Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 6 September 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 6 November 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer any public questions

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

In accordance with the agreed procedure the Chairman invited members of the public to submit questions to the appropriate Members.

It was explained that the Executive Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Bray, had been invited by the Chairman to answer some of the questions.

Question:

What is happening for the resource bases, send unit plans and 2 new free schools (approved by the DFE) that were discussed at the SVW AGM in March?

What is happening for the resource bases, SEND unit plans and 2 new free schools (approved by the DFE) that were discussed at the SVW AGM in March?

Answer

Resource Bases/SEND Units

In Autumn 2022 Strategy and Commissioning Service completed a review if the SEND Provision attached to mainstream schools.

The review proposed that WBC should:

1.     Re-purpose some existing Wokingham resourced provision to better meet demand and needs identified in the needs analysis.

2.     Create new type of provision – SEND Units, which seek to narrow the gap in levels of support offered by resource bases and special school provision.

3.     Implementation of robust accountability, monitoring and review mechanisms.

Current Status

·           The Local Authority received early expressions of interest from several schools. However, due to complex reasons beyond the control of the Local Authority, the current mainstream school provider decided not to apply to continue delivering the new resource base provision.

·           Intensive one-to-one discussions with schools have taken place during the summer and autumn terms. As a result, we are now expecting or have received formal applications from four primary schools to deliver Radstock Primary School, Hillside Primary School, Loddon Primary School, and Walter Infant School.

·           The Panel to consider applications is scheduled for 6^th November 2023.

·           We can confidently project that we will be able to appoint a provider to deliver the SEND unit and the resource base at primary level by September 2024 as planned.

Challenges

·       Despite significant work and attempted engagement with various secondary schools across Wokingham, we have not received a formal application to deliver the secondary SEND Unit. This poses an official risk that this element of the project will not be deliverable by September 2024.

Next Steps

·           The LA will be holding a panel on 6^th November to consider the applications to run the primary provision. SEND Voices Wokingham will be represented on the panel.

·           Once a school host is appointed for each new provision the Commissioning and SEND Team will work with the school to mobilise plans, including any capital requirements to deliver a phased opening from September 2024.

·           The LA is currently considering alternative options to deliver the secondary SEND provision and continues to work with three schools on how to make the provision viable and attractive propositions for secondary schools. We still hope to deliver this by September 2024.

SEND Free Schools

In June the executive approved the location of the two new free schools at Rooks Nest Farm just outside Finchampstead. In August, following negotiations with the DfE the council were delighted to receive approval for both schools to be increased in capacity from 100 to 120 each, not only will this bring 40 more much needed places to the borough, but significantly more investment and associated jobs.

As we move forward we will be submitting a proposal to the DfE that the council is in charge of the project to build the schools. We are aware they have capacity issues associated with the RAAC issues faced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.1

Question:

What are the SEND team doing to resolve the significant issue with COMMUNICATION? 
 
I spoke with Prue and Jamie at the Local Offer Live event about this and other issues due to significant concerns regarding the rise in very unhappy Wokingham parents within the ‘SEND Carers United’ community.  These families have still seen no improvement in communication and this is not only totally unacceptable, but it contradicts the message being sent to families during Wokingham Borough Council’s Progress Update at SVW AGM in March.  

Families have lost trust as so many promises never materialise and the same issues keep happening i.e despite it being mentioned several times in the past, parents are still receiving automatic response emails that informs them that their case officer has left, leaving them with no idea who to contact or if there has been any handover.  We were also told at SVW AGM in March that meetings with parents to ask questions would be a ‘regular feature across the calendar’ yet there hasn’t been one in the 8 months following that statement being made.

What are the SEND team doing to resolve the significant issue with COMMUNICATION? 
 
I spoke with Prue and Jamie at the Local Offer Live event about this and other issues due to significant concerns regarding the rise in very unhappy Wokingham parents within the ‘SEND Carers United’ community.  These families have still seen no improvement in communication and this is not only totally unacceptable, but it contradicts the message being sent to families during Wokingham Borough Council’s Progress Update at SVW AGM in March.  

