Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the remainder of the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED that Councillor Owen Jeffery be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee for the remainder of the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 September 2025.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2025 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive an update on recommendations and actions following the previous Committee meeting.

Members reviewed the updates on actions from previous meetings.

For Action 25-11, it was noted that a detailed update could not be provided until the Council-wide review of business support had been completed.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

No declarations of interest were received.

Purpose: To consider any petitions requiring an Officer response.

Purpose: To provide Children’s Scrutiny with information on school attendance in West Berkshire. This report outlines how West Berkshire Council is meeting its statutory duties in relation to school attendance. It provides an overview of our strategic approach, operational delivery, and multi-agency collaboration to support children and families, with a focus on reducing persistent and severe absence. It draws on the approved Attendance Strategy 2025 and the Improving School Attendance Delivery Plan 2025–2026, demonstrating a strategic, multi-agency, and child-centred approach to improving attendance outcomes across the local area.

Melissa Perry (Principal Education Welfare Officer/Lead Officer for Safeguarding) presented the report on Local Authority Statutory Duties Around Attendance (Agenda Item 7).

The following points were raised in the debate:

·       Officers indicated that the reasons for absenteeism were multi-faceted.

·       After the Covid pandemic, attendance in West Berkshire had been worse that the national average, but performance had since improved, and it was now better than average.

·       Members noted that there was no explicit mention of bullying in the report – officers indicated that this was one of a wide range of issues affecting attendance.

·       It was explained that each school sought to address issues through its own tailored action plan.

·       Officers confirmed that the statistics in the report included pupils from Traveller communities.

·       It was suggested that West Berkshire Council should compare itself to similar local authorities. Officers explained that, with the exception of Reading, the other Berkshire authorities were regarded as statistical neighbours.

·       Officers were encouraged to read the Covid and Recovery Task and Finish Group report, since this had highlighted impacts on attendance and had recommended reallocation of resources to address these.

·       Members asked if there were individual schools that had been particularly successful in improving attendance, and whether learning could be shared with other schools. It was confirmed that schools were matched so weaker ones learned from stronger ones.

Action: Officers to provide detailed statistics on individual schools that had been most effective in improving attendance.

·       It was suggested that leaders of strongly performing schools could be invited to attend a future meeting of the Committee to share insights on how they had improved attendance.

·       It was requested that acronyms be explained in all future reports.

Action: Officers to explain acronyms in all future reports.

·       Officers explained that the Attendance Team only provided advice to schools and did not employ any Education Welfare Officers (EWOs). However, many schools employed their own family workers. The importance of providing early support for families was recognised.

·       It was noted that the Council offered comprehensive training for schools and their attendance leads, and was in regular contact with schools throughout the year to discuss their needs.

·       Officers confirmed that the Attendance Working Group included representatives from: the Parent Carer Forum, Youth Service, Thames Valley Police, Youth Justice Service, schools, Social Care, Complaints, Virtual School, and the voluntary sector.

·       Members asked if the loss of Council EWOs had put extra pressure on schools, and if this had led to issues around attendance. Officers explained that the role of local authorities in relation to attendance had changed, and the Council was managing as best it could to meet statutory responsibilities.

·       It was noted that funding had been devolved to allow schools to employ their own staff, and the current WBC service had been co-designed with schools.

·       Officers confirmed that stats were used to inform how resources were deployed to deliver focused projects with schools.

·       It was hoped that the Attendance Strategy would lead to improvement. Officers indicated that the Strategy would continue to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Purpose: This report provides an update on the latest Ofsted inspection reports for schools in West Berkshire, and changes to the Ofsted school inspection regime that came into effect in November 2025.

Neil Goddard (Service Director – Education and SEND) presented the report on School Ofsted Inspections (Agenda Item 8).

The following points were raised in the debate:

·       Although Ofsted had appeared keen to listen when engaging with partners, the revised assessment framework did not seem to reflect feedback provided, and there were concerns about how the new inspection process might be implemented. It was stressed that all new inspections would be led by HM Inspectors, which would generate learning that would be shared.

·       It was noted that the tables in the report referred to percentages rather than absolute number of schools.

·       Members asked about the different categories of schools and the Council’s role with each. Officers indicated that they would be happy to explain the categories and stressed that every child educated in West Berkshire was the Council’s responsibility. Members indicated that they would welcome additional training.

Actions:

o   Officers to provide a briefing for Members on the different categories of schools.

o   Members to liaise with Democratic Service re future training needs.

·       It was acknowledged that Ofsted inspections were just one measure of a school’s success.

·       Officers provided reassurance that parents and pupils had an opportunity to contribute to the Ofsted assessment process.

·       It was recognised that one word Ofsted inspection outcomes had been problematic. Although this would be replaced by a scorecard that gave a broader view, it could still not provide a complete picture.

·       Members expressed concern that parents may solely use Ofsted inspection results to choose schools for their children. Officers agreed and recommended that parents visit schools to understand how they could meet their needs. Also, it was noted that periods between inspections could be long, and so inspection results could be out of date.

