Agenda and minutes

To receive any disclosure of interest by any Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

Councillor Nicola Roberts declared a personal but not prejudicial interest in item 4 on the agenda as a governor of Ysgol Talwrn and Ysgol y Graig, Llangefni and the parent of a daughter attending Ysgol y Graig.

To present the report of the Head of Children and Families’ Services.

The report of the Head of Children and Families’ Services outlining progress to date in implementing the Service Improvement Plan was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance and Business Process Transformation)/ Director of Social Services reported that since the Service Improvement Plan was created in February, 2017 as a result of the CIW inspection of October and November, 2016 the pace of improvement within the Service has been significant with 13 of the 21 action points having now progressed to Green status. No action points are showing as Red and only 2 are on Amber with 6 on Yellow. The two amber areas relate to improving the quality of practice and reviewing all children who are looked after to ensure outcome- based care and support plans are in place in securing permanence. The Officer said that the Service is aware that some aspects will require more time to become fully compliant and these have been the subject of discussion in the Children’s Services Improvement Panel which continues to closely monitor progress against the Plan. It is envisaged that work on the Plan will continue in order to ensure that all the action points raised by CIW progress to Green status by March, 2019.

In addition, there continues to be improvement against Performance Indicators during the last quarters as demonstrated by the table in paragraph 3 of the report which shows the improvement during Quarters 1 and 2 of 2018/19 compared to the cumulative figures for 2017/18 for the national and local PIs listed. The Service is committed to ensuring that this improvement is maintained and taken still further.

The Head of Children and Families’ Services highlighted that as well as focusing on bringing the Amber and Yellow ragged areas to a Green status, the Service is also keeping a watching brief over the “Green” areas to ensure that no slippage occurs. The Service has continued to advertise and recruit experienced Social Workers with several appointments having been made leaving only one vacant Social Worker post that needs to be filled. Although the Service continues to employ agency staff who are engaged on an over-establishment basis as approved by the Executive to provide support to newly qualified Social Workers, the reliance on agency staff to fill vacant posts has greatly reduced.

The Committee in considering the report acknowledged the significant strides made by the Children and Families’ Services in addressing the areas highlighted by CIW in its inspection of 2016 as requiring improvement, and it thanked the Service’s staff for their collective effort, and also the Director of Social Services and Head of Service for their leadership in guiding the Service to this point. The Committee also made the following points –

•           The Committee noted that the financial pressures that come with rising demand are affecting Children and Families’ Services leading to overspending; the Committee sought clarification of how the Service assesses its likely financial position for the remainder of the current financial year.

The Assistant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

To present the report of the Children’s Services Improvement Panel.

The report of the Children’s Services Improvement Panel on the work of the Panel to date was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

Councillor Richard Griffiths, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee’s representative on the Children’s Services Improvement Panel in updating the Committee on the work of the Panel during the period from September to November, 2018 highlighted that the Panel had now met on 16 occasions since July, 2017 and that in that time its members have acquired a far better understanding of the issues and complexities involved in delivering Children’s Services. Councillor Griffith referred to the schedule of Laming visits undertaken in the period October 2017 to September 2018 attached at Appendix A to the report which also provided a summary of the purpose and substance of each visit made.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance and Business Process Transformation)/ Director of Social Services said that the Panel has been of great help in the improvement process and that it is intended it should continue subject to a review of its arrangements for the longer term. The Officer emphasised however that the improvement journey is not at an end and that the Service is clear that more work needs to be done to complete all elements of the Service Improvement Plan and that this is likely to take a further 9 to 12 months.

The Committee in accepting and noting the update sought clarification of the position with regard to partnership working and also with regard to children who are home schooled specifically the availability of a national protocol.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance and Business Process Transformation)/ Director of Social Services confirmed that Children’s Services have been consulting with Adults’ Services on developing the arrangements to provide support to those young people who are making the transition from Children’s Services to Adults’ Services. Joint working and co-operation internally with the Learning Service and schools and externally with the BCUHB and North Wales Police have also improved. The Service now works with Adults’ Services and the Housing Service on a joint planning basis rather than just for information sharing purposes. With regard to children who are home schooled, the Service seeks to ensure that it remains aware of children who are home schooled on Anglesey but that the quality of the education they receive is a matter for the Learning Service.

The Head of Children and Families’ Services said that in light of the increase in the number of children who are home schooled on the Island, the Service has held three meetings to better understand the upward trend and the reasons for it. Consideration is being given to the arrangements internally for sharing information and also for assessing the children if required and for providing appropriate intervention to address any potential issues that might lead to children requiring a child protection plan.

The Head of Learning confirmed that although the Learning Service maintains a register of children who are home-schooled it is difficult for the Service to bring any influence to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To consider adopting the following:-

“Under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during the discussion on the following item on the grounds that it may involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the said Act and in the attached Public Interest Test”.

It was resolved under Section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during the discussion on the following item as it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A to the said Act and outlined in the Public Interest Test as presented.

To present the report of the Head of Learning.

The report of the Head of Learning incorporating the combined Strategic Outline Case and Outline Business Case (SOC/OBC) to expand Ysgol y Graig by building a new Foundation Phase block and closing Ysgol Talwrn was presented for the Committee’s consideration and comment.

The Portfolio Member for Education, Libraries, Culture and Youth said that the SOC/OBC   report is technical in nature and sets out the strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management grounds for expanding Ysgol y Graig by building a new Foundation Phase block and closing Ysgol Talwrn in line with the 21st Century Schools Business case process for capital funding for the project.

The Head of Learning said that the SOC/OBC sets out the case for the modernisation of the schools in the eastern part of Llangefni which is to be effected by building a new Foundation Phase block at Ysgol y Graig to accept the increasing number of pupils in the catchment area and to take pupils from Ysgol Talwrn which would then close. He referred to the key aspects of the proposal and the anticipated project costs along with the potential site for the new block, how the proposal is to be procured and the specification for the build. The financial case gives consideration to how the project will be funded and its overall affordability whilst the management case sets out the outline project plan and delivery schedule.

The Architectural Services Manager showed the Committee a plan of the potential site for the new Foundation Phase Block which was identified following a site evaluation exercise having particular regard to the need to site the new block as near as possible to the current Ysgol y Graig building. In explaining the plan, the Officer referred to the following considerations –

•           The identified site for the new block is subject to confirmation.

•           A detailed site survey has not been undertaken. However, as the site is very wet, it is likely that some extensive drainage engineering works will be required to resolve the land drainage issues on the site.

•           The site is also likely to be subjected to intensive archaeological investigations to establish whether or not there are any potential archaeological features below ground.

•           The works above as well as other possible works i.e. overhead powerline diversion could impact on the overall cost of the project.

•           Other possible site options in the immediate area are being considered being mindful of the proximity factor.

•           There are major traffic issues at the current Ysgol y Graig school site. The Highways Service has indicated that the traffic issues must be resolved for the complete campus as part of the project development which will mean a new car park to meet the minimum parking standards for schools that fulfils the requirements for both the existing school building and the new Foundation Phase block. The proposed scheme will see a new car park being sited between the existing Ysgol y Graig and the new Foundation Phase block which will serve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.