Agenda item

(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 placement within the Authority.  The Chairman made reference to the awards given to young people who progressed to university education at the Annual Pride of Flintshire Awards event.

The Head of Children’s Services advised that the Authority would be undertaking additional responsibilities in future concerning the care of young people on remand.  She explained that this was due to the new responsibilities under the LASPO Act which commenced on 1 April 2013.  Young people in this category would be afforded LAC status and eligibility for leaving care services in some circumstances.

Councillor H.J. McGuill asked if anger management courses were offered to young people.  The Advisor for Social Inclusion and Well Being  confirmed that there was provision for young people in Primary and Secondary schools and referrals could be made via the schools behaviour support team for all school pupils.  Reference was also made to the work of the ‘Time for Change’ team and members were informed that youth workers provided anger management courses funded by Families First.  He said that a multi agency approach was taken to addressing the issue. The Learning Advisor for Children Looked After explained that as part of the Looked After reviews individual anger management needs would be addressed if the issue was raised in schools.  She also advised that there was a process specific to LAC to manage behaviour before it became an issue.

Mr D. Hytch commented that the attainment of young people was highly commendable and said that officers, schools and pupils should be congratulated.  Councillor A.I. Dunbar reiterated these sentiments and  referred to the work of social workers.  Mr. Hytch referred to the increase in the number of LAC in the Primary sector and said there could be implications for resources in the future.  He also expressed concern around the use of percentages given for cohorts so small and suggested consideration be given to providing data on the assessment of the individual child which might be more useful.  He asked the Learning Advisor for Children Looked After if, as part of the child’s individual assessment,  a predicted outcome was given of their educational attainment.  The Learning Advisor for Children Looked After responded that the child’s level of attainment was identified through the presence of Cognitive Attainment Tests (CATS), however, she highlighted that LAC did not regularly achieve comparable results with their peers because of gaps in their education due to poor school attendance.

The Cabinet Member for Education referred to the information provided in the report on pupil outcomes and said that it would be useful if the data on the educational attainment of LAC in Flintshire was compared to that provided by other local authorities across Wales.  The Chairman also suggested that comparative data on the educational attainment of children before they became LAC and how they had developed since in the Authority’s care would be useful.  In his response the Director of Lifelong Learning acknowledged the points made and agreed that comparative data could be produced where consistent information was available.

Councillor N.M. Matthews referred to the additional tasks undertaken by teaching staff for children in the Foundation Phase and KS1 and commented on the need for parental education.  Officers advised that assistance was provided and referred to the use of social work planning and parental strategies. 

Councillor C. Hinds highlighted the work of foster carers and said that their role should be commended.  The Head of Children’s Services referred to the support given to kinship carers and stated that the Authority had achieved the position of runner-up in the national award for Kinship Care supporter of the year. 

RESOLVED:

(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.