Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and outlined the emergency evacuation procedure. 

The Chair then asked the Committee Members and officers to introduce themselves.

It was noted that Cllr Cara Lavan was substituting for Cllr Shona Jemphrey.

To note any declarations of interest from councillors. They are asked to

indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular

whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declaration of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of

interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

Councillor Katja Hornchen declared that she was school governor at Broomhill Infants School and did not vote on Agenda Item 12.

The Committee RESOLVED: The minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2024 were approved as an accurate record.

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

None

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or councillor may participate in Public Forum. Public Forum items must relate to the remit of the committee and should be addressed to the Chair of the committee.

Members of the public who plan to attend a public meeting at City Hall are advised that you will be required to sign in when you arrive. Please note that you will be issued with a visitor pass which you will need to display at all times.

Please also note:

Questions

1.      Written public questions must be received by 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that questions must be received at the latest by 5.00 pm on Thursday 22^nd August. Please email questions to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      Any individual can submit up to 3 written questions.

3.      Written replies to questions will be available on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

4.      At the meeting, questioners will be permitted to ask up to 2 oral supplementary questions.

Statements

1.      Written statements must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that statements must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 27^th August. Please email statements to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      Statements, provided they are no more than 1,000 words in length, will be circulated to all committee members and will be published on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

Petitions

1.      Details of the wording of any petitions, and the number of signatories to petitions must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that petition details must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 27^th August. Please email petition details to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      At the meeting, individuals presenting petitions may be required to read out the objectives of the petition.

When submitting a question or statement please indicate whether you are planning to attend the meeting to present your statement ask your question.

The questions, replies, and statements were circulated to Committee members and published on the meeting webpage in advance of the meeting:Public Forum - 29th August 2024

It was noted that 6 public forum questions and 1 statement had been received.

Questions:

PQ01 & PQ02 - Sally Kent, Education Capital Funding Projects Report

PQ03 & PQ04 - Catherine Vallejo Veiga, Independent Non-Maintained Special School Framework Report

PQ05 & PQ06 - Jen Smith, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

Statements:

PS01 - Jen Smith, Youth Violence in Bristol

Jen Smith attended the meeting and summarised her statement by saying it was in essence “edited highlights of living in St Judes”.  It was she said often much worse and there were serious concerns about the impacts for children that live there.  It was also very confrontational and worrying for parents going out.

The Chair said it had been suggested that the statement should be moderated but that she had accepted it as submitted because it was ‘lived experience’.  The area housed families that were Council tenants and data showed that it was in the top 1% of dangerous areas to grow up.  The Chair said the impacts of growing up there should be recognised and it was an area where children and young people needed additional multi-agency support.

This report will be provided for every Children and Young People’s Policy Committee to provide information on the delivery and performance of children’s services in line with the statutory expectations of the Director of Children’s Services. The report identifies key challenges and risks for consideration, areas of progress, and upcoming activity.

It is intended that this report will develop with each iteration and presentation, any feedback on its content or construction is welcomed.

The Committee considered a report that provided information on the delivery and performance of children’s services in line with the statutory expectations of the Director of Children’s Services. The report identified key challenges and risks for consideration, areas of progress, and upcoming activity.

It was noted that there were no decisions to be taken on this report which was for information.

Summary of main points raised/noted in discussion of this item:

In opening the discussion, the Chair commented that this was predominantly a monitoring report that included narrative and data.  Committee members were welcome to highlight anything they thought was missing from the report, and if it could be put in the public domain, it would be included. 

The Executive Director for Children and Education stated this was the first time they had shared this type of information.  She said she was happy to add further data and change the format if required. The Director went on to summarise the key points in the paper and said it was fair to say the biggest challenge was currently SEND.   They would be bringing a new SEND and Inclusion Strategy to the Committee in January.  The Committee would be consulted upon it in October and it would be co-produced with children and families. 

The Director commented on the public forum statement from earlier in the meeting and said that she was very conscious of youth violence issues.  Work was being undertaken with partners on the Serious Violence Prevention Board and an update paper on this would be brought to the Committee in due course.

Summary of main points raised/noted in discussion of this item:

A Committee member asked if there were minutes from the Children’s Quality, Improvement and Performance (QuIP) Board that they could see.  The Executive Director said they wanted to be open and transparent but she would need to take the request away and come back to Members about it. 

The Chair said she had no issue with the request and had already raised it with the Deputy Leader of the Council.

A Member commented that the SEND statistics and EHCP finalisation times were said to be concerning.

The Chair added that said she wanted to know how long some people with long standing, complex cases were waiting and had had asked officers specifically to look into those cases.  

