Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Director of Children’s Services.

The report provides for comment the Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs) for the Children & Families and Education Portfolios. They include forecast performance and financial data (where this is available) for the Portfolios, along with an update on the portfolio savings programmes.

Scrutiny Committee is asked to:

·         Consider the Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports;  

·         Review the progress against delivering key projects, priority outcomes, targets and budgets for 2018/19;

·         Highlight key areas of and responsibility for taking forward corrective action to address any performance or resource issues;

·         Highlight any significant issues or changes to be fed back to the Cabinet alongside the Corporate Performance and Resource Report;

·         Identify how areas of strong performance and good practice can be shared in other services.

Officer Contact: Thomas Plant on Tel: 0161 218 1358 or email: thomas.plant@stockport.gov.uk

The Director for Children’s Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing for comment the mid-year portfolio performance and resource reports for the Children & Families and Education portfolios.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

Children & Families Portfolio

·         The Committee discussed the impact of the budget reductions for 2018-19 which involved substantial changes in the Council’s approach to Early Years with an increased emphasis on school readiness and the creation of Start Well.

·         Numbers of Looked after Children had remained around 365 for the last three months but there were significant resource implications arising from the increasingly complex needs of those children which resulted in higher cost residential placements and higher payments to foster carers to provide much needed stable placements in a home environment.

·         Councillors discussed the rationale and appropriateness of the performance targets.

·         Councillors requested further information in relation to the statistics held for childhood obesity levels.

·         The Committee noted that the SEND inspection took place 24-28th September 2018 and looked forward to the report which would be published in December 2018.

·         The Committee welcomed the information provided in respect to School nurses acknowledging that they were an important part of the universal health offer to children and young people. Concern was expressed however in relation to the waiting times for the diagnosis of Autism Related Disorders which remained problematic. The Committee heard that it currently takes 12-18 months from referral to completion of the Autism Diagnostic.

·         Observation Schedule (ADOS) assessment whilst there is a substantial backlog of assessments. The Committee asked for regular updates in respect to this issue.

Education Portfolio

·         The Committee welcomed the news that following recent Ofsted inspections98% of Childminders remained graded Good or better and that whilst the proportion of Early Years settings graded good or better had reduced slightly from 97% to 96%, the proportion of Outstanding had increased. Furthermore, all childminders in the Borough’s Priority 1 areas were now graded good or better.

·         Councillors requested further information in respect to the GM Early Years Delivery Model which supported the school readiness programme.

·         Councillors discussed again the rationale for the performance measures relating to the performance targets.

·         In respect to the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), concern was expressed that the Q2 position forecasted a year end deficit of approx. £0.882m.

·         The Committee requested further information in respect to performance indicator E15 – the percentage of young people in academic years 12 and 13 not in employment, education or training.

·         The Cabinet member provided an update in respect to the repair to the collapsed roof at St Thomas’ Primary School, Heaton Chapel.

·         It was agreed that an update report be submitted to a future meeting in respect to the ‘Road Safety Around Schools’ initiative.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.