Ms Sam Gower
Council: Richmond upon Thames
Council Profile: View on council website
Activity Timeline
Meetings Attended Note this may include planned future meetings.
5 meetings
Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 13 November 2025 7.00 pm
The Education and Children's Services Committee convened to discuss school place planning, childcare sufficiency, and financial performance. The committee noted the annual update on school place planning, highlighting concerns about falling primary school rolls and the financial impact on schools, and also approved the childcare sufficiency assessment, while raising questions about affordability and access for disadvantaged families. Councillors also reviewed and approved several reports from Achieving for Children (AfC), and discussed budget overspends in social care and the dedicated schools grant.
Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 18 September 2025 7.00 pm
The Education and Children's Services Committee met to discuss safeguarding, budget monitoring, special educational needs, children in care, and complaints. The committee approved the Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership annual report, noted the overspend on the dedicated schools grant, and celebrated the 'outstanding' rating given to the council's children's services by Ofsted.
Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 12 June 2025 7.00 pm
Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 27 March 2025 7.00 pm
Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 6 February 2025 7.00 pm
Decisions from Meetings
53 decisions · Page 4 of 11
Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership annual report 2024/25.
From: Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 18 September 2025 7.00 pm - September 18, 2025
... to note the Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership's annual report for 2024-2025, acknowledging the partnership's work in safeguarding children within the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames.
Recommendations Approved
Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services
From: Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 18 September 2025 7.00 pm - September 18, 2025
...the committee noted the outcome of the Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services, which graded the services as 'outstanding', and the actions being taken to address Ofsted's recommendations for ongoing improvement, particularly regarding consistency in addressing long-term neglect and the effectiveness of out-of-hours child protection planning.
Recommendations Approved
Annual Statutory Complaints Report – Achieving for Childrens Services 2024-2025
From: Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 18 September 2025 7.00 pm - September 18, 2025
...to review and note the Annual Statutory Complaints Report – Achieving for Childrens Services 2024-2025, which provides a summary analysis of social care complaints within Achieving for Children’s Services.
Recommendations Approved
Apologies
From: Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 18 September 2025 7.00 pm - September 18, 2025
Recommendations Approved
Declarations of Interest
From: Education and Children's Services Committee - Thursday, 18 September 2025 7.00 pm - September 18, 2025
...to approve the recommendations, noting that there were no declarations of interest.
Recommendations Approved
Summary
Meetings Attended: 5
Average per Month: 0.5
Decisions Recorded: 53