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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
RESOLVED: that the Committee: 1. Note the contents of Appendix A and agree any amendments required to the draft work programme; 2. Note the update from the SOP T&F Group, set out in paragraphs 18-22 and agree any amendments required; 3. Formally agree to commence the ALN Inquiry and EOTAS T&F Groups, as set out in paragraphs 23 - 27 above, and agree any amendments required.
RESOLVED: that the Committee: 1. Note the correspondence update arising from recent scrutiny meetings; 2. Agree whether to implement the correspondence tracker proposal; 3. Note the links to relevant papers from other Council Committees and raise any issues arising from them; 4. Note the links to recent Inspection Reports from Care Inspectorate Wales and Estyn and raise any issues arising from them.
Apologies were received from Bridgid Corr (Parent Governor Representative).
There were none.
The minutes of the 17th June 2024 meeting were approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this item would allow them to review an extract from the draft Annual Wellbeing Report 2023/24 relating to Children’s Services and the 2023/24 Quarter 4 performance results for Children’s Services. The Chairperson welcomed Cllr Ash Lister (Cabinet Member for Children Services and Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People (Children’s Services)) and Sarah Skuse (Operational Manager, Locality Children’s Services). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement, in which he reported that demand remained high for Children’s Services and referrals into the service was above the preceding year. Members were informed the performance across the whole of Children’s Services continued to be high. In terms of the Accommodation Strategy the work on placements and accommodation ensured that there was sufficiency of placements that delivered good quality homes. Members were reassured to hear that there had been the first year on year reduction in the numbers of children looked after since 2016. The numbers were currently at 1010 which was still quite significant but the numbers were going in the right direction. In terms of children looked after in the last academic year who were moved around this had reduced from 17.4% to 11.6%. The Cabinet Member also reported on the vacancy rates of Social Workers with 15.8% in March 2024 compared to 27.3% in March 2023. Issues which continued to be worked on included the timeliness of assessments and visits. Additional resource had been placed in the front door of Children’s Services to match the increase in the level of demand. In terms of core groups, the Cabinet Member reported that a dedicated resource had been introduced for monitoring and minuting the groups. 64% of Initial core groups were on time in Q4 in compared to 45.3% in Q3. Sarah Skuse reported that there had been huge progress with regards the accommodation strategy with new homes being opened up and plans in place to move forwards. Members were updated on the successful marketing engagement session that had taken place with providers who had reported being very positive about working with Cardiff. Members were updated on the continuing high demands on the service and the front door. Efforts were in place to narrow the demand as much as possible and there continued to be a week-on-week reduction in the numbers of children looked after. Children were being supported to return home and leave care in a very positive way with the service seeking more supportive and creative ways to support children in their community and at home wherever possible. Members were reassured to hear that fewer children were passing through the court process which provided the service with more creativity to put plans in place and test them out before going to court to seek appropriate orders. It was suggested that this was the possible reason why more children were on the Child Protection Register for longer. In terms of the workforce there were still challenges. The two local universities who offered the Social Work course were reporting very low pass rates this year and this had been reflected in the recruitment process. A strong workforce of non-social work qualified staff had been recruited. As of the summer of 2025 Members heard that the Cardiff Council Social Work students supported through qualification would be qualifying and that there were significant numbers. Whist not hitting the targets in terms of core groups it was recognised that the length of time by which they were overdue was shortening significantly and it was hoped that this would be reflected in future quarterly reports. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members referred to the work that had been undertaken with North Yorkshire colleagues and asked for an outline of the key outcomes and what had been implemented as a result. Members were informed that the North Yorkshire model was based on the right care, at the right place and the right time. In terms of implementation, Cardiff had started to look more at foster workers supporting children in residential homes and using more Social Work assistants to support families wherever possible rather than relying on Social Workers. It was noted that elements had been picked up but to adopt the full model was not felt to be the best fit for Cardiff. Officers added that Cardiff’s demographic profile was very different to that of North Yorkshire and that much of what had been implemented there would not work. The process had allowed Cardiff to grow its residential service and understand what was required of it and also what was required in terms of the skills and expertise of staff. It was recognised that the service needed to provide an opportunity