This meeting was about the adoption of the committee's work programme for the next year, and the consideration of several reports about services for children and young people in Westminster. The meeting also included the consideration of a report about libraries, but because it was deemed to be confidential, we do not know what was said about it.

2024/2025 Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to be asked to agree to its Work Programme for the next year. The only meeting currently scheduled to take place is on 10 March 2025. The committee was also scheduled to be asked to consider topics for future scrutiny, including:

• Truancy and Attendance in Schools
• A Pre-birth to 5 years Strategy
• SENCO provisions in Westminster
• The Black Fathers Unheard project
• Free School Meals
• Supported Internships

School Place Planning and Primary Surplus Capacity

The committee was scheduled to be asked to note a report about School Place Planning and Primary Surplus Capacity. The report explains that there is a surplus of school places in Westminster, with the surplus currently at 21.5%, and forecast to rise to 25% by 2025. The report explains that because funding for schools is given on a per pupil basis, the surplus of places creates a sustainability challenge for smaller schools. As a result, 13 primary schools in Westminster are currently in deficit, and the council was required to submit an Action plan for maintained schools in financial difficulty to the Department for Education. The report goes on to list all of the schools whose Published Admission Number has been reduced, and schools that have been amalgamated since 2018 in an attempt to reduce the surplus. The report also describes the local context for childcare provision, explaining that there are shortages of childcare places in Regent's Park, Abbey Road and the West End, and goes on to describe the effects on Westminster of the recently announced 20% VAT rate on private school fees, the stability in the number of parents electively home educating their children, and the council's plans for providing sufficient places for pupils with Special Educational Needs.

Children and Young People's Plan 2023-2026

The committee was scheduled to be asked to note a report about the Children and Young People's Plan. The report describes the Children and Young People's Plan for Westminster, which was published in January 2023. The plan was co-produced with children and young people, and describes the council's priorities for services for children and young people. The report provides an update on how the council is doing one year on from the adoption of the plan. The plan is focused on seven priorities:

• All children have the best start in life, their needs are identified and supported early, and they are school ready at five.
• Children and young people have access to high quality education and training opportunities, have good attendance at school and achieve their full potential.
• Children and young people feel safe, and are protected from serious youth violence, harm, harmful practices, abuse and neglect at home, online and in the community.
• All young people, and particularly those who are vulnerable can realise their ambitions and take advantage of opportunities and life skills which prepare them for adulthood.
• All of our young people feel listened to, empowered to take action, and have opportunities to co-produce and co-design services that affect them.
• All children and young people are happy and healthy, with access to a diverse range of activities and opportunities to support their physical, mental health and emotional well-being within the post-pandemic context, environmental challenges, and rising cost of living pressures.
• Children and young people affected by the Grenfell Tower Fire continue to be supported.

Westminster Youth Justice Partnership Plan 2022-2025

The committee was scheduled to be asked to note a report about the Annual Review of Westminster’s Youth Justice Partnership Plan, 2024-2025. The report describes the Youth Justice Partnership Plan for Westminster, which was published in 2022. The plan was updated in 2024, to include learning from an inspection of the Westminster Youth Offending Team by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation in September 2024. The plan's stated vision is to support children at risk of, or involved in, offending behaviours, enabling them to lead safe, healthy lives and reach their full potential. The report summarises the landscape in which the Youth Offending Team operates, including the fact that offending is correlated with deprivation. It notes that the Youth Offending Team worked with 69 children between April 2022 and March 2024, and that 98% of the children were male, 83% identified as Black, Mixed Ethnicity or Other Ethnic Group, 70% were aged 15-17, and 36% were not in employment, education or training. The report provides data on the performance of the Youth Offending Team against a range of performance indicators, and highlights a number of initiatives being undertaken, including the Unheard Gender Project.

Independent Reviewing Service Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to be asked to note two reports: one about the work of the Independent Reviewing Service for the year 2023-2024, and a second report about Children's Participation and Advocacy in the first quarter of 2024-2025. Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) play a statutory role in the care of children looked after by local authorities. Their role is to chair children's looked after reviews, but also to provide independent challenge and scrutiny to the council about its care of children looked after. The report describes the statutory role of IROs, and goes on to describe the profile of the children looked after by Westminster. It says that there were 175 children looked after at the end of March 2024, and that 98% of the statutory reviews held for children looked after took place within the statutory timescales. The report describes the range of placement types in Westminster, and says that 82% of children aged 0-13 were placed with foster carers, or with parents, and that 52% of children aged 14+ were placed in supported accommodation. The report also provides data about the number of children who left care during the year and the reasons for them leaving care, showing that most children left care because they turned 18. The report notes an increase in the use of the Dispute Resolution Protocol, which IROs can use to challenge decisions made by the council. The report says there were 31 disputes raised during the year. The report concludes by providing an action plan for the service, setting out a number of ways in which it will seek to improve how it works.

Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Report 2023-24

The committee was scheduled to be asked to note a report about the work of the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership. The report describes the statutory responsibility of Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships, and sets out its four main priorities:

• Reducing the harm of domestic abuse and coercive control.
• Safer Communities (including child exploitation and serious youth violence)
• Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Transitional Safeguarding. The report describes the work that the partnership has been doing to meet those priorities, including work to strengthen the multi-agency safeguarding training it provides. The report also describes the partnership's efforts to review its work and ensure its effectiveness, including sharing learning from audits and case reviews. The report includes contributions from many of the organisations involved in safeguarding children in Westminster, including the council, the NHS, and the Metropolitan Police.