·       It was noted that every school rated as ‘inadequate’ had an action plan. The Service Director for Education and SEND had termly meetings with the headteacher, chair of governors, and principal school improvement advisor allocated to the school, to monitor implementation of the action plan. Officers also met with Ofsted every half-term, and Ofsted undertook regular monitoring visits with schools.

·       Officers confirmed that they monitored all schools across a range of indicators throughout the year. If they had concerns, then they would raise those with the school. Support could be provided to the governing body, or the governing body could be replaced if appropriate. Officers had support meetings with each school annually. There was also a multi-disciplinary Schools Causing Concern Group, which could put in place packages of support for schools that were struggling.

·       It was noted that each school was controlled through its governing body. The Council had more powers in relation to non-academy schools, but if officers had concerns about academy schools, they could speak to Ofsted. Support was offered to academies where it was appropriate to do so by the Council and through academy chains.

·       Members congratulated Theale CofE Primary School in achieving an outstanding grade in all aspects of their latest Ofsted inspection.

·       Members indicated that they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

Purpose: Ofsted visited West Berkshire’s Children’s Services to conduct a short ILACS (Inspections of Local Authority Children's Services) between 8 – 19 September 2025. The inspection report was published by Ofsted on 28 October 2025. This report provides an overview of Ofsted’s findings.

Rebeca Wilshire (Service Director – Children’s Social Care) presented the report on the Ofsted Inspection of Children’s Social Care (Agenda Item 9).

The following points were raised in the debate:

·       Members noted that the Early Help Partnership had been identified as an area requiring improvement. This was partly outside of the Council’s control, as it needed partners to engage. However, both the proposed Children and Young People’s Board, and the newly formed West Berkshire Safeguarding Partnership included key partners who could help to develop the Early Help Partnership.

·       Officers confirmed that Children’s Social Care had good relationships with health visitors and school nurses, but the development of Family Hubs would help to improve partnerships further and identify emerging issues even earlier.

·       It was suggested that senior managers could take on cases themselves to reduce pressure on their teams. Officers confirmed that while this happened occasionally, particularly for adoption, it was not done routinely, because it was important for children to have continuous relationships with their social worker. Also, if Ofsted saw significant numbers of cases allocated to managers, then they would deem those cases to be ‘unallocated’. This happened in September 2023 when Ofsted undertook a focused visit. They had indicated that the service had been significantly away from being rated as ‘good’ at that time.

·       It was highlighted that agency staff currently accounted for just 10% of social workers, down from 33% two years ago. Some of those were in the process of converting to permanent positions.

·       Officers confirmed that more young carers had been identified and were being supported. Although there were some carers waiting to be assessed, this did not preclude the Council from providing support. Family Hubs would provide additional support within local communities, which would be accessible to young carers.

·       It was noted that recording had improved to ensure that the voice of young people was better captured. Also, as social workers finished their engagement with families, they sought regular feedback from the parents and children. Additionally, from January 2026, audits would include calls to families and children.

·       Officers gave assurance that timelines would be developed for the action plan. Some of the actions were linked to with the Family First Partnership reforms. From April 2026, the Council would be required to identify its first flagship Family Hub. Similarly, central government would set out dates by which family help actions would need to be completed.

·       The Committee agreed to formally extend their congratulations to the Executive on the ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

Action: The Chairman to write to the Leader of the Council to congratulate the Executive on the ‘good’ Ofsted inspection result.

RESOLVED to note the report.

Purpose: To advise the Committee of items to be considered by West Berkshire Council’s Executive from September to December 2025 and for Members to decide whether to review any of the proposed items prior to the meeting indicated in the Plan.

The Committee considered the Executive Forward Plan (Agenda Item 10).

Members asked to see response to the Children’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Task Group. It was noted that the Task Group’s report had previously been circulated to the Committee.

Action: The Task Group’s report to be recirculated for information.

There was discussion around the Schools Funding Formula. It was noted that this was set nationally. Officers offered to share the detailed papers that went to the Schools Forum.

Action: Officers to share Schools Funding Formula papers that went to the Schools Forum.

It was noted that the Forward Plan did not go beyond March 2026, and it was requested that this have a forward view of 6-12 months in order to give the Committee a chance to identify items for pre-scrutiny.

Action: Officers to update the Forward Plan

Officers confirmed that the Youth Council report was being amended and it was expected that this would come to the next meeting of the Executive as originally planned.

RESOLVED that the Forward Plan be noted.

Purpose: To receive new items and agree and prioritise the work programme of the Committee.

The Committee considered the proposed Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee Work Programme (Agenda Item 11).

Members of the public had suggested topics for scrutiny, including:

·       The Council’s approach to SEN Tribunals and

·       The Council’s policy on Education Other Than At School (EOTAS).

It was noted that work was underway to look at SEN Tribunals, and the Council was in the process of developing an EOTAS policy.

The following changes to the work programme were agreed:

·       Attainment of Children on Free School Meals to be considered at the March meeting.

·       SEN Tribunals and the EOTAS Policy to be considered at the September meeting.

·       A deep dive to be carried out on School Attendance.

Actions:

·       Develop terms of reference for a deep dive on School Attendance.

·       Officers to respond to members of the public who had proposed topics for scrutiny.