The Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission noted the contents of the Youth Justice and Youth Empowerment reports and asked for more detailed data on school attendance to be provided to them at a future meeting. The meeting was the first of the 2024-2025 municipal year.

School Attendance

The commission discussed school attendance in the borough, particularly amongst specific ethnic groups and children with special educational needs. The interim Director for Education, Inclusion and Achievement explained that the council had developed a universal support strategy in partnership with schools and the Department for Education, and was sharing the lessons learned from this with other local authorities. The commission asked for more detailed data on school attendance to be provided to them at a future meeting, broken down by Key Stage.

The Written Statement of Action

The progress made on Newham Council's Written Statement of Action (WSoA) was discussed. The WSoA sets out the actions that the council has agreed to undertake to improve its provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The commission heard that there had been improvements in some areas, such as a reduction in waiting times for speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. However, there had also been an increase in the overall waiting time for a diagnosis. The commission asked for a report on the progress that has been made and the areas where further improvement is needed.

Keeping Children Safe

The commission reviewed the annual report of the Newham Safeguarding Children’s Board. The report highlighted the increase in referrals to children’s services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis, and exploitation concerns related to knife crime. The commission discussed the work that is being done to keep children safe in Newham, including the council’s transformation programme, which is looking at opportunities for early intervention and early help for families.

The meeting concluded with thanks to the members of the commission for their work during the previous municipal year.