Families have lost trust as so many promises never materialise and the same issues keep happening i.e despite it being mentioned several times in the past, parents are still receiving automatic response emails that informs them that their case officer has left, leaving them with no idea who to contact or if there has been any handover.  We were also told at SVW AGM in March that meetings with parents to ask questions would be a ‘regular feature across the calendar’ yet there hasn’t been one in the 8 months following that statement being made.

Answer

Helen and I had quite a long conversation at the Local Offer Day, as a result of which I made a lot of notes.  Communication featured prominently in them, and I know it is a priority area of development for the SEND Team. 

Officers recognise how important it is to maintain dialogue with families, even on occasions where conversations may be challenging or providing a decision that parents/carers may not agree with. 

The SEND team obviously have a lot of contact with a lot of parents.  They do in fact regularly get compliments from families who have appreciated the care and support they have received from SEND Case Officers, who made a tricky process easier to navigate. 

But we do recognise that some parents/carers have had a different experience.  SEND Management has noted the contents of the parent/carer forum survey (2023) which further illustrates the disparity between excellent practice and areas for the service to develop further.   We want to get to a place where good communication is a consistent feature of everyone’s experience.

We have a range of activities aimed at supporting and maintaining good quality and consistent communication for all families in Wokingham, such as:

·           The SEND Management Team coordinates training for Officers every term (or quarter).

·           Communication is also a standing agenda item for the SEND Management Team.

·           A series of ‘You said, we did’ has been planned with the parent/carer forum, the first of which will be published on their website shortly.

·           A Local Offer Coordinator has also recently joined the service and is using the feedback received from the Local Offer Live Day to develop the Council’s own website and version of ‘You said, we did’. 

We see this as a journey, which will never be finished, as there is always something more we could do.  But we are making progress.

Question:

Since WBC started on Safety Valve; please can you provide the numbers by month of EHCP request to assess, number of ‘nos’ to assess number of ‘nos‘ to issue, also the number of way forward meetings and mediation meetings that then resulted in assessment happening and plans being issued. How many appeals were registered which resulted in a tribunal hearing and the number of EHCP assessment have taken place and EHCP’s issued as a result of appeal and tribunals.

Since WBC started on Safety Valve; please can you provide the numbers by month of EHCP request to assess, number of ‘nos’ to assess number of ‘nos‘ to issue, also the number of way forward meetings and mediation meetings that then resulted in assessment happening and plans being issued. How many appeals were registered which resulted in a tribunal hearing and the number of EHCP assessment have taken place and EHCP’s issued as a result of appeal and tribunals.

Answer

Data Period: April-Sept 2023

EHCP requests:

Number of ‘nos’ to assess each month:

Number of ‘nos‘ to issue each month:

Issuing a plan following way forward meetings:

Issuing a plan following mediation meetings:

Issuing a plan following tribunal:

That is the information that I have got.

Sarah Clarke, SEND Voices Wokingham asked that the difference between ‘mediation meetings’ and ‘way forward meetings’ be explained.

Jonathan Wilding, Safety Valve and SEND Consultant explained that a ‘way forward meeting’ was a Wokingham specific type of informal meeting, the ‘mediation meeting’ was a statutory meeting and more formal.

The Chairman advised that if further information was required, this could be sought with Jonathan Wilding outside of the meeting.

Question:

What are the aims and objectives of each of the safety valve workstreams and projects (as listed in the summary update on 6^th September 2023)?  I am particularly concerned that stakeholder organisations that work with parents such as SEND Voices are not aware of the detail regarding the workstreams and projects, and feel that a greater degree of openness and transparency is needed.

What are the aims and objectives of each of the safety valve workstreams and projects (as listed in the summary update on 6^th September 2023)?  I am particularly concerned that stakeholder organisations that work with parents such as SEND Voices are not aware of the detail regarding the workstreams and projects, and feel that a greater degree of openness and transparency is needed.

Answer

There are four workstreams of Safety Valve with multiple ambitious aims and objectives. Obviously the workstreams are too wide ranging to give you a comprehensive reply tonight but I would like to give you a summary of what each workstream aims to deliver and share with you some green shoots at this early stage of our Safety Valve programme:

1.     Early Intervention – through this workstream, we want to address unsustainable increases in requests for statutory assessment by providing improved access to early intervention services as follows:

·           Local Offer Website & Support – to increase parental confidence and improve access to information.

