Agenda item

4.1 The Commission continues to receive updates from both Children and Families Services and Hackney Learning Trust on how services were responding to Covid 19, and subsequent recovery plans.  The Directors of the respective services highlighted key issues from the report as set out below.

4.2 Children & Families Service 

·  Referral levels continue to be lower than expected, though this had increased slightly as more children were returning to school.  Numbers were expected to grow further and the service was preparing.

·  Domestic abuse referrals remain higher than expected.

·  It remains difficult to put interventions in place to support children and young people and their families and some ‘bottlenecking’ is being experienced.

·  The courts still operate at below capacity, so a significant number of court cases were waiting to be heard in both youth justice and in the children’s social care system.  As a result there is a slight increase in the number of children on Child Protection Plans and in care.

·  As lockdown restrictions have eased, more cases are seen face-to-face and high risk cases are now back to the usual frequency of visits. A blended approach of face-to-face visits with virtual meetings was being used for lower risk cases.

·  Adventure playgrounds and youth hubs would be opening up for the summer but at reduced capacity to meet social distancing requirements.

·  DfE devices have arrived and are being distributed via schools and social work teams.

4.3 Hackney Learning Trust 

·  The numbers of young people attending early years settings continues to increase.  A number of childcare settings in the independent sector had recorded a significant drop in income from fees which has raised concerns about their future viability.

·  Schools have continued to provide home learning and where possible have continued with assessments to understand where children were in their learning.

·  The number of children attending primary school had also increased, and some schools had taken in pupils outside of year 1 and year 6.

·  The number of teaching staff attending school across both primary and secondary sectors was increasing in preparedness for a full school return in September.

·  In relation to exam assessments, advice had been provided to schools to help avoid unconscious bias.

·  The council had made £50k available to fund summer activities for more vulnerable children over the summer holidays and 17 schools were offering activities.

·  Devices from DfE had been delivered to eligible children via schools.  The Council also intended a phase 2 approach which would issue recycled laptops to local children and young people.

·  Whilst children were expected back in school in September, it was clear that IT devices would be needed beyond then for continued on-line learning and in the eventuality of a school may be required to close.

Questions

4.4 In respect of the distribution of digital devices, what work has been undertaken locally to increase the availability of wifi-hotspots around schools?

·  This has been a challenge locally.  Schools had been asked to audit access to IT and wifi access which found that around 10% did not have access to a device and a further 15% had limited wifi access (limited data or bandwidth).  The council was developing a strategy to address the digital divide and as part of this was seeking to extend free wifi access across the borough. 

4.5 The National Education Union has issued a five point check-list to enable children, staff and parents to return to school safely.  How was the council working with schools to help meet these assessments where these could be influenced locally (e.g. an all school approach and the protection of the vulnerable)?

·  Hackney Learning Trust (HLT)l was following government guidelines to support extended school provision safely. HLT continued to meet colleagues in the Public Health and Unions to ensure that schools could reopen safely.  Headteachers were also meeting with Union representatives and consulting them in risk assessment plans.

4.6 What impact had the Covid 19 response had on the budgets for both Children and Families Service and Hackney Learning Trust? What are the budget projections for year end 2021?

·  CFS reported that it had been keeping a careful track of spending in relation to the Covid 19 response.  Some cost pressures are difficult to pinpoint as being a result of Covid 19, particularly some of the more complex placements for children. There are more pressures in the market which have made some children social care placements more expensive.  There have been additional payments for families who are in real hardship and to families of disabled children.  CFS continued to work with Finance colleagues to track spending and help to project future spending.

·  HLT reported that the most significant cost to date has been the loss of childcare fees to local children’s centres.  There was also a significant loss of traded income for HLT, for example, training and development. For schools themselves the cost of Covid may have been less significant as additional costs incurred by the Covid response have been offset by other reduced costs from children not being in school.  Primary schools with an attached children’s centre would also be facing the loss of income from childcare fees.  Although some funding had been announced to help children catch-up, this would be a significant expense going forward for schools.

·  One of the schools present noted whilst some of the costs for the Covid response had been met, others had not.  For example, at the beginning of the crisis due to delays in the national voucher scheme for free school meals, the school had commissioned an alternative provider, but had since been notified that it would not be reimbursed. This was an additional cost of £70k.

4.7 What is the role of the Adapting Support and Services for Children and Young people workstream and is this a partnership group?

·  This is a partnership approach to responding to Covid 19.  There has been close working with partners in the community and voluntary sector in developing a youth offer.  Many of the services pressures seen in Hackney are similar to what is experienced elsewhere across London, so this forum provides an opportunity to reflect and learn from good practice.

4.8 Understandably there has been some delay in getting devices to children ahead of the end of term, but has any guidance been issued as to how children may use the devices to help them catch up over the summer holidays?

·  Advice has been provided on the HLT website to support children and parents over the summer holidays.  Details of summer activities would also be provided on the website.

·  CFS also noted that the distributed devices were not only for education purposes but also to help social workers stay in touch with children and young people.

4.9 Will children be offered tests before returning to school in September and is there an independent body monitoring schools to ensure that they follow national guidance?

·  HLT responded that in terms of guidance for schools extending school provision to all pupils in September, all schools are required to update their risk assessments and these are checked by the Council.  There was also clear guidance to children and families and staff, that if they exhibit symptoms they should get tested and self-isolate for the period required. The Government has indicated that schools will be issued with home tests to support this process. 

4.10 The Chair thanked Directors for their briefings and responding to members' questions.