Agenda for Children, Young People & Education Scrutiny Panel on Tuesday, 27th September, 2022, 7.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

Contact: Email: Democracy@enfield.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME & APOLOGIES

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

All members were present.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members of the Committee are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to the items on the agenda.

Minutes:

The following declarations of interest were received:

 

Cllr Andrew Thorp, Cllr Abdul Abdullahi and Cllr Suna Hurman each declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 6 in which they had children attending Enfield schools and eating school meals.

3.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 169 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 2022.

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting were AGREED, subject to a correction to Cllr Abdul Abdullahi’s title which should read Cabinet Member Children’s Services).

4.

ANNUAL SAFEGUARDING REPORT pdf icon PDF 291 KB

To receive the draft report from Bharat Ayer, Safeguarding Service Manager, and Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults & Quality.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Abdul Abdullahi, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report which set out the achievements and challenges over the last year.  It was noted that the report covered adults and children, however this panel was just to look at children.

 

Sharon Burgess, Head of Safeguarding Adults & Quality, thanked the panel for the opportunity to consult on the report, and Bharat Ayer, Safeguarding Services Manager, then highlighted the following key points:

 

1.    The aim was to identify current and emerging risks from three areas:

·       Insight Groups led by the police

·       National Reviews

·       Safeguarding Ambassadors (youth engagement).

 

2.    The annual report must meet legal requirements for both children and adults.

 

In response, members thanked officers for the detailed report and commented as follows:

 

1.    Cllr Thorp queried the layout and format of the report asking why adults and children’s were not separate in two different reports.  Officers advised they had been in the past however the report had become very long.  This would be considered for next year.

2.    Cllr Thorp requested for the figures on page 33 to include percentages ACTION for Bharat Ayer.

3.    Cllr Erbil asked for more details on Safeguarding Ambassadors.  Officers advised there was one group currently, with up to 12 attending in each cohort.  They were looking to engage with other groups run by youth support services, as well as involving peers.

Members would welcome the opportunity to meet some of the Safeguarding Ambassadors ACTION for Anne Stoker.

4.    Cllr Hurman felt increased advertising should take place around Safeguarding Ambassadors, for example in schools.

5.    Cllr Akbulut was interested in the current number of children in need as the report data was for March 2022.  Officers said there had been an increase in referrals.

6.    Cllr Grumi asked about the number of completed assessments within 45 days which had decreased compared to previous years.  Anne Stoker, Director Children & Family Services, stated that the figure was improving however there had been a nationwide issue with the recruitment and retention of social workers.  The impact of Covid-19 was also still causing issues.

 

5.

SELF-EVALUATION FRAMEWORK (SEF) pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To receive the report of Angela Bent, Head of Service – Practice Improvement & Centre of Excellence.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Abdul Abdullahi, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report emphasising the excellent work of the department despite there being many challenges.

 

Angela Bent, Head of Service-Practice Improvement & Centre of Excellence, highlighted the key points from the report.  Members extended their thanks for the clear layout of the report and then commented as follows:

 

1.    Cllr Thorp asked if there were any current successes based on the 22/23 priorities.  Officers stated that the middle managers development programme for service managers had been very successful and would be rolled out further.  Enfield Talks had been launched with the first meeting planned for October 2022.  Also workforce recruitment was converting students into Social Worker Apprenticeships.

2.    Cllr Akbulut raised concerns around the shortage of social workers and their caseloads.  Officers acknowledged this issue, however the issue was nationwide with many leaving the profession.  Support for staff was available, for example through the Employee Assistance Programme.  There was also trauma support and time allocated to promote wellbeing.  There were experienced managers and advanced practitioners to provide support, and teams worked well together.

3.    Cllr Nelly asked about staff managing the culture within the borough.  Anne Stoker advised that there was a wide range of diversity within the social worker team with the main aim being to ensure the family understand why they need support.  Sometimes an interpreter was required.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

 

6.

QUALITY & CONSISTENCY OF SCHOOL MEALS ACROSS THE BOROUGH pdf icon PDF 60 KB

To receive the reports of Cheryl Headon, Head of Schools Traded Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cheryl Headon, Head of Schools Traded Services, introduced the item highlighting the five key parts of the service as:

 

·       The children

·       The chefs

·       The community

·       The schools and parents

·       Supply partners.

 

Members thanked Officers for the report and commented as follows:

 

1.    Cllr Thorp felt that the report did not match the work programme as it did not include other traded partners.  This may need to be revisited at a future meeting. ACTION for Cllr Erbil to consider.

2.    A discussion took place around portion size and items running out.  Officers stated it was impacted by items being pre-ordered, absences, parental control over choice and trends on the day.  Issues were always investigated and reviewed.

3.    Cllr Oykener was interested in the number of schools choosing other providers and their reasons. ACTION for Cheryl Headon.

 

 

7.

WORK PROGRAMME 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 88 KB

To note the Children, Young People & Education Work Programme for 2022/23.

Minutes:

NOTED the work programme for 2022/23.

8.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

To note the dates of the future meetings as follows:

 

Wednesday 2 November 2022

Tuesday 10 January 2023

Thursday 23 March 2023

Minutes:

NOTED the dates of future meetings as follows:

 

Wednesday 2 November 2022

Tuesday 10 January 2023

Thursday 23 March 2023

 

All meetings commence at 7pm.

9.

EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the press and the public from the meeting for the items listed as part 2 on the agenda on the ground that they involve disclosure of exempt information as defined in those paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

Minutes:

The Committee agreed to passing a resolution under Section 100A of the
Local Government Act 1972, excluding the press and public from the meeting
for any items of business listed on part 2 of the agenda on the grounds that
they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in
paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended by the Local
Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

10.

PART TWO ITEM - CONTAINING EXEMPT INFORMATION

11.

QUALITY & CONSISTENCY OF SCHOOL MEALS ACROSS THE BOROUGH

To receive a confidential report from Cheryl Headon, Head of Schools Traded Services.

 

(This item will contain exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person – including the authority holding that information) of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Following the Part 2 discussion the confidential report of Cheryl Headon was NOTED.

 

Actions:

1.    Cllr Abdullahi to look at all suppliers of school meals across the borough to identify quality, quantity, nutritional value and feedback from children/parents, possibly via the Schools Forum.