Agenda item

(a)       That the joint committee actively engaged as Corporate Parents for looked after children, promoting awareness and challenging provision within Flintshire educational settings.

(b)       That the joint committee actively encouraged all educational staff to promote the educational welfare of looked after children within Flintshire establishments at a ‘whole school level’.

The Senior Manager (Inclusion and Progression) introduced the report and explained the format was different because of the level of data available.  The report provided an overview of the work and support provided for looked after children during the academic year 2019//20 which had been impacted by the pandemic.

She provided information on colleagues who supported looked after children, an update on the numbers of children requiring assistance within schools and those requiring specialist support in out of county placements.  Information was provided on the number pupils who received Special Educational Needs (SEN) Statements and how this compared nationally.  She referred to her involvement on the silver group within the Emergency Response which had enhanced the joint working with Education and Social Services to ensure the needs of looked after children and vulnerable children were identified and supported via the Resilience hubs. Laptops were distributed to this cohort quickly and together with the support provided by the Vulnerable Learning Coordinator ensured children were able to access online education.  She confirmed the services and processes with regard to SEN were quickly moved online to continue to support this cohort as they had a higher level of need.

            The Senior Manager then referred to Section 1.06 in the report saying training was a real focus for education with sessions such as Trauma Informed Practice, Nurture and Attachment Theory provided.  The authority had purchased the Boxall Profiling and Assessment Tool which identified the pupil’s needs and ensured that the support was provided to enable them to progress with schools issued with licences and training supplied to use this tool effectively.    The Senior Manager then referred to the Pupil Development Grant (PDG) which was allocated from Welsh Government (WG) via GwE together with an explanation on how schools worked in clusters to put forward bids to apply for the grant.  Alternative forms of education with the focus on well-being were highlighted with a range of officer support available for children.  She finished by providing information on the outcomes of year 11 pupils from last year who had all achieved what they needed to move on for their future aspirations.

            Councillor Dave Mackie said that this was a very interesting report and asked the following questions;-

            Firstly at point 1.07 on page 7 he understood how this money was spent but asked if the figure was sufficient and if not should this be better resourced?

            Secondly at point 2.01 on page 8 with the changes in the legislation and the funding being allocated where the child lived, was information available on how many children the Authority was gaining or losing and was the situation the same in England with the authority being so close to the border.

In response to the first point the Senior Manager confirmed the Pupil Development Grant (DPG) allowance was fixed per pupil and funded by WG not Flintshire.  With schools working in clusters to obtain a set amount of funding this provided a level of resource to pay for a member of staff to support pupils across their cluster of schools.  The Chief Officer agreed saying they had more buying power working in clusters.

            In response to the second point the Senior Manager referred to the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act and confirmed that information was still awaited from WG.  With regard to the out of county numbers the figures were not to hand but she confirmed there were 126 pupils attending Flintshire Schools with the remaining, around 40 pupils,  either placed with other authorities in Wales or England.  She said there were implications with regard to the workload in Wales for officers with specific roles and responsibilities and that with regard to pupils sent to England there would be implications for the Council. For some there would be no impact at all with the English legislation providing the need for them but there was a cohort where the council would continue to have responsibility.

The recommendations, outlined within the report, were moved and seconded by Councillors Jean Davies and Mike Lowe. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the joint committee actively engaged as Corporate Parents for looked after children, promoting awareness and challenging provision within Flintshire educational settings.

(b)       That the joint committee actively encouraged all educational staff to promote the educational welfare of looked after children within Flintshire establishments at a ‘whole school level’.