Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Caffrey, Cllr Mullen, Cllr Dillon, Cllr Hall, Cllr Adams, Cllr S Craig, Cllr P Craig and co-opted members Maveen Pereira and Sasha Ban.

The Committee is asked to approve as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting held on 6 April 2017

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 April 2017 were agreed as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Executive

The Committee agreed the constitution of the Committee and the appointment of the Chair and Vice Chair for the current municipal year.

RESOLVED    -           That the information be noted.

Joint Report of the Chief Executive and Strategic Director, Corporate Services and Governance

A report was received outlining the remit and terms of reference of the Committee.

RESOLVED    -           That the remit and terms of reference be noted.

Report of Strategic Director, Care Wellbeing and Learning

Committee received the six month performance update report, which provided an update on performance against strategic outcome indicators.

In terms of achievements in education it was reported that the take up of free two year old places was 84%, against the national take up of 70%. The percentage of outstanding schools in Gateshead is 38.3% which surpasses the national average of 19% and the regional average of 21.4%. It was also reported that the number of children offered their first preference school has improved to 96%. KS4 attainment remains better than the regional average with the attainment of looked after children better than the national and regional averages. In addition the results for children attaining an ‘expected standard’ at the end of KS1 and KS2 was good.

Achievements in social care were reported for the last year, with 100% of Child Protection reviews being held within timescale. The number of looked after children remains high, however the number who had three or more placements was within target at 5.9%. The stability of placements has improved with 88.8% of looked after children remaining in the same placement for more than two years. In addition, 98.8% of looked after children had a review within timescale.

It was noted that the level of engagement in children’s centres remains steady at 55%, which meets the Ofsted requirement to engage with the ‘majority of families’ (51%).  The rate of young people remanded to custody continues to decrease and is below the regional and national averages.  It was reported that 1545 families have been engaged with under the Troubled Families programme, to date a total of 459 families have had successful outcomes and payment by result has been claimed. At the end of the financial year a total of 24% of the overall target has been achieved.

Areas for improvement were highlighted, including the increase in permanent exclusions to 0.26% from 0.19%. The increase in Gateshead is not duplicated nationally or in statistical neighbours.  It was noted that the number of pupils offered their first preference secondary school has reduced from 92% last year to 88% this year and remains below the target of 95%, although this is above the national average of 84%. 

In terms of areas to improve in social care it was highlighted that overall performance remains positive, however there is increasing demand on the service due to the high numbers of looked after children and children with protection plans. The rates for these both remain above the regional and national averages.  In relation to care leavers engaging in education, work, apprenticeships or training remains a challenge and a dedicated group has been set up with representatives from the LAC Team and Connexions to ensure outcomes are improving for care leavers.

It was reported that there remains challenge in relation to reducing the rate of re-offending. Also, the number of registered childminders has reduced by 22 since 2015, work is ongoing to publicise the introduction of the £500 government start up grant.

Over  ...  view the full minutes text for item F5

Report of Director of Public Health

Committee received a report on the 0-19 health needs assessment, consultation findings and the proposed model for the procurement and delivery of a 0-19 Healthy Child Programme service for Gateshead. There are three key areas of the Healthy Child Programme; Health Visiting, Family Nurse Partnership and School Nursing.

It was noted that this programme will reflect the work of the 0-25 programme board which has a broader remit of considering how health and social care services can work together better and develop an integrated health and social care offer.  It was also noted that the 0-19 review was necessary in order to fit procurement law and timescales.

The Health Needs Assessment incorporated performance data, a review of national and local evidence and guidance as well as consultations with service users and stakeholders.  Presentations were also received from other local authorities as to how they delivered their 0-19 services, these presentations showed examples of co-located health and social care, with some being commissioned out to external providers and some being brought in-house.  Following this work the service model was developed, it was noted that this model will be flexible and requires the future provider to work with commissioners to develop it further.

In terms of population projections it is anticipated that there will be a 14% increase in 11-15 year olds by 2024, therefore consideration needs to be given to the school nursing workforce in future years.

It was noted that within the children’s profile there is a large proportion of looked after children on a Child Protection Plan, the majority of whom are aged between 0-9, with the largest proportion aged 0-4 years old. The largest category for Child Protection Plans is due to neglect, this accounts for 62% of cases.  Therefore a focus of the 0-19 service has been on early help and how services such as Health Visiting and Family Nurse Partnership can support the early help offer.

It was acknowledged that there are a large number of children with special educational needs within Gateshead and although it is not the role of the 0-19 service to provide specialist nursing support, it is important to incorporate a health role for the purpose of developing Education Care Health Plans.

It was reported that the main issues that this service will tackle are; emotional health and wellbeing, childhood obesity, oral health, teenage pregnancy, homelessness and poverty, substance misuse, smoking, breastfeeding, accident prevention and self harm.

The service model for 0-19’s will incorporate the public health nursing functions, however this will be flexible to integrate with social care teams over the next couple of years. Through consultation with the public and service users the key findings identified five priorities;

·         Positive parenting

·         School readiness

·         Improving emotional health and wellbeing

·         Healthy eating

·         Risky behaviours

These key priorities were also the same as those identified by professionals through consultation with GP’s, education, children’s centres, YOT and Family Intervention Team.

Through the Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire, focused on children and young people aged 0-19 years  ...  view the full minutes text for item F6

Report of Strategic Director, Care Wellbeing and Learning

Committee received a report on the Council’s educational statutory duties and the responsibilities of academy / multi academy trust (MAT).

It was reported that the 2016 education White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ made it clear Government’s direction for the future was that all schools would move to academy status. However, due to political changes within Government the White Paper was scrapped.  It was pointed out that this Government still promotes schools becoming academies and if a school is judged by Ofsted to be inadequate it is required to join a MAT.

Academy Trust freedoms and responsibilities were identified within the report.

RESOLVED    -           That the Committee noted the content of the report.