Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed members to the Board meeting and thanked officers and members for their hard work during Covid-19.

Ian Keating updated the board to the work that lead members and officers have been doing since Covid-19 became a local government crisis.

Officers gave the following updates:

Early Years

• Early Providers have really struggled financially during COVID-19.
• Accessing wrap around care is an ongoing issue for parents.

Schools

• Concerns about children catching up on the missed curriculum, while ensuring teachers are feeling the increased pressure of catching pupils up.
• School transport will be a challenge during the easing of the lockdown and older children using public transport to get to school.
• Free school meals not continuing over the summer would be a crisis for vulnerable children.
• Safety in schools is a concern with teachers and parents raising these issues nationally.

Children’s Social Care

• The LGA is commissioning a piece of work around collecting the voice of children and their experiences during Covid-19.
• Reducing referrals to children’s social care, and numbers of children coming into care of the council, during Covid-19 is a concern.
• Pressures on the workforce in Social Care the longer the crisis goes on is an ongoing concern of councils.

Children’s Health

·       We have managed to secure agreement from the NHS that health visitors and school nurses should be returned from redeployment to their original roles. However, we know that some redeployment remains and are working to support local authorities with this. In the future all redeployment decisions should be agreed by Directors of Public Health, as agreed by NHS England.

·       On this basis local authorities are expected to start phasing back healthy child programme visits and development checks. Priority for home visits should still be given to new birth visits and those families thought to be ‘vulnerable’.

·       NHS E and are leading the childhood immunisation plan and we know there will be a major catch up programme from especially for school aged children from September. We are working to ensure local authorities are consulted in the plans.

CYP Mental Health

• A successful webinar on peer power and youth justice was held, highlighting how we hear the voice of the child. More will be organised as the crisis continues.
• Understanding the mental health of the whole family when dealing with mental health of children.
• There is an increase in child anxiety and depression, leading to a higher risk of suicides.

Members had the following comments:

• Wrap around care provision is a massive problem with key workers who used to get the care for their dependents but no longer can access it. While it is reassuring the LGA is taking up this issue, but the pressure needs to be kept up.
• Teacher safety in schools is an issue that needs addressing as the lockdown is eased.
• Schools ensuring their pupils can work online during the lockdown has come at a massive cost to schools and they will need urgent financial support.
• Outdoor study maybe critical in the summer months for safety of all staff and students.
• Student emotional wellbeing is declining with students who have little outdoor space  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Officers ran through the proposed Children and Young People Board priorities and asked members to reflect on the impact of the pandemic on schools and children’s services.

Decision

Members approved the Board Priorities

Jasbir Jhas gave an update on employment and skills and highlighted that the recovery needs to be locally led with greater funding from national government. The LGA is currently calling for:

• Devolved powers and sufficient funding so councils can fulfil their statutory duties to support all young people, including those at risk of, or who are NEET, care leavers, disadvantaged groups and those with special educational needs
• For councils to have lead role in planning now for a post-16 local offer so young people have a coherent picture of locally available options (A levels, T levels, Apprenticeships) and that T level reforms are a success
• Co-design a locally relevant careers advice offers for young people and adults with progressive devolution of national support.

Bushra Jamil gave an updated on youth participation, highlighting apprentices and greater funding for the youth sector.          

Members made the following comments

• Funding of Further Education Colleges will be vital during the recovery phase of COVID-19.
• Careers services need to provide ongoing support to those who have been helped to start a job.

Decision

Members noted the updated

Members approved the notes from 22 January 2020.