The Children, Education and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee of West Northamptonshire Council was scheduled to discuss the support provided to care leavers, including the Care Experienced Pledge and pathways into education, employment, and training. The committee was also set to review the annual report from the Northamptonshire Virtual School and consider a proposed framework for commissioning non-school alternative provision.

Support for Care Leavers

The committee was scheduled to scrutinise the support offered by West Northamptonshire Council and the wider community to young people who are in care and those who are leaving care. This discussion was planned to cover three key areas: the Care Experienced Pledge¹, which encourages local organisations to support individuals with care experience; the education, employment, and training (EET)² status of care leavers; and the housing pathway³ for those leaving care. A report on care leavers in education, employment, and training indicated that there were 548 care leavers aged 17-24, with 204 of them not in education, employment, or training (NEET). The report highlighted a growing population of vulnerable care leavers requiring support and noted a trend of increasing numbers of care leavers over the past two years. It also detailed various targeted interventions and partnership successes, such as work experience programmes with the NHS and Waitrose, alongside challenges including rising national NEET levels and barriers related to health and emotional wellbeing. Recommendations included advocating for and expanding work experience opportunities for care leavers and strengthening partnerships with private organisations.

Northamptonshire Virtual School Annual Report 2024-25

The committee was scheduled to receive and consider the annual report from the Northamptonshire Virtual School⁴ for the academic year 2024-25. The report outlines the Virtual School's structure, activities, and achievements. Key strengths highlighted included high-quality Personal Education Plans (PEPs)⁵ with strong compliance rates, effective support from the Lead Practitioner for Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)⁶, and positive collaboration with educational psychology services. The report also detailed progress in streamlining internal systems and improving data analysis, with a focus on attendance and part-time timetables. Future areas for development included strengthening strategic oversight, enhancing data systems, improving attendance, reviewing post-16 support, and increasing participation and communication with young people. The report provided a profile of the Virtual School cohort, detailing gender, ethnicity, and the prevalence of Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs)⁷ and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)⁸. It also presented outcome data for various educational stages, including Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 2, and Key Stage 4, comparing West Northamptonshire's performance with national averages.

Non-School Alternative Provision Framework

The committee was set to consider West Northamptonshire Council's proposed future approach to commissioning Non-School Alternative Provision (AP)⁹. Alternative provision is defined by the Department for Education (DfE)¹⁰ as education arranged for children who, for reasons such as exclusion, illness, or other factors, would not otherwise receive suitable education. Non-school AP refers to providers not registered with Ofsted or ISI, which can include therapeutic settings, outdoor centres, and tutoring services. Currently, there are no formal frameworks in place, with placements being sourced through spot contracts and individual agreements. The proposal is to develop a quality assurance framework for both existing and new providers, operating as a multi-supplier open framework that would reopen twice a year. This framework would be divided into six lots: Tutoring, SEMH, Vocational, Re-engagement, Post 16, and Specialist. The report outlined key risks, such as non-compliant procurement and variable provider quality, and proposed mitigations including structured contract management and rigorous quality assurance. The anticipated benefits include improved quality, consistency, accountability, and value for money, with an estimated budget of £40 million over five years, funded from the Designated Schools Grant¹¹.

Review of Committee Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review and note its work programme for the 2025/26 period. The work programme document outlines topics identified and scheduled for discussion, as well as those identified but not yet scheduled, and completed items. For the current meeting, the Support For Care Leavers and Virtual School Annual Report were listed, with the Non School Alternative Provision Framework also on the agenda. Other planned topics for future meetings included support for children and young people with SEND, family help and family hubs, smartphone-free policies in schools, support for foster carers, empty homes, and the future delivery of social housing services. The work programme also detailed planned Task and Finish Group activities, including a review of the in-housing of Northamptonshire Partnership Homes housing stock and services, and input into the development of the West Northamptonshire Youth Offer Strategy.