To receive any apologies for absence from Panel Members.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Taylor and Tony Wilson.

To receive any declarations of interest from Panel Members.

There were no declarations of interest received.

To consider and approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th October 2023.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th October 2023 were approved as a true and accurate record.

To consider the scrutiny review covering both SEND and Elective Home Education. These two topics have been scoped out by Councillors on the Panel and the scoping documents are attached for reference.

The full pack of information for the review will be circulated once ready.

Clive Haines, Deputy Director of Education, thanked the Panel for doing a ‘deep dive’ scrutiny review of SEND and elective home education. The review would help to highlight the work taking place in the service to support children with SEND. Children with SEND were six times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion from school, seven times less likely to enter employment and three times more likely to end up in prison. An information pack had been circulated to the Panel in advance of the meeting. Katie Worley, Associate Director for SEND, and Alasdair Whitelaw, Pupil Inclusion and Support Manager, presented the information pack to the Panel. The presentation included some of the areas outlined in the scoping document which the Panel had produced:

• Did the SEND local offer match the needs and difficulties faced by SEND children in the borough?

• Were the council reaching out to all residents to ensure that they knew of the support available?

• Were the parents, as well as children, being supported appropriately?

The Chair read out some comments from a resident who was a home educator. They asked if anonymous families could contribute to the review and questioned that no sources of information had been included in the agenda.

Mark Beeley, Principal Democratic Services Officer – Overview and Scrutiny, suggested that following the discussion at the meeting, the Panel might have some comments and recommendations. This would form the basis of a report to be considered by Cabinet and the resident could be involved anonymously at this stage. The information pack had been circulated separately to the agenda which was why the resident might not have seen this at the time the question was submitted.

Councillor Cross asked how many children in RBWM had SEND and how many staff there were in the SEND team at the council.

Clive Haines said that there were currently just under 1,200 children with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and there were a total of 15 staff in the service at the council.

Alasdair Whitelaw added that there were four Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) mentors, five education welfare officers, an inclusion and access manager, and an elective home education coordinator.

Lin Ferguson, Executive Director of Children’s Services and Education, said that Katie Worley started as the new Associate Director for SEND in October 2023 and this gave the vitally important area of work a strengthened strategic and operational focus.

Councillor Cross asked if there was any data collected on the geographical spread of children who had SEND. She asked if there was any primary need for this cohort of children.

Clive Haines explained that there were three primary needs; autism (ASD), social, emotional and mental health (SEMH), and speech, language and cognitive learning. This data had been useful as evidence in the successful bid for the SEMH special school which was due to open in the borough.

Alasdair Whitelaw said that there had been a national rise in SEMH cases which had been an impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

In accordance with section A3 of Part 4 of the council’s constitution, the People Overview and Scrutiny Panel are permitted to appoint a number of individuals as co-optees on the Panel.

Overview and Scrutiny has a vital role in performance management by linking the planning and delivery of services to the experiences of and impact upon local people. Expanding its membership to include representation beyond locally elected representatives strengthens these links and gives a voice to the key representatives from the local community.

All relevant bodies and organisations have been informed of these positions and both Overview and Scrutiny Panels are asked to approve the appointments which have been proposed.

The Panel are asked to note the report and recommend the listed appointments for approval by Full Council.

Mark Beeley, Principal Democratic Services Officer – Overview and Scrutiny, said that the People Overview and Scrutiny Panel were able to appoint a number of co-optees on to the Panel. These representatives were outlined in the RBWM Constitution and consisted of two parent governors, a Regional Schools Commissioner representative, a Roman Catholic diocese representative and a Church of England representative. As two nominations had been received for the primary parent governor position, one would become the representative and one would be the substitute. The Regional Schools Commissioner were unable to appoint a representative, it was therefore suggested that Mark Jervis, who was a current co-optee, was reappointed to the Panel.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the People Overview and Scrutiny Panels noted the report and recommended to Full Council that:

i)             The appointment of the following representatives were made to the People Overview and Scrutiny Panel until May 2027:

a.    Tony Wilson as the Church of England diocese representative.

b.    Catherine Hobbs as the Roman Catholic diocese representative.

c.    Poornima Karunacadacharan and David Hicks (sub) as the primary parent governor representatives.

d.    Noel Wood as the secondary parent governor representative.

e.    Mark Jervis as an additional co-optee on the Panel.

To review the ongoing work programme.

Mark Beeley highlighted the items which were due to be considered at the next Panel meeting in April.

The Chair suggested that the homeless problem in Windsor should be considered, particularly in Victora Street car park.