Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillor John Potter.

Members are asked to consider any pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the agenda.

None.

To be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 December 2024 be confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Jayne Rear, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, and Aby Hardy, Head of Service – Education Improvement, to the meeting.

The report provided the committee with the annual report of the education strategy, including the progress made towards the strategies priorities. A presentation was also provided, a copy of which was included in the agenda.

Comments and queries raised from the committee were as follows:

·  The county council ranked 77th out of 138 Local Authorities this year on the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, which assessed children's development at the end of the academic year in which they turn five, which was an improvement since the previous year's rankings.

·  The breakdown of Key Stage 2 results was used to determine which schools required support over the next academic year, with the monitoring intervention team providing assistance to those schools. The committee requested if the information could be shared with councillors, to see the schools in their areas. It was noted that the schools would need to agree in order for this information to be shared.

·  It was also clarified that the reason for the combined scores being lower than the individual subject scores of Key Stage 2, as outlined in the presentation, was due to some children excelling in one subject but not in others resulting in higher individual subject scores. The combined score indicated only the number of children who met the expected standard across all three subjects, which high schools used to predict Progress 8 scores.

·  Although the local authority was no longer responsible for school improvement, the authority continued to provide advisory services and training, which schools could choose to opt into. It was also noted that though the authority lacked direct authority over academies, it maintained good relationships with them and endeavoured to be as involved as possible. It was also highlighted that the authority was responsible for safeguarding and had a duty to ensure compliance in that area.

·  Following concerns raised about the authority's performance compared to national figures, it was noted that though the authority faced challenges, including high levels of deprivation and a transient population but despite these challenges, there had been a steady improvement since the return from COVID-19. The authority also aimed to exceed national standards and was working on improving both the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and education outcomes to achieve better results.

·  Identifying the needs of pupils requiring Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support early and providing appropriate support was a priority for the authority, and efforts were ongoing to ensure all children needing support were identified and included on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities register. It was also noted that the variation in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities definitions across local authorities was making direct comparisons with other authorities challenging.

·  Concerns were also raised about the attainment gap for disadvantaged children, which had widened since COVID-19. The challenges faced by disadvantaged children, including mental health concerns and health inequalities, were highlighted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The committee considered the work programme for the 2024/25 municipal year, and an update on actions and assurances.

In terms of specific updates, the following were noted:

• The Youth Violence in Lancashire Bitesize Briefing was being postponed and would take place at a future date.
• The Youth Justice Board Annual Report and the Annual Quality Assurance Checks Annual Report were no longer included on the Work Programme because they were financial year/municipal year reports and therefore, it would not be possible for them to be written before the end of the 2024-25 year. However, they would be presented for information to the committee at the Annual Portfolio Holder Update and Work Programming session in June 2025.
• The outcome of the recent Joint Area SEND Inspection had not yet been published and therefore, the SEND Deep Dive Day which was scheduled to take place in February 2025 would now take place at a future date, to ensure that officers had enough time to prepare the relevant reports, following the publication of the inspection outcome.

Resolved: That

1. The work programme for 2024/25, as attached at Appendix 'A' of the report, be noted;
2. The formal written responses from Cabinet Members to the outstanding recommendations of the Committee at Appendices 'B' and 'C' of the report, be noted;
3. The information included in the reports for the 10 March 2025 meeting of the Committee be confirmed; and
4. The information provided as part of the actions and assurances to the Committee at Appendix 'D' of the report, be noted.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the minutes, the chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Wherever possible, the chief executive should be given advance warning of any member's intention to raise a matter under this heading.

There were no items of Urgent Business.

The next meeting of the Children, Families and Skills Scrutiny Committee will be held on Monday 10 March 2025 at 10.30 am in Committee Room C – The Duke of Lancaster Room, County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Children, Families and Skills Scrutiny Committee will be held on Wednesday 10 March 2025 at 10.30am in Committee Room 'C' – The Duke of Lancaster Room, County Hall, Preston.