and a space to be able to place children quickly when needed but also to understood that it was a fairly short-term placement and the need to assess longer term needs. Also taking every opportunity to step down wherever possible to either foster care, kinship or back to parents. Accommodation was currently being sought and also staff with the skills and expertise to meet the model of practice. Members asked about staff sickness and commented that it was quite high for Q4 at 12%. Members asked if the sickness was long term, short term or a combination of both and if there were any concerns in relation to the percentage. Members were informed that some of the sickness was long term ill health due to working in a very stressful environment and that work measures had been undertaken to foster a more supportive environment. Staff sickness was significantly different from previously but was still below target. With the vacancy rate the service was reliant on agency staff previously and their levels of sickness were not recorded by Cardiff. For the first time in Cardiff the service had a permanent staffing group and the levels of sickness were visible and being recorded. Members were informed there was a variety of types of sickness such as viruses incapacitating people for a few days and then the challenges around some longer-term sickness. It was reported that currently two members of staff were on sick leave relating to work. Staff could not work with Covid, for example, so would have to take sickness. Sickness was tracked on a frequent basis and any long-term sickness was challenged. Work was undertaken with the workforce to ensure they returned as soon as possible referring to Occupational Health, counselling support etc. Members asked if there was a large turnover of staff in the service. Members were directed to page 41 of the report and the graph which displayed the figures of Social Workers starters and finishers. Month by month there were very few if no Social Workers leaving the service. It was noted that there were valid reasons for staff moving on and the service tracked every leaver to understand the push and pull factors. What had helped was the pledge local authorities had signed up to in terms of agency pay and terms. Less staff were leaving permanent employment for agency work as it was not as profitable. Members were informed that when new qualified Social Workers enter the Academy, they are allocated a lead, a training programme and have access to regular workshops providing them with the confidence to put what they have learned on their degree into frontline practice. They are also allocated mentors who they can liaise with in the case of any issues. Members were reassured that the service had addressed many of the legacy issues which led to staff leaving. The service was retaining many staff and many were being promoted. There was a strong progression plan for Grade 9s into management posts. There was still a gap around experienced Social Workers but the service was witnessing many who had qualified over the last few years becoming future Grade 8s. Members referred to the Joint Inspection of Child Protection Arrangements and the recommendation over timeliness of visits, assessments and were encouraged to see progress in number of areas but recognised there were still some challenges. They asked for more insight into what had helped the improvement and what staff anticipated as continuing challenges and what they hoped to see as further improvements over next year. Officers responded that one of the major improvements was the introduction of the new database which provided easy to access information on what visits had taken place to children by social workers. If a social worker left the service the visit could be picked up by a duty member of staff. The database also identified any challenges. Members were informed that the statutory visits of children differed depending on the length of the placement. Through improved data the service was good at identifying 3 monthly and 6 weekly visits but not over 7 days. Now Social Workers were able to follow up a visit. The days visits were overdue were decreasing month on month and the average time for a visit being overdue was now one day. The reasons for this were the fact that sometimes the young person did not want to see the Social Worker. The Social Worker may have visited and knew the young person was ok but because they had not seen them it did not constitute as a visit. This was one of the reasons why the service did not and would not hit 100% of all visits on time but always endeavoured to do so. Members asked when the service would report on progress to the Inspectorate in relation to the recommendations from the Joint Inspection and if it was built into the system. Members were informed that every week the team manager and locality manager fed back to the Inspectorate. The informal feedback received from the Inspectorate indicated that they could not marry up performance with what they were seeking on the ground. It was hoped that progress would be seen in the statutory visits as the service could see improvement on the ground. Overdue individual visits were being tracked but it was impossible to engage with some children. It was noted that they might engage with someone else but not Social Workers and it was the Social Worker who had to make the statutory visits and see the child alone. Members referred to care leavers and noted that some useful statistics had been supplied and that it was an area that had not seen much change in recent years. There was still a third of the two age groups 18 and 24 who were not in education, training or employment after 12 months for 3 consecutive months and then similarly between 12 and 24 months. Members also noted the