The Children and Families Scrutiny Committee's agenda included an introduction to the council's children's services and a review of the committee's work programme and progress on previous actions and recommendations. The agenda also featured a discussion on the Scrutiny Report, which encompasses the committee's forward plan, action tracker, and recommendations tracker.

Introduction to Children's Services

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the services provided by the Children and Families directorate. This report was intended to outline service priorities, significant challenges and risks, recent or upcoming national policy changes, and to signpost major policies and documents currently in operation. The directorate encompasses Children's Social Care, Education, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Children's Social Care focuses on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, with services including the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), assessment teams, and safeguarding teams. Corporate Parenting services support children in care and care leavers, with teams responsible for placements, fostering, adoption, and family time. The Virtual School aims to improve the educational attainment of children in care and care leavers, with its remit extended to other vulnerable children. The Youth and Family Resilience Service works with children at risk of exploitation or involved in criminality, including the Youth Offending Team and an Edge of Care service. Practice Improvement and Quality Assurance functions support practitioners, manage allegations against professionals, and provide oversight of child protection conferences and independent reviewing officers.

The Education directorate is responsible for ensuring access to appropriate education for children and young people aged 0-19, with extended duties for those with SEND up to age 25. This includes overseeing maintained schools and academies, with a recent local area SEND inspection identifying inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The directorate comprises SEND and Commissioning, Learning and Inclusion, and Education, Operations and Performance.

The report highlighted priority areas of work, including significant transformation and reforms affecting both social care and SEND systems, alongside internal structural changes. The Families First Reforms aim to integrate social care and targeted early help, developing multi-agency child protection teams and embedding Family Group Decision Making. Proposed SEND Reforms are expected to bring considerable changes, with services adapting to new ways of working and a SEND reform plan being developed. Challenges facing local schools due to falling pupil numbers and rising costs were also noted, leading to a review of school estates and pupil place planning.

Key challenges and risks identified included the volatile and demand-led nature of Children's Services, operating within a highly regulated context and impacted by multiple policy changes. Recruitment and retention challenges in specific disciplines, such as social work and educational psychology, were also noted as impacting service delivery and budget pressures. High costs associated with care placements, home-to-school transport for SEND children, increasing SEND costs impacting the high needs block, school deficits, and the contingent workforce were identified as financial risks.

The report also detailed the policy context, referencing key legislation such as the Children Act 1989 and 2004, the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the Care Standards Act 2000, and the Education Act 1996, 2002, 2011, and 2006. It also mentioned the Children and Families Act 2014 (SEND reforms) and statutory guidance like Working Together to Safeguard Children and Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Important documents for information included the Families First Reforms programme, the SEND White Paper 2026 ('Every Child Achieving and Thriving'), guidance on Fostering Hubs and Regional Care Co-operatives, the 'Best Start in Life' early years strategy, and the 'Cutting Youth Crime, Changing Young Lives 2026' White Paper. The Youth Offer, an emerging policy area focused on improving access to youth provision, was also mentioned.

The Scrutiny Report

This report was intended to provide an update on the committee's work programme and progress. Members were invited to review and suggest items for the 2026/27 Forward Plan. The report was also intended to detail the Action Tracker, which captures tasks requested of officers from previous meetings, and the Recommendations Tracker, which outlines the committee's conclusions on service improvements. The report included a Forward Plan for the 2026-27 municipal year, with suggested items such as the Youth Justice Annual Report, Local Safeguarding Children Annual Report and Strategic Plan, Corporate Parent Board Annual Report, and the Children's Social Care Annual Complaints Report. Other items for consideration included the Sufficiency Strategy for Children Looked After and Care Leavers, the IRO Annual Report, the Virtual School Report, a review of the Secure Children's Home business case, a review of the Whitefield School Investigation, rationalisation of the School Estate, and Attendance and Attainment Elective Home Education.

The report also noted that key decisions, defined as those likely to be significant in terms of effect on communities or resulting in significant expenditure/savings, were published in the Cabinet Forward Plan. A key decision regarding 16+ Semi Independent Accommodation was identified as falling under the remit of this scrutiny committee.

The report also included an Action Log and a Recommendations Log, detailing the status of actions and recommendations from previous meetings. For instance, an action to provide further information regarding the 29% of foster care standards not met was noted as published in the agenda pack. Another action to include comparative data for the cost of the IRO service in the 2025/26 annual report was also mentioned. In terms of recommendations, one to explore ways to work with the YA/YIAG to engage young people on school absences was noted as officers agreeing to explore this subject in relation to safeguarding.