Agenda item

7.1  The chair invited the scrutiny officers to comment on the role of scrutiny and facilitate a workshop session on the committee’s role, review topics and work programme.

7.2  The Head of Overview & Scrutiny, Shelley Burke advised the committee had it had an important role in holding the executive to account on its delivery of services to young people. She explained that one way this was usually exercised was to conduct an annual interview of the cabinet member for children’s services. The scrutiny project manager, Julie Timbrell, explained that the committee also usually held an annual interview of the Independent Chair of safeguarding and considered the draft annual report. She commented that children’s health services are often under scrutinised as the remit of the health scrutiny committee is very large and paired with adult social care and recommended that this committee spend some time on this area..

7.1  The Head of Overview and Scrutiny read out the comments on post it notes that the chair had earlier invited members and officer to write down their aspirations and goals for scrutiny:

• Confidence from scrutiny that we are working on a common agenda to support the interests and well-being of children & young people of Southwark.

• Make a difference to children & young people.

• Thorough investigation of topics chosen.

• Continue to support our service improvement.

• To hear direct from children & young people on actions that would improve their lives and to have specific examples where their ideas have been implemented (and ensure reports refer to this).

• To keep tabs on the promises made in the new administration’s manifesto that affect children & young people

• Children & Young People Plan: challenge & support to assure Southwark residents that decisions are sound, make a difference and are the in the right interests of residents.

7.2  The chair commented that she would like to see more engagement with outside bodies, and less reliance on officer advice. A member agreed, and recommended that the committee outreach to schools and observed that school governors would probably have a useful and different perspective on the priorities, shortcomings and performance of schools, and noted that data can be selectively used to focus on particular areas.

7.3  The project manager advised that it was better to look at a few areas in depth, as reviews, however other topics and concerns could be picked up through a variety of ways; including questions to the cabinet member or the safeguarding chair, invitations to the youth council to consider when they attend quarterly and through one off  sessions and reports. Members were invited to suggest areas for the committee to look into and the following suggestions were made and then roughly grouped together after a short discussion:

• Attainment / qualifications/ access to vocational training for school children – particularly the bottom 30%,  who do not get 5 A-C GCSEs , and children in care:

Promote equality of outcome for all school leavers.

(N.B link to Corporate Parenting committee for work with children in care/ leaving care)

Look at the new curriculum; particularly the academic emphasis and the impact of the new testing regime. Examine the delivery of the manifesto commitment to ‘guarantee education, employment or training for every school leaver in Southwark’.

• Delivery of the council’s Free Health School meals programme:

Consider the review material gathered by the last committee.

• Early Help:

Look to support development of Early Help impacting on neglect issues for children. Support services for families on the verge of care (and related manifesto commitment)

• Children in care: early and stable placements.

• Autistic and special needs policy: clear policy and management and that scrutiny influences the development of the new planned strategy for Southwark.

• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

• Outcomes for Girls:

Education results, self esteem, aspirations, education careers services, teenage pregnancy, relationship violence, sexual exploitation, culturally sensitive issues: FGM, Trafficking, Forced Marriage.

• Retention and recruitment of staff working with children: 

Schools and other services are facing issues in recruiting and retaining good quality permanent teachers/ youth workers / childcare / health & social workers. Consider actions that the council has taken in the past to help the recruitment of social workers and if the council has a role in providing borough wide support for schools to recruit staff, and other services. 

• Childcare commission: input from the committee

• Schools places & projected demand: understand if there are enough places (N.B this might be dealt with by OSC).

• The health of children: assurance that this is being adequately considered by scrutiny by inviting the CCG to present and give an overview.

7.4  The chair explained that she intended to take this material away and devise a draft work programme, review topics, in consultation with officers, which she will then send to the committee for comments. Scoping documents for the review topics will be posted on social media for residents to comment on and then finalised at the next meeting. The scrutiny project manager showed a slide with the planned timetable:

RESOLVED

A draft of the review topics and work programme will be circulated to members for comment.