Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed those present and highlighted the Council’s Fire Evacuation Procedure.

The Minutes of the previous meeting of the Children’s Scrutiny Panel held on 26 January 2026 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Chair welcomed the Corporate Director of Children’s Services, A Bates, to the meeting to provide an update on the Ofsted Focused Visit to the Front Door, which took place between 2–10 December 2025.

The visit had been a nongraded inspection under the ILACS framework and formed part of preparation for the full ILACS inspection expected in the first half of 2026. Inspectors met with senior leaders, reviewed documentation and audited a substantial number of cases across the Assessment Service and the Multi Agency Children’s Hub (MACH). It was noted that Ofsted had been in the process of revising the ILACS framework, with changes due to take effect from 1 April 2026. The Director advised that the implications of these changes were not yet known and confirmed that clarification had been sought from Ofsted, given that current processes were based on the existing framework.

Inspectors thanked staff for their professional and organised approach and noted improvements in management oversight and support over the previous three months. They also confirmed alignment between the Council’s own self-evaluation and the issues identified during inspection.

Key findings included inconsistency in initial responses to children, variable application of thresholds, and reactive decision-making in some cases. Concerns were also raised regarding the quality and impact of audits, parental engagement in the MACH, analysis informing decision-making, safety planning, and the response to 16 and 17-year-olds presenting as homeless.

The service was already acting on the feedback, and areas for improvement were being incorporated into a wider Children’s Services Improvement Plan, organised under ten priority themes, including leadership, safeguarding, care leavers, youth safety, and quality assurance.

The plan would be considered at the newly established Improvement Board on 18 March 2026, with six-weekly reviews thereafter. All staff teams would contribute to team-level plans to support consistent and sustained improvement.

A discussion ensued and the following queries were raised:-

•          A Member asked the Director how she felt following the inspection. The Director advised that the process had been a helpful and constructive experience, providing clarification on whether the service held the right information and had highlighted a small number of gaps that had already been anticipated. She stated that it was reassuring that inspectors agreed with the service’s planned improvement activity. The Director noted that there were several significant areas of focus, including audit and quality assurance, particularly the need to update and clarify roles and responsibilities to ensure greater consistency across teams. She also emphasised the importance of using learning from children’s files to drive service improvement.

•          A Member asked whether the need to increase and improve audits was primarily due to limited staff capacity or resources. The Director advised that the issue was broader, highlighting a lack of clarity regarding what constituted a good audit within a well-functioning team. She confirmed that the SEND team had been asked to assist with audits following positive feedback during their recent inspection and noted that while good audit practice existed, it had not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/47

The Head of SEN and Vulnerable Learners was in attendance to provide the service’s responses to the Scrutiny Panel’s previous recommendations in relation to Children Missing Education (CME).

In respect of Recommendation A, which asked that CME be embedded within Middlesbrough Council’s Draft Poverty Strategy and referenced within any associated performance framework, it was reported that the Local Authority, and Public Health in particular, were no longer planning to produce a standalone Poverty Strategy. It was confirmed that Education and Partnerships had agreed with Public Health that any future strategic work aimed at reducing poverty would incorporate CME where relevant, ensuring that its impact continued to be recognised within wider anti-poverty activity.

In relation to Recommendation B, which sought assurance that Education and Partnerships were fully prepared for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, particularly the monitoring of Elective Home Education (EHE) and the implementation of a single unique identifier for children, the service confirmed that it already maintained a compulsory register of children not in school and had robust procedures in place to oversee electively home educated children. It was further noted that the Bill would remove the automatic right for parents to home educate where a child was subject to a child protection investigation or plan, a change that the service welcomed as it strengthened safeguards for vulnerable children. The service also advised that the Bill would empower local authorities to require school attendance where the home education offer or home environment was deemed unsuitable. It was reported that Middlesbrough already exercised its existing legal powers to return children to school where necessary, and any strengthening of these powers, including the potential ability to inspect the home learning environment, was welcomed.