fact that 35% of young people did not have a personal advisor allocated when the report was written. Officers were asked how confident they were that the support was in place for young people, should they need it, to adjust in the adult world and access full time education, employment or training. Members were advised there was a little concern around who was doing the work in connection with GCSE leavers. It was a question of marrying up responsibility for the young person to access the best opportunity. There was also the challenge of young people not living in Cardiff. There were Corporate Plan KPIs for those residing in Cardiff or a neighbouring authority. Frustrations had been expressed in achieving that KPIs when reliant on liaising with other local authorities. Members noted that the responsibility post 18 had moved into adult services from children’s services. In terms of the risks, particularly the needs of 18 years olds as they were not as well prepared to enter the adult world as others, Members asked if the procedures were robust enough to make sure they did not slip through the net. Officers responded that internal meetings took place on a quarterly basis and were aware of the staffing difficulties and challenges of allocating PAs. As such the service prioritised over 18 year olds for PAs. Members were advised that in terms of unallocated PAs it tended to be16/17 year olds who still had their Social Worker. One of the positive factors was the number of young people were in training and education. Members asked if the remit of the Virtual School could extend to meet the needs of this cohort and this group of youngsters as well. Officers advised that the Virtual School covers up to 16. The Virtual School Headteacher had identified a gap between 16 and 17 year olds and was looking at opportunities to link in with post 16 education, bridging the gap and making sure children did not disengage before 16. It was recognised that there was a need to ensure alternative pathways were in place for them. Members referred to an issue that had been raised in a BBC article on the use of black bin bags for moving young peoples’ items across when moving. Within the article it had been stated that out of 22 local authorities in Wales 9 had signed up to a campaign pledge to make sure every child in care was provided with bag. Members asked if Cardiff had signed the pledge. Officers confirmed that every young person in Cardiff had access to a bag or holdall, something other than a black bag, to move their belongings in. The authority did not believe it was acceptable to move their belongings in a bin bag. The Authority was committed to the NYAS campaign and were signed up to the pledge. Members referred to page 16 of the report – the percentage of children looked after that had a plan in place within 10 days of staring to be looked after which was low and lower than last year. Officers were asked if there was an explanation behind that target being missed or not and whether there was a plan to make the process speedier. Officers responded that this had been discussed with the performance team. Before the service could search for a placement for a child a document matching template had to be completed. A request had been made if that could be considered as a care plan as it covered every aspect of the care and support plan detailing the needs of the child and how they were being met. Officers noted that the system / database currently being used was due for renewal over the next 12 months. It was difficult to insert the care and support plan on the database and the system and process was causing delays rather than the inadequacy of plans. Members asked how the progress on the vacancy rate had been achieved and whether the progress had led to deletion of positions or if all posts had been filled. Officers responded that the work to get the service to the current vacancy rate had been significant with meetings taking place weekly to discuss the wording of adverts and selling Cardiff as an attractive place to work and live. Members were advised that all of those strategies had worked to attract Social Workers. The service had worked alongside universities to get final year students to experience Cardiff and they tended to stay post placement. The numbers of Social Workers qualifying were not enough to meet the demands of Wales. There had been no deletion of posts but some of the posts had been changed to attract people with different skills and qualities such as people with a background in nursing, early years to fill invaluable Social Work Assistant roles. It was considered effective to meet the needs of the service when Social Workers were not available. Members noted that it had also provided an opportunity to grow the Authority’s own on secondment to a Social Work degree. This year it had been possible to benefit from the Social Work Practitioner Award available through the Open University – the first year of the OU Social Work degree for Social Work and then being able to progress to the Social Work degree. There had been a positive change to the structure of teams and the situation would be reviewed when there were reasonable numbers of Social Workers in post. The Authority worked closely with the OU to take its staff through qualifications and was much more responsive to the needs of the service and continued to work with UWIC. Members asked if the service had shared what it had learnt with other parts of council struggling to recruit. Officers responded that it had been an enjoyable journey and if they could share that with other departments they would be happy to do so. Members asked if there was any opportunity to use other methods of communicating, rather than face to face, such as mobile phones and other social media. Officers responded that the service used social media, texts, video calls but that did not constitute as a statutory visit and could not be written up as a statutory visit. