The Children's Services Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to review the annual reports of the Ealing Safeguarding Children Partnership and the Ealing Race Equality Commission's progress on education. The panel was also set to discuss education outcomes for care leavers, care options for children, and previous panel recommendations.

Safeguarding Children's Partnership - Annual Board Report

The panel was scheduled to consider the Ealing Safeguarding Children Partnership's (ESCP) statutory annual report for 2024-25. This report, published in September 2025, details the partnership's activities and performance in safeguarding children across Ealing. The ESCP is a collaboration between Ealing Council, NHS North West London Integrated Care Board, and the Metropolitan Police Service, working with other agencies to protect children's welfare. The report outlines the partnership's vision, values, and principles, emphasizing a child-centred, collaborative, and transparent approach. It details how the partnership has performed, including specific data on Children's Services, education, health, and the Metropolitan Police. The report also covers the ESCP's priorities for 2025-28, which include addressing domestic abuse, preventing exploitation, focusing on children's mental health needs, and improving responses to child sexual abuse. The independent scrutineer's assurance statement was also to be reviewed, assessing the effectiveness of multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.

Ealing Race Equality Commission - Education Progress and Impact

This report was scheduled to provide an overview of the progress made in achieving the Ealing Race Equality Commission's seven demands for education. The focus was on pupils from Black Caribbean, White and Black Caribbean, and Somali ethnic groups. The report was expected to summarise key actions and their impact on attainment, suspensions, exclusions, staff training, curriculum adaptations, parent engagement, and the workforce. The Ealing Race Equality Commission, established in 2022, set out demands including rapidly closing the attainment gap for Black Caribbean pupils, ending disproportionate exclusions, accelerating curriculum changes, making race equality training core for teachers, empowering parents, ensuring every school has a race and diversity lead, and increasing the number of Black teachers in leadership roles. The report was to include data on key performance indicators since 2021-22 and an evaluation of the impact of the programme.

Education Outcomes for Care Leavers, Pathways; Pilots with the Third Sector

The panel was scheduled to receive an update on the education, employment, and training (EET) outcomes for care leavers in Ealing. The report was to detail the effectiveness of current pathway planning and the progress of partnerships and third-sector pilots aimed at improving life chances for these young people. Key achievements in EET programmes were to be highlighted, including job starts, apprenticeships, further and higher education placements, and engagement with programmes like the NHS Academy and construction pathways. The report was also to discuss the role of the EET Outreach Worker in reducing the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET), and outline measurable outputs if new funding is secured. Funding risks and sustainability for key roles and partnerships were also to be addressed.

Care Options for Children (Children Social Care)

This report was intended to provide an update on the Fostering, Permanence, and Adoption services in Ealing. It was to outline the council's commitment to supporting children to remain within their family of origin where safe, and the steps taken to secure sufficient alternative care arrangements when necessary. The report was to detail the services provided by the Fostering and Connect team, including recruitment and assessment of foster carers, support for in-house and kinship carers, and the work of the Kinship team. It was also to cover external placement options, including the use of Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) and residential children's homes, and the monitoring of these placements. The report was to provide an overview of the fostering sector nationally and in Ealing, and detail initiatives such as the Mockingbird programme, the Weekender fostering model, and the in-house psychology service. Information on adoption statistics, including the work of Adopt London West, and the impact of changes to the Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) were also scheduled for discussion.

Panel Recommendations 2025-2026

This report was to set out the recommendations made by the panel across its previous three meetings and the responses received from officers. It would serve as a tracker for accepted and rejected recommendations, with reasons for decisions and updates on progress. The panel's work programme for the municipal year was also to be reviewed, with the understanding that it could change as new issues arise.