Agenda, decisions and minutes

Nominations will be sought for a Chairman for the meeting.

That Councillor C.A. Ellis be nominated as Chairman for the meeting.

Nominations were sought for a Chairman for the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor C.A. Ellis be nominated as Chairman for the meeting.

The Chairman advised Members of the need to declare a personal interest in school related items on the agenda if they were school or college governors.  All Members present except Councillors R.C. Bithell, A. Bragg, R. B. Lloyd, and  P.R. Lightfoot (who were not school governors) declared an interest as school governors. 

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting.

That subject to the above the minutes be received and approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 21 March 2013 were submitted. 

Accuracy

Councillor D.I. Mackie asked that the minutes be amended to record his attendance at the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That subject to the above the minutes be received and approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

(a)       That the educational progress of Looked After Children in Flintshire be noted;

(b)       That the Committees support the proposals to seek the Welsh Government to increase the Pupil Premium to £900 as had been done in England; and

(c)        That Cabinet be asked to support recommendation (b) of the Committees.

The Director of Lifelong Learning introduced the report to update members on the attainment of Looked After Children (LAC) in Flintshire for the academic year 2011-2012.  He referred to the pupil outcomes in the Foundation Phase, and Key Stages 2, 3 and 4/5 which were detailed in the report and which provided comparative data for the Authority against the Wales average. 

He introduced Mrs K. Wylde, Learning Advisor for Children Looked After, and Mr. D. Messum, Advisor for Social Inclusion and Well Being, to the meeting and invited them to give an overview of the attainment of Looked After Children.

The Learning Advisor for Children Looked After provided background information and advised that there had been a notable increase in the number of LAC within the Primary sector (Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2) in 2011/12.  She explained that this was due to the work of the social work team where intervention and action was taken at a much earlier stage. 

Referring to future progress the Learning Advisor for Children Looked After advised that joint partnership working with teachers and social workers was ongoing and a secondary school event which took place at the end of October 2012 had been well supported.  A second joint partnership day with Primary Schools had been held to develop plans for ‘catch up’ and basis skills recovery.  It was also anticipated that there would be a continuation of support for LAC from the School Effectiveness Grant to support basic skills.

The Learning Advisor for Children Looked After referred to the Pupil Premium Grant which was additional funding given to schools to support disadvantaged pupils.  She advised that at the next Welsh Government (WG) All Wales Group meeting she would be requesting that the WG considered increasing the amount of the Pupil Premium in Wales so that it matched the level of funding provided to pupils in England.  Councillor H.J. McGuill spoke in support of lobbying the WG to increase the amount of pupil premium for Wales.

The Head of Children’s Services advised that Children’s Services had published a document based on the ‘Who does What’ document that had been published by local authorities in England.  She suggested sending a copy to the Facilitator so that it could be circulated to Members of both Committees.

Discussion took place around LAC who wished to progress to higher education and the Advisor for Social Inclusion and Well Being, referred to the impact this had on foster care placements.  The Head of Children’s Services confirmed that the Authority supported students through their University education but emphasised that LAC were not given preferential treatment, that there was an expectation of reasonable parental involvement and that students would pursue the option to take up the student loans and maintenance grants available.  The Learning Advisor for Children Looked After cited an example of a young person who was being supported financially by the Authority during his university course and who had also achieved a work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

That the approach taken to support Young Carers in Flintshire be endorsed.

The Director of Community Services introduced a report to update members on the range of services available in Flintshire to support Young Carers.  He provided background information and explained that the services which were needed and were commissioned on a local level did not enable the Authority at present to embark on a joint commissioning arrangement with other North Wales Local Authorities.  However, the Authority was confident that its current arrangements were delivering on the outcomes young carers required in Flintshire. 

The Director of Community Services introduced Mrs. J.  Evans, Service Manager, Partnership, Development and Performance, and invited her to give an overview of the definition of and responsibilities undertaken by a Young Carer.  The Service Manager gave an outline of the range of tasks carried out by Young Carers and the impact that providing a caring role at a young age may have on the person’s well-being and development in social, emotional, and educational terms.   She explained that for some young carers the experience could be positive but only if the appropriate support was in place.  She referred to the work of the Young Carers Subgroup which had responsibility for producing and implementing a multi-agency Young Carers Action Plan and gave an outline of the actions and developments planned to deliver the outcomes wanted for Young Carers in Flintshire.