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this item would allow them to consider Youth Justice Service quarterly updates via the 2023/24 Quarter 4 report (Appendix A) and the 2024/25 Quarter 1 report (Appendix B). Joining Cllr Lister, the Chairperson welcomed Sue Thomas (Chair of the Youth Justice Board); and Angharad Thomas (Operational Manager of the Youth Justice Service). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement in which he reported that first Time entrants figures had increased quite significantly (Q4-Q1) but still remained within targets. Reoffending rates had reduced but only in relation to a very small cohort of 3 young people. The number of young people sentenced to custody was showing a reduction. Members were advised that some young people had been sentenced for serious offences which would have an effect on the figures. The Cabinet Member also noted several areas of good performance from successful recruitment and a wide variety of group interventions including another successful summer programme. There had also been positive feedback from the courts around quality of reports. There were a few areas that were being focussed on. These included implementing a new service action plan and embedding restorative justice across the service and updating some policies and procedures. There was a significant focus on an exit strategy with the justice turnaround grant funding coming to an end next year. Sue Thomas advised members that a statutory requirement of Youth Justice Board was a statutory requirement of the Crime & Disorder Act. The Board oversaw the functions of Youth Justice Service and helped to support its objectives. The statutory membership included the Police, Probation, Health and from local authority, Education and Children’s Services, the Police and Crime Commissioner and a representative from Housing. She described her role as being to support board members to fulfil their functions, refreshing induction materials, looking to develop some additional information, and an info graphic profile of children through the Youth Justice Service and journey of the child through the Youth Justice Service. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members referred to the number of first-time entrants and the spike in numbers and asked if anything had been identified to explain the spike. Officers responded that there were a number of factors. Members were directed to analysis in the report. Most first-time offences resulted in a youth restorative disposal. However, certain offences, the levels of violence did not allow the service to go down to that level of youth restorative disposal. There had been two significant knife incidents, 5 or 6 more serious incidents, also driving incidents, and 2 of note in relation to shop thefts. Normally shop thefts were subject to youth restorative disposal but the amount stolen by 2 sisters was an extreme amount of money and ended up in court. Officers advised there might be an option to overturn so adults would be held responsible for what they were doing as there were elements of exploitation. Officers added that although there had been a spike the figures were still under target for the quarter and overall it was a downward trajectory. Members referred to the fact that there were references in the report to prevention and diversion having implications for other services. Officers were asked to comment on what this meant and whether it implied there was an even greater emphasis on other partners to meet the needs of young people. Officers responded that the responsibility for prevention and diversion had to be held by all partners in the local authority area. The Youth Justice Service was able to recognise vulnerabilities, support vulnerabilities and do everything it could to keep young people out of the youth justice system but if prevention and diversion really worked, young people should not be coming to the YJS. The whole aim was to re-integrate back into mainstream services. Members asked if there were any reassurances in respect of the Neighbourhood Policing Team being stable and not likely to move to other areas. Officers responded that the nature of police was that they moved from area to area to different roles. The police officers for the area were very stable and worked well with children, young people and partners. The team had met the new sergeant coming into post and been part of the interview panel. In addition, the Inspector had assured the service that he would be in the area for as long as he could be. Members referred to events over last two months 2 months which had been shocking scenes on social media and it had been very comforting to see Cardiff and Wales was not involved. Officers asked if there were any concerns as a Youth Justice Service that they would be drawn into that and if there was any work in the Youth Service to anticipate any potential for the problem to grow into something more serious. Officers informed Members that initially they may have been aware of some of the disinformation that perhaps Cardiff was involved with one of the incidents. This had been quickly dispelled. A significant amount of support had been provided by the Youth Justice Service and the Channel Panel looked at children vulnerable to exploitation. It was noted that nothing had come through to Channel or the Youth Justice Service but it was an issue that was high on everyone’s agenda. Some of the intervention work was pre-empting that, for instance positive masculinity, messages on social media and online and ensuring children have a safe space to have those conversations if needed. Members