Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor M Deakin.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th September 2017.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2017 be approved as a correct record.

To consider the Virtual School Headteacher’s Annual Report 2017.

Nicola Axford, Service Manager: Virtual School, gave a presentation to the Committee on the Virtual School Head teacher’s 2017 Annual Report and drew attention to:

·         Context and Operation

·         Key Outcomes 2017

·         Strengths of the Virtual School

·         Challenges for the Virtual School

·         Planned Solutions

·         Future developments

In considering the report, Members of the Committee made a number of comments on the continued support for cared for children including access to Pupil Premium.  There were questions about the make up, operation, strengths, challenges, funding and future developments of the Virtual School.

Ms Axford was thanked for the support the Virtual School has provided and for the very informative report.

RESOLVED

That the presentation be noted.

To consider an update on Corporate Parenting.

The Committee received an update in relation to cared for children and young people and care leavers and noted the following headlines:

National Developments

A new adviser to support young people as they leave the care system has been appointed as part of the government’s drive to improve the lives of vulnerable children.  Mark Riddell, MBE, has been appointed as the National Implementation Adviser for care leavers.  Dates have been set to meet with Cheshire East Council.

Update on Homelessness Reduction Act

The Act will come into force on 1st April 2018 and will place new duties on Local Authorities and other public bodies to identify, support and refer households at risk of homelessness.   

Local Developments

Children in Care Council Update

During the last month the young people attending the Children in Care Council have been involved in a range of key activities alongside informal activities designed to support their personal, social and educational development.

Pre-event consultation for the Game Changer conference in Blackpool

Some of the young people were also involved earlier in the year in the planning of the event, that took place in Blackpool on Saturday 4th November.

Takeover Day 2017

This has been scheduled for 24^th November when the group members will be working alongside Nigel Moorhouse and Mark Palethorpe.

Star Awards

Young people have been involved in the Star Awards event planning, putting forward ideas and giving feedback on the last few details of the event. A care leaver was involved in the judging panel this year.

Planning for Corporate Parenting Committee

Young people have discussed the keys issues affecting them ahead of the November Corporate Parenting Committee. The young people looked at the theme of Education in preparation for the upcoming session.

Visit from Head of Service

The young people organised a session and invited Kerry Birtles, the new Head of Service, along so that they could spend some time getting to know each other. Kerry also discussed with the young people what their key concerns were and the group decided on some areas of work that they will cover in the coming months, such as the Pledge and the Corporate Parenting Strategy.

National Adoption Week 2017

This took place from 16^th – 22^nd October and included a successful campaign for Cheshire East along with the other local areas as part of ‘Adoption Counts’. 

Update on Teenage Pregnancy and Parents

Care Leaver Mothers

Motherwell is a charity for women run by women, promoting positive health and wellbeing, by offering a range of educational services, holistic therapies and mental health support.

Research Project

This is a 3 year project which will be carried out by the Head of Abuse Studies at MMU Crewe and will research the correlations in childhood experiences of abuse and implications that this has on parenting.

Positive Parenting Groups

The first Positive Parenting Group was held in July 2017 at Oak Tree Children’s Centre in Crewe.

North Locality Positive Parent Group

This will be an informal peer support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To consider the Local Safeguarding Board 2016/2017 Annual Report.

The Committee received and noted the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) 2016/2017 Annual Report, which covered the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 and highlighted the activity, progress and challenges faced by Cheshire East LSCB and also set out the achievements made in 2016-17 and the areas where improvements continue to be made.

In considering the report, Members of the Committee made a number of comments and asked questions about the review of the 2015/2016 priorities, the key priorities for 2016/18, improvements and the access services, support and advice that are in place for children and young people and their families.

Mr Moorhouse was thanked for presenting the report.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

To consider the 2016/2017 Health Annual Report.

The Committee received and noted the 2016/2017 Health Annual Report which highlighted areas for further service improvement and priorities for 2017-2018.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

To receive an oral update on the health of cared for children and care leavers.

Kerry Birtles provided the Committee with an update following the last meeting of the Shadow Board for Young People when the following areas relating to services were discussed:

·         Bad things about Education

·         Good things about Education

·         What would help improve things

It was noted that generally the feeling was that all the young people at the meeting had good support at school and even though there were a few negative points, the conversation on the whole was positive.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.