Agenda item

Report of the Head of Democratic Services

Clive Chambers, Head of Safeguarding and Quality introduced a report to the Committee. Councillor David Mellen, Portfolio Holder for Early Intervention and Early Years, Councillor Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Schools, Alison Michalska, Corporate Director for Children and Adults and Nick Lee, Head of Access and Learning were also in attendance and contributed to the discussion. The following points were highlighted:

a)  Schools have a unique role in keeping children safe. Research conducted by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found that children find it hard to talk about abuse, and that if they are going to talk to someone about it, they are most likely to tell someone in school. Therefore, schools need to ensure that the professionals most likely to be approached by children experiencing abuse are well trained and supported.

b)  All schools have designated safeguarding leads who meet together every month. This network provides a direct line of communication between the safeguarding leads and the Safeguarding Board. The network is also an opportunity to update leads on national issues. Colleagues are about to start recruiting a small cohort of advanced safeguarding leads whose role will be to work with their own schools and other schools to share their skills and knowledge and bring challenge and scrutiny into schools.

c)  The work being done at the moment builds on solid foundations. The City Council provides ongoing training in schools, which can also be bought by academies, to support staff with their safeguarding responsibilities and to support children in supporting their own safety. Examples of the latter are Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) and a free play for secondary schools to raise awareness of sexual exploitation.

During discussions the following information was provided:

d)  Responsibility for safeguarding training lies with the school and the governing body. This applies to maintained schools and academies. Colleagues will be sending a self-assessment tool to all schools and academies in the city to audit what training activity has taken place. Schools must comply with safeguarding legislation regardless of their status. The Director of Children’s Services and relevant Portfolio Holders are responsible for safeguarding and all schools are accountable to them. The Safeguarding Board also has a role in challenging schools that are not meeting standards.

e)  SRE focuses on what makes a healthy adult relationship rather than just the sexual elements of relationships. It is delivered by Equation, a local charitable organisation. The play that was referred to is another opportunity to raise issues. Nationally, there is a requirement for schools to deliver SRE but no requirements in terms of what’s covered or how much time is spent on it. This results in the quality of SRE varying significantly between schools.

f)  Home education is monitored by a dedicated team of two – a co-ordinator and a former teacher who is involved in quality assessment. However, there is no requirement for any home educating family to register with the Local Authority. There are currently 164 children registered as receiving home education in Nottingham but this does not necessarily represent every home educated child as some families may have chosen not to register. If a child was on a school roll and has been withdrawn they have to follow a deregistration process so the Local Authority is aware of them. The Council may not be aware of those who have never been educated in school whose families choose not to register. On occasion, partner organisations such as midwives and health visitors come across home educating families and alert the Local Authority.

g)  There are networks of home educators and colleagues are strengthening relationships with these groups. There are also very clear routes for safeguarding. For example when a family registers, a check is carried out to determine whether there has been any previous social care contact. If there are any safeguarding concerns as a result of contact with home educating families these are raised in the normal way through duty team. Support is provided to families where there are issues.

h)  Children waiting for a place in school follow a separate process to home educated children. Work is underway to process children as quickly as possible and the waiting time has reduced. Colleagues currently try to get everyone placed within a term which is a legal requirement. If the child is not placed, the Authority can support the child with school work if parents are in a position to support them.

i)  In terms of quality of education provided via home-schooling, the former Teacher provides families with advice and support on the quality of the education they provide. If there are consistent concerns the case can be referred to Education Welfare.

RESOLVED to

(1)  thank the contributors for the report and information provided at the meeting;

(2)  consider carrying out further scrutiny on Home Education as part of the Committee’s work programme for 2016-17.