Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and to note the attendance of any substitute members.

The Panel noted the attendance of the following substitute member:

Councillor Edger for Councillor Mrs Ryder.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s Social Care and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on 20 January 2010.

Matter Arising 

Further details of the Committed Capita One (EMS) upgrade, requested by CS&L Overview and Scrutiny Panel 20 January 2010

Capita are continuing to migrate ONE (EMS) software from its existing outdated environment to the industry standard Dot Net (.Net) technology.  This project was initiated in 2007 and will run until March 2012 according to the current implementation schedule.  There are significant costs associated with this migration which have increased greatly since initial quotes where provided by Capita.  This is due to the increase in software migration prices year on year and an increase in implementation costs.  There has also been further information from Capita on annual maintenance charges because of the migration.

The costs of moving to another supplier, should one exist that could meet our business needs, would be prohibitive at this stage.

Playbuilder Briefing Note, requested by CS&L Overview and Scrutiny Panel 20 January 2010

A breifing note providing further details in respect of the Playbuilder Project is attached.

The Chairman expressed thanks for the tour of Bracknell and Wokingham College and conveyed her good impressions of the new facility.

Further details of the Committed Capita One (EMS) upgrade and a briefing note on the Playbuilder Project were provided for the Panel.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s Services and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on 20 January 2010 be approved as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman.

Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, including the existence and nature of the party whip, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest relating to any items on the agenda, nor any indications that members would be participating whilst under the party whip.

Any other items which, pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman decides are urgent.

There were no urgent items of business.

To consider the latest trends, priorities and pressures in terms of departmental performance as reported in the PMR for the third quarter (October to December) of 2009/10 relating to Children's Services and Learning, giving particular attention to details of performance indicators relating to children and young people’s participation in high quality physical education and sport, child obesity and take up of school lunches.

Panel members are asked to give advance notice to the Overview and Scrutiny Team of any questions relating to the PMR where possible.

Please bring the previously circulated Performance Monitoring Report to the meeting.  Copies are available on request and attached to this agenda if viewed online.

The Chief Officer: Access and Inclusion, introduced the Performance Monitoring Report (PMR) for the third quarter of 2009/10 (October to December) relating to Children, Young People and Learning. Performance relating to child obesity, children and young people’s participation in high quality physical education (P.E.) and sport, and take up of school lunches had been identified for particular attention.

The Chairman welcomed Dr Angela Snowling, Consultant in Public Health, who gave a presentation entitled ‘Staying Healthy – a life course prevention programme’, which focused on tackling health inequalities through a lifecourse approach concentrating on the most deprived areas, an overview of the commissioning process, the Staying Healthy programme and the outcome of national performance indicators NI 55 and NI 56 for childhood obesity. The Staying Healthy programme consisted of the breastfeeding peer education project, the family weight management project, the supported voucher scheme for adult obesity, and the healthy life checks project.

There had been problems with data sharing in NHS Berkshire East but data would now be uploaded to a single website in order to simplify measures and access. Most of the indicators in health were annual and in the case of obesity, for example, the actual figures were too small to be published.

Figures from the evidence base which prompted the breastfeeding peer education project in NHS Berkshire East showed that children were less likely to become obese if they were breastfed and this could have a lifelong impact on obesity rates. NHS Berkshire East were awaiting confirmation from the Strategic Health Authority regarding possible funding.

The target group for the breastfeeding project was young families in the most deprived areas, such as expectant mothers and their babies. It was not just a peer education project. The possibility of awarding a qualification as part of the training and eventually working alongside health visitors would be explored. There would be an operational plan for releasing in-year costs. For the family weight management service there was a shortlist of five named providers and a very formal tendering process. The project was commissioning for outcomes and the aim was for ninety families to complete the course and achieve significant weight loss.

Figures on long term life expectancy in men and women showed that approximately a quarter of all deaths from each group was caused by a form of cancer. One purpose of the Staying Healthy programme was to tackle underlying risk factors for cancers and cardiovascular diseases. The top three factors affecting infant mortality rates were maternal obesity, smoking in pregnancy and infectious diseases. There had been an increase in smoking in younger women.

NHS Berkshire East would work with the local hospitals, children’s centres, early years centres and breastfeeding charities to promote breastfeeding and would monitor the prevalence of breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks from birth. The most deprived areas of Bracknell Forest were Wildridings and Central, and Harmans Water, as less than a quarter of mothers in these areas maintained breastfeeding by 6-8 weeks. Only one in three children were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To receive a progress report on the ‘Grow Our Own’ Project including case studies of people who have benefited from the scheme.

The Chief Adviser: Learning and Achievement, introduced the progress report on the ‘Grow Our Own’ Project including case studies of people who had benefited from the scheme.

The Head of Adult and Community Learning, who was also the Grow Our Own Project Manager, presented the report on the project, which was jointly funded with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) to provide support and training for non-employed residents in both boroughs. The training would complement existing employment skills and the project was run from the Open Learning Centre in Bracknell Forest. The project involved activity to engage clients and build partnerships with support organisations, such as Children’s Centres, Family Support Advisers, Job Centre Plus, Extended Schools team, and Bracknell & Wokingham College.