A Member asked about the number of contacts to First Response and the number of referrals to children’s social care and if these were likely to be self-referrals or other people reporting them? Officers said the data included every contact they had received and so was a combination.  The Members suggested that a breakdown of data in the report would be helpful going forward.

The Committee RESOLVED: To note the report

To provide information on the key challenges of attendance, risks for consideration, and areas of progress, updates on the delivery of support and interventions in line with the statutory expectations.

The Committee considered a report that provided information on the key challenges of school attendance, risks for consideration, and areas of progress, updates on the delivery of support and interventions in line with the statutory expectations.

It was noted that there were no decisions to be taken on this report which was for information.

The Chair invited the Head of Service, School Partnerships to briefly outline the report. 

It was noted that evidence pointed towards attendance at school as a key contributor to children’s attainment.  Every day lost had a cumulative effect on this.  Attendance prior to Covid was 94%. Bristol’s attendance rate was currently 87%. This was well below the national average and equated to a large number of children missing from school. 

Schools were now required to publish attendance data. An ‘inclusion board’ was being set up to look at how schools can increase attendance rates, improve recording of data and to explore developing an inclusion index.

Schools it was said must be a safe place and a place of belonging.

Summary of main points discussed:

-        There had been an increase in partnership working with schools to address children’s mental health and increased support needs.

-        The reasons attendance had decreased since the pandemic, were said to be many and varied. Year groups 9 and 10 were the biggest cause of concern for attendance drop off.  It was suggested the pandemic exposed lots of issues that were previously hidden.

-        A Member proposed a potential Task and Finish Group to look at this issue.  This and other topics would be discussed.

-        A Member suggested penalties for taking children out of school during term time were not a deterrent for all.  It was suggested that if fees are set, those that can afford to continue to do so.  Fines were said to be set nationally and it was the local authority that fined parents.  Officers said research showed the effects of penalties had mixed results and it was also important to look at what schools have done to encourage attendance. 

-        It was highlighted how valuable it was to have had this discussion just before start of the new school term. 

The Committee RESOLVED: To note the report

For the Children and Young People Committee to ratify and approve the Sufficiency Strategy for Children in Care and Care Leavers 2024-2027 for publication.

That the Committee for Children and Young People

1. Approves the Sufficiency Strategy for Children in Care and Care Leavers 2024-2027 for publication

The Committee considered the report that asked them to ratify and approve the Sufficiency Strategy for Children in Care and Care Leavers 2024-2027 for publication.

The Chair noted this was a key decision affecting 2 or more wards.

The Head of Service Children’s Commissioning briefly outlined the report.

The Chair read out and moved the recommendations as set out in the report. Cllr Hornchen seconded this motion.

The Committee for Children and Young People Resolved (Unanimously) to;

1. Approves the Sufficiency Strategy for Children in Care and Care Leavers 2024-2027 for publication.

Note: the vote was ‘8 votes for’ as Cllr Lavan had left the meeting at this point. 

To  seek  approval  for  Bristol  City  Council  to join The  Southern  Region  Residential  Care Framework led by Southampton City Council, and approval to purchase residential children’s home placements, for children in care, which will be secured from South Central Residential Children's Homes framework whenever possible, or may be spot purchased in the event that the framework is unable to meet the requirements.

That the Committee for Children and Young People

1. Authorises the Executive Director Children and Education in consultation with Chair of the Children & Young People Committee to take all steps required to join, award and purchase (which may be over the key decision threshold) from the South Region Residential Children’s Home Framework in line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report.

2. Authorises the Executive Director Children and Education to invoke any subsequent extensions/variations specifically defined in the contract(s) being awarded, up to the maximum budget envelope outlined in this report.

The Committee considered a report that sought approval for Bristol City Council to join The Southern Region Residential Care Framework led by Southampton City Council, and approval to purchase residential children’s home placements, for children in care, which will be secured from South Central Residential Children's Homes framework whenever possible, or may be spot purchased in the event that the framework is unable to meet the requirements.

The Chair noted that this was a key decision over £500k. 

The Head of Service Children’s Commissioning briefly outlined the report.

It was confirmed there were currently 90 children living in care homes in Bristol. 

A Member commented that the need to go to more private provision is not good. Were there any plans to bring all children’s care provision in-house? Officers said there was a link between this paper and the sufficiency strategy where there were plans to work with the Council’s strategic partner to increase in-house residential placements. 

Following the brief discussion the Chair moved the recommendation as set out in the report. This was seconded by Cllr Hornchen.

The Committee then RESOLVED (unanimously) to:

That the Committee for Children and Young People

1. Authorises the Executive Director Children and Education in consultation with Chair of the Children & Young People Committee to take all steps required to join, award and purchase (which may be over the key decision threshold) from the South Region Residential Children’s Home Framework in line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report.

