The Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission met to discuss behaviour management and school inclusion, the school estates strategy, and the work programme for the remainder of the municipal year. As part of the discussion on behaviour management, the commission was scheduled to hear from Mervin Cato, Head of Behaviour Support Service, Nexus & Anna Vaughan, Project Manager, Nexus (LB Enfield), Rob Williams, Senior Policy Adviser, National Association of Headteachers, and Jason Marantz, Director of Education & Inclusion, LB Hackney. The commission was also scheduled to note a response from Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble, Cabinet member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care, regarding the School Estates & Education Sufficiency Strategy.

Behaviour Management & School Inclusion

The commission was scheduled to continue its in-depth review of behaviour management and school inclusion, which included hearing evidence from several contributors.

The purpose of the review was:

‘To assess the policy, practice and impact of approaches to behaviour management (both primary and secondary) in creating a safe, positive and creative environment for children to develop, learn and achieve. To identify good policy and practice in approaches to management of pupil behaviour which are inclusive and respond to the education and welfare needs of children in Hackney.’

The commission aimed to respond to objectives including: assessing the role of the local authority in supporting inclusive behaviour management in schools; reviewing the legal framework for behaviour management in schools; assessing the evidence base for individual models of behaviour management; and engaging with school leaders, staff, parents and pupils.

As part of this review, the commission was scheduled to discuss Hackney’s Alternative Education and Inclusion Transformation Plan 2024-2028, and the Hackney Education Alternative Learning Service (HEALs). According to a report prepared by Karen Powell Thomson, Consultant and Advisor: Inclusion, Alternative Provision and SEND, HEALs will be a local authority led inclusion and engagement service, incorporating a new inclusion support service bringing together several Hackney based alternative education services and providers commissioned by the local authority to support intervention and inclusion in schools more effectively.

The report stated that the review which shaped the planning for HEALs also reflects and demonstrates progress in relation to the 18 recommendations made by the Hackney Children and Young People scrutiny committee in 2021.

The report also detailed four workstreams related to the redevelopment of alternative education and integration services:

• Redevelopment and extension of Hackney’s current and core alternative provision offer.
• Re-organisation of relevant Hackney Education services to support cohesive delivery of the HEALs model.
• Revision and redevelopment of current placement, assessment and monitoring processes for alternative education (inclusion panels).
• Developing a Hackney commissioning model which secures best value in relation to both high needs block resources and a new quality outcomes framework.

The commission was also scheduled to hear from Mervin Cato, Head of Behaviour Support Service, Nexus & Anna Vaughan, Project Manager, Nexus (LB Enfield) about their work. According to a presentation, Nexus aims to reduce permanent exclusions, provide diversionary activities, and connect the community for a better, safer Enfield¹. Nexus provides mentoring, workshops and assemblies, and community support.

Rob Williams, Senior Policy Adviser, National Association of Headteachers, was also scheduled to speak.

School Estates Strategy

The commission was scheduled to note the response of Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble to the commission’s recommendations on the School Estates & Education Sufficiency Strategy².

In a letter, Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble welcomed the commission's support for the council's plans to reframe its School Estates Strategy in consultation with school leaders, cross council departments and other key stakeholders. She noted the need to move towards a school-led, borough wide planning model that is open and transparent, with a clear and coherent plan.

The reframed school estates strategy will focus on provision within local areas, which provides the basis for schools to work collectively to ensure their resilience and sustainability. Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble noted that area based collaborations and partnerships in Hackney offer improved coordination, resource optimisation, and equity focus.

Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble also addressed the issue of school amalgamations³, stating that the council is aware that the method of ‘merger', whereby one school is closed and the other is enlarged to accommodate the displaced pupils, places staff at the closing school at significant risk of redundancy. She added that the council would continue to work with the Department for Education and its London council partners to determine the best approaches to school organisational change, mindful of the existing legislation and statutory guidance.

Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble also addressed the need for additional financial controls and oversight of maintained school budgets, stating that the council recognises that schools will benefit from support in developing robust financial management and governance systems.

Work Programme

The commission was scheduled to review the work programme for the remainder of the municipal year. Items listed on the work programme included:

• SEND Area Action Plan
• Disabled Children Service
• Safer Schools Partnership
• Housing Support for Care Leavers
• Action Plan - Ofsted inspection of Children’s Social Care
• Cabinet Q & A - Mayor Woodley
• School Estates Strategy - (Falling School Rolls and Proposed School Closures and Mergers)
• Childcare & Children’s Centres
• Budget Monitoring - Children & Education Services
• CHSCP - Annual Report
• Unregistered Educational Settings
• Cabinet Q & A - DM Bramble
• School Estates & Education Sufficiency Strategy
• School Behaviour Policies