The new Client Adviser for Bracknell Forest had started in February 2010 and so far there had been seventeen client interactions. The Grow Our Own Project Manager had been invited to take part in a conference regarding the project. The case studies of the project involved people of differing ages and work experience, for example one client attended E2E (Entry to Employment) which was aimed at 16-18 year olds.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

• South East England Development Agency funding continued to be used until November 2009 for all project costs. Bracknell Forest Council had committed £218,884 to support the project and a budget plan showed continuity up to May 2011. Funding was being drawn from Section 106 contributions and £9,337 had been funded to date via this method. No funding stream had been identified for beyond May 2011 as yet. If no other funding was found for after this time, then the project would likely cease. There was concern for how the project would stay viable as clients involved with the project would be potentially disadvantaged by its end. Funding for the joint initiative also came from RBWM to be paid in ‘tranches’.
• The Chief Adviser: Learning and Achievement, would confirm the radius of use within Bracknell Forest for the Section 106 funding for the ‘Grow Our Own’ Project.
• The project targets and outcomes for Quarter 1 2010/11 commenced from January 2010, but the Client Adviser for the project did not start until February 2010, so up to February there were only administration costs.
• Clients who had been unemployed for a long period of time would possibly require more support and training.
• The project did not qualify for the government employer’s incentive scheme with reward points and cash back as the clients would need to be registered unemployed and the project was not a Department of Work and Pensions contracted service. Only employers providing training were eligible. The project was ineligible for other grants until clients had been unemployed for six months or more.
• The Grow Our Own Project Manager would provide an update report and results of the ‘Grow Our Own’ Project for the October Panel meeting.

A report providing further details in respect of the provision of new youth facilities in South Bracknell is attached.

The Panel received a report providing further details in respect of the provision of new youth facilities in South Bracknell. As part of the transfer of housing stock to Bracknell Forest Homes, the Council had made a commitment to invest £1million from the proceeds into youth facilities in South Bracknell. Great Hollands had been identified as a priority area for new youth facilities and a potential site had been found. This was welcome news and the Panel congratulated those who had been working on the project.

The Silver Bus which had been a mobile source of youth activities in Bracknell would be replaced with a newer and more flexible vehicle. The aim was for this to be operational in the summer time. The majority of youth workers would be able to drive the new vehicle and it would be able to access places which the Silver Bus was unable to.

To consider the Executive response to the above report of the review of Delivering the 14-19 Education Entitlement undertaken by a working group of this Panel.

The Panel thanked the Executive Member for Education for being present at the meeting. The Panel considered the Executive response to the report of the review of Delivering the 14-19 Education Entitlement undertaken by a working group of the Panel and presented to an Executive Briefing meeting by the Panel Chairman.

The review involved working with Executive Members to provide recommendations which would assist in influencing and developing policy. The recommendations had been agreed by the Executive.

A letter had been sent to the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission from the Chair of the Engineering Diploma Development Partnership regarding the report and offering to attend a meeting of the Panel to discuss the introduction of the Diplomas in Bracknell. The Panel agreed that:

• The Chief Adviser, Learning and Achievement, would respond to the letter from Councillor Graham Lane, Chair of the Engineering Diploma Development Partnership in London, and include a copy of the Overview and Scrutiny Report: Delivering the 14-19 Education Entitlement and the Executive response with the reply.
• The Chief Adviser, Learning and Achievement, would provide a progress report on the Diplomas for young people aged 14-19, including progress and take up for the October Panel meeting.

In response to questions from the Executive Member, the Chairman confirmed that:

• The Executive Member’s role as 14-19 Champion would be informal in nature.
• Copies of the Delivering the 14-19 Education Entitlement report would be sent to the Secretary and Shadow Secretary of State by the Executive Member.

The Panel is invited to endorse its indicative Work Programme for 2010/11 which is appended to the attached report.

The Panel was invited to endorse its indicative Work Programme for 2010/11.

The proposed review of the Council’s plans and performance with regard to safeguarding children, including the role of the Executive Member, was to be commenced in the near future by a working group of the Panel. In preparation, the Director of Children, Young People and Learning had met the Head of Overview and Scrutiny to frame the review.

RESOLVED that the Children’s Services and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel’s indicative work programme for the 2010/11 municipal year, set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be endorsed.

To note the quarterly progress report of the Assistant Chief Executive.

The Panel noted the Quarterly Progress Report of the Assistant Chief Executive on Overview and Scrutiny activity over the period November 2009 to January 2010 and local and national developments in Overview and Scrutiny.

To consider forthcoming items on the Executive Forward Plan relating to children’s social care and learning.

The Panel considered the forthcoming items relating to Children, Young People and Learning on the Executive Forward Plan.

Item I021485: Jennett’s Park Procurement Route

The governing body for Jennett’s Park Primary School had been established and the planned opening of the school was due to take place in September 2011. The Chief Adviser: Learning and Achievement, would provide an update on the development of Jennett’s Park primary school and when it would be opened for the next Panel meeting.

Item I021254: Primary Capital Strategy for Change

The consultation in respect of the above had been through the governing bodies and some work had already been undertaken. It would be important for parents and other interested parties to be consulted as well.

• The Chief Adviser, Learning and Achievement, would provide further information on the consultation with schools and interested parties on the Primary Capital Strategy for Change, such as where, when, how, and which schools had been consulted.

Item I021971: Statutory Annual Complaints Report for Children’s Social Care

Further to the Chairman’s question, the Director of Children, Young People and Learning confirmed that the Panel would continue to receive the above Statutory Annual Complaints Reports.