Agenda and minutes

Councillor D. Hughes declared a personal interest in item number 66 (Progress on Rotherham’s Sexual Health Strategy) as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the SHIELD organisation.

There were no questions from members of the public or the press.

The Scrutiny Panel noted the success of the Eleven Million Takeover day, on Friday, 7^th November, 2008, when Youth Cabinet members attended a meeting at Rotherham Town Hall with Members of the Borough Council’s Cabinet and of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee.

The Youth Cabinet would also be writing to the local Members of Parliament with their views on:-

- increasing the amount of recycling of waste in schools;

- reduction in the amount of product packaging;

- reduction in the supply and use of plastic bags.

FOR DISCUSSION

(1) Sure Start Children’s Centres – reference was made to the development of Sure Start Children’s Centres and their location alongside certain primary schools. Discussion took place on whether school governing bodies had responsibility for the management of these Centres. It was agreed that the appropriate officers present a report to an early meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel about this matter.

(2) Road Safety and the Levels of Motor Traffic outside Schools – Members were invited to join this Scrutiny Review Group (Councillor Kaye agreed to participate in this review).

(3) Locality Teams - Scrutiny Panel members were reminded that the visit of inspection to the newly-established Locality Teams would take place on Monday, 1st December, 2008.

Mike Brown, Sexual Health Lead, NHS Rotherham to report

Consideration was given to a report presented by Mike Brown, Sexual Health Lead at NHS Rotherham, which described the progress being made with the Rotherham Sexual Health Strategy. The report stated that the rise in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), both nationally and regionally, has been mirrored in Rotherham. The key points and issues within the report were:-

- the unequal impact of STIs and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), with the most disadvantages groups and deprived communities having the highest levels of infection;

- high rates of unintended pregnancies, as witnessed by termination figures in women of all ages and the rates of teenage pregnancy;

- an increase in “risky” behaviour due to changes in society and the high rates of partner change; there are also relatively low levels of public awareness about risk and the consequences of unprotected sex;

- services operating often in isolation and only occasionally linking up with other sexual health services;

- demand management is often inadequate with services either overstretched or under-utilised;

- locally in Rotherham, efforts are being made to meet national targets, better assess need and to modernise services to deliver improved sexual health services for the Borough’s population.

The report also referred to the draft Sexual Health Strategy (2007-2010) published by NHS Rotherham, to the Sexual Health Targets (within the Public Service Agreement and the Local Delivery Plan) and to the national Chlamydia screening programme for 15 to 24 year olds. Various graphs were distributed to Scrutiny Panel members, providing statistical information about young people’s sexual health in Rotherham.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of these matters included reference to the following salient issues:-

(i) the number of people visiting genito urinary medicine clinics and the use of screening programmes;

(ii) priorities such as increasing access to and take-up of long acting reversible contraception and also an increase in HIV prevention work;

(iii) the provision of sexual health information to schools and faith schools and the restrictions to such provision;

(iv) using the principles of world class commissioning to ensure the development of high quality services;

(v) screening services provided and funded by other organisations, including charities;

(vi) obtaining screening services from pharmacies and from Internet web sites.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That a further progress report about the Rotherham Sexual Health Strategy be submitted to a meeting of this Scrutiny Panel in twelve months’ time.

(Councillor D. Hughes declared a personal interest in the above item and did not vote)

Melanie Simmonds, Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Co-ordinator, NHS Rotherham to report

Further to Minutes Nos. 12 (of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 7^th July, 2006) and 22 (of this Scrutiny Panel’s meeting held on 8^th September, 2006), consideration was given to a report presented by Melanie Simmonds, Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Co-ordinator at NHS Rotherham, which described the progress being made with the Rotherham Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.

The report stated that the Government had launched the national Teenage Pregnancy Strategy in 1999, with the Rotherham Strategy being launched during the following year. Although the teenage pregnancy rate is reducing, England still has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Western Europe. As part of the Rotherham teenage Pregnancy Strategy, the following priorities for action had been identified:-

- targeted interventions with high risk young people;

- a systematic approach to comprehensive contraceptive provision;

- increasing the role of parents in improving outcomes for young people.

The report included details of the SMART action plan, which targeted interventions at young people at risk of teenage pregnancy.

Reference was made to the pilot project in Maltby which provided intensive support to young women at high risk of teenage pregnancy. The outcomes of the project were positive for teenage pregnancy and also for NEETs (not in education, employment, nor training), substance misuse and improved mental health. This project had been financed initially from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and would continue to be funded until 31^st March, 2009. However, longer term funding sources would need to be identified to enable the project to be introduced to other parts of the Borough area.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of this issue included reference to the following matters:-

(i) reduced teenage pregnancy rates amongst girls aged under 16 years;

(ii) NHS Rotherham making significant investment to improve contraceptive services for young people;

(iii) provision of youth clinics;

(iv) the availability of emergency contraception; and the need to review the way young people are able to obtain emergency contraception;

(v) a social marketing campaign (March 2009) to encourage girls, particularly 13 to 19 year olds, to use long acting reversible contraception;

(vi) information to be sent to parents of secondary school pupils containing advice about talking to their children about sex and relationships.

Resolved:- That the report be received and the progress of the Rotherham Teenage Pregnancy Strategy be noted.

