Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedures for the operation of hybrid meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the procedures on hybrid meetings be agreed.

Apologies had been received from Councillors Shah Miah, Shiva Tiwari and Co-opted Member Margaret Harvey.

There were no declarations.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes’.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair made the following announcement: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.”

Parent Governor Co-opted Members

The Chair told the Committee that Dr Rachel Wrangham and Imogen Sharp’s terms of office as co-opted members of the Committee as secondary school and primary school parent governor representatives had ended. On behalf of the Council, she expressed a huge thanks for their contributions over the years. The parent governor representative co-opted posts were currently out for nominations and would be appointed ahead of the next meeting.

Requests to speak at the Committee on a matter within its terms of reference must be made in writing to the clerk named on the front of this agenda by 5pm two working days before the meeting.

There were no deputations.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 5 September 2022.

It was noted that on page 6, item 9, bullet point 1 in the Committee discussion, sentence 1 that ‘form’ should be written as ‘from’.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 5 September, as amended, be agreed as a correct record.

There was no urgent business.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

This report provides the Committee with an update relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

Consideration was given to the update of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families. The report outlined the following updates:

·       Building Back Stronger Conference and Education Strategy Board

·       Update on Family Hubs

·       Update on Transitions

·       Cost-of-Living Crisis

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for his updates and opened the Committee to comments and questions. The following was discussed:

·       In relation to section 4.1-4.2, a Member asked if there had been any work to analyse the proportion of pupils in Camden primary schools who do not transfer to state-maintained secondary schools. In response, it was stated that the statistics of children moving school sector was not uniform across the borough. There were some schools with a much higher proportion, but in terms of overall retention Camden did keep the majority of pupils in the maintained sector. The vast majority of children in private schools never entered the maintained sector from the start and there were a significant number of private schools in the borough.

·       A Member asked if the Cabinet Member was working closely with Planning and Housing Departments as a result of the decreasing number of children living in the borough due to housing situations. Accommodation suitable for families was reducing due to many factors; such as Air BNB, Right to Buy Schemes and new housing stock often not being more than 2 bedroom capacity. In response, it was noted that those departments were working to sell small housing stock to buy larger family sized units, an initiative as part of the Community Investment Programme (CIP). It was a priority to introduce, by regulation, more family friendly housing stock.

·       In relation to section 5, a Member stated that during the pandemic the digital divide impacted children and families trying to learn from home which Camden rightly responded to. As more families struggled financially facing the cost of living crisis, they asked what Camden was doing to manage the digital divide going forward. In response, it was stated that during the pandemic it had been a necessity to deliver remote teaching. It was known that in-person teaching was better and they would not promote remote teaching unnecessarily. Using learning from the pandemic period, the ambition was maximise teaching methods which was within Camden’s Education Strategy. Initiatives included the development of opportunity centres and creating additional spaces for digital learning out of school hours.

·       It was confirmed there were other work pieces in the pipeline to help families with the cost of living challenges, such as breakfast clubs, which would be detailed in due course.

RESOLVED -

THAT the update be noted.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture.

This report provides the Committee with an update relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture.

The Cabinet Member for Young People & Culture was not present, having sent her apologies, and her update report was taken as read.

RESOLVED -

THAT the report be noted.

Recent school place reports have identified significant changes and a high level of volatility in demography at a national and local level. Over the last 5 years there has been a large reduction in demand for school places within Camden. Forecasts over the last two years have also been drawn up in times of unprecedented change and challenge for families in Camden. Specifically, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have fundamentally altered people’s lives and changed patterns of migration within central London and Camden Borough specifically. The impacts of these have reduced the anticipated level of demand for school places. These factors create a significant degree of uncertainty, and a less stable environment in which to plan ahead. The GLA modelling aims to account for these as best as they can but rely on assumptions of future trends that can only be accurately assessed over time.

Forecasts received in August last year anticipated a significant ongoing decline in pupil numbers. At that stage the Council indicated some caution in those figures as potentially over estimating the ongoing impact of reduced migration caused by both Brexit and the Pandemic. In September 2021 entry in to the Boroughs Secondary and Primary Schools were both above the forecast for that year and this is a positive position for Camden Schools. Added to this during this Academic year Camden Schools have also welcomed a large number of Afghan and Ukrainian Families as part of the Afghan resettlement programme and the Homes for Ukraine programme. These factors, have had an impact on the forecasts provided within this report. Our new figures have stabilised and show a marginal improvement on previous forecasts.

Our new forecast data however still show supressed birth rates within London and Camden alongside sustained reductions in families moving into Camden over the last 2 years. Together these reduce future indications of pupil demand. This issue is not specific to Camden with similar or more acute falls being forecast for Brent, Islington and Westminster.

Primary:

The surplus over the reception year admission number is estimated to increase from 16% in 2021/22 to 23% by 2031/32.

Secondary:

The Secondary Year 7 surplus is estimated to increase from 10% in 2020/21 to 21% by 2031/2. 

