Agenda and minutes

1.1 Apologies for absence were received from the following members of the Commission:

·  Cllr Lee Laudat Scott;

·  Cllr Caroline Selman;

·  SalmahKansara;

·  Jacquie Burke, Group Director for Children & Education.

1.2 The following members connected virtually:

·  Cllr Anya Sizer.

2.1 There were no urgent items and the agenda was as had been published.

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

·  Jo Macleod, local school governor and mother of child with SEND in the borough;

·  Cllr Anya Sizer, mother of a child with SEND in the borough;

·  Steven Olalere was a local school governor.

To review the accessibility of CAMHS in Hackney.

4.1 In March 2022, the Commission assessed the accessibility of local CAMHS through the Cabinet Q and A process.  At this meeting the Commission noted the acute pressures which services were under and which had resulted in lengthy waiting times for children to be assessed and to receive therapeutic support.  The Commission agreed to follow up this work in greater detail within the 2022/23 work programme.

4.2 The Commission therefore requested an update from local CAMHS on the accessibility of local services to include

·  Overview of service demand, waiting times and compliance with accessibility standards;

·  Update on the development of a single point of access (no wrong front door) across the CAMHS alliance;

·  Access to therapeutic services and who are waiting for therapeutic support; - Demographic analysis of disproportionalities in those children and young people seeking help from CAMHS;

·  Governance and oversight of CAMHS alliance - structures that oversee service demands, waiting times and the broader implementation of local priorities.

4.3 To support the scrutiny of this item it was noted that members of the Commission had:

1.  Undertaken a number of site visits to a range of providers within the CAMHS Alliance - including First Steps, Specialist CAMHS and Off-Centre.

2.  Held a focus group where 8 members of the Commission were able to discuss service accessibility with a range of  mental health practitioners from First Steps, Specialist CAMHS and Off-Centre and wider CAMHS Alliance.

4.4 The Chair thanked all those CAMHS services and CAMHS practitioners who gave up their time to speak to the Commission and for responding to all its questions.  The Chair emphasised how important it was for the Commission to be able to engage with front-line practitioners in the scrutiny process, as this provides additional insight and helps members to connect with and better understand the issues under scrutiny.  Importantly, it also helps members to understand what adaptations or changes that might be necessary to improve services.

Introduction by CAMHS Alliance

4.5 Officers introduced the report highlighting the following key issues:

·  The emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people was a top priority locally to which all local agencies were signed up to and which is reflected in local strategies and plans (i.e. Emotional Health and Wellbeing Strategy).

·  All authorities are required to have developed a CAMHS Transformation Plan, which in Hackney is delivered by the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Partnership (EHEBP) which is overseen by the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Board (Chaired by the Group Director for Children and  Education).

·  Post Covid demand for CAMHS services has increased significantly which has created demand pressures within the local CAMHS system.  A number of work streams have been developed to respond to these challenges including the reconfiguration of  neuro-divergent pathways of support and the ‘surge response’ of services.

·  In July 2023, seven Clinical Commissioning Groups merged which also provided an opportunity to take stock of local CAMHS provision and to refocus local priorities and galvanise efforts to improve integration and address inequalities.

·  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To question Cllr Anntionette Bramble, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care on policy areas within her service portfolio.

5.1 Cabinet members who have responsibility for children and young people's services are invited to the Commission annually so that members can scrutinise services within their respective service portfolios.  The Commission may identify up to three services or policy areas on which to focus questioning.  For this session, the Commission requested that Cllr Anntionette Bramble, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care respond to questions on 3 policy areas:

·  The Hackney Offer to socal schools - and the quality and outcomes of this work;

·  Children placed in temporary accommodation - impact on welfare and support available;

·  Children who go missing from care.

5.2.1  In relation to Young Hackney the Commission set out the following questions for the Cabinet member;

·  How does Young Hackney assess the quality and outcomes of this work with local schools?

·  How does the Young Hackney offer interrelate with other school support services such as CAMHS, WAMHS and the Re-Engagement Unit?  Are these services effectively coordinating provision to support children and local schools?

·  Not all schools equally engage with the universal offer by Young Hackney, how does Young Hackney work with those schools which may be reluctant to engage and refer children for support?

5.2.2 The Cabinet Member response to the above is summarised below:

·  14 secondary schools in the maintained sector have an attached Young Hackney link worker and other schools can also refer children into the programme.

·  At primary level, the main area of support is to help children transition from primary to secondary school settings as this can be challenging for a number of students.

