Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Windsor

To note the report and make any recommendations in relation to:

i)               The Achieving for Children Impact Report

ii)              The Achieving for Children Equalities Report

iii)             The Achieving for Children Annual Report and Accounts

Cabinet noted and agreed to the below reports:

i)               The Achieving for Children Impact Report

ii)              The Achieving for Children Equalities Report

iii)             The Achieving for Children Annual Report and Accounts

Councillor Tisi, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Windsor, introduced the report by providing some background information as to what Achieving for Children (AfC) was, which would provide members of the public with some clarity on the differentiation between AfC and RBWM. She made it clear that this was a jointly owned service along with Richmond and Kingston and acknowledged that in the past, it had been said that the borough perhaps did not have a tight enough grip on AfC, however this would change with the introduction of a new AfC Ownership Board and regular director meetings.

Councillor Tisi said that AfC were working extremely hard and had made progress on a number of key services. The Department for Education (DfE) had recently removed the borough’s written statement of action for example, as the progress that had been made by AfC was noticeable, along with other key strengths that were showcased by AfC. The holiday offer for children who were entitled to free school meals was going from strength to strength too, with 832 children being provided with activities and meals in 2022.

Lastly, Councillor Tisi briefly outlined what both the equalities, diversity and inclusion report included along with the financial accounts of AfC, which showed the cost of services to the borough to be a growing concern. She then thanked the People Overview & Scrutiny for their comments on the report as it came before them prior to it appearing before the Cabinet.

Lucy Kourpas, Chief Operating & Finance Officer for AfC, echoed Councillor Tisi’s comments and the good work that the borough had done in the last few years. She also said that as a joint owner of AfC, independent auditors had been appointed and confirmed that they had determined that the accounts showed a true and fair reflection.

Councillor Coe, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said that the high number of children on free school meals who had participated in the summer activities showcased the amount of child poverty that sadly existed within the UK.

Councillor Bermange asked what the main goals were for the current financial year. Lucy Kourpas replied by saying that work would continue to support families through the cost-of-living crisis all year round. They were also doing a lot of work in the early help services and SEND services, to provide children with access to all of the services that they may need.

Lin Ferguson, Executive Director of Children’s Services and Education, echoed Lucy’s comments and added a further two points. The first was pupils who were not ready for school after Covid, there were a number of projects that were in place to assist these children. The second was that since covid, some children were also struggling with confidence in attending school. 

AGREED: That Cabinet noted and agreed to the below reports:

i)               The Achieving for Children Impact Report

ii)             The Achieving for Children Equalities Report

iii)            The Achieving for Children Annual Report and Accounts