Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2025, were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

It was confirmed that the Windmill Children’s Centre was no longer considered for closure, and this will be amended for future reports.

It was confirmed that no public questions had been received.

N.B. Councillor Lloyd-Jones declared an Other Disclosable Interest in the following item of business as he was helping a resident obtain a loan.

The minutes relating to the Children, Young People and Families Portfolio, taken from the Executive Board meetings held since the last meeting of this Board, were attached at Appendix one for information.

          It was confirmed that the Part 2 item has not been resolved, and it will go to next Executive Board meeting.

          With regards to Part 2 of the Executive Board minutes, a Board Member queried what the terms were for the repayment of the loan and why the item was not presented to the board first.

          In response, officers stated that legal advice did not state that this item and this had been going on for six months following a court direction three years ago. It was confirmed that the loan was for a private property.

          The Board requested more context around the situation as it was a public record. 

The Board received the performance management report for Quarter 1 for 2025-26.

The key priorities for development or improvement in 2023/24 were agreed by Members and included in the Business Plan, for the various functional areas reporting to the Board as detailed below:

· Education, Inclusion, Provision Services

· Children and Families Services

          The report detailed the progress made against objectives and milestones and performance targets and provided information relating to key developments and emerging issues that have arisen during the period. Highlights included permanent exclusions being reduced by 18%, more engagement at family centres, EHCP (education, health and care plan) annual reviews improving to above national average, and over £1.2million in cost avoidance for high-cost residential placements. There were three residential placements in this quarter which was down from 17 in the previous quarter. An ICT commission was underway for the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) Team to reduce the backlog, and 189 social workers were trained in house.

The following points arose from the discussion:

• The Board noted the amount of progress done in a short amount of time
• Concerns were raised from multiple Board Members over secondary schools permanently excluding pupils for first time drug offences. They felt that these exclusions should only happen if there was a risk to pupil life, for example if a Class A or B drug was being supplied. Schools could be offered support to manage this. 
• In response, officers noted that the Council was limited in how they could influence school drug policies, but they were holding targeted support meetings with schools to look at frequently absent pupils and those who are electively home educated. This was to stop the ‘flow’ out of the school following permanent exclusions for ‘drug use’.
• Officers had ‘reflective challenges’ with schools to get them to reduce permanent exclusions and work with affected families on this alongside multi-agency partners.
• The Council cannot get involved with a school’s decision to permanently exclude a pupil and the final decision would be determined by the Appeals Panel (if applicable).
• Work was being done to try and make the schools as inclusive as possible to ensure that decisions being made are the best for the child. This will reduce the number of permanent exclusions.
• A Board Member praised the new Family Support Days, especially the ‘Dad Matters Days’ as they were a good way for dads to support each other.
• Regarding AI, Officers confirmed that they planned to use it to create guides and take minutes in strategy discussions and for supervision notes.
• Half the secondary schools in Halton had banned mobile phones on their premises. A lot of parents initially objected to this but there were a lot more benefits than issues raised from the bans.
• Children’s Services were expected to overspend by £2.2 million this quarter and it was very difficult for them to not overspend due to them needing to provide SEND transport, pay for agency staff and pay for out of county residential placements for children in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

          The Board considered a report on the Annual Report of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) which provided a summary and analysis of the work of the LADO service for 2024-2025. The report detailed progress made against objectives set previously and provided information relating to key developments and emerging issues that arose during the reporting period.

          The Chair noted that the report was difficult to read at points due to the wrong words being used and the formatting being unclear. He suggested that this be reviewed in the future.

The following points arose from the discussion:

·       It was confirmed that all faiths were being referred to in the report when it referenced referrals from the faith community. These referrals tended to come in if a certain faith group had a community project.

·       A Board Member noted that LADO referrals were complex and a lot of different bodies could be involved.

·       The Board requested a general example of what a LADO referral could involve.

          RESOLVED:

          That the report be noted.

          The Board received an update on the quality of practice in Children’s services through audit findings. As noted previously in the meeting, AI was being used to help record discussions and this would save practitioners time with trying to record discussions. Families had given positive feedback to social workers, and the Council’s audits showed that practice had improved. Training had been undertaken with partners to improve referrals to the Council.

The following points arose from the discussion:

·       A Board Member noted that there had not been an improvement with care leaver audit reports being finished. This was especially needed for children in out of county placements.