·  There is a programme of PSHE support for schools where officers provide advice, support and training to staff as well as session delivery to year groups or the whole school.  This covers a wide range of subjects including relationship education, substance misuse, bullying and addressing racism and homophobia.

·  Young Hackney also offers an extensive programme of activities for young people during the holiday period which can help maintain support to vulnerable children and families;

·  There are also drop-in sessions held at a number of maintained schools where children can get advice and support on a range of issues including help with exams, dealing with stress or help in preparing a CV. There are also drop in sessions at 3 schools for young carers (Cardinal Pole, Mossbourne Academy, Clapton Girls).

5.2.3  Members raised the following supplementary questions:

a) Are the 14 schools provided with a link worker across primary and secondary school settings?

·  Most secondary schools have a dedicated Young Hackney link worker as the nature of support required is different to that of primary school children. There were 3-4 schools which did not have a dedicated link worker which was due to resource limitations, but they could still refer children to the Young Hackney programme of support. All support to primary schools from Young Hackney is provided through a hub model with a worker covering a number of schools.

b) Do all schools  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note the letter to Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care from the Commission setting out the outcomes of its work on Support for Young Parents.

6.1 The Commission is in the process of drafting a summary of its work on Support for Young Parents.  This is still being prepared and will be sent to members for their comments before this is sent to the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Young People and Children’s Social Care.  This letter and the response will be published in a future agenda.

To note the letter send to Secretary of State for Education as agreed by the Commission from 16/1/23.

7.1 The Commission has drafted a response from its work on unregistered educational settings to be sent to the Secretary of State for Education and the Chair of the Education Select Committee.  This has been circulated to members informally and would be published in the next agenda of the Commission 27th June 2023.

To discuss the draft report and recommendations of the Commission’s review into Recruitment and Retention of Foster Carers.

8.1 The Commission is in the process of drafting a summary of its work Recruitment and Retention of Foster carers.  This is still being prepared and the report will be sent to members for their comments before this is sent to the Cabinet for a detailed response. This report and the cabinet response will be published in a future agenda.

To review the Commission’s work programme for year end 2022/23.

9.1 This being the last meeting of the municipal year 2022/23, members of the Commission were invited to review the work programme over the past year and to note those issues which have been identified for possible scrutiny in 2023/24.  Members were also asked to identify:

·  Areas of work where further scrutiny was needed.

·  Areas of scrutiny which had been successful and areas where there had been challenges.

·  New areas of scrutiny for 2023/24.

9.2  Areas for further scrutiny suggested:

·  Jo Macleod suggested that additional scrutiny was needed around those children not in school and what support was being provided to them.  Emotionally based school avoidance was of particular importance as this was a growing problem which needed a strategic approach across services to resolve.

·  Cllr Turbet Delof suggested that further work should be undertaken to assess the trauma which school exclusion can have on children.

·  Andy English made two suggestions:

o  In relation to falling school rolls, it was noted that there has been a high degree of in-year pupil mobility and it would be helpful to understand the impact that this was having on schools and the outcomes for children.

o  To follow on from previous work with SEND, it was noted that there were no ARP provision being planned for local secondary schools as yet and it would be helpful to know what progress had been made. Where do children transition in a primary ARP transition to if there is limited secondary ARP provision?

·  Cllr Binnie-Lubbock suggested the following:

o  The FSM and childhood food poverty in schools had been positive and suggested that this be followed up in 23/24 when the Mayor of London FSM provision is extended alongside the planned developments.

o  The testimonies of foster carers was very powerful and the Commission should continue to review recommendations:

o  Reports on the attainment gap were also very interesting and should be followed up in 2023/23 to ensure that gaps are narrowing. 

o  Impact of school closures would be important to investigate in 2023/24.

o  It would also be important to scrutinise proposals for Family Hubs before these are finalised. 

o  It would be helpful to follow up on the outcome of the Youth Justice Inspection and the Youth Justice Plan. 

o  Not listed thus far, but would be helpful to investigate further would be on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ children and young people of local services and supported by Hackney.

·  Cllr Anya Sizer suggested that the Commission should look at Foetal Alcohol Syndrome as CAMHS also flagged this as an issue where further information and data is needed. 

·  Cllr Margaret Gordon highlighted the need to investigate behaviour management policies in schools arising from the outcomes of the Child Q Safeguarding Practice Review.  It would be useful to assess the evidence base for local priorities and the current impact of local policies.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th March 2023.

10.1Minutes of the previous meeting held on the 20^th March 2023 were noted and agreed by members.

11.1 The next meeting of the Commission will be held on 27th June 2023.

11.2 There was no other business and the meeting concluded at 9.55pm.