Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2015 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Board was advised that no public questions had been received.

The minutes relating to the Children, Young People and Families Portfolio which had been considered by the Executive Board since the last meeting of this Board, were attached at Appendix 1 for information.

The minutes of the Halton Children’s Trust meeting held on 4 August 2015 were submitted to the Board for information.

The Strategic Director – People and Economy, presented the revised Halton Care Leavers Charter to the Board for consideration.

Members were advised that in November 2012, the Department for Education (DfE) published the first Charter for Care Leavers which was produced by care leavers themselves and reflected their aspirations and expectations in their own words.  Each local authority was requested to sign up to the Charter and to discuss with their Children in Care Councils what needed to be done to embed its principles in day to day practice.  After consultation with Halton care leavers, the DfE Charter was adopted with some slight amendments to reflect issues that they felt were important to them.  The Charter was then adopted by the Council and Corporate Parents in May 2013.

It was noted that the review had now taken place and a revised Charter developed, attached at Appendix 1 of the report. 

A representative from the Children in Care Council attended the meeting and outlined the work undertaken by the Council.

RESOLVED:  That the Halton Care Leavers Charter is endorsed by the Board and supported by all Corporate Parents in Halton.

The Board received a presentation from the NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which provided an update on the transformation of the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Services for the Young People of Halton.

The presentation outlined the following areas:

·       National Policy – ‘Future in Mind’;

·       What was currently in place in Halton;

·       What had been achieved to date;

·       What was hoped to be achieved by March 2016;

·       The transformational Plan and links to the All Age Mental Health Strategy; this included areas for additional investment;

·       Eating disorders services; and

·       Future opportunities.

The Board were advised that the transformational Plan had been welcomed by schools.

RESOLVED:  That the presentation be noted.

The Strategic Director – People and Economy, presented a summary of Halton’s school performance data for Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and Key Stages 1 to 5.

It was noted by Members that the 2015 data remained un-validated until publication of performance tables later this term, and also further data releases in the Spring term.  Further, a full suite of national data had not yet been published to enable the comparison of Halton and national performance.

RESOLVED:  That the attainment of the children and young people in Halton schools for the 2014-15 academic year be noted.