2. Authorises the Executive Director Children and Education to invoke any subsequent extensions/variations specifically defined in the contract(s) being awarded, up to the maximum budget envelope outlined in this report.

Note: the vote was ‘8 votes for’ as Cllr Lavan had left the meeting. 

To seek approval to invoke the two, one year extension clauses in the South West and South Central Independent Non-Maintained Special School framework contract. The initial term of the contract expires in December 2024 and the contract includes the option to extend for up to two years.

That the Committee for Children and Young People

1. Authorises the Executive Director of Children and Education in consultation with the Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to extend the Pseudo Dynamic Purchasing System for the Provision of CS0877 South West & South Central Flexible Framework for Independent/non maintained special schools for up to 2 years in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report.

The Committee considered a report that sought approval to invoke the two, one year extension clauses in the South West and South Central Independent Non-Maintained Special School framework contract. The initial term of the contract expires in December 2024 and the contract includes the option to extend for up to two years.

The Chair confirmed that this was a key decision because the contracts totalled more than £500k.

The Head of Service - Children’s Commissioning briefly outlined the report.  It was confirmed that there was no commitment to spend on this paper.  This was for approving a compliant procurement route for already agreed spend and was an extension of the current contract.

Summary of the points discussed:

A Member asked why this appeared to be so expensive.  Officers concurred that this was a lot of money.  This was partly due to the ratio of staff to children required and because the level of care was high in these placements.  The market was said to be calling the shots on costs and was why a joint framework was needed.  This meant the costs could be set in advance and kept lower. 

It was asked if the costs could be brought down if the provision was brought ‘in-house’.  Officers said yes as per the capital projects in the next report, but that would take time.  In meantime an extension if the current contract was needed to keep prices down as much as possible. 

It was confirmed that the contracts also included specialist advice for children with specific and complex needs.

Officers confirmed that every provider, in order to be part of the framework must pass a quality assurance assessment.

The Chair moved the recommendations as set out in the report.Cllr Hornchen seconded this motion.

The Committee RESOLVED (unanimously) to:

That the Committee for Children and Young People

Authorises the Executive Director of Children and Education in consultation with the Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to extend the Pseudo Dynamic Purchasing System for the Provision of CS0877 South West & South Central Flexible Framework for Independent/non maintained special schools for up to 2 years in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report.

Note: the vote was ‘8 votes for’ as Cllr Lavan had left the meeting. 

1.      To accept £4.4m of new high needs capital grant funding into the Education Capital Programme?.

2.      Accept and spend £1.8m of 24/25 DfE Schools Condition Allocation Grant?.

3.      To allocate £13.2m safety valve grant funding to the extension and refurbishment of Claremont Special School

4.      To approve the allocation of £2.5m to deliver new kitchens at:

a.      Ashley Down Primary School

b.      Sefton Park Primary School

As outlined in the project mandates

5.      Approve the re-baselining SEND Wave 2 Project Budgets

6.      Note that another paper will come forward in Q1 2025 with the next round of investment proposals.

That the Committee for Children and Young People:

1) Approve the acceptance of £4.4m Department for Education High Needs Provision Capital into the Education Capital Programme (confirmation of award in appendix A5).

• Authorise the Executive Director Children & Young People in consultation with Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to spend the funding as outlined in this report.

2) Approve the acceptance of £1.8m of Department for Education Schools Condition Allocation into the Education capital Programme.

• Authorise the Executive Director Children & Young People in consultation with Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to spend the funding as outlined in this report.

3) Approve the allocation of £13.2m safety valve grant funding to the extension and refurbishment of Claremont Special School.

• Authorise the Executive Director Children & Young People in consultation with Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to procure and award contracts required in the delivery of the redevelopment of Claremont Special School in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report. Including contracts over £499k.

4) To approve the allocation of £2.50m of Basic Need Capital Grant to deliver new kitchens Ashley Down Primary School and Sefton Park Primary School.

• Authorise the Executive Director Children & Young People in consultation with Chair of the Children and Young Peoples Committee to procure and award contracts required for the expansion of kitchens at Sefton Park Primary School and Ashley Down Primary School in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report. Including contracts over £499k.

5) Approves the re-baselined budgets for the SEND Wave 2 Projects:

• Broomhill Juniors

• Harry Crook

• Northstar 82

• Oasis Longcross

The Committee considered a report that sought approval to:

1.    To accept £4.4m of new high needs capital grant funding into the Education Capital Programme.

2. Accept and spend £1.8m of 24/25 DfE Schools Condition Allocation Grant.

3. To allocate £13.2m safety valve grant funding to the extension and refurbishment of Claremont Special School

4. To approve the allocation of £2.5m to deliver new kitchens at:

a. Ashley Down Primary School

b. Sefton Park Primary School

As outlined in the project mandates

5. Approve the re-baselining SEND Wave 2 Project Budgets

6. Note that another paper will come forward in Q1 2025 with the next round of investment proposals.

The Chair noted this was a key decision over £500k and that it impacted more than 2 wards.