·           Early Years Strategy – improving support provided to private voluntary and independent sector early years providers.

·           Implement New SEN Support Service (including recommissioning and extending specialist outreach for schools). For this, I am delighted to report that our new Area SENCO was appointed on 20/10/23 and will take up the role in January 2024. We have also jointly commissioned a Speech and Language outreach service in partnership with BOB Integrated Commissioning Board (Health) providing outreach support from Highwood Primary School who have a trained specialist teacher. We have also increased investment in Addington Special School outreach and the Foundry outreach offer for SEMH (Social Emotional and Mental Health).

2.     Sufficiency & New Provision – through this workstream, we want to improve the range of provision, address gaps in local specialist places and reduce over-reliance on expensive independent sector specialist provision by delivering:

·           New Resource Bases & SEND Units attached to mainstream schools. For this project, I detailed progress in my reply to a previous question.

·           Addington Special School Expansion; I am pleased to share with you that the new satellite site at Farley Hill will open in the next few weeks (after half-term).  It has in fact now opened, it was help up by bats, very annoying.

·           Oak Tree Special School, which you may share my delight in that we have successfully delivered this new school in partnership with Reading BC, and I attended the opening last month with the Mayor.

·           Special Free School Bids and Implementation. We made successful bids for two new special schools which will deliver an extra 240 places by September 2026. I detailed this exciting development in my answer to an earlier question on Resources Units and new free schools.

·           Alternative Provision & Education Other Than At School ‘EOTAS’ Review. The project is progressing well with SEND Voices directly involved in the AP remodelling project.

·           Post 16 / Preparation for Adulthood Strategy – progressing well in improving access to information and guidance as well as in developing proposals for new and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.4

Please can you clarify where you get your figures from in relation to Complaints and Compliments?  If the Compliments come from emails and the Complaints from those who follow the formal Complaints Procedure, this doesn’t truly reflect the satisfaction of service users.  So many parents have to juggle so much that they don’t have the capacity to write a formal complaint but may have stated their dissatisfaction via general email communication and phone calls.  A true reflection of customer satisfaction would involve using the same platforms to obtain data for Complaints and Compliments.  In my opinion there should be a regular customer satisfaction survey sent to families with simple tick boxes to gage their feedback in the quickest way possible, but also offering the opportunity to provide further feedback.  Formal complaints letters are not something everyone feels comfortable in putting together.

Answer

Thank you very much for submitting this important question. This has been reviewed and the following is our answer to the points raised.

Where do the figures come from?

The figures provided in the complaints and compliments overview are all those that have (i) been formally recorded on the Council’s complaints and compliments management system/solution and (ii) have been handled in accordance with either the statutory children’s social care complaints process or the corporate complaints process.

Further details can be found in the report in the next agenda item.

This will include any complaints or compliments reported to us via any of the following channels:

·         the online complaints form on our website;

·         e-mails outlining feedback sent directly to complaints officers;

·         e-mails outlining feedback sent to the services to which they relate;

·         letters sent in via post; or

·         verbal feedback provided in discussion – either face to face or over the phone/Teams calls.

Is this an accurate reflection of all feedback that the Council receives?

As has been suggested above, the data provided in the overview is those complaints and compliments that have been handled within the highlighted complaints processes.

Whilst it is accepted that this is not a reflection of all feedback received within Children’s Services, we find that generally when someone either wishes to raise a concern with us or to give us positive feedback on the services provided, they will tell us about it.

In addition to this, the channels by which they can do so – i.e. the complaints processes – are detailed on our website and are accessible via a number of different means.

Customer satisfaction surveys

We are always keen to make our services as easy to access as possible for our residents –  especially with regard to feedback, as this is essential in helping us understand what we are doing well and where we need to improve.

It is accepted that not everyone is comfortable with pulling together formal letters/e-mails of complaint. The suggestion around use of a survey could well improve and expand the means by which residents can share their feedback with us.

The Council has a ‘Complaints Working Group’,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.5

To answer any member questions

There were no Member questions.

To receive and consider the Complaints Review report.

