The Children and Education Policy and Accountability Committee are scheduled to meet on 3 November 2025 to discuss safeguarding, social care reforms, the local offer for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and the Summer in the City programme. The meeting will include a review of the Hammersmith & Fulham Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) annual report, an update on national children's social care reforms, and annual reports on the Local Offer and Summer in the City. Councillor Helen Rowbottom, Chair of the Children and Education PAC and H&F Industrial Strategy Ambassador, will chair the meeting.

H&F Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2024-25

The committee will be presented with the H&F Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) Annual Report 2024-25¹, which outlines safeguarding performance in Hammersmith & Fulham. Key developments highlighted in the report include:

• The appointment of a new Independent Scrutineer, Derek Benson.
• The inclusion of education as a fourth safeguarding partner, with Peter Haylock, Operational Director of Education and SEND, joining as a Designated Safeguarding Partner.
• A focus on the voice of the child and anti-racist practice.

The report highlights progress in areas such as:

• Domestic abuse
• Adolescent safeguarding
• Mental health

It also mentions youth-led initiatives and strengthened multi-agency collaboration.

The LSCP has set three strategic priorities for 2025–2028:

• Staying Safe: Safeguarding adolescents and strengthening the protective role of education.
• Early Identification & Prevention: Embedding proactive practice and supporting school attendance.
• Think Family: Embedding approaches to domestic abuse and promoting whole-family working.

The annual report also contains data sourced from Callum Birks, CHS BI Analyst (Social Care) Business Intelligence Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

Update on the National Children's Social Care Reforms and Transformation Agenda

The committee will receive an update on the national Children's Social Care Reforms² announced by the Department for Education (DfE) in November/December 2024. These reforms aim to improve integrated working to safeguard children and young people, with local authorities expected to implement changes from April 2025. The report will outline Hammersmith & Fulham's response to the reforms and plans for transformation.

The reform programme in Hammersmith & Fulham is centred around four workstreams:

• Single Child and Family (CAF) Assessment
• Adolescent Family Help Team
• Integrated Front Door
• Join-up with Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) partners

The report also mentions that Hammersmith & Fulham is working to broaden its approaches to family-led decision making and parental advocacy, reviewing its Kinship Strategy against the National Kinship Care Strategy (2024), and leading on subregional fostering recruitment innovation.

A multi-agency steering group has been established to oversee the reforms and transformation programme, reporting to the Children's Health, Education and Social Care Board and the Local Safeguarding Children's Partnership.

Local Offer Annual Report 2024-25

The committee will receive the Local Offer Annual Report 2024-25, which highlights information and local services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) aged 0 to 25, and their families. The Local Offer³ aims to provide a central resource for education, health, care provision, leisure activities, employment support and financial advice. The report will highlight co-produced work for the Local Offer on the Family Hub website, to ensure it is accessible and meets the needs of children and young people. The report also includes findings from the 'H&F Annual SEND Survey' and highlights the 'Best Local Offer 2024' award from the National Association of Family Information Services (NAFIS).

The Local Offer team works closely with residents, including Parentsactive, to test how easy it is to find information on the website. User testing has taken place at Family Hubs events.

Throughout the year, the Local Offer has run a variety of sessions across the borough. In June 2024 over 20 young people joined a Youth Voice co-production session to discuss the 'Youth Hub' subsection of the Family Hub website. In October 2024 the Local Offer tested an employment webpage with the AOD Youth Board, where young Disabled people provided feedback which directly shaped improvements.

Summer in the City 2025

The committee will receive a report providing an overview of the Summer in the City 2025 programme. Summer in the City is part of the council's delivery of the DfE Holiday Activity and Food Programme⁴, providing free activities for school aged children that promote fitness, nutrition and social engagement. The programme was co-ordinated by LMP Action CIC, and worked with 32 local providers to deliver inclusive sessions and events for young people. A wide range of activities were delivered, including sports, arts, cultural opportunities and specialist SEND provision.

Around 2,400 children attended across the summer including more than 2000 with SEND. 73% of all attendees were eligible for Free School Meals with most attendees being from Global Majority ethnic groups.

55% of providers involve the children in food preparation and food education was also supported through food themed art projects, interactive games, and cooking workshop. Recipe booklets were distributed to families offering easy, affordable meal ideas and parents reported that children came home more enthusiastic about cooking.

The holiday programme continues to be very well received 100% of families said the programme supported their family by easing financial pressure and 80% described noticeable improvements in their child's confidence and social development.