Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor J Barber.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2021.

RESOLVED –

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 February 2021, be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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 provide an opportunity for Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the agenda

There were no declarations of a party whip.

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.

Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research, it would be helpful if members of the public contacted the Scrutiny officer listed at the foot of the agenda, at least one working day before the meeting to provide brief details of the matter to be covered.

There were no members of the public present who wished to speak.

To receive a short verbal update on a child/young person’s story.

The committee received a verbal update on a recent case worked on by the Children with Disabilities Team, anonymised so as to protect the individuals involved. The committee heard that this child's disability meant that they had significant caring and support needs in all aspects of their life. In order for the council to secure a positive outcome for this child and ensure that they were able to receive the care and support they needed within the borough, a significant multi-agency piece of work was undertaken. Thanks to the effort and commitment of the council and all partners involved, the intended positive outcome for this child was achieved.

RESOLVED -

That the update be received, and the hard work of the council and partners be noted.

To consider the standing Covid-19 update.

The committee considered its standing Covid-19 update, which provided information on the work undertaken by the Children's Services directorate to support the recovery and response from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members asked questions and put comments in relation to;

•      the data on school attendance since pupils began to return from 8 March 2021;

•      how successful the school testing programme had been to date, and what feedback had been received from schools in relation to this;

•      what procedures and processes schools have to follow when a pupil receives a positive result from either an in-school or at-home lateral flow test;

•      whether the Mental Health Training Pilot was planned to be provided only for children in social care, or for a wider audience including schools;

•      what support was in place for children with additional needs; and

•      whether schools and/or the council had noted a higher level of anxiety or mental health impacts regarding the uncertainty of how exams will be administered.

RESOLVED -

That the update be noted.

To consider the performance data relating to Children and Families Services from quarter 3 of 2020/21.

Consideration was given to the performance data from Children's Services relating to Quarter 3 of 2020/21. Members asked questions and put comments in relation to;

•      how the council would continue to scrutinise and monitor progress of its objective to bring more cared for children 'home' to be cared for in-borough;

•      how the number of pupils being educated at home had changed since the outbreak of Covid-19; and

•      how confident the council was that the numbers of electively home educated pupils would fall if confidence in returning to school settings was to increase.

RESOLVED -

That the update be noted.

To consider a six-month update on progress made against the SEND Written Statement of Action.

The committee considered an update on progress achieved against the SEND Written Statement of Action. Members asked questions on, and discussed, what the council could do in order to reduce the number of Early Help and Care Plans it receives in the future.

RESOLVED -

That the update be noted.

To consider a report highlighting the schemes targeted at ensuring sufficiency of school places across all planning areas in the borough, including the work to support the increasing demand for specialist SEN school places, and the ongoing work undertaken to support the overall condition of maintained school buildings in Cheshire East.

The committee considered a report highlighting the schemes targeted at ensuring sufficiency of school places across all planning areas in the borough, including the work to support the increasing demand for specialist SEN school places, and the ongoing work undertaken to support the overall condition of maintained school buildings in Cheshire East.

RESOLVED -

That the update be noted.

To consider a six-month update on Member frontline visits.

Councillor C Bulman presented this item to the committee and provided a verbal update on the positive outcomes that had been achieved through Member Frontline Visits. Members agreed that, when Covid-19 guidelines allow for greater social interaction, greater benefits could be achieved through resuming in-person Member Frontline Visits.

RESOLVED -

That the update be noted.

To give consideration to the areas of the forward plan which fall within the remit of the Committee.

The committee considered the Forward Plan to determine if there were any new items that it would be interested in referring on to the incoming Children and Families Committee.

RESOLVED –

That the Forward Plan be noted.

To review the work programme.

The committee considered its work programme.

RESOLVED –

That the outstanding items of business be referred to the relevant Director to discuss with the chair and vice-chair of the incoming Children and Families Committee.