asked if there was any way the Youth Justice Service monitored the situation outside of their monitoring period. Officers responded that young people were tracked for 12 months. Officers attended a variety of meetings where different children were discussed. Many of the children may not be in full time education but the Education Link Officer maintained oversight of how that young person was doing. The Youth Justice Service integrated into other services because it was part of wider children’s services. If the young person did re-offend they would return to the service and would be tracked. There were different methods of tracking the children. Members referred to the fact that there was a considerable amount of information on people but no differential between male / females. They noted it would be of interest to see If there were any trends. One concern was the violence of girls on girls which seemed to be increasing. and if the Committee could be provided with those statistics. Officers directed Members’ attention to the end of the performance report where there was a breakdown of male and female statistics. Officers could show trend as it was captured every quarter. Officers agreed to circulate the information on the YJS girls group and what the girls were telling them. It was noted that there had been an increase in girls but they were more involved in prevention and diversion. The work being carried out had been highlighted as good practice that other areas could pick up on. Members referred to the report highlighting that intervention, particularly group work, was well established. Members asked if it was happening in areas of the city such as Butetown or Grangetown, for example and if there was any diversity on the Board in terms of race. Members also asked if there was a possibility of people not being referred in, how the referrals were being carried out how those not being referred could be captured. Officers responded that the areas where intervention could be provided would depend on where they lived. Group work took place in the hubs and the office and 1-1s in bespoke locations for the child. It was noted that the YJS was not a universal provision and was required to wherever they were asked. They also reached out to school to do targeted provision as well. In terms of the Board members this varied depending on which representatives the partners provided. This was an area that was reported to the YJB. In terms of referrals, it was felt that children were being identified too late. There was a significant amount of work in place with community support groups and schools to identify where support was needed. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this session would allow them to review the Education & Lifelong Learning year-end performance supplied as an extract from the draft Annual Well-Being Report 2023/24 (Appendix A). The Chairperson welcomed Cllr Sarah Merry (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education; Melanie Godfrey (Director of Education & Lifelong Learning); Helen Williams (Assistant Director of Education & Lifelong Learning); Jennie Hughes (Head of Inclusion) and Phil Norton (Achievement Leader, Targeted Support, Early Help & Engagement). The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement in which she noted that Cardiff was the first British city to achieve Child Friendly Status. She noted the attainment outcomes for pupils were well above Welsh average. In addition, the school inspection outcomes were good. She referred to the fact that the Cardiff Commitment team outcomes were good and the Cardiff curriculum team had strengthened their offer to bring curriculum to life. There had also been good progress in meeting the requirements of ALN. The areas of concern were highlighted which included issues around school closures. There were also a number of issues regarding the impacts on attendance and behaviour and also emotional health and wellbeing. Members were then provided with a presentation from officers on the Education & Lifelong Learning year-end performance as an extract from the draft Annual Well-Being Report 2023/24 . Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members asked if the Cardiff 2030 review in the autumn would include the provision of post 16 education. They also asked about the 12% of children who did not get into the first 3 choices, which was a sizeable minority. Officers were asked if they thought that was potentially a trigger for the increase in the educated other than at school. An example was given specifically linking to someone who could not get into a school of their first 3 choices due to oversubscription of a popular high school. Officers were asked if there was a disproportionally high number of parents in those areas who were choosing to home school. In addition, one of the challenges was the increase in school attendance orders where education at home was insufficient and was it possible that the parents choosing to home school did not have sufficient resources. The question was asked if the one issue was resolved would the other one go away. Officers responded that the Cardiff 2030 review would investigate post 16 education and the provision of. Members were informed that officers collated the reasons for transition to elective home education and that some parents had given the reason that they had not got into the school of their choice, in particular year 7. Every time elective home education was chosen the reason was collected. It was acknowledged there should only be one reason – lifestyle, philosophical but there were a variety of reasons. It would not eradicate the inappropriate elective home education moves which was why there was the challenge of parents to produce the education plan for the young