Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 25^th February 2013 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

            It was reported that no public questions had been received.

(NB: Councillor Dennett declared a Dislosable Other Interest in the following item due to being Chair of the Management Committee for the PRU)

            The Board received a report which contained the minutes relating to the Children, Young People and Families portfolio which had been considered by Executive Board Committee since the last meeting of the PPB.

            In relation to EXB179 the Board queried the number of pupils in the Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). In response it was noted that under the new funding arrangements the Key Stage 4 PRU would be funded to 40 base places and the Key Stage 3 PRU would be funded for 20 base places.  It was further noted that top up funding would only be allocated based on the real time admission of young people and Members were advised that the funding changes meant that the current model of PRU provision would not be sustainable.

RESOLVED: That the minutes and comments made be noted.

            The minutes of the Halton Children’s Trust meetings held on 29 January and 12 March 2013 were submitted to the Board for information.

            RESOLVED: That the minutes be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director – Policy and Resources, which provided performance management information for Quarter 4 of 2012/13.

            It was reported that in line with the revised Council’s Performance Framework for 2012/13, the PPB had been provided with a Children and Young People’s Priority Based report which identified key issues that arose from performance in Quarter 4.  The priorities and common areas of focus were set out in the report as follows:

·         commissioning;

·         early help and support;

·         common areas of focus: workforce planning and development, asset management of resources.

Arising from the report, the following points were highlighted / noted.

·         a project had been launched for Narrowing the Gap (NgT), and 12 schools had taken part in the programme where they would be engaging in action and research to identify strengths and weaknesses to determine what support was required;

·         in relation to the Special Education Needs Children and Families Bill 2013 Members were informed of the single assessment process nd the pathfinder champions. It was anticipated that the single assessment process would be completed in September 2014;

·         with regards to LP107COP it was noted that teams were working with consultants to provide the required support in early years settings to improve attainment;

·         there had been a significant improvement in 16-18 year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), compared to last year and there was a multi-agency approach to customise individual packages to help young people;

·         the figure for alcohol related hospital admissions for under 18’s had been reduced by 20.2%

·         there were still difficulties in recruiting and retaining social work frontline managers  and a targeted focus group with staff that could progress into management would be held in May 2013 to identify barriers and inform of an action plan.  It was further noted that this was a national problem.

The Board wished to place on record its congratulations to the Learning and Achievement Team on the attainment levels for Children in Care.

RESOLVED: That the fourth quarter monitoring reports and comments made be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources which provided information on the progress in achieving targets contained within the 2011-2016 Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) for Halton.

            It was reported that the SCS for Halton was the central document for the Council and its partners which provided an evidence-based framework through which actions and shared performance targets had been developed and communicated.

            Appended to the report for information was the progress from April 2012 to March 2013, which included a summary of all indicators for the Children and Young People’s priority within the SCS.

            Arising from discussion of the report the following points were noted:

·         In relation to SCS / CYP12 both targets had been met;

·         There had been a huge improvement in teenage conception rates which had been sustained to date;

·         The Board felt that student services were considered beneficial to schools and it was suggested that Members who were school governors could encourage schools to take up the service

The Chairman wished to place on record thanks to the Performance and Improvement Team for simplifying the reports and information.

RESOLVED: That the report and comments made be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which provided Members with an annual report outlining the work carried out by the Board and Officers in 2012 – March 2013.  The Chair wished to place on record his thanks to Members and Officers for all their co-operation and hard work carried out throughout the year.

            RESOLVED: That the Annual Report be received and be recommended to Full Council.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which provided an update on the mental health scrutiny topic following presentation of the report to the Health PPB on 5 March 2013.

            It was reported that the Health PPB approved a topic brief to review mental health prevention and promotion provision in Halton. A copy of the brief and membership of the topic group were appended to the report for information.

            Members were advised after considerable discussion the topic group examined the feasibility of establishing a joint Health / CYPF topic group to consider mental health provision across Adult and Children’s services, and it was noted that there were already significant pieces of work being undertaken in relation to mental health that fell outside of the proposed scope of the scrutiny review topic.  Therefore it was proposed that the Health PPB topic group would focus activity on the mapping of mental health prevention and promotion in addition to the development of a joint, intergenerational prevention and promotion campaign.

            The Board received a presentation from Mr Dave Sweeney, Operational Director of Integration, Halton CCG/LA, on the development of a joint intergenerational anti-stigma campaign around mental health issues.

            The presentation set out the following:

·         the main focus was around preventing people across all age groups developing mental illnesses;

·         a joint mapping exercise had been undertaken to assess the services and assets available for supporting people who had psychological problems;

·         one of the largest factors for young people not seeking help was the stigma around mental health issues;

·         a campaign was to be launched entitled “Halton’s Like Minds” which would involve 16 pieces of artwork being displayed in the form of life size exhibitions spanning all generations, that would use local people and local stories as case studies and would signpost access to help; and

·         the aim was to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing and help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health;

Arising from the presentation Members discussed ways of portraying mental health issues in really young children, the importance of including schools in the campaign, the percentage of young people that did not attend sessions once they had been referred and how to improve it, and the importance of evaluating the campaign regularly to ascertain whether its “fit for purose”.  

RESOLVED: That

1)    The focus of the mental health scrutiny review be the joint mapping of mental health prevention services across Children’s and Adult’s services; and

2)    the development of an intergenerational anti-stigma campaign be approved

             The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which updated Members on process since the Aspire core team was restructured in the Summer Term 2012.

            It was reported that in September 2011 Halton and Warrington entered into a partnership with Serco which was named Aspire, whose role was to sell school improvement services across the two local authorities with plans to expand across the North West Area.

            The Aspire team consisted of 19 staff previously employed as National Strategies consultants. Grant funding for the posts ceased  at the end of March 2011 and in July 2012 outline proposals were put forward to Aspire to reduce the central core team which led to a restructure of the core team.

            Members were advised that the Aspire core team of 19 staff was reduced to 6 staff.  Reasons for the low levels of buy-back were outlined in the report for information. It was noted that the key driver for the restructuring of the core team was to reduce fixed costs and generate more income from school by revising the offer to school across Halton and Warrington.

            The report set out the proposed changes and options that were considered by the Strategic Board to secure the viability of the service.  IT was noted that the Strategic Board agreed to continue with the current model which would be evaluated on a regular basis.

            The Board discussed the high costs of using Aspire and it was noted that the cost had been reduced to reflect market rates.  Members were advised that Halton would continue to buy school improvement services from Aspire but it would be on a pay as you go basis. It was further reported that some schools were working together to obtain better value for services.

            RESOLVED: That the Board;

1)    note the contents of the report and the implications for future delivery of school improvement services; and

2)    note the proposed changes to secure the viability of the service.