In respect of Recommendations C and D, it was noted that both required the establishment of Working Groups involving Primary Schools in Central Middlesbrough, Education and Partnerships, Stronger Communities and local Councillors. These Working Groups were intended to explore support for schools experiencing high levels of pupil transience and roll turnover, consult with stakeholders to understand the nature of their concerns, and produce action plans to address identified issues, including the higher rate of CME within the Romanian community. Both groups were also required to report progress to the Children’s Scrutiny Panel by March 2026. It was reported at the meeting that, as the membership for both groups would have been identical, it had been agreed to establish a single combined Working Group. The Group had already met, with a further meeting scheduled for 11 March, and had begun examining several areas of concern, including deep dive activity to inform practical actions relating to extended holidays, fixed penalty notices, CME over a 12month period and refusals of school places. Members were advised that further information would be provided to the Panel as the work progressed.

In respect of Recommendation E, it was noted that an update was to be provided to the Children’s Scrutiny Panel offering assurance on the ongoing work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/48

The Panel received a report which provided further evidence relating to the use of out‑of‑area specialist placements for children looked after. The report summarised comparative data for Middlesbrough against England totals, statistical neighbours, the North East region and the Tees Valley, using verified national data as at 31 March 2025.

It was noted that the percentage of children looked after who were placed more than 20 miles from home in Middlesbrough (15%) was broadly comparable with statistical neighbours (14%) and the Tees Valley average (13%), and that Middlesbrough’s position had remained consistent over the previous four years. The report also highlighted that the proportion of children placed within Middlesbrough’s local authority boundary remained lower than in comparator areas, and that there had been a small increase in cases where the distance from home had not been recorded.

A full dataset was provided, detailing the distribution of placements within and beyond 20 miles of home, and within and outside the local authority boundary, across four years of data for all comparator groups.

A discussion ensued and the following queries were raised:-

•         Members queried why some placement records showed the distance from a child’s home as “not known”. The Director explained that this could occur where live data needed to be updated, where information had not been fully completed before being submitted to the DfE, or where details were difficult to capture for children who moved frequently. It was confirmed that these issues presented learning needs for both the service and its partners.

•         Members also raised concerns about expenditure and questioned whether additional local accommodation could be developed. The Director advised that several complex factors influenced this, including changes in foster care over time and a current shortfall in provision for older children. It was reported that children’s homes were generally well occupied and that opportunities for expansion were being explored, alongside work to strengthen emergency placement options and commissioning activity to support more children to be placed closer to home.

•         In response to questions about the availability of children’s homes, the Director confirmed that Middlesbrough operated seven homes, and that all had been rated as ‘good’, or better, following their most recent inspections in their first year.

•         Members noted that Middlesbrough’s proportion of placements within the local authority boundary appeared low, although the percentage of placements within 20 miles of home was broadly comparable with other areas. The Director advised that more detailed data might be available in future but could not be verified if not formally captured.

•         Members queried whether financial factors formed part of the analysis, however, it was noted that placement costs were not directly comparable within the dataset provided. In relation to whether accommodation was shared with neighbouring authorities, the Director confirmed that there were no formal arrangements, although regional collaboration was increasing, despite national mandates not always aligning with local need.

•         In terms of working more collaboratively with local and regional neighbours in relation to fostering  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/49

Members received a brief update on the Government’s intentions for forthcoming SEND reforms.

The Director advised that the reforms were still being analysed and that a deeper discussion would be required once further clarity had been provided. It was reported that the Council would be required to submit a clear plan to the Government by the summer, setting out how Middlesbrough would work in partnership across the system to implement the changes.

The Director noted that Middlesbrough’s most recent SEND Inspection had been very positive and confirmed that this area already had strong strategic relationships with schools, alongside an established SEND and Inclusion Strategy. She added that future reporting requirements were expected to be significantly different and that a more detailed update would be brought to the Panel once additional information was available.

AGREED that the information provided be noted and a further update on the SEND reforms would be provided when available.

There were no urgent items.