The Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission of Newham Council was scheduled to discuss the Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership's annual report, post-16 progression, skills and employment opportunities, and the performance dashboard for Children and Young People's Services. The meeting also included a review of the commission's work programme for the upcoming year.

Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report

The commission was scheduled to review the Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership's (NSCP) annual report for 2024/25. This report details the partnership's safeguarding arrangements, progress against its priorities, and lessons learned through its quality assurance and learning framework. It highlights the context of safeguarding in Newham, noting the borough's diverse population and challenges such as child poverty and inequality. The report also outlines the NSCP's structure, including its Executive Group and various subgroups, and details partner contributions and budget allocations. Key priorities for the partnership include addressing all-age exploitation, modern-day slavery, domestic abuse, child sexual abuse, and child mental health. The report also covers progress in areas such as the implementation of the Youth Safety Strategy, the response to child sexual abuse, and efforts to improve child mental health services. Specific attention was given to domestic abuse, with updates on the Borough-Wide Domestic Abuse Strategy and the Safe and Together model. The report also detailed the outcomes of the Ofsted and CQC Local Area SEND Inspection, progress in supporting care leavers, initiatives to address children missing education, and developments within the Youth Justice Service. Finally, it covered work on private fostering, support for refugees and asylum seekers, and ensuring a safer workforce.

Post-16 Progression, Skills and Access to Employment

The commission was scheduled to examine how post-16 progression, adult learning, and employment support are delivered across Newham's directorates. The report detailed the borough's strong post-16 participation rates and efforts to reduce young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET). It outlined the support available through services like Our Newham Work and Our Newham Youth, including careers advice, employability workshops, and apprenticeships. The report also highlighted the role of the Newham Apprenticeship Scheme and the use of the Apprenticeship Levy. Adult learning programmes, delivered by Our Newham Learning & Skills, were also discussed, focusing on ESOL, digital skills, and green training. The report emphasised the importance of partnership working with colleges, schools, and employers to ensure young people have access to suitable pathways and employment opportunities. It also referenced the Mayor's report, Our Young People, Our Future, which sets out the council's commitment to making Newham the best place for children and young people. The report also touched upon upcoming reforms to the post-16 education and skills system.

LB Newham Children's Services Key Performance Indicator Dashboard

The commission was scheduled to review the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Dashboard for Children's Services. This dashboard provides an overview of performance across various areas, including health visiting, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision, school suspensions and exclusions, persistent absence, knife crime injury victims, youth justice system entry rates, re-referrals into children's social care, children on child protection plans, children returning to care, and care leavers in employment, education, or training. The dashboard includes data for October 2025 and highlights areas of concern and progress, with commentary on specific indicators and their performance against targets and benchmarks. For example, it noted the percentage of infants receiving a New Birth Visit within 14 days, the timeliness of EHCP issuance, suspension rates for White and Black Caribbean ethnicity pupils, permanent exclusions, persistent absence in primary and secondary schools, knife crime injury victims aged 1-24, first-time entrants to the Youth Justice System, re-referral rates (overall and for Black and Black British children), children becoming the subject of a Child Protection Plan for a second or subsequent time, children returning to care, and care leavers in employment, education, or training.

Work Programme 2025-2026

The commission was scheduled to review and agree its work programme for the 2025-2026 municipal year. The proposed work programme includes a range of topics for future scrutiny, such as Pupil Place Planning and Early Years Sufficiency, Youth Safety, Justice and Risks in the Community, Youth Empowerment and Youth Voice, the Newham Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report, and Post-16 Progression, Skills and Access to Employment. Future meetings are also scheduled to cover Corporate Parenting Annual Updates, Child Protection Annual Reports, Foster Carer Recruitment and Placement Sufficiency, Educational Inequality and Disproportionality, Children's Social Care National Developments and Local Response, Education Access and Outcomes, and the Virtual School Annual Report. The programme also includes standing items on Safeguarding in LB Newham and the Children's Services Performance Dashboard. A reserve item on Transitions to Adulthood is being taken forward as a Task and Finish review.