Agenda and minutes

To note any changes to the membership.

1.1     It was noted that Councillors Peter Cuthbertson and Karen Scarborough were substituting for Councillors Robert Rigby and Richard Beddoe respectively. 

1.2     The Chairman welcomed Councillor Steve Summers (Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Open Spaces) and Councillor Danny Chalkley (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) to the meeting.

1.3     The Chairman welcomed Annalisa Saba, Chair of Westminster Parent Participation Group and Helen Norris, Head of Specialist Support & Disability Service at Bromley Council, who were going to take part in the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Strategy item, to the meeting.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

2.1       Councillor Paul Church declared that he was a school Governor at the King Solomon Academy.

2.2       No further declarations of interests in respect of items to be discussed were made, other than those noted in the circulated schedule.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on the 31 March 2014 and 4 June 2014.

To note the progress in implementing the Committee’s Action Tracker.

3.1     Minutes

3.1.1   Resolved: That the minutes of the meetings held on 31 March 2014 and 4 June 2014 were approved for signature by the Chairman as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

3.2     Action Tracker

3.2.1   Resolved: That the Action Tracker be noted.

Councillor Danny Chalkley (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

4.1     The Committee received an update from the Cabinet Member who responded to questions relating to:

·       the need for additional secondary school pupil places.

·       the eligibility criteria for nursery places.

·       young people with learning difficulties accessing specialist education, training and employment opportunities.

·       the target of 75% of Westminster’s pupils achieving 5 grades A*- C at GCSE (including English and Maths) and changes to examinations.

·       the implementation of the Education, Health and Care Plan for children with Special Educational Needs from September 2014.

Councillor Steve Summers (Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Open Spaces) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in Portfolio.

5.1     The Committee received an update from the Cabinet Member who responded to questions relating to volunteering, the customer lift at Pimlico Library, the works          being carried out at Church Street Library and indoor sports facilities.

The Committee will review the proposed strategy for children with high need, those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities.

6.1     The Committee received an update on the first four weeks of operation of the new Tri-Borough passenger transport arrangements for home to school transport for children with special educational needs.  The Committee heard that there had been a number of operational challenges experienced during the first two weeks due to changes in the type of transport, drivers not being familiar with the geographical area, carers not being familiar with the children and incomplete transport details of vulnerable adults and children.

6.2     The Committee noted that the operation had now improved with late running of journeys being reduced to less than 5% being reported and detailed performance management of contractors being put in place. 

6.3     The Committee requested that an updated report on SEN Passenger Transport be sent to them in the next week so that Members could consider whether to establish a Task Group to look at the delivery and operation of the contract.

6.4       The Committee received a report outlining the Council’s five year strategy for children with high needs and those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities which would be implemented in the context of the Children and Families Act which was one of the most significant changes in legislation in this         area for the past 30 years and would take effect from September 2014.

6.5           The Committee welcomed Ian Heggs, Tri-borough Director of Schools Commissioning and Alison Farmer, Tri-borough Assistant Director for Special Educational Needs to the meeting.  They advised that the strategy would enable the Council to fulfil its statutory duties and support children in achieving positive educational and life outcomes, and that following the new legislation this would be done through the provision of an effective and efficient ‘Local Offer’ built on strong relationships between parents, schools, education, health and care services and third sector organisations. 

6.6     The Committee welcomed Helen Norris, Head of Specialist Support and Disability Service and lead for the Bexley/Bromley pathfinder, who spoke about    implementing the proposals of the Children and Family Act due to come into effect in September 2014 and Annalisa Saba, Chair of the Parent Participation Group, who gave a short presentation on how the Parent Participation Group had supported the consultation with parents on the Local Offer.  Both Helen and Annalisa took part in the Committee’s discussion.

6.7     The Committee considered the national legislative context for SEN in regard to the Children and Families Act, the outcomes and recommendations arising from the recent consultation held with parents and carers on the Local Offer of services for SEN children and young people and the current key issues and strategic goals for the Westminster SEN Service over the next five years.

6.8     The following key themes emerged from the Committee’s discussion:

·     the increasing number of children diagnosed with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and that SEN remained a key responsibility for Local Authorities.

·     the importance that there was an aspiration for SEN children and young people aged 0-25 to make excellent progress in school and employment.

·     the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee will receive an update on the implementation of the Council’s vision for the Voluntary and Community Sector.

7.1     The Committee received a report outlining the implementation of the Westminster Volunteering Strategy and considered the actions that had been taken in response to the Committee’s recommendations made to the Cabinet Member in June 2013 after scrutinising an earlier draft of the Strategy.

7.2       The Committee discussed the report and made the following points:

·             the importance of engaging with secondary schools and encouraging young people to do valuable volunteering work.

·             the importance of having reward schemes and time credit schemes.

·             the need to ensure that volunteering is meaningful and positive for the volunteer and the community.

·             the invaluable knowledge that ward members possess through working in their local area which should be used to explore the local infrastructure of each ward.

·             the need to widely promote and publicise the programme across Westminster.

7.3     The Committee noted the work being carried out and considered that the   Volunteering Strategy would play an important role in achieving the Council’s          Better City, Better Lives ambition to make Westminster a safer, healthier and          more enterprising place.

To discuss the Committee’s Work Programme for 2014/15.

8.1     It was agreed that a report would be circulated to Members of the Committee asking their views on the Work Programme for 2014/2015

Verbal Update

9.1       Resolved: The Committee noted that there was nothing to report.