Children's Services Scrutiny Panel

Scrutiny at Tameside Council plays a vital role in promoting open, transparent, and effective local government. Through a number of dedicated, politically balanced Panels, elected councillors are empowered to examine decisions, challenge how services are delivered, and ensure that the Council’s actions are in the best interest of residents.

Scrutiny Panels can review proposed and past decisions, request reports, and request Executive Members, senior officers, and external partners attend meetings and answer questions. While Scrutiny Panels cannot take decisions, they can make recommendations to decision-makers to improve services, enhance transparency, and influence future policies.

This work is essential in supporting the Council’s Corporate Plan, which sets out a bold vision for Tameside as a place where everyone can achieve their hopes and ambitions. Scrutiny helps ensure that progress is made towards the plan’s four priorities:

Best Start in Life

Opportunity to Learn and Earn

Safe, Green & Supportive Communities

Healthy and Active Lives

By offering a constructive and evidence-based forum for councillors to investigate issues and engage the public, scrutiny plays a key role in upholding good governance and strengthening local democracy.

The Children’s Services Scrutiny Panel has responsibility to consider all matters related to Children’s Social Care and Education and focusses on the services that support children, young people, and families in Tameside. This includes reviewing the performance of early years provision, schools, children’s social care, safeguarding, and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The Panel plays an important role in monitoring progress against the Council’s Children’s Social Care and SEND Improvement Programme, ensuring that actions are taken to improve the quality and impact of services. It examines how children and families are supported through Family Hubs, early help, and prevention initiatives, in line with the corporate priority of providing every child with the best start in life.

The Panel ensures that children’s voices are heard and that services respond effectively to the challenges they face, including those linked to poverty and social disadvantage. It reviews the work of the Children’s Services directorate and holds to account the Executive Members responsible for Children and Families, and Lifelong Learning.

The Council wants to consult people as fully as possible before making decisions that affect them. Members of the public do not have a right to speak at meetings but may do so if invited by the Chair. If you have a special interest in an item on the agenda, contact the Scrutiny Team. The Council wants its meetings to be as open as possible but occasionally there will be some confidential business. Brief reasons for confidentiality will be shown on the agenda sheet.