Michael Bateman, Complaints Manager presented the Complaints Review report.  He highlighted the following points:

·           The report contained information about the statutory Children’s Social Care complaints process and the corporate complaints process;

·           The volume of complaints in the first two quarters of the year were consistent with what was observed in the previous two financial years;

·           Most cases were resolved in the early stages of the process;

·           Those cases that could not be resolved at the early stages of the process were escalated to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for the statutory Children’s Social Care complaints or to the Customer Relations Team for corporate complaints;

·           The complaints relating to Children’s Social Care were evenly distributed across the teams;

·           For Children’s Social Care, the number of the compliments received outweighed the number of complaints received;

·           Most of the corporate complaints received in the first two quarters of the year were in relation to SEND, and one of the themes was communication;

·           The leadership team was aware of the issues raised, and a bespoke training session had been held with SEND Teams to address this issue,  follow up catch up sessions had also been organised;

·           There were many compliments to the services received which were included in the report;

·           This was the first time the report was presented to the CSO&S Committee, and feedback was welcome to improve the report.

The Chairman thanked Michael Bateman and his team for the presentation and report.

During the discussion of the item the following comments were made:

·           Sarah Clarke asked how were complaints and compliments received via direct emails to managers or assistant directors registered and recorded?

·           Micheal Bateman explained that anything that could be classified as a complaint should be sent to the complaints team so that it could be logged through the correct complaints process;

·           Terry Walsh of SEND Voices stated that families felt that there were a lot complaints being raised via direct emails to officers which were not being logged into the system, therefore they believed that the figures were not correct;

·           Michael Bateman confirmed that the report contained information about formal complaints only.  He offered to be a point of contact for families who wished to raise concerns that they wanted to be recorded formally.  He confirmed the email addresses that could be used: Michael.bateman@wokingham.gov.uk or ChildrensServicesComplaints@wokingham.gov.uk

·           Councillor Bray stated that more clarity in the reporting system was welcome, however there was a distinction between people sending multiple emails about the same issue and different issues;

·           The Chairman suggested that future iterations of the report could include a couple of examples with anonymised cases so that the Committee could get a feel for what the complaints process looked like;

·           Terry Walsh suggested that information about the complaints process be included in the local offer website;

·           Ming Zhang stated that a Communications Plan was being developed, in co-production with SEND Voices, and the comments made would be considered in the development of the plan;

·           Sara Clarke stated that more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

To receive and consider the Draft SEND Strategy.

The Draft SEND Strategy report was presented by Ming Zhang, Jonathan Wilding and SEND Voices.

Jonathan Wilding drew attention to the following points:

·           The current SEND Strategy had been drawn up largely in response to an Ofsted SEND inspection, and was due to be updated;

·           Many changes were being made, mostly as a result of the Safety Valve programme;

·           The document was being developed in collaboration with SEND Voices and Me Too, it aimed to include young people’s voices;

·           The priorities identified in the strategy were in line with the feedback received by young people and included the following points:

Ø  Communication, transition and planning for the future were areas for development;

Ø  32% of young people said they did not feel that they attended a local school or college that met their needs fully - it was recognised that a more mixed local provision was needed;

Ø  Young people asked for more transition days and earlier transition days for SEND pupils, as they found it difficult to navigate mainstream schools;

Ø  Young people asked that more information and a timetable to be provided before the start of term;

Ø  More flexibility for SEND pupils in mainstream schools, more reasonable adjustments were required;

Ø  A better range of mental health support for all learners was needed;

Ø  More support for pupils suffering from anxiety which was preventing them from attending school, this problem had increased post pandemic;

Ø  Access to a wider range of opportunities outside of school, such as leisure and community activities.

Sarah Clarke and Terry Walsh provided feedback from the SEND Voices survey and some of the points raised are listed below:

·           408 responses were received and the details could be found in the link which had been circulated to Members;

·           44% of families said that their needs were being met, this corresponded with the previous statement that around 32% of pupils were not having their needs met;

·           Only 28% of families felt that their needs were being met in relation to community activities;

·           In relation to mental health support, Terry Walsh did not believe that the needs were necessarily linked to covid; she stated that ordinarily available and graduated responses were not being made in mainstream schools.  This was driving a raise in request for assessments as parents believed that this was the only way to get the help that was needed;

·           There results were significantly different for special schools and mainstream schools.  Families felt that their needs were being met in special schools, but not so much in mainstream schools.  For example, 85% of families said that their special school was well resourced, this compared to 48% in mainstream schools;

·           Communication continued to be an area for improvement;

·           Transition for adulthood was an area for improvement;

·           The service provided by the CTU was an area for improvement.  SEND Voices continued to be willing to help with letters or any other communication for parents, but had not yet heard from CTU.

