Agenda item

-  Schools Update

-  16 Plus Progression and Performance

-  Social Care

6.1  Officers presented and tabled reports (attached to the minutes)  on three different areas:

-  School Update

-  16 Plus Progression & Performance

-  Children in Care (Social Care)

Schools Update

6.2  Merril Haeusler, Director of Children's Services; Education, presented the Schools Update report and the chair then invited members to ask questions.

6.3  A member commented that over the last several years local schools have improved their performance considerably and asked the Director how that came about. She responded that it was the combination of headteachers taking the  initiative and the council’s School Improvement Plans.

6.4  The Director was asked what she considered to be the key challenges now and she responded that these are the challenge to recruit teachers, particularly given the high living costs, and also the changes to the national curriculum and testing regime, which could impact negatively on some Southwark pupils.  She commented that Southwark is an area where there is significant economic & social deprivation and therefore teaching can be challenging as pupils face significant disadvantage and the schools are therefore more difficult to teach in. The council does offer more support to newly qualified teachers, but there is a need for extra incentives to ease the recruitment difficulties.

6.5  A member asked for a definition of a Free School and an Academy.  The Director explained that all new schools are now Free Schools. She commented that although the government had said that Free School were supposed to come from a groundswell of opinion from parents, it has not quite worked out like this and instead sometimes academy chains have been proactive in setting up new schools. Maintained schools are also sometimes becoming academies because of financial incentives. Maintained schools can also become forced to into Academy status is they go into special measures, however no Southwark Schools are in this position

6.6  The Director was then asked about Camelot school and if it faced this prospect. She clarified that the school is not on special measures but it does require improvement. It was rated as a ‘Satisfactory’ by OFSTED. The Council is visiting regularly.

6.7  A member asked for a breakdown of results by gender and officers agreed to provide this.

6.8  A member commented that around 30% of children are not achieving 5 GCSEs and young people find it increasingly difficult to find a job The Director said she had concerns that the emphasis is moving towards a very academic curriculum. She added that vulnerable young people need family support to engage with schools and while the council has done lots of work there is still more to do.

6.9  The Director was asked about Pupil Premium and if schools use it effectively for the purpose it is given. The Director assured members that it was used on what is needed. Members asked if schools are buying back services from the council and the Director said that the council offer a variety of services including welfare services and educational psychologists and only one or two academies are not buying these in.

16 Plus Progression & Performance

6.10  Merril Haeusler, Director of Children's Services, Education presented the report and the chair then invited members to ask questions.

6.11  A member voiced concerns that schools are not providing enough for the bottom 30%. The Director responded that schools are very straight jacketed by league tables and a curriculum focused on university entrance. She assured the committee that schools do care about the bottom 30% and when she meets with secondary headteachers every 6 weeks they talk about this issue.

6.12  Members asked if there was a strong local network and the Director said that there were; schools like to come together, however there is also competition between schools.

6.13  The chair asked the Director if she would recommend any further work by the committee and she recommended a look at the curriculum changes and the new testing regime.

Children in Care (Social Care)

6.14  Rory Patterson, Director; Children's Social Care, presented the report, with assistance from Ann Flynn, Safeguarding Children Board Development Manager.

6.15  A member referred to the Director’s comment that everything is dropped when an inspection of the service takes place and the Director clarified that he meant senior managers rather than the front line workers. The inspectors concentrate on front line workers and the user voice: families and children.

6.16  A member asked about the focus on working with families, the high level of children in foster care and the lower numbers placed for adoption, particularly given the recent government focus on faster adoptions and the evidence that early adoption leads to better outcomes. The Director responded that Southwark Council has one of the highest levels of care proceeding nationally and taking a child from a family is one of the most draconian steps the state can take. He explained that ultimately this is a court judgment and while sometimes it is clear that removing a child from their family is the right thing to do, other times it is a grey area. He said the movement of children in and out of foster care is a concern and the service want to see an increase in the stability of placements and have done successful work in widening the number of potential placements which enables a better match and more chance of continuity.

6.17  The Director explained that one of the reasons the council takes proceeding is that it can force the issue, for example the extended family can step up and are appropriate. A member asked if the extended families are the first to be considered and the Director explained that all have to be considered and that this work needs to be done before going to court and this includes contacting everybody, including international extended family.

6.18   A member commented that the stability of placements was an issue at the Corporate Parenting Committee. The Director agreed this is an issue. He reported that Southwark was in the upper quartile for performance, however this has fallen. He explained that some of this was to do with the challenges of teenagers and the importance of getting the match right. It is much more likely that a ten year old and upwards will be in long term foster care, rather than adopted, and more local choice enables more young people to maintain their local friendships and school links.

6.19   A member commented that one complaint from children in care is that that do not get consulted enough. The Director explained that Social Care undertakes independent care planning and consulting with the child and young person is a key part of social workers’ role.  He explained that the department also have a children's rights officer and she has recently been focused on younger children getting involved in Speakerbox and having a voice.

6.20  The Director spoke about a more community focused social work practice whereby social workers considered the social context; rather than just looking at the individual behaviour they also now considered the family set up, for example a child might be out on the street causing trouble and at risk because the home is overcrowded.

6.21  A member asked if new and innovative methods are being used in social care, particularly new technology. The Director responded that videos can show prospective families how appealing many of the children are.  This might not come thorough on more bureaucratic forms - particularly as there is a need to be honest about children's histories and challenges.

6.22  The Director was asked about the use of residential care rather than families and the Director said that some young people are very challenging, for example  violent. In these cases it's really important that a relationship is built up and this can better facilitated in a more secure environment.

6.23  A member asked the Director if there will be more care proceedings by the council. He responded that neglect is a big issue as is domestic abuse, particularly the attitudes that men have to women, young boys have to young women and sons have to their mothers. A member asked the Director to explain more about why domestic abuse leads to care proceeding and he explained that periodic violence impacts on brain development and this can start from an early age – the children will be anxious and will be acting out. A member said that some cultures use a slap and asked about particular communities. The Director responded that Social Workers see violence against children using implements and this is very serious. A member asked how this is tackled and the Director responded that sometimes the department take a child into care for a short time while the department makes an assessment to find out if this is systematic abuse or families are using inappropriate physical chastisement that social workers will then work to overcome. The Director was asked how many children are in and out of care and he responded that it would probably be possible to drill down into the data to find turnover.

6.24  A member commented on the figure of 27% of children in care achieving 5 A-C GCSEs. The Director said that this is better than average and the member acknowledged this; however commented that it was still poor.

6.25  A member commented that the new administration is developing a Women's Charter.

6.26  The Safeguarding manager was asked about work the council has done to tackle Child Sexual Exploitation and she explained that a conference was held in 2013. A sub group of the Safeguarding Board looked at data and identified around a 100 children at risk, of these young people the sup-group then focused on those judged most at risk, however practitioners  know that those with at a lower risk profile can come to harm . The group decided to do both policy and hands on work. The practical work with young people was based on the successful gang work to disrupt and prosecute. There was intelligence sharing across agencies and action, for example targeting certain betting premises. A member asked about the number of children at risk who are in care and the Safeguarding manager explained that CSE is not at all exclusive to children in care.

RESOLVED

Provide more details on exam results broken down by gender

Provide more information on placements of children in care by age and turnover.