This level of anticipated surplus provision within both phases does require responses overtime to ensure the sustainability of our school offer.

Ensuring Camden has the right number of school places is both the Council’s statutory responsibility and aligns with our We Make Camden priorities. Preventing schools becoming financially vulnerable and thus subject to unplanned change, helps maintain strong, safe and open communities. Good and outstanding schools offer every child the best start in life and support a sustainable inclusive economy and jobs. 

The data and forecasts of the demand for school places within Camden is reviewed annually by the authority and made publicly available. Our review incorporates all underlying demographic data including: existing provision and capacity, actual registered births and fertility, the latest GLA forecasts for births and their  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Supporting People.

The Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation summarised the report which provided analysis and interpretation of information relating to both primary and secondary school place provision (presented in Appendix A – E). The review incorporated all underlying demographic data including: existing provision and capacity, actual registered births and fertility, the latest forecasts for births and their relationship to school rolls, together with the additional pupils associated with new housing developments. Annually reviewed, the analysis was used to help the Council make informed decisions about the future organisation of school places.

The Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation informed the Committee, concluding from analysis, that:

·       2021 saw the lowest number of recorded births in Camden in 30 years, with a drop of 24% from 2012 (compared to a 14% drop across London Page 49 and 13% nationally over the same time period).

·       Last years’ forecasts also accounted for the significant reduced inward and increased outward migration experienced during the period of pandemic restrictions and the continued impact of Brexit.

·       This years’ forecasts showed a marginal improvement from the position from last year and were reflective of the caution expressed at the time. However, the continued depressed demographic position gave reason for concern for all Camden schools, especially when set alongside the significant financial pressures being experienced as a response to the cost of living crisis.

·       The monitoring of school place demand would continue within the borough, linking closely with schools and other colleagues across Camden and other London Boroughs to share and integrate relevant data.

·       The next decade was anticipated to remain very challenging due to continued falling actual registered births, whilst global, national, and local events evolve further.

·       This years’ reporting saw further changes incorporating the new Camden ward boundaries, updated primary planning areas, retrofitted data, and new demographic forecasts based on newly released national Census data.

·       Camden had to continue to monitor closely the impact of these on the overall forecast data and the implication that this would have for schools.

The Chair thanked the Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation for the report and opened the Committee to comments and questions. The following was discussed:

·       Commending the detail of the report, a Member stated that the trends were incredibly volatile and had to incorporate many factors. He stated that a significant factor he thought to affect the trends was Brexit and people leaving the country. Additionally, he stated that Camden shared a long border with LB Islington and were directly affected by their school planning, having continued to build schools despite the issues in Camden. He noted that many schools were not appropriately geographically placed to serve Camden children and some wards being disproportionately catered for. 

·       A Member stated that Camden should consider building or expanding sites of secondary schools; he suggested south of Euston Road would be a good site to cater for children in the south of the borough who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of Executive Directors Supporting People, Supporting Communities and Corporate Services

This report provides an update on service performance in Quarter 1 2022/23 drawn from a broad range of measures from across each directorate and division in the organisation. Individual services have provided a narrative covering key performance challenges and areas of positive improvement. 

This report is divided into three sections: the individual service data and narrative that seeks to identify key challenges and emerging issues over the next six months (i.e. looking ahead to Quarter 2 and Quarter 3) that could have negative impacts on service delivery and performance; the ongoing cost of living crisis; and new emerging issues and organisational health issues i.e. cross-cutting challenges in which corporate services play a key role.

Within the report on 3.2 Supporting People, progress is set out against targets for those performance indicators that fall within the Children, Schools and Families outcome area and within the remit of the Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Directors Supporting People, Supporting Communities and Corporate Services.

The Executive Director Supporting People outlined the purpose of the report and drew attention to the sections within the remit of the Committee. In response to a Member, he outlined the Ofsted results of the six secondary schools inspected this academic year (section 3.2.3) and stated that the Committee would have an opportunity to more forensically analyse the results in February when considering the Achievement and Standards Report 2022.

RESOLVED -

THAT the report be noted.

The paper sets out proposed terms of reference for a potential Children, Schools and Families scrutiny panel as requested by the Chair of that Scrutiny Committee. The purpose of the Panel would be to investigate the impact of Covid on the language development of early years and key stage one children in Camden.

Consideration was given to the report of the Chair of Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Sylvia McNamara summarised the report to establish the Language Development Scrutiny Panel and the terms of reference. Within the terms of reference, Councillor Sylvia McNamara was proposed as Chair of the Panel.  In addition to the report and in response to Member questions, she stated:

·       That there was a consensus among services that research on this topic would be of value to the Council and Camden Learning. The work of the Panel would produce recommendations, informed by consideration of evidence and producing findings, which had the potential to impact on the Council’s response to this issue.

·       Following establishing the panel, any new co-optees to the Committee would be able to contribute to the work of the Panel.

RESOLVED -

THAT the Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee agree a scrutiny panel be set up, in line with the terms of reference and membership set out in Appendix A, to investigate the impact of Covid-19 on language development for children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 in Camden.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

This report presents the proposed Camden Local Area Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy 2022-2027 for approval (attached at Appendix A).

