The Children and Young People Policy Committee met to discuss several key issues, including approving funding for home to school travel, addressing concerns about social media use by council staff, and receiving updates on the sanctuary strategy and youth engagement initiatives. The committee approved a drawdown of £0.523 million from the council’s Transformation Reserve to improve the home to school travel service and requested an independent investigation into social media use by staff. They also noted reports on the sanctuary strategy, a migrant research project, and NEET reduction efforts.

• Home to School Travel Phase 2 Business Case The committee approved the drawdown of £0.523 million from the council’s Transformation Reserve to fund the implementation of the Home to School Travel Phase 2 project. This project aims to improve the service while developing more value for money travel options. The decision was passed with 6 members voting in favour and 3 abstentions. The project intends to focus on three strategic areas: routing and costs, communication and demand management, and technology and systems. Actions include increasing contractors on the framework, renegotiating service level agreements, expanding the electric vehicle fleet, establishing collection points, reducing reliance on contractor travel escorts, implementing changes to the post-16 policy, establishing an independent travel training programme, engaging with the Bristol Parent Carer organisation, and improving data management and digital platforms. A key component of the plan is to reduce the reliance on external contractors and provide further employment opportunities for council-employed travel escorts. The report noted that a public consultation around changes to the post-16 travel policy had taken place before a decision at cabinet in March 2024[^2]. [^2]: The consultation report can be found online.
• Update on concerns about social media use The committee approved a request to the Executive Director: Children and Education to commission an independent investigation into concerns about social media use by staff, as raised in a 2022 report, as well as more widely. The Executive Director will identify a suitably qualified reviewer and determine the specific terms of reference/scope of the investigation in consultation with the members of the Children and Young People Policy Committee. The decision was made with a unanimous vote in favour. The service will work closely and confidentially with any parents or staff directly affected, and a report will be brought to update the committee with the outcomes of the investigation. The original concerns were raised in July 2022, leading to a legal team investigation and a subsequent golden motion requesting an independent investigation, which was not initially taken forward.
• NEET Reduction and Youth Guarantee Report The committee considered a report providing an update on progress following the March Committee on Youth Engagement and Post 16 Education, Training and Employment. The report noted the current level of young people who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training), the issues impacting on NEET performance, progress in developing and delivering work streams and NEET reduction activities, and future planned activity to achieve improvements in post 16 outcomes. According to the latest data, young people with a Bristol postcode includes: 373 young people aged 15/16 young people at Risk of Becoming NEET (July 2025), 697 young people aged 16/17 who are NEET (July 2025), 2,235 young people aged 18-24 who are claiming out-of-work benefits (June 2025). The Post 16 Team have analysed the factors behind the spike in NEET levels in 2024/25: Lack of early intervention and prevention of NEET, Lack of sufficient Post 16 provision, Travel barriers, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Since the March Committee report, there have been considerable work underway in the Employment, Skills and Lifelong Learning Service to set up and deliver NEET reduction activities, including: Bristol WORKS, NEET Reduction Programme, South Bristol Youth Guarantee. The report also noted wider work streams that impact on Post 16 outcomes: Better Education Outcomes, Children and Family Services, Early Help and Prevention, Youth Voice. To continue to drive post 16 improvements, the priority work areas for the next 6 months include: Strengthen our NEET Reduction offer as part of a new regional framework, Continuing to improve specialist support and post 16 pathways, Ensuring that post 16 and employment and skills are at the heart of new locality teams, Developing a Bristol City Council 'youth guarantee' through an inclusive recruitment proposal, Setting up a Bristol NEET Reduction Board with external stakeholders, Feeding into the Post 16 and Skills White Paper Taskforce. The report included supporting evidence in the appendices: Bristol NEET Scorecard 2024/25, Bristol NEET Dashboard July 2025, South Bristol Youth Guarantee Trailblazer Steering Group Report July 2025, Robins Foundation Peer Researcher Report. The Bristol Robins Foundation completed a project involving young people with experience of being NEET, trained as peer researchers, who interviewed other young people about their experience education and their post 16 transition. Their final report outlines key findings, including barriers and the potential solutions, presented to senior education managers on the 9th June.
