The Children, Young Persons & Education Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Family Hubs, and school attendance issues in North Northamptonshire. The committee noted positive developments in MASH and the continued focus on early intervention. Members also requested regular updates on the effectiveness and impact of Family Hubs, and on attendance, elective home education and alternative provision.

Family Hubs

The committee discussed the development of Family Hubs in North Northamptonshire and the progress made since 2023. Judy Matthews, Strategic Lead Family Hubs & Early Years, and Helene Denness, Deputy Director of Public Health, presented a report outlining the programme's achievements, challenges, and future plans.

Family hubs aim to provide joined-up, holistic support for families, especially during a child's early years. North Northamptonshire Council is one of 75 local authorities selected to receive transformation funding from the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Key achievements include:

• The launch of three Family Hub networks in Wellingborough, Kettering, and East Northants.
• The development of a Digital Front Door, which has been accessed by over 20,000 residents.
• The alignment of health-commissioned services for children aged 0-19 (or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities SEND).

The programme is now focused on opening a Family Hub network in Corby by March 2026, with a public consultation planned to inform its development.

Funding and Sustainability

Members raised concerns about potential funding gaps and the long-term sustainability of the Family Hubs programme. It was explained that while funding was secured until March 2026, the council was exploring ways to ensure the programme's continuation beyond this date, including strengthening partnerships with other organisations and the voluntary sector.

Accessibility

The committee discussed how to ensure equal access to Family Hubs, particularly for vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups. Ms Matthews explained that consultations were undertaken to identify appropriate locations, and an outreach programme and enhanced digital offer were in place to improve access.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The committee requested regular monitoring updates to assess the effectiveness and impact of the Family Hubs programme. This was agreed, with Councillor Vicki Jessup proposing, and Councillor Maurice Eglin seconding, that officers provide regular updates to the Children, Young Person and Education Scrutiny Committee. The committee voted unanimously in favour of this recommendation.

Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

Debbie Lloyd, Director of Social Care at Northamptonshire Children's Trust, presented a report on the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). The report aimed to raise awareness of the structure, function, and performance of the MASH.

The MASH plays a crucial role in coordinating safeguarding responses across Northamptonshire. According to the CYP and Education Scrutiny Committee MASH Report, it supports the council's priorities by ensuring children and families receive timely support and protection.

Key points from the report included:

• Substantial progress since 2023, with improvements in timeliness, workforce stability, and multi-agency collaboration.
• Improvements in culture, practice, and governance, as confirmed by independent peer reviews.
• Key performance indicators, referral trends, and presenting concerns, such as the rise in emotional health and child exploitation cases.
• Challenges around threshold consistency and the need for continued workforce development.
• Future plans include implementing the Liquid Logic case management system¹, aligning with the Family First Partnership reform principles, and strengthening governance through the MASH Strategic Group and the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Board.

Ms Lloyd noted that the MASH received 41,346 contacts in the period August 2024 to July 2025, but only 12% of these contacts met the threshold for social care intervention. The highest number of contacts came from the police.

Councillor Jessup suggested including housing support teams as an additional partner in the early help support system. Ms Lloyd confirmed that housing was a referrer and partner, and that her CFSS service was directly linked to families facing eviction.

Councillor Steve Geary raised the issue of multiple agencies with different priorities working together. Colin Foster, Chief Executive of Northamptonshire Children's Trust, responded that the conversion of contacts to referrals was a key metric used to challenge the partnership and that senior officers from different organisations were meeting quarterly to address any issues.

Carol, whose last name is unknown, stated that the LiquidLogic system would be going live on 15 September, and that it would improve data and enable external partners to input early help assessments. Mr Foster added that the system would address the fact that Northamptonshire had not implemented such a system in the 2010s, unlike most other areas.

School Attendance, Exclusions and Home Education

Annette Perrington, Interim Head of Inclusion, presented a report on attendance, elective home education, and alternative provision. The report highlighted the challenges, national and local context, and opportunities for action.

Ms Perrington noted that school attendance had been a focus for the government, as levels had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. She also noted that more parents were choosing to educate their children at home, and that more children were subject to suspensions and exclusions from schools.

The report noted that North Northamptonshire Council's overall attendance was broadly in line with national and regional benchmarking, but that suspensions and exclusions were higher than national or regional levels.

Councillor Chris Munday asked about fines for parents whose children miss school. Ms Perrington responded that penalty notices were a deterrent, but that the local authority acted as a check and balance.

Councillor Maurice Eglin asked where the line was drawn in terms of fining parents. Ms Perrington responded that there were limits on how many times a parent could be fined, and that the local authority would try to understand the reasons for non-attendance.

Councillor Vicki Jessup asked if special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) assessments were an issue with exclusions. Ms Perrington responded that they were, and that the time taken for timely assessments did have an impact.

Councillor Steve Geary asked if some schools were encouraging parents to home educate. Ms Perrington responded that Ofsted was keen to prevent this, and that the local authority collected information from parents who had chosen to take their children off-roll.

The committee discussed the challenges of ensuring that children educated at home received a suitable education. Ms Perrington explained that the local authority asked parents to provide an indication of how they planned to provide an education for their child, and that they could enforce attendance at school through a school attendance order.

Councillor Paul Brooke observed that poorer families were more likely to be affected by fines for taking children on holiday during term time.

The committee requested that a regular monitoring update be added to the scrutiny work plan in order to receive a regular monitoring update in relation to attendance, elective home education and alternative provision.

Scrutiny Work Programme

The committee noted the content of the Scrutiny Work Programme 2025-26.