Agenda item

The Democratic Services Officer presented the submitted report. The following information was provided:

·         At the start of every municipal year, panel members discussed the topics that they would like to review during the coming year.

·         Work programmes were useful as they provided some structure to a scrutiny panel’s activity and allowed for the effective planning and preparation of work.

·         Referenced in the report was a list of topics which were anticipated to be of particular interest to the scrutiny panel.

·         A topic that had been agreed last year, which had not been investigated was School Meals and Physical Education.

·         The topical issues referenced in the report were - the impact of COVID on learning, every child deserves the best start in life, leading and delivering early childhood services, Pupil Premium and sexual abuse in schools and colleges.

·         The suggestions received for the scrutiny panel’s consideration were - air pollution outside schools and the impact on school attendance, teaching children about budgeting, digital inclusion for children and young people and children who struggle making friends at school.

·         The Director of Education and Partnerships had suggested that it would be timely for the scrutiny panel to investigate the topics of youth violence and work undertaken with schools; SEND sufficiency and the free school wave.

·         When considering its work programme, the scrutiny panel was asked to ensure that topics agreed for inclusion met the criteria detailed at paragraph 13 of the report.

·         A prioritisation aid was included at Appendix 1 to enable Members to determine topics where scrutiny can make an impact, add value or contribute to policy development.

·         It was recommended that the scrutiny panel identified two topics it would like to include in its work programme, those would then be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for approval.

A Member made reference to the impact of Covid-19 on the learning of four and five-year-olds, ensuring every child deserves the best start in life and leading and delivering early childhood services. It was suggested that those issues could be considered collectively by investigating the topic of early learning for young children.

A Member commented that it would be beneficial for the scrutiny panel to look at Free School Meals (FSM) and the issue of school attendance.

A Member expressed a wish to investigate the topic of youth violence and its links to school exclusions and attendance. It was added that there had been an increase of serious youth violence across the Cleveland Police Force area.

A Member put forward a suggestion that the scrutiny panel investigated the topic of School Meals and Physical Education, which had been previously agreed for the work programme in 2021/22. The need for pupils to have access to healthy and nutritional meals was highlighted. It was added that data and information in respect of FSM could also be considered as part of the review.

Members were in an agreement that a short review of School Meals and Physical Education could be undertaken to look at healthy eating standards in schools, FSM data/figures and the physical education curriculum.

The Director of Education and Partnerships advised that work undertaken to address serious youth violence was primarily delivered by the Youth Offending Team and its partners (including schools). It was clarified that the topic had been suggested as the Local Authority worked in partnership with schools to deliver programmes aimed at addressing the issue of youth violence in the Middlesbrough area. It was therefore agreed that the scrutiny panel would investigate the topic of youth offending and partnership working with schools.

A discussion ensued and Members agreed topics for inclusion in the scrutiny panel’s work programme for 2022/23.

AGREED

That the topics listed below be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for approval and inclusion in the work programme of the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel for 2022/2023:

Short review

·         School Meals and Physical Education

In-depth reviews

·         Youth Offending and Partnership Working with Schools; and

·         Early Learning for Young Children.