Agenda item

Mr Stott, Director of Universal and Early Support Services, Directorate for Children and Young People, introduced a report which updated the Committee on the performance and progress of four of the teams working closely with groups of children and young people currently not participating in education in a school setting as follows:

1.  Work done to support children and young people who were "Persistently Absent" (PA) from school, reported at the meeting by Frances Molloy, Schools Attendance Lead, Directorate for Children and Young People

2.   Work done to support children and young people who were "Permanently Excluded" from school, reported by Audrey Swann, Acting Head of Alternative and Complementary Education and Residential Services (ACERS).

3.  Work done to support Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) children and young people who were not educated in school or electively home educated, reported by Joe Dykes, Head of GRT Achievement.

4.  Work done to support children and young people who were "missing from education, (CME), reported by Susan Robinson, CME Co-ordinator, and Paul Bainbridge, County Pupil Access Manager.

Information was also provided in the report on the themed audit that the Directorate for Children and Young People was carrying out around "missing children" and the connectivity of the Local Authority and other partner services around supporting this broader group. It was envisaged that the findings of this themed audit would be reported back to the Committee possibly in July 2014.

The Committee considered the work done by each of the four teams in detail as follows:

Persistent Absence (PA)

It was reported that the use of Persistent Absence as a measure was introduced in 2006 and at that time related to pupils who had an overall absence rate of around 20 per cent or more.  This measure was reduced during the 2010-11 academic year to identify pupils who had an overall absence rate of around 15 per cent or more.  This was measured as pupils having 38 or more sessions of absence (both authorised and unauthorised) across the Autumn and Spring Terms combined, or 46 or more sessions of absence over the whole school year (measured up to the summer half term break).

The local authority worked to ensure that schools had a clear understanding of those pupils who were Persistent Absentees or were on track to become PA if their attendance did not improve.

In considering Persistent Absence members made the following comments:

·  How monitoring of children who were Persistent Absentees was carried out cross border with neighbouring authorities and the time it took to deal with cross border issues.  Frances Molloy responded that protocols were in place for liaising with other authorities and that if legal action was required it was undertaken by the authority where the child attended school.

·  Whether work done around Persistent Absence linked in with the Youth Offending Team.  Ms Molloy stated that action plans for Persistent Absentees would  involve all relevant agencies

·  The comment was made that because of the smaller number of pupils in special schools, just one or two PAs significantly increased the %.  As special schools dealt with different issues, PA rates would differ by school.

·  All types of absences were included in the report and the comment was made that unauthorised absences ought to be targeted. 

·  A concern was raised regarding the accurate recording of absence data by schools.  The Committee was informed that it was illegal to falsify the register and that electronic registration now made that difficult.

·  Members welcomed the work done by officers to support PAs and also the work carried out with schools to identify barriers to education and to remove them.

Permanent Exclusion

It was reported that in secondary schools, the trend over the last 3 years had been a reduction in permanent exclusions in the majority of districts with an overall decrease in secondary permanent exclusions across Lancashire of 1% in 2012 – 13.  In 2012 – 13 Preston remained one of the highest excluding districts with Burnley showing a marked increase in exclusions from previous years.  Lancashire was participating in the 3 year DfE National Exclusion Trial due to end in July 2014, testing a proposal to shift the responsibility for permanently excluded pupils from the Local Authority to school.

However, the number of primary school exclusions in area south/central had over the past 3 years been higher than other areas in Lancashire and the trend for south and east areas had increased slightly.  The north area had consistently decreased.

Members commented on the work carried out around Permanent Exclusion as follows:

·  Working in partnership with Head Teachers was key to dealing with the problem

·  That the findings of the Task and Finish Group, led by the Inclusion Disability and Support Service (IDSS), which was set up to look into the relationship between SEND and exclusion in order to more thoroughly analyse the trends and issues within Lancashire and develop strategies to address issues identified, be fed back to the Committee when known.

Local Authority support for the education of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children

Members welcomed the work done by the team which dealt with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) children with around 70% of families now having education as a priority.  It was reported that in the ten year period between 2003 and 2013, the numbers of GRT children attending school had risen in all year groups.  There had been significant rises in uptake of pre-school provision and in transfer to secondary school. 

In considering the report, the following point was made:

·  That it would be helpful for the % of GRT children on roll in school to be broken down to District level and provided to members

Children Missing Education (CME)

It was reported that for CME there were established referral procedures with Pupil Access linked to admission appeal and fair access protocol processes. There were two types of referral (split 50/50 over a year):

·  Tracking – for cases where the pupil was on a school or academy roll but their whereabouts was unknown and which involved calling a multi-agency meeting to move matters forward.

·  Placement – where the pupil required an educational placement.  The CME team accompanied many parents and pupils to school meetings to negotiate start dates.  In addition, at secondary level pupils the CME team identified and brokered alternative provision where a mainstream placement was not likely to be successful.

In considering CME, members raised the following points:

·  How young people, particularly girls, who did not return to school in Autumn were tracked.  Ms Robinson responded that it would be possible to provide members with tracking figures, for information, outside the meeting.  Young people were also tracked at school on a lesson by lesson basis.  Pastoral managers in school were aware of particular issues and worked with the Hate and Diversity Team to address them.

·  A request was made for comparative data on a year by year basis to be provided.

·  A query was raised regarding the time scale for organising cross-boundary placements.  Members were informed that most primary school placements were organised within a week but that secondary placements were more difficult because of matching students' options.  Since September there was no longer the requirement for local authorities to co-ordinate in year admissions but Lancashire continued to be watchful of out of county moves.

·  That the legal responsibility of the Local Authority was to make arrangements, as far as possible, to identify children who were not receiving education.  This could be achieved by raising awareness via the Police, the NHS, Social Workers and other well established networks, for example. 

·  With regard to Foster Children, Children's Social Care and the Social Worker were responsible for flagging up to the CME team any child requiring a school place, whether the child was coming into Lancashire from another Authority or moving within Lancashire.  Usually a placement would be found within 10 school days, with 20 days being the maximum length of time taken.

·  More work was needed to ensure joined up working between the different teams and agencies in the Authority

Resolved:  That:

  i.  The teams working closely with groups of children and young people not participating in a school setting be congratulated on the work in this field.

  ii.  A further report on the themed audit around Children Missing Education be brought to a future meeting of the Committee.

  iii.  The % of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children on roll in school at District level be provided to members of the Committee.

  iv.  Tracking figures of those young people who did not return to school in Autumn be provided to members of the Committee.

  v.  Comparative data on referrals to the CME team on a year by year basis be provided to the members of the Committee.