Agenda and minutes

1.1 There were no apologies for absence.

2.1 The were no urgent items and the agenda was as scheduled.

3.1 The following declarations were received by members of the Commission:

·  Cllr Peters was a governor at a local special school;

·  Cllr Chauhan was member of NEU and a teacher at a school outside the borough;

·  Graham Hunter was Foundation Governor for the Primary Advantage Federation;

·  Shabnum Hassan was a Parent Governor at a local primary school;

·  Jo McLeod was a Governor at a local school in Hackney;

·  Justine McDonald was a headteacher at a local secondary school.

4.1 An update on pupil attainment is provided each year to enable the Commission to maintain oversight children’s progression an attainment in Hackney.  The report provides analysis of pupil attainment at three stages:

·  Those reaching a ‘good level of development’ (GLD) at Early Years Foundations Stage (EYFS) (at age 5);

·  Key Stage 2 (at the age of 11 in Primary);

·  Key Stage 4 (at the age of 16 in Secondary).

4.2 The Cabinet member introduced the report, and noted that there was much to celebrate about the achievement of local young people, many of which who had continued to progress throughout their schooling.  The authority was mindful of the attainment gap between different groups of young people, particularly those children from black Caribbean and black African ethnic groups.  The authority will continue to maintain oversight of under-achieving groups of young people to ensure that there is focused support to help close the attainment gap with their peers.

4.3 Covid 19 has meant that schools have been closed since March, and this will impact on assessments for this academic year. 

GLD – Early Years Foundation Stage

4.4 Whilst overall performance of children in reaching a GLD at EYFS had remained broadly static at around 70%, this figure continued to influenced by lower levels of attainment of children attending settings in the Private Voluntary and Independent (PVI) sector. The attainment gap between those achieving a GLD in maintained settings (77%) and those in PVI settings (22%) remains substantial.

4.5 There is also a significant (and ongoing) gender attainment gap at EYFS, with just 63% of boys reaching a GLD compared to 77% of girls.  The attainment gap is more pronounced in PVI settings, where 34% of girls reached a GLD compared to just 12% of boys. Whilst black African and black Caribbean children in Hackney performed better than national averages, attainment is still below that of other ethnic groups locally.

Questions

4.6 What conversations have taken place with schools in the PVI sector and what level of resources are available to help improve attainment of children within these settings?

- HLT engages with all independent settings and is helping them to improve performance at EYFS. There are a number of factors which impact on performance in this sector.  In local PVI settings, which are predominantly within the orthodox Jewish community, two separate curriculums (religious and secular) are being taught which limits the time that children study for EYFS goals.  Secondly, there are generally fewer qualified teachers in the PVI sector which impacts on outcomes.  Finally, children in the PVI sector have English as an additional language which impacts on their attainment levels for EYFS assessments (e.g. literacy, communication).  Furthermore, PVI settings generally prioritise the learning of Hebrew over English which means that progress in the latter is usually delayed at this age.  HLT aims to support PVI settings by providing training on the teaching of phonics and helping schools create environments which are conducive to spoken English.

4.7 What kind of assessment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1 The main focus of the meeting was on the local response to the Covid 19 pandemic, particularly as to how local services have continued to provide support for some of the most vulnerable children in the community (looked after children, those children on child protection plans, children in need and those children with SEND).  To support this item, the Commission requested a briefing from Children and Families Service and Hackney Learning Trust on the response of local services and how it was continuing to support vulnerable children.

5.2 The Cabinet member introduced both the CFS and HLT papers and highlighted the following key issues from the reports:

?  Both CFS and HLT had worked hard to maintain contact and oversight of children and young people in Hackney, and whilst most contact was now virtual, face-to-face visits were still taking place where these were necessary.

?  Although Youth Hubs have not been able to operate, an on-line offer had been developed. In addition, Young Hackney has redeployed staff elsewhere in the social care system where this is needed (e.g. schools contacts and FAST).

?  The authority was working hard to maintain safeguarding oversight of vulnerable children, and safeguarding partnership meetings have continued to meet, with the active contribution of partner agencies;

?  CFS and HLT had developed a joint database of local vulnerable and in-need children to help focus support.  Partners met twice weekly to review this list, and were keen to continue this development going forward.

?  Schools have been working very hard to continue to support local vulnerable children and children of key workers, and HLT and CFS have supported them in this work.

5.3 The Group Director for Children, Adults and Community Health also highlighted a number of issues from the reports;

?  Local services had worked hard to maintain support for children and families at this time and that there had been many new and positive ways of working that have been developed in response to Covid 19.  It was apparent however that there was a need to understand more about children and young people’s needs at this time, in particular how the pandemic had impacted on their lives and the lives of their families.  Aside from the physical and emotional impact, it was also important to understand how the pandemic was affecting their future aspirations.

?  Secondly, the authority was mindful that the closure of schools and other educational settings might compound disadvantages and inequalities experienced in the local community.  In this respect, the authority was already planning future provision to ensure that efforts to close the gaps in attainment were not lost during this pandemic response.

Children and Families Service

5.4 The Director of CFS also highlighted a number of issues contained within the CFS briefing:

?  Practitioners were working hard to maintain contact with young people and in many cases, contact with children had increased in this period.  Whilst young people in general were receptive to virtual contact, a digital divide was evident and the service was helping  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1 A new work programme was in development and members of the Commission, senior officers and other local stakeholders will be consulted in this process.  Given that it is likely that Covid 19 will continue to strongly influence work programme of not only this but other scrutiny Commissions, the Chair would liaise with other Scrutiny Chairs to coordinate and plan scrutiny functions approach to the Covid 9 response and subsequent recovery plans.

6.2 An outline work programme will be prepared for the next meeting on June 15^th 2020

7.1 The minutes of the meeting held on the 15^th January were approved.  A report has been prepared on the Child Friendly Borough proposals has been prepared with recommendations and would be circulated to members for consultation.

8.1 The Chair noted that as virtual meetings were in their infancy the council was keen to reflect and learn from members experience of the meeting. Officers would be contacting members shortly after the meeting to obtain feedback on their experience so that improvements can be developed where necessary.

The Chair closed the meeting at 9.00pm.

The next meeting will be held on Monday 15^th June.