person. However, officers noted the Authority was only funded for one officer and given the rise from 200 to 500 on the elective home education register that was a challenge. Members asked if that data could be made available to the Committee in broad terms including the reasons, geographical numbers across the city, different wards. Officers agreed to provide the data, which was possible because the virtual school which provided a comprehensive database of the families concerned. In relation to Additional Learning Needs (ALN), Members asked if it was known how many children were waiting to be statemented. Officers responded that under the ALN system the Authority had moved away from statements. It was now a much shorter process and not a prolonged statutory assessment process. It was a decision-based process working with the family in person centred planning sessions in the school to discuss the child. In terms of the Individual Development Plan (IDP), most children had been moved from SEN to ALN. The Authority was not witnessing a delay in developing an IDP. It was a much speedier process – 7 weeks in school and 12 weeks by the Local Authority except for in a small number of cases. The Authority had 4389 children with IDPs and ALN. There were still a few hundred on the SEN system. The government had provided an additional fourth year of transition which meant Cardiff was still on target to make the transfer. Members were advised that of those children there had been an increase last year of 700 referrals for specialist provision. The majority were placed for September but some of those cases were still being worked through. Members commented that a considerable amount of time was taken up by teachers and linking to parents to show that an IDP was required and in their experience the process did not take 7 weeks but longer. Officers responded that there was a process of assessment over a period for every child prior to a decision of ALN which involved interventions and early support, a process which was embedded in the curriculum in Wales. Members suggested that schools with difficult budgets would not necessarily have additional budget to support that child and would have to be creative. Members were advised that all schools still had a budget for early prevention as well as additional learning provision. It formed part of the ordinary curriculum. In relation to Elective Home Education, Members asked officers to elaborate on the process of who judged the quality of education received by each child or the resources available. In addition, Members asked how long the children were out of education on average, the demographics of children and going forward how are they were tracked in terms of their outcomes if they remain in EHE. Officers responded that although the Authority was only funded for one officer 2 officers were employed in relation to EHE. The officers were experienced teachers and there were clear guidelines around their remits, roles and responsibilities. They can provide written evidence in respect of the annual visit checking what parents provide. Members noted that the teachers used their professional judgement in the light of curriculum reform. EHE could constitute a rich, non-traditional, non-formal education programme, however some parents were not in a position to provide that and did not possess the skills. Members were advised that only half the cohort who chose EHE for their child provided lifestyle, philosophical reasons. Officers expressed concern that some families were in that position because they had been warned about school attendance. The data available included ethnicity, age and the areas and schools where the child came from. Members asked if some of the children on EHE formed part of the groups that ended up in the CJS and if they were being used in a vulnerable way by being encouraged to take part in activities they should not be doing. In addition, Members asked who, if anybody, was looking out for what was happening at end of the process or if some of them returned to school at some point. Officers advised that a Fresh Start Panel was held on a fortnightly basis. The EHE returners were put before the panel. If a child had been out of school for less than 6 months it was felt, they should be going back to school. The Youth Service worked with the EHE pupils but they were potentially more vulnerable and there was a higher risk of them becoming NEET and in theory, a higher risk of exploitation. Members asked if the increase in ALN was due to delayed reaction post pandemic or other effects, for example, the increased numbers of children who had access to smart phones, smart devices. Members asked officers how closely they were looking at the reasons and finding ways to help those children. Officers advised that the Pandemic was not the only issue emerging. There were increased Emotional, Health and Wellbeing needs being identified before the Pandemic. The last 10-15 years had also seen an increase in child poverty. Members noted that the Pandemic had intensified certain aspects but was not the sole cause. The experience of Covid and the lockdown period impacted many older learners who were already experiencing anxiety but then spend a great deal of time at home and suffered from anxiety-based school avoidance. Education Psychologists had held projects to focus on anxiety-based school avoidance and how to address it. There had also been a new initiative trialling an in-class robot where the children were accessing the classroom through an iPad through a robot. In terms of younger children, Members were advised that there had been a marked increase in the number of children moving from early years requiring a specialist placement provision. Officers hoped this was a blip in the numbers. Officers referred