Agenda item

The Scrutiny Panel will be asked to consider, discuss and agree the terms of reference for the review.

The Democratic Services Officer advised that following the last meeting of the scrutiny panel, held on 9 November, the draft terms of reference had been circulated to Members for comment.

Members were invited to consider, discuss and agree the finalised terms of reference that had been proposed for the review, which had been circulated with the agenda pack.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services commented on the importance of highlighting the views and opinions of children and young people throughout the review.

A discussion ensued and Members were in agreement that a specific statement should be included alongside the terms of reference, which highlights the scrutiny panel’s intention to obtain the views and opinions of children and young people throughout the review.

In response to a Member’s query regarding ways of accessing the views of children and young people, the Director of Education, Prevention and Partnerships advised that particularly in respect of supporting those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the Local Authority had established effective ways of capturing the voice of the child or young person, including accessing user groups. The Strategic Lead for Inclusion and Specialist Support Services added that the Local Authority had a Lead Participation Officer whose role involved capturing the views of children and young people via one-to-one meetings, small group meetings and conferences etc. The scrutiny panel was advised that feedback from children and young people would also be accessed when conducting a full review of the new model in July 2021. It was commented that the information obtained as part of the review would be reported back to the scrutiny panel.

The Head of Access to Education and Alternative Provision advised that approximately a year ago, a review of the Alternative Provision Service had been undertaken. As part of that review, work had been undertaken to obtain the views and opinions of children and young people, questions were planned and group discussions were arranged. It was commented that the feedback obtained from those discussions had been really useful and helpful. The importance of asking supplementary questions, following the initial responses of children and young people, was conveyed. It was added that once the conversations began to flow, the feedback received provided valuable insights.

The Democratic Services Officer advised that in 2018 the scrutiny panel had undertaken a review entitled 'Listening to the Voice of the Child', therefore, a copy of the report would be circulated to panel members.

Members commented that seeking the views of school councils could provide an opportunity to gain the views of the whole student population. The Director of Education, Prevention and Partnerships advised that school councils could be approached with a series of questions. The Executive Director of Children’s Services commented that the Member of Youth Parliament could provide assistance with the scrutiny panel’s investigation by engaging with pupils and seeking feedback.

AGREED:

1.    That, throughout the investigation of the topic, the scrutiny panel endeavour to seek the views and opinions of children and young people.

2.    That the terms of reference be agreed as follows:

a)    To identify the powers and duties of schools to manage behaviour and discipline pupils.

b)    To investigate the Local Authority’s role in supporting schools with behaviour management and the impact of its work.

c)    To examine the causes of pupil behaviour problems e.g. unmet educational or other needs.

d)    To identify the challenges faced by schools in dealing with poor behaviour and bullying and to examine the reasons some schools have higher rates of fixed-term and permanent exclusions.

e)    To investigate the types of sanctions used by schools that can impact on a pupil's educational outcomes and life chances.

f)     To examine the successful and proactive strategies and solutions used by schools to promote positive behaviour, manage poor behaviour and prevent and tackle bullying.