Jonathan Wilding stated that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

To receive and consider the Schools Update report.

Gillian Cole, Schools Service Manager presented the Schools Update report.  She drew attention to the following points:

·           There had been no new Ofsted reports since the last meeting of the Committee;

·           The diversity in local schools was to be celebrated – a recent census data revealed that there were around 40% of children from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities in schools across the borough;

·           The number of children with English as an additional language was 23%, with over 114 different languages being spoken within schools in the borough;

·           The most spoken language was Chinese, reflecting the fact that Wokingham was the area in the South East with the highest number of Hong Kong immigrants.  Over 800 children of Hong Kong families had been admitted to local schools in the last 12 months.

During discussions of the item the following comments were made:

·           Councillor Gray asked if there was a framework for recording racist incidents in schools across the borough;

·           Gillian Cole explained that headteachers were required to report racial incidents to their governing bodies.  However, there was no further requirement to report to the local authority.  Therefore, there was no framework for schools to report into.  The report contained information based on soft intelligence;

·           Councillor Bray informed that the Wokingham Borough Education Partnership was looking into ways to improve data sharing, work was ongoing to build trust in the relationships in order to enable more data sharing;

·           Councillor Howe added that the issue of data sharing was further complicated by different interpretations of GDPR;

·           The Chairman noticed the mention of the development of a protocol for approaching all discriminatory incidents (page 71), and he wondered if more detail on this could be shared with the Committee;

·           In response to a comment, Gillian Cole stated that the list of Ofsted report could be sent to Members in Excell format so that it could be sorted;

·           In response to a question, it was explained that the hospital school was the CAMHS Phenix School, which was based in Wokingham Community Hospital.  The school was a Pupil Referral Unit, however only medical staff could refer pupils to it.  The school was currently located in Reading due to building work at the site in Wokingham Community Hospital.  It was anticipated that they would return to Wokingham by the end of this month.

RESOLVED That the Schools Update report be noted.

To receive an update from the Executive Member for Children’s Services.

Councillor Bray informed that the second payment (out of three) of the Safety Valve for this year has been received.  It had been a huge amount of work to achieve this stage of the process.

The information management systems were now much improved and there was much more confidence in the data.

The Indigo Resource Space in Maiden Erlegh School had now formerly opened.  It was now at full capacity with 25 students.  Of note was the fact that the children had been able to contribute to the design of the space.

The recruitment process for a permanent Director of Childrens’ Services had started.

RESOLVED That the verbal updated by the Executive Member for Children’s Services be noted.

To receive and consider the CSO&S Forward Programme of work.

The following items were added to the Forward Programme:

8 January 2024

·           SEND Strategy

20 March 2024

·           Transition into adulthood 

Safety Valve is to continue as a standing item, with focus on one workstream at each meeting.

Helen Watson stated that the leadership team had a number of suggestions of items for discussion at future meetings, these suggestions could be presented to the Chairman, with timings, outside of the meeting.

Richard Lamey asked that the Safeguarding Berkshire Partnership Annual report be included in the forward programme.  Officers agreed to would look into that.

RESOLVED That a revised Forward Programme, including suggestions from the Children’s Services leadership team would be circulated to the Committee.

To consider the regular Action Tracker report.

A discussion was had about the length of time that actions should be left on the Action Tracker took place.

Councillor Bray suggested that the outstanding actions be placed at the top of the report, and that the tracker starts again in the beginning of each new municipal year, only keeping carry forward actions.

There was no consensus, and this would be discussed outside of the meeting and brought back to the Committee for a decision.

RESOLVED That:

1)     The Committee notes that many actions have been completed; and

2)     The length of time that actions remain in the report will be decided at later meeting.

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) as appropriate.

RESOLVED: That, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for Item 41, on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined by Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of schedule 12A of the Act.

A report containing details of schools causing concern will be considered in a Part 2 session.

This item was considered in a Part 2 session.