to babies born during the pandemic - ‘pandemic babies’. Schools had reported an impact on all children with more speech and language delays. Access to smart phones also had an impact but officers had witnessed a marked impact on developmental skills, lack of play skills, delayed speech and language. For those children born during the Pandemic, lockdown had an even greater impact on them. Officers advised that they would have had complex needs but it had exacerbated those. Members asked officers to elaborate on the Child Friendly City sustainable plan with UNICEF. Officers responded that they were currently in the process of re-evaluating progress with the plan and holding onto that status and would update the Committee in due course. Members felt it would be useful for the committee to have access to the SEN numbers and if it was going to increase further and also the reasons parents gave for educating their children at home and particularly for those with SEN. Members also felt it would be useful if that number could be broken down into the ages of the children and whether the children had been in school for a while and then chose EHE. Officers responded that in terms of the children with ALN who were electively home educated it was one of the groups that Cardiff must obtain an IDP for. It was noted that an Inclusion Officer was involved with the family. Cardiff would have to sign off with some confidence that the family would meet the needs of the child or work with the family or challenge the decision with the child returning to school. It was noted that there were some children with ALN where the families were doing a good job having a different view to how children should be educated, accessing different things and accessing a network of families. Where a child with ALN was educated at home Cardiff monitored and kept the situation under review. Members were reassured that Cardiff did not agree an IDP with a family where there were concerns that they would not be able to meet the needs of the child. Members asked if the review would be ongoing with the family as the statutory requirement was one visit. Because of the complex nature of that child Members asked if there would there be more visits outside the statutory once a year visit. Officers advised that it depended on the individual circumstances. In some cases, there were specialist teachers keeping in touch and maintaining contact. Cardiff would need to satisfy itself that the family could provide or secure specialist provision. Cardiff was responsible for maintaining the IDP. If there were any concerns the authority would continue to monitor the situation for a period of time. Officers advised that at the point where the parent informed them of an EHE links with other teams were made to see if the child was subject to ALN or on the Child Protection Register in order that Children’s Services were informed the child was moving to EHE. Regular meetings were held with the Youth Service, Careers Wales and the ALN team amongst others to offer support to families. Families did not have to take up the offer. Many of them would accept careers advice at the appropriate time. Some parents hold the Authority to carry out one annual visit although some families were more engaging. Members requested the 2023/24 attendance figures for primary and secondary schools to compare with pre pandemic figures. Members praised schools for their excellent work over the last year in the context of where the challenges had grown. Members asked what mechanisms were in place that allowed school leaders to be open with the service about what the pressures were and what mechanism were in place for relaying concerns that school leaders faced to national government at a time when they were weighing up what the financial pressures were. Officers responded that as directors there had been close engagement with school leaders and been transparent in terms of showing spend and where the money is allocated to in the department. Members were advised there were various networks and meetings which officers attended with the school system. In terms of relaying the message to the Welsh Government, these were made. It was noted that the Welsh Government had shown an appetite to engage with Heads, convening a conference with Secondary School Heads and having an ambition to engage with Primary Heads also. Members referred to the fact that of the 15 directorates’ KPIs 7 were graded amber and 3 were graded red. It was felt that this should be primary focus of the overall summary. Members also pointed to the fact that 72% of council staff had completed the Children’s Rights training and that this figure should be 80+% and asked why this was not being met. Officers responded that one of the issues being encountered with compliance data was that some staff did not have access to PCs and therefore no access to the Academy Online. It had been agreed with some of those teams who did not have PC access to submit a record of prior learning which would be more accurate. Officers agreed to investigate whether this was the reason why the Children’s Rights training was not hitting the required targets for completion by officers. Officers to feedback to the Committee on this data in terms of any improvement. It was confirmed that all officers present at the Committee had undertaken the Children’s Rights training. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: that the Committee: 1. Note the contents of Appendix A and agree any amendments required to the draft work programme; 2. Note the update from the SOP T&F Group, set out in paragraphs 18-22 and agree any amendments required; 3. Formally agree to commence the ALN Inquiry and EOTAS T&F Groups, as set out in paragraphs 23 - 27 above, and agree any amendments required.
