Agenda and draft minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 15^th January 2024 were received. Mr Wildish noted that he was at the meeting but not noted as present in the minutes. Subject to this correction the minutes were approved.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meetingn were approved as a correct record.

Apologies were received from Ms Tamzin Arora and Cllr Perlberg.

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The Chair introduced Neil Marlow, Chief Executive and Director of Education, Barnet Education and Learning Service (BELS).

The Chief Executive of BELS introduced Barnet pupils (Keiichiro, Yannis, Sebastian, Natalie, Mia, and Harriet) from years 5 and 6 Frith Manor and Trent Primary Schools.

Harriet asked about the purpose and aims of the committee. The Chair explained that the committee exists to challenge decisions made by the council, to function as a critical friend, and to work to ensure that children enjoy growing up in Barnet and that they receive the best education for their future.

A Member asked the pupils what they like best about their school. They responded that they like:

• The range of activities and Widening Horizons every Friday afternoon, as well as the breakfast club and after school club
• Making friends at school and bonding with teachers
• School is very spacious and there are many places to play
• Helping younger classes
• If you are upset you will never be alone

A Member asked whether school helps pupils to learn in ways that are helpful and fun. The pupils responded:

• Science lessons are fun, we do lot of experiments
• Teachers make lessons fun
• We have a forest in our school and we learn a lot there
• Pictures help us to concentrate in maths
• I am dyslexic so they help me to learn and we learn in small groups, using pictures and diagrams to help
• We have space and activities, and learn projects that help us with future careers
• We learn languages and have language ambassadors. French lessons are fun. Some have a French penpal.
• We have a good school lunch with different recipes every day
• We went on residential school trip
• We went to a science centre (the Royal Institute) and learnt about DNA
• Last year we went to the British Museum as part of our study of Greeks. Fun to learn how much more from them we could learn and what they achieved despite not having the resources that we have currently.
• We went to St Paul’s cathedral
• I was chosen to go to the Houses of Parliament to receive an award on behalf of our school

Ms Phillips asked how safe the pupils feel at school, and whether when they speak to a grown-up at school about anything they may worry about, they act. The pupils responded:

• In class we have mental health monitors. If you are upset or worried about anything you talk to the monitor about why and they relay it to the teacher who takes care of it. I am a mental health monitor in my school. The teacher brings the pupil outside and we talk privately.
• At Frith Manor we have a Worry Box. You write it down and the teacher takes care of it

A Member asked what they would like to change about their school. The pupils responded:

• More apparatus in PE
• More sports teams and matches.
• More space for people in lower years and different classes.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Chief Executive of BELS introduced the report and Early Years colleagues:

-          Helen Cheung, Strategic Lead for Early Years in Schools, BELS (schools)

-          Monika Ali Chowdhury, Strategic Lead for Early Years– PVIs and Childminders, BELS

He noted that the data in Appendix A feeds into the School and Settings Improvement Strategy and the Board, to set priorities for the year, and the report in Appendix B provides an update on the Pupil Places Plan.

Ms Cheung stated that the Early Years service focuses on getting things right from birth. She noted that she leads on schools and Ms Chowdhury leads on Private, Voluntary and Independent settings (PVI) and private childminders.

Ms Chowdhury reported that the team works with funded PVIs and that 86% of the 241 PVIs and childminders in Barnet are rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding. The team provides quality assurance in nurseries, and OFSTED inspection preparation, including carrying out out-of-hours training around OFSTED recommendations. Ms Chowdhury noted that the main challenge is around frequent closure and opening of PVIs.

Ms Cheung reported that achievement in Early Years in Barnet schools has improved from being ranked 83^rd nationally to 19^th currently. A large package of intense support has been provided by the improvement team.

Ms Chowdhury informed the committee that the current of focus is to continue to work to increase the ranking for the Good Level of Development (GLD) assessment at the end of Foundation stage, the data used nationally for children’s readiness into Key Stage 1. Children are admitted to settings/schools in Barnet from 9 months to 5 years and so the teams work closely with the PVIs and childminders.

Ms Chowdhury continued that there is a complexity of reasons for the outcomes in Early Years and the council is not always in control of this. For example, some children had only been in education for ten months at the point of data collection. Barnet  has moved from ranked 83^rd to 19^th in the country. A big package of intense support has been provided by the improvement team, including partnership working with other groups such as the health visiting team and PVI sector. Efforts have gone into improving the take-up of places for two-year-olds and that the free early years offer is taken up. The team continues to offer voluntary moderation on data for Barnet schools, and there is a lot of training offered, and some work supporting headteachers.

Ms Chowdhury reported that through the data the team is aware that black achievement in the early years could be stronger. Curriculum reviews have been undertaken and currently a project is being run with targeted schools to support black boys in particular, where they are not achieving as well, by providing resources that reflect them.

