)

24.

SCHOOL ADMISSIONS WORKSHOP

The Chairman reported that a report on the workshop held on 4 December 2006 would be available at the next meeting.

Chief Executive's Dept. (Emma Gordon)

25.

CORPORATE PARENTING WORKSHOP

The Chairman reported that the workshop held on 6 December had been poorly attended but nonetheless a composite PRC response to the Care Matters Green Paper would be sent by the consultation deadline.

Dir. Children's Services (Gill Horrobin, Howard Firth and Rachel Hughes/Walker)

26.

SCRUTINY BRIEFING DAY - TOPICS

The Committee reviewed the scrutiny topics identified at the briefing day on 4 September 2006.

The topic about the approach to identify, promote and support strategies to tackle key factors leading to school exclusions was considered to be of high importance and necessitated a review. It was agreed that the scope of the review should include:

· Factors before, during and after exclusions

· Parental disinterest

· Children Looked After (CLA) exclusions - impact on foster care placements

· How many school moves do CLA have if/when permanently excluded?

· Where do children go when they are excluded?

· Links between crime and exclusion

· How can we work better with local areas to understand and deal with this issue most effectively?

Chief Executive's Dept. (Emma Gordon)