The Head of Capital Projects presented the report.

Summary of main points raised/noted in discussion of this item:

Were there any other schools requiring this level of work? Officers said that those in the report had been flagged as being an urgent health and safety priorities. The Estates Team were surveying other schools and the Education Board would make recommendations.

A Member said it did not appear that much of the work was in the South of the City.  Was this work being equally distributed across all areas? Officers confirmed they would bring another report back in March that would include a rationale for prioritising investment.  The Chair highlighted that this investment was only for local authority maintained schools and there was only one such school in the south of Bristol that she could think of.

A Member raised the SEND Wave 3 Capital Investment and suggested that smaller schools were better for many children and that autistic children need to spend time with non-autistic children and vis versa. 

Officers said they were looking far and wide for spaces that could work where all children could mix and specific support could also be provided where needed.

The Executive Director said inclusion in mainstream settings was a theme they would continue to come back to.  But that this was also about good leadership and inclusion in schools.  It was possible to have large schools where the quality of teaching was very high and vis versa. 

Following discussion, the Chair moved the recommendations as set out in the report. This was seconded by Cllr Classick.

The Committee RESOLVED (unanimously) to:

1) Approve the acceptance of £4.4m Department for Education High Needs Provision Capital into the Education Capital Programme (confirmation of award in appendix A5).

- Authorise the Executive Director Children & Young People in consultation with Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to spend the funding as outlined in this report.

2) Approve the acceptance of £1.8m of Department for Education Schools Condition Allocation into the Education capital Programme.

-  Authorise the Executive Director Children & Young People in consultation with Chair of the Children and Young People Committee to spend the funding as outlined in this report.

3) Approve the allocation of £13.2m safety  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The council’s Revenue and Capital budget for 2024/25 was agreed by Full Council on 28 February 2024. This report presents information and analysis to the Children and Young People Committee on the directorate’s financial performance against that approved budget and its forecast use of resources for the financial year 2024/25. 

The Committee considered a report which presented information and analysis on the Council’s financial performance against the approved budget and its forecast use of resources for the financial year 2024/25 at Period 3.

The Chair noted there were no decisions to be taken on this report, which was for information.

The Executive Director for Children and Education outlined the key points in the report.

The key points raised as part of the discussion of this item include:

Were there any updates available for the DfE Safety Valve Programme, as many statements had been submitted to Full Council on this subject.  The Chair confirmed that they had not yet heard from Government on this.  The grant application had been for £25m but only £13.2m had been authorised as a capital grant.  As had been outline by the Executive Director, there was a £10m overspend on the DSG which had risen since the Social Value application in March.  It was not yet known what action the Government were going to take on SEND provision or the Safety Valve Programme as there were no indications yet. In the meantime, they would be carrying on with the current approach. 

What could be done to do bring down the overall overspends? The Executive Director said they were doing everything they could.  The details were contained in the published report. This wasn’t a new situation and they would continue to work with families as much and as early as possible to prevent needs rising. Early help was key in most situations. They would also continue to support social workers and additional provision in communities such as family hubs.

The Chair said this was a national issue and the DSG overspend was currently ringfenced with a statutory override until 31 March 2026. It was hoped that the new Government would help Council’s to deal with the situation.   

The Chair confirmed the report recommendations as follows: 

1. The General Fund forecast outturn revenue overspend of £25.2 million against the council approved budget at P3 2024/25.

2. The forecast position of a net £10.8 million overspend in the Dedicated Schools Grant following the application of the DfE’s 24/25 Safety Valve combined with contribution from the General Fund (totalling £15.9m), that a total £47.9 million is to be carried forward in the DSG deficit reserve.

3. The forecast position of no variance on the capital programme revised budget 2024/25

The Committee RESOLVED:

To note the contents of the Period 3 Finance Update Report

To update on current significant strategic risks to achieving the Council’s objectives, within the Children and Young People Committee, as set in the Corporate Strategy 2022-2027 and summarises progress in managing the risks and actions being taken as at Quarter 1_2024-25.

The Committee considered a report that provided an update on the current significant strategic risks to achieving the Council’s objectives, within the Children and Young People Committee, as set in the Corporate Strategy 2022-2027 and summarised progress in managing the risks and actions being taken as at Quarter 1_2024-25.

The Committee RESOLVED:

To note the contents of the Corporate Risk Management Report Q1 24/25