Minute No. 606 (Cabinet Agenda Item No. 10 refers)

Referred direct to the Scrutiny Committee and called-in by Councillors Cox and Davidson

The Committee considered Minute 606 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 13 January 2022, which had been referred directly to the Committee for scrutiny, together with a report of the report of the Executive Director (Children and Public Health) presenting the findings and recommendations from the Local Government Association (LGA) Independent Peer Review into Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Children with Disability services, which also set out the proposed actions to be taken by the Council to drive necessary change in order to improve services to residents and families.

The Executive Director (Children and Public Health) undertook to provide a written response to questions raised by members of the Committee, with regard to the current level of completion of training by members of the Council in respect of the challenges of working with residents with SEND issues and awareness of the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process.

Resolved:

1.     That the following decisions of the Cabinet be noted:

“1. That the Local Government Association Independent Peer Review Report, be noted.

2. That the recommendations made by the LGA Peer Review Team, as set out in Appendix 1 to the submitted report, be accepted.

3. That the Implementation Plan in response to the recommendations in the LGA Peer Review, as set out at Appendix two to the report, be approved.

4. That the matter be referred to the People Scrutiny Committee for consideration.”

2.             That a report be made to the next meeting of the Committee setting out progress on the delivery of the Implementation Plan, on the basis of the RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status of each action.

3.             That the Cabinet Member for Children and Learning consider how the reference in the Peer Review report, that the route to the Children with Disabilities Team through a safeguarding ‘lens’ is not always appropriate, could be addressed within Recommendation 7 (Threshold of Need Document) of the Implementation Plan.

4.             That the Committee review options for the possible establishment of a Working Group to support the delivery of the Implementation Plan, at its next meeting.

Note: This is an Executive Function

Cabinet Member: Councillor L Burton

Report of Executive Director (Children and Public Health) attached

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director (Children and Public Health) presenting the findings and recommendations from the Local Government Association (LGA) Independent Peer Review Report into the SEND and Children with Disability (CWD) services and set out the proposed actions to be taken by the local authority to drive the necessary changes in order to improve services to residents and families.

Resolved:

1. That the Local Government Association Independent Peer Review Report, be noted.

2. That the recommendations made by the LGA Peer Review Team, as set out in Appendix 1 to the submitted report, be accepted.

3. That the Implementation Plan in response to the recommendations in the LGA Peer Review, as set out at Appendix two to the report, be approved.

4. That the matter be referred to the People Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

Reasons for decision:

To consider the findings from the Independent Review and endorse the proposed actions in response to the recommendations from the LGA Peer Review Report.

Other options:

None.

Note: This is an Executive Function

Referred direct to: People Scrutiny Committee

Cabinet Member: Cllr Burton

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director (Children and Public Health) presenting the findings and recommendations from the Local Government Association (LGA) Independent Peer Review Report into the SEND and Children with Disability (CWD) services and set out the proposed actions to be taken by the local authority to drive the necessary changes in order to improve services to residents and families.

Resolved:

1. That the Local Government Association Independent Peer Review Report, be noted.

2. That the recommendations made by the LGA Peer Review Team, as set out in Appendix 1 to the submitted report, be accepted.

3. That the Implementation Plan in response to the recommendations in the LGA Peer Review, as set out at Appendix two to the report, be approved.

4. That the matter be referred to the People Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

Reasons for decision:

To consider the findings from the Independent Review and endorse the proposed actions in response to the recommendations from the LGA Peer Review Report.

Other options:

None.

Note: This is an Executive Function

Referred direct to: People Scrutiny Committee

Cabinet Member: Cllr Burton