The Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee of Tower Hamlets Council met on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, to discuss key issues affecting young people and children in the borough. The meeting featured presentations from the Young Mayors team, who outlined their priorities and concerns, and an update on the Child Healthy Weight programme, detailing progress and future plans.

Young Mayors' Priorities and Concerns

The Young Mayors team, comprising Young Mayor Moussa and Deputy Young Mayors Amaira Katyal, Selina Mia, Aliyah, Nicole Rahman, and Leticia Ojo, presented their manifesto priorities and highlighted areas where they believe the council can better support young people.

Mental Health and Well-being: Leticia Ojo, representing the cabinet for health and well-being, emphasised the urgent need for accessible mental health support in schools. She highlighted the concerning statistic that over 40,000 children and young people waited more than two years for mental health support between 2022 and 2023. Her manifesto priority is the implementation of trained counsellors across all Tower Hamlets schools, providing consistent, on-site mental health support. This was echoed by other members of the Young Mayors team, who noted the lack of designated mental health counsellors in their own schools and the stigma surrounding mental health discussions. They stressed the importance of properly trained counsellors who can provide confidential support without judgement.

Online Safety: Nicole Rahman, cabinet for environment, raised concerns about online safety, noting that harmful content, cyberbullying, and unrealistic body standards contribute to anxiety and low self-esteem among young people. Her priority is to address online safety through protection, education, and accountability.

Access to Sports and Active Spaces: Leticia Ojo also advocated for accessible, free sports and active spaces for young people, stating that access to physical activity should not be a privilege. She highlighted barriers such as cost, safety, and lack of facilities in Tower Hamlets, and proposed that providing such spaces would combat health inequalities, address obesity, and improve mental health.

Environmental Literacy and Action: Nicole Rahman, as cabinet for environment, stressed the importance of practical environmental literacy for young people. She proposed structured volunteering programmes within schools and youth centres, such as litter picking and planting initiatives, to be recognised and rewarded. She also pointed out the issue of insufficient bin provision in areas like Commercial Road contributing to littering, advocating for improved bin accessibility and consistent education on personal responsibility.

Social and Economic Development: Aaliyah, cabinet for social and economic development, spoke about the stark disparities in opportunities across Tower Hamlets, citing the difference between areas like Canary Wharf and Whitechapel. Her manifesto points focus on education, including equal access to work experience and compulsory CV building and employability workshops. She also prioritised youth opportunities, aiming to open up access to corporate fields like law firms, which are often only available through personal connections. Aaliyah also highlighted the cycle of poverty and its link to crime and lost opportunities, advocating for early intervention through youth clubs, mentoring, and safe spaces.

Community Cohesion and Inclusivity: Selina Mia, cabinet for community, identified a rise in radicalism and a lack of community cohesion as key issues. She proposed holding assemblies at the start of each academic year to educate students about opportunities with Young Tower Hamlets and improving outreach to schools to inform students about events and safe spaces. Selina also shared her personal experience as a young carer and an ethnic minority woman, highlighting the communication barriers faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and advocating for better accessibility to British Sign Language (BSL) courses.

Education and Skills Development: Amaira Katyal, cabinet for education, focused on bridging the gap between schools and the council to ensure services meet the highest standards. Her manifesto points include advocating for work opportunities, skills outside of school such as public speaking and coding, and enhanced mental health support within schools, particularly for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). She noted the limited support available within schools and the challenges faced by students with SEND.

Youth Participation and Voice: Young Mayor Moussa emphasised the importance of youth participation and strengthening the youth voice. He proposed creating a local youth assembly where students from every school could provide feedback. He also highlighted the need to make it easier for young people to find work, suggesting incentives for local businesses to employ more young people. Moussa also advocated for extending the free school meal scheme to all individuals under 18 who are not working.

Specific Concerns Raised by Councillors and Co-opted Members:

• Past Initiatives: Councillor Suluk Ahmed questioned the perceived decline in opportunities offered by the borough compared to when he was younger, referencing past initiatives like the Rally International Initiative and council-endorsed internships, and asked if the Young Mayors would petition to bring them back.
• Underestimation of Young People: Councillor Shahaveer Shubo Hussain asked in what sense young people felt underestimated by the council and what offers they felt were lacking. Aaliyah responded that young people have valuable ideas and want to be part of decision-making processes, and that while Tower Hamlets offers opportunities, there is a lack of awareness and advertising.
• Environmental Action and Shared Spaces: Hasan Chowdhury noted that environmental issues, such as littering, are taken more seriously when reported by adults than by young people. He stressed that young people should be involved in decision-making for initiatives that directly affect them, such as new youth clubs. Nicole Rahman added that young people should also be responsible for maintaining shared spaces.
• Smartphone Use and Age Divisions: Dr. Phillip Rice raised the dilemma of smartphone use among young people, questioning how many would be present if there were controls on access for under-16s. He also inquired about the availability of mental health counsellors in schools. The Young Mayors responded that mobile phones are used for progressive academic achievements and that many schools lack designated mental health counsellors. They also highlighted the stigma around mental health and the quality of school counselling compared to external therapy.
• Free School Meals and Gender Gap in Leisure: Councillor Hasnat Chowdhury asked about the reasons for the doubling of excess weight in Year 6 children compared to Reception, and if free school meals could be a contributing factor. Katie Cole, Associate Director of Public Health, explained that obesity is driven by multiple factors, including the environment and food availability, and that free school meals are an effective intervention. Councillor Hasnat Chowdhury also raised concerns about the gender gap in accessing leisure and physical activity among girls, suggesting a girls' physical activity action plan.
• Food Waste and School Meals: Shiblu Miah raised concerns about food waste in schools and asked about monitoring outcomes. Katie Cole explained the Fantastic Food in Schools programme and the concept of family style dining as a way to reduce waste and encourage healthier eating.
• SEND Support and Free School Meals: Councillor Abdul Mannan inquired about how children with SEND access free school meals and benefit from school food provision. Matthew Quin, Associate Director of Public Health, explained that SEND children are included in holiday clubs and that a Place-Based Partnership is being developed to improve physical activity access for targeted groups, including children with SEND.

Child Healthy Weight Update

Katie Cole, Associate Director of Public Health for Children and Families, presented an update on the Child Healthy Weight programme. The report detailed progress against eight recommendations made in a previous scrutiny session, covering food, physical activity, and psychology and culture.

Key Achievements and Progress:

• School Meals: Improvements have been made to school meals in both primary and secondary schools, including an award for improving uptake of universal free school meals. An opt-out scheme for free school meals was developed, identifying approximately 850 new eligible pupils. The Fantastic Food in Schools programme continues to improve the whole school food environment.
• Youth Services: The Be Well Junior leisure service offers all-inclusive access to leisure centres for young people. Public Health is working with Young Tower Hamlets to develop their health and well-being offer, including a training needs assessment and a staff training programme.
• Training: Training programmes have been delivered to various professionals, including student nurses, GPs, health visitors, and children's social care staff, on child healthy weight, infant feeding, and starting solids.
• Physical Activity and Green Spaces: The draft Local Plan includes policies to improve green spaces, urban greening, and play spaces. The council is advocating for new housing developments to meet amenity and play space standards.
• Food Security: The council is supplying food aid organisations with fresh fruit and vegetables and culturally appropriate food items. A fruit and vegetable voucher scheme is ongoing.
• Social Spaces: Efforts are being made to make fast food outlets healthier through the Food For Health programme, with 75 businesses holding awards.
• SEND Support: Holiday clubs for children with SEND are funded, and a review of the junior SEND physical activity offer is underway. Efforts are being made to ensure children with SEND access their free school meal entitlement.
• Underweight Children and Eating Disorders: A review of underweight children and the availability of support services has been conducted. A faltering growth pathway is being established within the health visiting service, and compassionate key messages on healthy eating are being developed.

Impact and Future Plans:

The latest data shows some improvements in child healthy weight in Tower Hamlets. At reception age, the prevalence of overweight children is now lower than the national average. However, in Year 6, the proportion of children with excess weight remains higher than the national average. The prevalence of severe obesity at both reception and Year 6 remains static and higher than the national average.

The review of the Child Healthy Weight programme identified that the broad child healthy weight framing could be unwieldy and sometimes led to a focus on individual behaviour rather than systemic causes. To address this, future work will be structured into three distinct programmes:

1. Moving Well: Focusing on affordability, accessibility, safety, skills, enjoyment, and daily integration of physical activity.
2. Eating Well: Focusing on affordability, access to healthy food, planning and preparation skills, enjoyable mealtimes, breastfeeding support, and healthy eating at school and outside the home.
3. Specialist Support: Focusing on early identification and support for health issues such as dental decay and excess weight, ensuring access to evidence-based, holistic, and family-centred support.

These programmes will be aligned with adult healthy weight programmes to create a whole-family approach. The council will continue to report through existing governance mechanisms.

Other Matters:

• RHS Guidance: Concerns were raised regarding updated RHS guidance which is still outstanding, and the rationale for the council's continued use of current guidance.
• Transport Unit and Passenger Services Consultation: Members questioned why the public consultation on Transport Unit and Passenger Services for children with SEND was closed and recommended it be re-opened.
• Meeting Schedule: The next meeting of the Sub-Committee was rescheduled to Monday, 16 March 2026, at 5:00 p.m. to accommodate Ramadan.

The meeting concluded with thanks to Katie Cole for her contributions to children's health and healthy weight initiatives in the borough.