This meeting of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to include a presentation from the Head of Access to Education and Family Hubs Service Delivery Manager and a summary of the 2024/25 Deep Dive findings. There was also to be a workshop about developing findings and recommendations. The meeting was also scheduled to include a members' survey and discussion about the work programme for 2025/26.

Deep Dive Review of School Readiness

The meeting was scheduled to include a summary of the findings of a 'deep dive' review into school readiness.

The review was undertaken between September 2023 and March 2024, during which the panel undertook research, conducted site visits, and spoke to experts to understand the support available to foster school readiness and how it impacts children's long term prospects.

The panel engaged stakeholders including councillors, senior officers, community groups and other relevant organisations. The following points were noted in the report pack for the meeting:

• The proportion of 'school ready' children in Hounslow is just over 66%, according to a metric first used in 2021/22
• Brentford East and Bedfont are the wards with the lowest rates of school readiness
• Hounslow's lowest attainment area is in literacy
• The panel opted to take a 'systems approach' to the topic of school readiness
• The uptake of the two year old child checkup entitlement in Hounslow is positive in comparison with statistically similar boroughs, but mid-low compared to other outer London boroughs. There is a drive to improve this and support parents in a non-judgemental way.
• There are challenges presented by disparities in school readiness between children, and the increased resource demand this drives later in their education.
• The Chair and a panel officer undertook a site visit to Beaver's Children's Centre and observed a stay and play session. It is the case that families who would most benefit often do not attend these sessions.
• The panel investigated areas of support including:
  • Home-Start: Support provided by the VCSE¹ sector through home visits.
  • HCH Trust: NHS-provided health visits
  • Reach Foundation: Builds the capacity of the early years work force
• There is a positive correlation between household income and school readiness
• Family Hubs are a key contributor to school readiness. Relevant programmes include '50 things to do before you're 5' and 'Making it Real'.

The report pack says that the main findings of the review included:

• Awareness of support (or lack thereof) was a continuous thread in all panel meetings.
• The importance of parental networks. A lack of parental networks can negatively impact school readiness
• High SEND² demand, which is currently 31%
• The lasting negative impact of Covid on school readiness

The following draft recommendations were made on how the Council and partners can improve school readiness among all children in the borough:

• Promoting '50 things before you're 5' to grandparents and other family members.
• Promoting nursery and reception checklists, potentially instead of the above, because they are easier to implement and understand.
• Making parents aware of provision with multilingual leaflets
• The council should cover the £5 charge for 'play provision' for people who can't afford the fees.
• Identifying wards with the longest waiting lists and increasing provision in these wards.
• Increasing the use of Home Start by increasing funding to improve capacity, and identifying alternative means to support them, for example through volunteer drives.
• The council should take a 'systems linked' approach wherever possible, along the lines of Richmond Council, including convening meetings to assess school readiness of each child at the end of reception.
• The red book given to expectant parents should be multilingual to encourage parents to track milestones up to reception.
• Religious centres should be used to reach parents with information about provided services and educational information on what needs to be done to ensure school readiness.
• Jennie Tweedy, Family Support Worker at Reach Academy, made recommendations which had been emailed in advance of the meeting. These included:
  • Increasing the take up of 2 year funded places
  • Exploring the barriers for private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries to taking funded children.
  • Children's centres or Family Hubs should run 'school readiness' groups. This was noted in the report pack as being a programme years ago at the Children's Centres, and the panel was particularly supportive of reinstating this.

Work Programme 2024/25

The meeting considered the findings and recommendations of its deep dive review into 'Disadvantage and School Attainment for Primary Aged Children' which it had undertaken between September 2024 and January 2025. The review had been prompted by data that showed that while children in Hounslow generally perform well at Key Stage 2, with 63% meeting the expected standards, the attainment gap, as measured by the difference between the lowest 20% of achievers and all children, remains stubbornly high.

During the review, the panel visited three schools, Bedfont Primary School, Cranford Primary School and Cavendish Primary School to discuss their experiences, and to see what measures they were using to promote engagement and improve attendance.

The panel also received a presentation from Steven Forbes, Executive Director of Children’s and Adults’ Services, on the work of the School Attendance Support Service (SASS), and its 'support first' model which attempts to support families to improve attendance without resorting to legal measures.

The report pack notes that the panel were due to receive a presentation on the Council's Family Hubs.

The panel were scheduled to discuss their work programme for 2025/26. At their previous meeting, in March 2024, they had suggested the following topics:

• Effects of overcrowding on children
• SEND for under 18s (this was discussed and deferred as a potential topic for this year due to changes within the council)
• County Lines and crime
• Further inquiries into early years.