·       Officers confirmed a reduction in the audit reports being submitted. Teams had been advised that this was unacceptable as the reports were needed to monitor progress.

·       Internally, work had been done with getting reports done. The Social Worker Academy had recently finished working with Children’s Services regarding their audit reports and they will not start work with the Care Leavers Team.

·       The data in the report needed to be treated with caution as the small samples provided could skew the figures.

·       The LGA (Local Government Association) will audit the Care Leaver Service in October 2025. This will include looking at audit reports and talking to care leavers and staff about their experience.

·       It was confirmed that each review for care leavers totalled 7% of the total amount.

          RESOLVED:

          That the report be noted.

          The Board received Halton’s SEND Improvement Programme which was submitted to OFSTED following the Local Area Partnership SEND Inspection. In November 2023, there was an Ofsted and CQC visit where it was shown that there were systematic failings in Council’s SEND provision.

The Board received a presentation that outlined the improvements that needed to be made with the new SEND strategic and delivery boards. Officers were keen to improve communication for families, reduce repetition for officers, and ensure that families felt there were improvements and received information quicker. The new strategy was done with families and other relevant partners in 21 engagement sessions. The new programme should go live in January 2026 after the board reviews it in November 2025. The new programme will also include a formal escalation process if actions already attempted were not having an impact and alternative provision to exclusion. Partnership work was done to save money on specialist furniture for SEND children and work was planned to provide support for neurodivergent pupils. There will be a new speech & language assessor provider from November 2025. Officers concluded that a new SEND White Paper was expected from the Department of Education (DfE) in the Autumn of 2025.

The following points arose from the discussion:

·       There was no maximum distance a SEND pupil had to travel before they would receive lodging at the school. This was not something the Council directed.

·       It was predicted that the new White Paper would say only children with complex needs would be allowed EHCPs.

·       The White Paper was expected to send SEND money provision direct to schools and not via the Council which meant they would not be able to support mainstream schools with SEND issues.

·       A reduction in pupil numbers at schools meant that they would receive less funding as they were given money per pupil.

·       Private assessments for children possibly needing EHCPs could be biased and would need to be scrutinised more against what an education provider could give. If a EHCP was declined and went to a Tribunal, risks would need to be managed.

·       Regarding the speech and language provider, a new company was being brought in due to concerns with the current one. The ICB (Integrated Care Board) would manage one aspect of this, and the Council would manage the other. If an EHCP said interventions were needed for a child, then the Council would need to ensure that this is delivered. The ICB would manage the health aspects.

·       With the joint partnerships, the Council worked well with its partners, but they needed to sort out who would manage each aspect to ensure all work was collaborative.

·       Children in out of county placements did not go through the SEND Improvement Board but the joint care packages did, of which there were very few.

·       If the SEND Team was to be inspected soon, inspectors should see that there had been progress made against the five action plans. Officers noted that there needed to be greater measures to see the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

          The Board received a report supporting the motion of care experience in young people being a protected characteristic which was to try and end discrimination for care experienced young people. If accepted, the Council will be one of 32 Council’s in the country considering this proposal.

The following points arose from the discussion:

·       If the Council approved a private care home being built, the Council would have to consider the impact on children with care experience.

·       Private care homes should contact the Council to ensure that care leavers needs were being met, and the house was not built purely for profit. It expected that private companies should engage with the Council on this and they would have to meet the criteria set by the Council for children in care. 

·       The characteristic would be recognised permanently so adults with care experience could be signposted for support even when they are adults.

·       A Board Member noted that private companies would want out of county children in their homes as this would enable them to charge more. Officers would challenge this with applications, especially if no contact was made with the Council prior to their application.

·       Board Members noted that properties accommodating children in care were often discriminated against.  

          Following a vote by way of a show of hands, the Board agreed that ‘Care Experienced’ should be a protected characteristic. 

          RESOLVED:

          That Council recognise ‘Care Experienced’ as a protected characteristic.   

          The Council received a report on the Council’s overall revenue spending position as of 31 May 2025, the latest 2025/26 year-end outturn forecast, and details of the 2024/25 year-end outturn position for their information. All Policy and Public Performance Boards had received this report.

          RESOLVED:

          That the report be noted.