• Information item - Sanctuary Strategy and Action Plan The committee received information on the draft Sanctuary Strategy and Action Plan 2025 to 2030, which is scheduled for public consultation starting 1 September for six weeks. The final version will be presented to the committee for approval on 27 November 2025. The strategy outlines how the council will work across all services and with partners to support sanctuary seekers, focusing on three priorities: Meeting Basic Needs, Promoting Opportunity, and Building Compassionate and Resilient Communities. The strategy is designed to provide a framework for actions that will be reviewed as the political and financial landscape changes. The action plan includes 52 actions across the three priority areas, addressing health, housing, safeguarding, legal support, education, ESOL classes, cultural awareness, and removing barriers to accessing services. The actions will be funded through central government funding, predominantly the Asylum Fund. The strategy builds upon the existing Refugee, Asylum Seeker and Inclusion Strategy 2019-2024 and takes into account the significant growth in the number of refugees and asylum seekers in Bristol.
• No Recourse to Public funds (NRPF) block accommodation contract The committee reviewed a proposal to spend up to £4.1 million over two years on block accommodation contracts for families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). This involves contracting with up to four providers through a mini competition within the existing emergency accommodation framework. The aim is to move away from spot bookings to a more managed approach, ensuring better service quality and cost control. The NRPF team supports destitute families and vulnerable adults who cannot access benefits due to their immigration status, providing accommodation and financial support under Section 17 of the Children Act and the Care Act. The block contracts will allow the service to manage its own portfolio of emergency accommodation, reduce reliance on expensive hotel accommodations, and introduce contractual agreements to manage disputes and set utility and property management standards. The report noted that the service aims to remain within budget and the initial contract will be for a smaller number of properties (70-90).
• Children's Community Health Partnership (CCHP) – current due to end March 2028 The committee received an update on current and proposed arrangements to recommission children's community care by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) through its Children's Community Health Partnership (CCHP). The current contract with Sirona, subcontracted in part to Avon & Wiltshire Partnership NHS Trust, has been extended to 31 March 2028. The contract includes approximately £1.8 million contributed by Children & Families and Education & Skills directorates, with £11 million funded by Public Health. The CCHP includes services such as the Public Health Nursing Service, the Young People's Specialist Substance Misuse Treatment Service, elements of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), early years health services, and Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) services. A full options paper around services to be commissioned by Children, Families and Education will be brought to Committee as part of the recommissioning.
• Information item - 'Find your village' migrant research project The committee were informed about the 'Find your village' migrant research project in Barton Hill, presented by Dr Tom Allport from the University of Bristol, and Samira Musse from Barton Hill Activity Club. The project focuses on how migrant families look after and advocate for each other, replicating the ethos of it takes a village to raise a child and promoting a collaborative approach to child-raising. The research aims to activate migrant communities' traditions, cultures, and knowledge through coordinated action by communities and agencies. The project has found that community leaders can help communities meet needs that statutory or official processes do not, and that leaders understand and draw on community strengths, using their close personal connections to build trust and networks within their community.
• Policy Committee Work Programme Setting - Outcome Report The committee noted the work programme update, which included the establishment of a Task and Finish Group to review out-of-area placements for children in care. The committee also reviewed several new policy development ideas, including transition support for young people with complex needs, early years and childcare sufficiency, ESOL provision, liaison with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA), youth and play work, SEND policies and EHCP assessment efficiency, and residential placements for children.
• Q1/P2 Finance update report The committee noted the Period 2 Finance Outturn Report 2025/26, which was presented to the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee on 14 July 2025. The report provided information and analysis on the council's financial performance against the approved budget and its forecast use of resources for the financial year 2025/26. The report highlighted a General Fund forecast overspend of £9.6 million, a Housing Revenue Account overspend of £1.3 million, and a Dedicated Schools Grant overspend of £37.2 million.
• Corporate Risk Management Report Q1 25/26 The committee noted the Corporate Risk Report, which provided an update on significant strategic risks to achieving the council's objectives set in the Corporate Strategy 2025-2030. The report included a summary of the Children and Education Policy Committee risks, with two high-scoring risks identified: possible failure of safeguarding vulnerable children and the risk that the statutory instrument related to the Dedicated Schools Grant is not extended beyond March 2026.