The Chairman commented on the estimated 2500 young carers in Flintshire in 2001 as detailed in the report and asked if an update could be provided to give the current figure.  The Service Manager said she would provide this information to members of the Committee following the meeting.  The Head of Children’s Services referred to the increase in the number of 5 to 8 year olds with caring responsibilities and said there was a need to examine in detail what aspects of care young children were undertaking.  Members expressed concerns that children as young as 5 to 8 were defined as Young Carers and were carrying out caring duties.

Councillor H.J. McGuill asked if training was provided to help Young Carers who were living with “chaotic” lifestyles.  She also asked if funding was provided for activities for Young Carers to provide respite from their caring role and responsibilities.  In her response to the question on training the Service Manager said she would pursue how this matter could be best addressed and provide information back to the Committee.  Concerning funding for activities she commented on the commissioning of services from Barnardo’s to provide emotional support and fun and leisure activities.  She emphasised the need to ensure that support was equitable and also helped the child to move forward.  Further information on how funding was allocated would be provided after the meeting.

Councillor C. Hinds referred to situations where families refused to accept the help offered and asked if the Authority could intervene in such cases.  The Head of Children’s Services advised that if a refusal to engage placed a child at harm the matter would progress to a child protection S47  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

(a)       That the current financial support offered to corporate parenting activity in Flintshire be endorsed;

(b)       That County Council be asked to consider making Corporate Parenting Training for Member compulsory;

(c)        That Corporate Parenting training be provided during a future County Council meeting; and

(d)       That the Children’s Services Forum be asked to contact Judicial Officials regarding the need to improve future Court Timeframes.

A presentation was provided to the Committee on the Access to Action (A2A) card with was being rolled out to all secondary schools in Flintshire.  The presentation was written and performed by Young Carers.  Members were informed that the A2A card was an ID card, produced to the specific needs of the young person, which when presented in a school or social services setting signalled that the young person had personal circumstances that may require extra support or further discussion.  Schools which were involved in the initial pilot had endorsed its benefits and would continue to use it and the young people who carried the card said that it gave them reassurance and increased their confidence.  The card had been developed by Barnardos Young Carers and the Children’s Services Participation Groups.

Councillor H.J. McGuill commented on the need to ensure that the A2A scheme was ‘rolled out’ to all relevant health professionals and suggested that it was placed on the agenda for discussion at practice managers forums.  The Head of Children’s Services advised that Phase 1 had been launched in secondary schools and was to be introduced in primary schools.  The item was also on the agenda for consideration by the Children’s Services Forum.   She said she would ensure that parallel activity on the rollout was taking place. 

Following the presentation the Head of Children’s Services introduced a report to provide an update on activity surrounding the corporate parenting responsibilities of the County Council which were first set out in “Circles of Care: Corporate Parenting n Flintshire”.  She provided background information and referred  to the update report on corporate parenting which was appended to the report and invited members to put forward any suggestions to promote corporate parenting in the Authority

The Chairman suggested that compulsory training should take place during a meeting of the Flintshire County Council when all Members would be present. 

The Cabinet Member for Education emphasised the need for Members to demonstrate their commitment to their role and responsibilities as corporate parents.  Councillor H.J. McGuill reiterated the sentiments. 

Councillor V. Gay commented on the training provided to school governing bodies, which was to become compulsory in the future, and suggested that it may be helpful if a training module on corporate parenting was included in the programme

The Chairman referred to the impact of the new Court Timeframes which aimed  to reduce delays in cases during proceedings to 26 weeks.  She suggested that the Children’s Services Forum be asked to write to the judicial officials concerning the proposed reduction in court waiting times and the impact this had on children’s education.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the current financial support offered to corporate parenting activity in Flintshire be endorsed;

(b)       That County Council be asked to consider making Corporate Parenting Training for Member compulsory;

(c)        That Corporate Parenting training be provided during a future County Council meeting; and

(d)       That the Children’s Services Forum be asked to contact Judicial Officials regarding the need to improve future Court  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There was one member of the press in attendance.

The meeting commenced at 2.00pm and finished at 3.40pm