Members were advised that this item allowed them to discuss and agree the Committee’s Work Programme for 2024/25. This followed the Work Programming Forum on the 15 August 2024 and included suggestions from Members of the Committee and other key sources. The Chair invited Naomi Tomic, Principal Scrutiny Officer, to introduce the item. Members were informed that the works programme report provided output from the work programming session held in August. It summarised the topics and also proposed changes with additional work planning sessions proposed and business reports presented on a more frequent basis. The report sought to confirm the establishment of 2 enquiries – first of which was an ALN enquiry, and 2nd exploring how young people who were educated other than at school may be vulnerable to criminal exploitation. The Chair provided an update on the SOP Task and Finish Group and informed members that it had been decided to abandon the Task and Finish Group as it was decided to present it to Committee. In discussing the work programme Members asked if the Committee could hear from officers and cabinet on the 2/3 mile rule for School Transport but also how it negatively affected groups or certain locations in the city. Members agreed in August that the ALN, and sport for all deep dives should come first and with regards the EOTAS inquiry, because there were still national reports pending that it would be better to delay and deal with it when that information was available. In relation to the CSEC – WG was in the process of reviewing and arranging School Improvement nationally. There had been references around school improvement, but it commenced with a review of the middle tier. While that may be happening, Members were more concerned regarding school improvement services future for Wales. Members had asked initially for a briefing from the Education Service at the appropriate point on what those proposals are likely to look like. RESOLVED: that the Committee: 1. Note the contents of Appendix A and agree any amendments required to the draft work programme; 2. Note the update from the SOP T&F Group, set out in paragraphs 18-22 and agree any amendments required; 3. Formally agree to commence the ALN Inquiry and EOTAS T&F Groups, as set out in paragraphs 23 - 27 above, and agree any amendments required.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: that the Committee: 1. Note the correspondence update arising from recent scrutiny meetings; 2. Agree whether to implement the correspondence tracker proposal; 3. Note the links to relevant papers from other Council Committees and raise any issues arising from them; 4. Note the links to recent Inspection Reports from Care Inspectorate Wales and Estyn and raise any issues arising from them.
Members were informed that there was one correspondence awaiting a response which was the June Chairperson’s letter on ALN. Just before meeting that response had been received and would be circulated shortly. It was proposed that a correspondence log tracker be introduced to allow members to track requests and the length of time for response. RESOLVED: that the Committee: 1. Note the correspondence update arising from recent scrutiny meetings; 2. Agree whether to implement the correspondence tracker proposal; 3. Note the links to relevant papers from other Council Committees and raise any issues arising from them; 4. Note the links to recent Inspection Reports from Care Inspectorate Wales and Estyn and raise any issues arising from them.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
There were none.
Members were advised that this meeting would take a different approach to the way forward. As there had been several scrutiny officers assisting in the meeting in emergency arrangements and they had not all been able to stay until the end of the meeting officers would prepare a summary and share with Members as a collective on email for suggestions and agreement. Members were also invited to make any additional thoughts or observations.
Tuesday 8th October 2024 at 4.30 pm.
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