Agenda item

(a)      That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)      That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)     That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.

In presenting the report, the Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator outlined the items listed on the Forward Work Programme which was attached at Appendix 1 and referred to the Youth Justice Peer Review which had been moved to the February meeting.

Referring to the Action Tracking report at Appendix 2 it was confirmed that the majority of the actions from the last meeting were completed.  The Out of County report had been included on the Forward Work Programme for the Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee with a request for a Workshop on Out of County Placements for new Members passed to the Democratic Services Manager.  An update was provided on the request for a report on Retention and Recruitment.

            The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) suggested that the purpose for the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Wales Act item listed for the Joint Scrutiny meeting on 27 June be amended to reflect a whole overview of pre and post 16 Education.

            Councillor Andrew Parkhurst asked why the “Tackling the Impact of Inequality on Education Outcomes” was still listed as an item to be scheduled.  The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator agreed to take this as an action from the meeting to ensure that it was allocated to a meeting date.

            Councillor David Mackie referred to his request at the last meeting for a list of professional learning courses offered by GwE and to the document which he had received saying that it was difficult to understand. The information that he had requested had been around:-

•    What training was being offered to teachers in Flintshire;

•    What training was being devised;

•    What was the purpose of the training;

•    How many people were expected to attend the training.

            Councillor Mackie referred to the training information provided by GwE and felt that it would be helpful if more detail was included around what courses and training opportunities were made available for schools.  He believed that a better understanding could then be made if an analysis of training in Flintshire schools could be compared with other Counties.  

            The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) advised that the appendix that the Senior Manager (School Improvement) had sent Councillor Mackie was provided by GwE and outlined all of the professional training and support provided to Flintshire schools.  It was also confirmed that a meeting had been arranged between Councillor Mackie, the Senior Manager (School Improvement) and Officers from GwE to enable a better understanding of the information that was being requested.

            Councillor Mackie referred to the action from the last meeting which related to a report on demography and asked why it was not showing in the items to be scheduled.  The Chief Officer explained that the information on the impacts of pupil demography would be included in budget reports however if Members required more information on this then a workshop could be arranged.  Councillor Mackie wondered if a regular update report could be provided, similar to the information provided around school balances, as he felt it would be helpful.  This was agreed by the Chief Officer.

            Councillor Parkhurst referred to the condition grades within schools and to the information provided and asked as the data was collected in 2016/17 and this was re-assessed on a 5-year cycle, were there more schools now placed in Category C.  In response the Senior Manager (School Place Planning and Provision) explained that information provided related to a point in time and that some improvements had been undertaken with the situations of some buildings improving.  There was a delay because of Covid but the portfolio’s technical team, together with the support of an external consultancy team commissioned by Welsh Government, were due to commence a full-scale review of the school network to enable up to date condition information to be provided.

            Councillor Carolyn Preece asked if information on the new Inspection Framework from Estyn for Schools could be provided to the Committee as either a workshop for all members or a report to a future meeting.  This was agreed.

            In response to questions on the budget and a request for portfolio information to be included moving forward from Councillor Parkhurst, the Chief Officer agreed with the comments made saying that previously the portfolio budget figures had been included.  A detailed overview was provided with regard to budget pressures, the use of grant funding and the risks for the portfolio.  She added no officer suggestions were included as there was nowhere left to go to find savings and that the budgets were supporting statutory services for children and young people with no flexibility.

            In response to questions on Out of County Placements and Residential Care Costs from Councillor Parkhurst, the Chief Officer explained that it was the objective of the portfolio to maintain as many learners as possible in their local schools and communities.  The Senior Manager (School Inclusion) would be able to provide more detail when the Annual Report was presented to the Joint Committee meeting in June.  The Chief Officer referred to the funding which was delegated to schools to support children who had identified with additional learning needs and the work undertaken by the Moderation Panel when determining whether a young person’s needs were beyond the remit of the school.  The funding was insufficient to support the growing number of young people presenting with complex needs and an overview of the rigorous processes around the allocation of that funding in consultation with Head Teachers was given.  The Specialist provision was available in schools to assist children with needs such as speech, language and moderate learning difficulties.  There were, however, a number of children where the support of an external provider was required but the market was limited with the providers holding all the cards and setting the rates.  It was explained that the authority could become embroiled in a bidding war when there were so few places available, which came with significant costs for education and residential care.  Welsh Government were implementing a policy where the provision of these places should be on a not-for-profit basis which had implications for provisions in Wales.  The portfolio did what it could with the resources available.

            The Cabinet Member for Social Services agreed saying that the out of county budget was challenging with the market very competitive when trying to place a child with an appropriate provider. This was a challenge for all authorities in Wales in a very competitive market.  

            Councillor Dave Mackie felt there was currently a budget pressure for the revenue funding for an extra 20 places in special provision and it could be argued that the question asked by Councillor Parkhurst was in the process of being satisfied as this provision was already built and that the money added into the budget was for the staff to run that provision.   He asked if the out of county budget was moved to the Council’s own provision would it be possible to get a better return on the money.  Councillor Parkhurst confirmed that the amount was so great but the needs of the children should not be lost sight of.  This was about spending the money in the best way to look after the children but also to get the best value for our residents. 

The Chief Officer confirmed that this was what the Portfolios were trying to achieve, and she referred to reports taken to the joint Committee which outlined a range of strategies to increase the Council’s in house provision.  She referred to the work undertaken by Children’s Services, the new Children’s home facilities, the increased capacity at the specialist primary school and enhancing the resource provision, which had been achieved at Flint High School and the Pupil Referral Unit.  The Portfolios were constantly looking at ways to get better value for money by delivering that provision in house, using grant funding from WG when available, to expand that provision to support more children locally. Information was provided on the rigorous monitoring process around the out of county budget with monthly meetings held which included the Principal Accountants, herself and the Chief Officer for Social Services, the Senior Manager (Children’s Services), the Senior Manager (Inclusion & Progression).  An overview of the report provided by the Principal Accountant was given and it was confirmed that he also attended the moderation meetings held by the multi-agency professionals and that he tracked every individual learner.  This information fed into the monthly budget monitoring reports.

            Councillor Bill Crease felt that everyone wanted the best outcomes for these young people, but the problem was the Authority had to compete in an imperfect market.    He felt that the only way to achieve this was to compete and it was very important that time, effort and money was committed to ensuring the provision was available in Flintshire.

            Councillor Gladys Healey agreed with all the comments and hoped that Flintshire was able to establish its own provision and called on Welsh Government to provide the resources to enable the Council to do this. 

            The Chair agreed saying that there was a general consensus that we wanted our children to remain in Flintshire but that this was not possible at this time.

            The Chief Officer referred to the Moderation Panel saying that it was a significant multi agency Panel with representatives from every department in Education, Health and the Finance Team.  Every case was looked at in detail with a significant amount of evidence which had to be submitted and reviewed to ensure the process was applied equitably and consistently when difficult decisions had to be made.  She reassured members that the Panel were constantly trying to be creative using grant funding wherever possible, utilising resource provision and planning for the next round of Sustainable Learning Communities Funding.  She referred to the WG funding for schools and explained the two specialist schools in Flintshire were full and she was heartened to hear the comments today around supporting children locally.  Because of the currently financial situation every programme that was proposed came with a cost pressure to the Council because of the levels of intervention rates from WG.  It was how this could be done as efficiently, effectively and what could be delivered locally. 

The recommendations, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillor Carolyn Preece and seconded by Councillor Dave Mackie.

RESOLVED:

(a)      That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)      That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)     That the progress made in completing the outstanding actions be noted.