A Member asked what impact the expansion of free childcare would have on providers, as well as the impact of other things such as settings closing. Ms Chowdhury responded that that some settings are closing but also new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Director of Children’s Social Care introduced Deborah Davies, Assistant Head of Service, Early Help, and Andy Whiting, Early Years/Primary Service Manager, to speak on the expansion of child care reforms and the implications for Barnet. Also in attendance was Wendy Wayland, Head of Firth Manor School.

Mr Whiting presented slides which were published with the agenda, describing the vital importance of early years on brain development.

Mr Whiting reported that the Chancellor had announced in the spring budget 2023 that there would be an emphasis on support for working families including 30 hours’ free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year, to be rolled out by September 2025. This would be available to 9-month-olds up to reception and parents can check eligibility on the Childcare Choices website.

In addition grants have been introduced for new childminders including a £1200 introduction fee. Those who registered directly with Ofsted would be offered a £600 grant. Barnet has two dedicated members of staff to support Barnet childminders, who have been rolling out information sessions to try to recruit more childminders.

Mr Whiting reported that in Autumn 2023 there has been the biggest uptake of free childcare for disadvantaged children in Barnet – 15 hours’ free childcare is still offered. This is based around income and disability living allowance. The  disadvantaged offer is for two-year-olds, and all three and four year olds are also entitled to 15 hours’ free childcare. The Barnet website has been updated and people are also signposted to Childcare Choices.

Settings which previously had not accepted funded places have been able to do so,  due to new hourly rates for providers making this more feasible.

The Headteacher, Frith Manor Primary School reported that the school opened its nursery for two-year-olds with the access to capital funding in 2021. Next month the nursery is offering 24 places due to an increase in demand. The nursery offers many benefits, including early engagement with families and building relationships; providing early help if needed, establishing basic skills, and giving the children early interactions. There has been positive data on the progress the children have made and this has improved their transition from two-year-old to three-year-old nursery.

The Headteacher continued that the nursery has had a positive impact on pupil numbers in the 3-4-year-old nursery, with 52 in the autumn term. Children and families become part of the wider school, and staff can signpost parents to Barnet’s offer including speech and language and drop-in centres. It is also easier to identify special needs earlier on. There is a demand for a nursery for 9-month-olds, and the school would like to add this.

A Member asked whether the nursery puts a strain on the resources for the rest of the school. Ms Wayland responded that the nurseries are making a profit and as the school is in deficit, the nursery is a significant help.

A Member asked how communication with parents about availability of nurseries and childminding could be improved, and whether the services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Executive Director for Children’s Services presented his report.

A position paper ‘Childhood Matters,’ a new initiative on talking to future governments on priorities for children and families was circulated.

The Executive Director for Children’s Services noted that an update on all current national policy changes have been included in the papers. There is a requirement for a new national Kinship Strategy and a new Children’s Social Care and Digital Strategy. Barnet is supporting this through work commissioned by the government, to make sure the right data is being collected and used effectively for planning services.

The Executive Director for Children’s Services reported that there is new guidance  ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and Barnet is looking into how to implement this. The Safeguarding Partnership arrangements have been amended and would be in place by the time the new guidance is required.

A new National Framework and Dashboard for Children’s Social Care has been implemented and there is a national review of findings on children with disabilities and complex health needs.

The Executive Director for Children’s Services added that an update on the Children’s Secure Home in London is included in the report.

Details are provided on a visit from the Minister of Loneliness to the Care Leaver’s Hub, and a visit from the Ministry of Justice to Jona House.

The report also provides an update of performance across family services, sets out some of the data and highlights areas and actions that are being  taken.

The Executive Director for Children’s Services noted that the committee had asked to see compliments and complaints received by the service, and this is  included in the papers at Appendix 3. Publishing this is also a statutory requirement. A Member congratulated officers for their hard work in responding so well to residents’ needs.

He added that an update on workforce issues is included in the report.

A Member commended the team for the positive direction on social workers and asked whether they would continue with this work to try to make this successful or whether they would prioritise other areas. The Executive Director for Children’s Services noted that new social work apprentices have joined Barnet and his view is that it is better to develop staff from within the organisation and retain them.

The Director for Children’s Social Care reported that Barnet’s retention rate for students who have converted to newly qualified social workers is 70-80%, and they stay through an assessed and supported year of practice and into the longer term. Around 75% of social workers who qualified three years ago have done this.

A Member commended officers’ work in turning around some of the outcomes with looked after children, for example dental checks for these children have increased over the past year, as detailed in the Children’s services Analysis Tool (ChAT).   The Executive Director for Children’s Services noted that the aim is to move away from poorer performance in all areas in line with the success with increasing dental checks.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Head of Governance noted that the Cabinet Forward Plan is included so that the committee can consider whether there is anything within its remit that it is interested in looking at prior to Cabinet deciding.

RESOLVEd  that the committee noted the Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Head of Governance reported that a public consultation has been published on the Engage Barnet website asking for items that residents would like scrutiny to consider. The political groups have also been asked for their input. Following a prioritisation process the 2024-25 Work Programme would be produced in time for the next meeting.

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