The Children and Families Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Waltham Forest Youth Justice Annual Plan, the Family Hubs Programme, and the Scrutiny Report. Key decisions included noting the Youth Justice Plan and the Scrutiny Report, and agreeing to bring forward updates on the SEND dashboard and further discussions on the Forward Plan.

Waltham Forest Youth Justice Annual Plan

The committee reviewed the Waltham Forest Youth Justice Plan for 2024-2027. The plan outlines the service's strategic priorities: reducing serious youth violence, reducing first-time entrants into the youth justice system, tackling racism and racial disparities, and improving outcomes through consistently good practice. The report detailed progress made in the past year, including delivering the Stay Safe programme for children subject to Out of Court Disposals (OOCDs) and Post Court Orders, commissioning Street Doctors for preventative intervention, and reviewing the OOCD process to strengthen panels.

Significant focus was placed on tackling racism and racial disparities, with the service participating in a research project with the University of Bedfordshire to investigate ethnic disproportionality at the gateway to the youth justice system. The plan also highlighted the overrepresentation of Black boys at all stages of the justice service.

For the upcoming year, the Youth Justice Service plans to implement an integrated gangs' team, develop a knife crime mission statement, and enhance focus on knife crime offences at the High-Risk Panel. The report also noted a reduction in the Youth At Risk (YAR) team due to loss of external funding.

Family Hubs Programme

The committee received an update on the Family Hubs Programme, which aims to join up and enhance services for parents and carers, improving health and education outcomes for children. Waltham Forest has four main Family Hub sites, supported by 22 spoke sites, including libraries and VCS locations. The programme is jointly led by Early Help Children & Families and Public Health.

The report highlighted the significant increase in the number of families accessing the hubs, with a 23% rise in both volume and reach in 2024/25 compared to the previous year. Services offered include play and learning activities, health and wellbeing support, family support, and parenting programmes. The report detailed specific support provided, such as the Learning Together home learning programme, parenting programmes like Triple P Baby and Mellow for Dad's, and infant feeding support.

The committee heard about the provision of SEND support through the SEND Parent Navigator offer, which provides practical help and guidance to families with children suspected to be autistic or diagnosed with autism. The report also detailed parenting programmes specifically for parents of children with SEND, including Connective Parenting, Triple P Stepping Stones, Cygnet, and EarlyBird.

The report also touched upon the outreach model, which aims to engage with seldom-heard families and build relationships with local VCS and faith sector groups. The outreach team conducted numerous visits to schools, libraries, health centres, and community events to promote the Family Hubs offer.

The Scrutiny Report

Ms Rosie Whillock, Scrutiny Officer, introduced the report, which invited the committee to review the draft Forward Plan for the 2025/26 municipal year. The committee discussed potential items for future inclusion, including inviting head teachers to speak on Virtual Schools, investigating child sexual and criminal exploitation, and adding the rationalisation of the school estate to the forward plan. The committee also agreed that pre-meetings would take place virtually and in-person on an alternate basis.

The committee noted the Action Tracker and Recommendation Tracker from previous meetings, which provide updates on actions requested and recommendations made by the committee.

Decisions Made:

• The Waltham Forest Youth Justice Annual Plan was noted.
• The Family Hubs Programme update was noted.
• The Scrutiny Report, including the draft Forward Plan, was noted.
• Officers were tasked with bringing 6-monthly update reports on SEND inspection improvements, including a RAG system, to future committee meetings.
• Officers were tasked with bringing the SEND dashboard to a future committee meeting, subject to the permission of the SEND Strategic Board.
• Officers were tasked with discussing the potential of inviting head teachers to speak when the committee discusses Virtual Schools.
• Officers were tasked with investigating whether an item on Child Sexual Exploitation and Child Criminal Exploitation could be brought forward.
• The rationalisation of the school estate was agreed to be added to the forward plan.