The Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Wokingham Council met on Wednesday 18 March 2026 to discuss a range of critical updates concerning the borough's children and young people. Key topics included the ongoing reform of children's social care, the ambitious Best Start in Life strategy, and detailed updates on education, SEND provision, school place planning, and skills development. The committee also received a presentation from the Youth Council, highlighting their impactful activities and contributions.

Social Care Update

Estelle Kellaway, Service Director for Family Help and Safeguarding, presented an update on the Children's Social Care reforms. The Local Reform Programme is progressing as planned, with the proposed delivery model for Helping Early and the wider social care reforms set to go live in April. Recruitment for Family Group Conference roles is underway, and formal staff consultation began in February. The new model has been shared with the Children in Care Council for feedback. Wokingham has been selected as one of nine national partner areas working with Foundations (What Works for Children and Families) to focus on evidence-based practice and robust governance. The report highlighted a 68% increase in Child Protection Plans, attributed to pressures from the cost of living crisis impacting parental mental health and domestic violence, though analysis indicated this figure had stabilised and was in line with statistical neighbours. The Council's selection for the Foundations programme was based on demonstrating robust governance systems, a clear vision for family hubs, and evidence-based learning and partnership working.

Best Start in Life Delivery Plan

The committee received an update on the Best Start in Life Delivery Plan, a strategy aimed at ensuring every child has the best possible start in life. This plan aligns with the national Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy and incorporates elements of Wokingham's Helping Early strategy. Key priorities include expanding and supporting a diverse pool of parent volunteers, developing and embedding Best Start Family Hubs by rebranding existing Children's Centres, improving Good Levels of Development (GLD) for children, particularly those eligible for Free School Meals, and enhancing multi-agency support at human contact points. The strategy does not introduce new costs beyond existing Family Hub development funding and aims to reduce inequalities by improving access to services and support for families. The plan also addresses the implications of the new Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, which prominently features early years and SEND reforms.

Youth Council

The committee received the annual report from the Youth Council, detailing their activities and accomplishments between April 2025 and March 2026. The Youth Council has been actively involved in various initiatives, including updating the Wokingham Youth Charter, contributing to the council budget consultation, providing feedback on the neurodiversity screening tool, and co-producing the participation strategy. Members have also engaged with the Children and Young People's Partnership Board and participated in a Public Health session on school nursing. The Youth Council organised a successful Youth Politics Night and a Debate Club championship, fostering civic engagement and developing leadership skills among young people. The report highlighted the positive impact of the Youth Council on members' confidence, personal opinions, and community involvement, with a focus on areas such as youth spaces, transport, online safety, work experience accessibility, and digital skills.

Education and SEND Update

Gillian Cole, Service Manager for Schools, provided an update on education and SEND performance. No Ofsted inspections occurred during the reporting period due to a change in the inspection framework. The new report card system was launched, with initial reports published. St Dominic Savio School received top grades across all judgement areas in its recent Statutory Inspection of Catholic Schools. Significant improvements have been made in EHCP completion timeliness, with over 70% now being completed within 20 weeks, a sustained improvement since August. A new quality assurance tool and multi-agency audits show improving quality of EHCPs. The backlog of Annual Reviews has been reduced, though significant work remains. Wokingham's NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) figures are generally lower than national and South East averages, although a slight increase in overall NEET figures reflects a national trend. The report also detailed the implications of the Every Child Achieving and Thriving Schools White Paper, outlining proposed reforms to the schools and SEND systems.

School Place Planning Update

The committee received an update on school place planning, which is a statutory duty of local authorities. The Wokingham Borough School Organisation Plan 2025 to 2030 incorporates specialist place planning for the first time. The report indicated a sufficiency of Early Years and post-16 places, an oversupply of mainstream primary places requiring management, and a deficit in specialist provision. A new 1FE Primary School in Shinfield, Spencers Wood Primary School, is planned for September 2028 to address the deficit in the South West planning area. For mainstream secondary provision, capacity is being managed down to align with lower cohorts, with plans to phase down 'over-offering' to zero by 2030/31. The post-16 sector has a sufficiency of places, with new sixth form provision at Bohunt School opening in September 2026 and permanent accommodation for Emmbrook Sixth Form by September 2027. Wokingham faces a sustained shortfall in specialist provision across all need categories and age groups, with plans to deliver six new Resource Bases/SEND Units in 2026 and a Post-16 SEND Hub. Future specialist expansion includes a new special school scheduled for September 2028.

Skills and Employment Strategy

Nicky Phillips, Skills and Employment Service Manager, presented an update on the development of the Wokingham Borough Skills and Employment Strategy, with a particular focus on young people. The strategy aims to respond to national and regional policy changes, reduce inequalities, improve residents' access to skills and employment, strengthen partnerships, and maximise funding. Emerging focus areas include young people, women, economically inactive residents who want to work, and businesses. For young people, key issues identified include persistent inequalities in educational attainment for disadvantaged pupils, increasing numbers of EHCPs and Child Protection Plans, and barriers such as limited work experience, mental health challenges, and difficulties accessing vocational training. The strategy will identify barriers and create pathways for all young people, including Care Leavers, SEND pupils, and NEET young people, to participate fully in the local economy. The strategy is being co-produced with Children's Services and involves ongoing engagement with youth MPs and relevant forums.

Forward Programme and Action Tracker

The committee reviewed its Forward Programme of work, noting upcoming items for future meetings, including updates on Area SEND, the Joint Strategic Needs Analysis, and the Children and Young People's Participation and Engagement Strategy. The Action Tracker report indicated that most actions from previous meetings had been completed, with outstanding actions and requested data to be included in future reports.

The meeting also included an Executive Member Update from Councillor Prue Bray, Executive Member for Children's Services, and a verbal report on social care. A Part 2 session was held to discuss Schools Causing Concern.