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Agenda item

Executive Member Annual Presentation

Minutes:

Councillor Comer-Schwartz, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families, presented to the Committee on her priorities for the 2019/20 municipal year.

 

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

 

·         The Executive Member’s three priorities for the year were: continual educational improvement, preventing the criminal exploitation of children and keeping Islington’s children safe.

·         51% of the borough’s primary schools were above the national and Inner-London average.

·         69% of pupils achieved the combined requirements for reading, writing and maths. The Inner-London average was 71% and the Executive Member wanted Islington’s young people to exceed this figure.

·         The Executive Member was concerned that Islington had one of the highest rates of primary school absence in the country. It was commented that this could be an indicator of wider issues such as unemployment and poor health outcomes. Addressing absence was a priority for Children’s Services as absence from school entrenched disadvantage. It was particularly concerning that neighbouring boroughs did not experience the same issues. Targeted work was underway with parents, school leaders and governing bodies to improve attendance.

·         The Executive Member welcomed the Committee’s review of exclusion from school and advised that the Executive would respond to the committee’s recommendations in due course.

·         The Executive Member was pleased with the progress made by pupils with special educational needs and learning disabilities (SEND), however expressed frustration with the lack of national funding for support services. Officers were reviewing Islington’s offer to pupils with emotional needs. The Executive Member was also keen to improve provision for SEND pupils at post-16.

·         The Executive Member was pleased with the quality of the borough’s early years’ provision but was concerned by the level of engagement, as the attendance of two-year olds was below target. A communications strategy was being developed to promote engagement.

·         Islington schools performed well in terms of the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, however there was a gap in attainment for Black Caribbean pupils and White British pupils eligible for free school meals.

·         The Committee noted the progress with the council’s cultural enrichment programme, ’11 by 11’ which sought to give pupils 11 cultural experiences by age 11, and the World of Work programme, which would give pupils 100 hours’ work-related by age 16.

·         County lines was an ongoing London-wide and national issue. At the end of March 2019, 20 children had been identified as being at risk of county lines. The Executive Member emphasised the importance of working with partners across London and beyond to support vulnerable young people.

·         The number of safeguarding referrals had decreased over the previous year and the Executive Member was challenging the reasons for this.

·         The Executive Member welcomed that there had been a reduction in the number of child protection plans. It was suggested that this was a result of the council’s family-centred approach.

·         The Committee noted the work underway to support victims of domestic violence and prevent violence against women and girls. The IRIS project worked with GPs to help them identify and support victims of domestic abuse. Training was being provided to 25 GP practices and 200 women had been supported. The council also worked with perpetrators of abuse to challenge and change their behaviour. The Executive Member highlighted that the majority of programmes were funded on an annual basis and explained the challenges that this presented to support services. The council was hoping to access MOPAC funding as a more sustainable source of income for these services.

·         The council’s early help services worked with 2,533 individuals and 1,635 families in 2018/19. The council was working to expand early help approaches into partner organisations to provide better preventative support to families and encourage referrals to early help services.

·         A member asked about the variation in the performance of Islington schools. In response it was advised that there was a level of variation and targeted work with schools was carried out as necessary.

·         In response to a question about primary school absence, it was commented that some schools had reported issues with families taking holidays in term time and others had reported unusually high levels of sickness absence for relatively minor ailments. Officers suggested that some schools needed to have challenging conversations with parents and the council was working with headteachers on this issue. The Committee queried why Islington had a high level of absence in comparison to neighbouring boroughs. In response it was advised that this was only an issue at particular schools and this affected the overall performance of the borough. 

·         The Committee welcomed that the borough’s overall Progress 8 and Attainment 8 scores had improved over the past year.

·         The Committee requested a detailed breakdown of spending on services for victims and perpetrators of violence against women and girls. It was advised that further information would be provided outside of the meeting.

·         In response to a question, it was advised that Islington was a relatively high identifier of pupils with special educational needs and learning disabilities, however there was a degree of variation between schools.

·         In response to a question, it was confirmed that schools were actively involved in work to support pupils at risk of county lines and domestic violence. All schools received training on these issues. Services also engaged directly with pupils to promote their resilience and empower them to seek support.

·         A member of the public asked the Executive Member if the council would be encouraging schools to take part in the boycott of SATs. In response, it was advised that schools must meet their legal requirements, however the Executive Member shared concerns about the over-examination of children. 

 

The Committee thanked Councillor Comer-Schwartz for her attendance.