The renewed strategy, developed through a programme of engagement with key professionals and co- designed with children with SEND and their families, establishes a shared ambition that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities lead happy, fulfilled and rewarding lives.

In June 2022 Cabinet approved the draft Local Area SEND strategy and agreed to a 12-week, formal public consultation. The consultation ran from Friday 1 July 2022 until Thursday 22 September 2022. The outcomes of that consultation can be found in Appendix E. The final strategy document has been updated to reflect the feedback received during formal consultation and can be found in Appendix B.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families. This report was submitted to the Children’s Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee for consideration and would seek final approval at Cabinet.

The Director of Early Intervention and Prevention, Eve Stickler, presented the report which proposed the Camden Local Area SEND Strategy 2022-2027. The renewed strategy, developed through a programme of engagement with key professionals and co-designed with children with SEND and their families, established a shared ambition that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities lead happy, fulfilled and rewarding lives.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and opened the Committee to comments and questions. The following was discussed:

·       A Member commended the co-creation in the production of the Strategy. In relation to section 1.5, she stated that the national system as a whole supporting children with SEND historically never received enough funding. Additionally she noted that levels of ASD diagnosis were increasing, which could be partly attributed to the number of girls with ASD levelling up to boys.

·       It was noted by Members that it was difficult and frustrating for parents to find the right pathway, communication and management of expectation through services.

·       A Member stated that it would be of value for the Committee to scruitnise the delivery of the priorities of the SEND Strategy. In response, it was confirmed that they were working on a development and implementation plan which would be reporting to the Governance Board. Officers agreed a report detailing progress could be presented back to a future Committee. 

Action By - Director of Early Intervention and Prevention

RESOLVED -

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment, Cabinet Member for Young People & Culture, and Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

This report sets out our approach to delivering the Youth Mission, summarises key activity and provides information about trends for young people’s employment and mental health. The report sets out the proposal for an Employment Opportunity Entitlement for young people which will have a corresponding call to action to Camden’s employers to make sure young people with the greatest need benefit from the Entitlement.

The report provides Cabinet with an update on the progress the Council is making in working towards the delivery of the Youth Mission. It also seeks the approval of Cabinet for further activity that will support delivery of the Mission by 2025.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment, Cabinet Member for Young People & Culture, and Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families. This report was submitted to the Children’s Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee for consideration and would seek final approval at Cabinet.

The Director of Early Intervention and Prevention, Eve Stickler, introduced the report which set out the Council’s approach to delivering the Youth Mission, summarised the key activity and provided information about trends for young people’s employment and mental health. The report set out the proposal for an Employment Opportunity Entitlement for young people which would have a corresponding call to action to Camden’s employers to make sure young people with the greatest need benefit from the Entitlement.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and opened the Committee to comments and questions. The following was discussed:

·       A Member praised the work, however said that issues raised in the report disproportionately affected Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) young people and stated there was a lack of focus responding to that fact. In response, it was stated that ensuring groups that were disproportionally affected was at the centre points across all of their work and said this could have been made more explicit in the report. They would provide statistics of Good Work Camden of how their advisors were working in local neighbourhoods and in partnership with community groups. They would also provide statistics on how many people employed by Good Work Camden were BAME.

Action By - Director of Early Intervention and Prevention

·       A Member stated that there were many different choices of types if qualification young people could take and asked how Camden was helping them make informed decisions and not getting lost in the various pathways. In response, it was stated that Camden’s Education Strategy, SEND Strategy and Youth Mission were clear about Camden’s network of support for young people and how partners in the borough convened. For Post-16s they were developing apprenticeships in Camden with schools and colleges and providing proper advice to young people and parents to educate on the process and make informed decisions. Camden was investing together whilst operating in the national context.

·       In response to a Member asking how less privileged children were being prioritised in equality of education pathways and opportunities, it was stated that equity and excellence were the pillars of the Education Strategy. There was high ambition for every child which was comprehensive within the Strategy. It was noted that following the governmental ceasing requirement of local authorities to provide the service, Camden has retained the Camden Careers and Connexions Service.

·       In relation to education and career advice for young people, a Member asked if there was a single point of contact they could reach out to as a trusted advisor. In response, it was stated that they were working to create a single point of contact and Camden would invest in establishing a bank of advisors.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting People 

This report sets out the work programme for the municipal year 2022/23 for the Committee’s consideration. The Committee will continue to be provided with an updated report on their future work programme at each meeting, for their consideration.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Supporting People. The Executive Director Supporting People outlined the work programme for the remained of the municipal year.

RESOLVED -

THAT that the report be noted.

The Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee is asked to note the future meeting dates for the remainder of the 2022-23 municipal year:

·       13 December 2022

·       12 January 2023

·       20 February 2023

The following future meeting dates for municipal year 2022-23 were noted:

·       13 December 2022

·       12 January 2023

·       20 February 2023

There was no urgent business.