Joanne Martin, Project Manager – Strategic Planning, NHS Rotherham and Karen Norton, Head of Maternity Services, Rotherham Foundation Trust to report

Consideration was given to a report presented by Joanne Martin, Strategic Planning Manager at NHS Rotherham and Karen Norton, Head of Maternity Services at the Rotherham Foundation Trust, describing the progress being made with the ‘Maternity Matters’ project which aims to support new parents by helping them to provide safe and high quality care for their babies. The report included the following details:-

- Rotherham scored as ‘better performing’ in the Health Care Commission Review;

- the Rotherham vision to provide high quality maternity services;

- a robust needs assessment had been undertaken of Rotherham’s maternity services, including a health equity audit, a self assessment, and three surveys (a national survey, one undertaken by the voluntary sector focusing on vulnerable groups, and one by a evaluation company), to gain a true picture of how the service presently functions, identifying gaps in the service and patient and staff experiences;

- the development of an action plan, to be implemented by December 2009, with the following priorities:-

            : providing direct self-referral to a midwife;

            : enabling mothers and their partners to make informed choices;

            : supporting breast feeding and reducing smoking in pregnancy;

            : post-natal care, including maternal mental health

            : data quality, supported by robust information systems.

- introducing a maternity services liaison committee, organised by the voluntary sector;

- seeking UNICEF baby friendly accreditation in the community and hospital settings, by 2011.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of this issue included reference to the following matters:-

(i) the benefits of direct access to the services provided by midwives;

(ii) improvements in post-natal care and maternal mental health;

(iii) tailoring maternity services to meet the needs of families and increasing access to services within community settings.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That this Scrutiny Panel welcomes the work being undertaken to provide improved maternity services in the Rotherham Borough area.

Khamis Al-alawy – Tobacco Control Lead, NHS Rotherham to report

Consideration was given to a report presented by Khamis Al-alawy, Tobacco Control Lead at NHS Rotherham, describing the progress being made towards achieving the smoking in pregnancy prevalence (PSA 2010) target and actions required to address under-performance against that target. A principal aim was to reduce smoking in pregnancy rates to 15% by 2010.

Members noted that NHS Rotherham had commissioned NewcastleUniversity to work jointly on social marketing to ensure that NHS Rotherham would gain key information (consumer insight) for service improvement and promotion.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of this subject included reference to the following salient issues:-

(i) the prevalence of smoking in pregnancy, in Rotherham, was currently higher than the national average;

(ii) reference to the age profile of people who smoke; and the need to target ‘quit smoking’ campaigns at everyone who smoked, not only pregnant women;

(iii) the use of nicotine substitutes, to try and help people stop smoking, although nicotine would still enter the bloodstream;

(iv) the harmful impact of passive smoking, especially upon children;

(v) the problems of substance abuse and misuse (eg: alcohol; drugs) and the need for an integrated strategy to tackle these problems;

(vi) the implementation of the Health Equity Audit, targeting health services to areas of specific need;

(vii) quit smoking strategies in other countries (eg: USA); the need for continued support, over time, to ensure that people did not begin smoking again;

(viii) the Government would publish a new tobacco control policy during the Spring, 2009;

(ix) smoking in pregnancy rates in Rotherham were reducing over time and compared favourably to the South Yorkshire neighbouring authorities and to the regional average for Yorkshire and the Humber;

(x) rates of smoking in different parts of the Borough area and in the various ethnic communities.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the various actions being taken to try and prevent smoking in pregnancy, as detailed in the report now submitted, are supported by this Scrutiny Panel.

(3) That a further progress report about reducing and preventing smoking in pregnancy be submitted to a meeting of this Scrutiny Panel in twelve months’ time.

Graham Sinclair, Director of Resources and Access to report

FOR MONITORING

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Director of Resources and Access, stating that Rotherham’s approach to securing excellent outcomes and increased opportunities for children, young people and families is based upon the development of a network of Learning Communities incorporating integrated service provision built around local needs and aspirations. Widespread consultation has established a strategic vision which aims to transform the relationship between special schools and their partner primary and secondary schools. The aim is that special schools be re-designated as a specialist resource for the wider schools system that will add to the broader personalisation transformation. These schools will provide capacity in each of the four specialist areas:- cognition and learning; communication and interaction; physical and sensory needs; and behavioural, emotional and social needs.

The report stated that funding for high incidence Special Educational Needs (SEN) is driven through formula factors for each school in addition to the mainstream school budget. Schools who have pupils with low incidence exceptional needs receive a top-up allocation. Some funding is retained centrally for support services and extra-district Special Educational Needs requirements. The benefits of delegating SEN funding to schools include:-

- the targeting of resources more fairly across schools in the Borough;

- greater autonomy, in line with supporting self-improving schools, to plan and manage provision efficiently and effectively;

- earlier intervention in co-operation with local authority support services and other agencies who can target their resources working proactively with children and parents and schools;

- concentrates greater emphasis on provision and monitoring for pupils with complex needs;

- reduced bureaucracy for schools and for the local authority with regard to the comprehensive and lengthy processes linked to Statutory Assessments, Statements and Annual Reviews.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of this matter included the following salient issues:-

(i) comparisons of SEN funding and provision with Rotherham’s statistical neighbour authorities and with upper- and lower-quartile authorities;

(ii) the assessment process which leads to a child being statemented and the reasons why some children are not statemented; the timescale from initial referral and assessment to the issue of the statement;

(iii) the pupil population at special schools was expected to remain fairly static in future years;

(iv) Special Educational Needs training for school governors, within the cluster of schools arrangements;

(v) the notional SEN funding delegated to mainstream schools (Section 52 Schools Statements and including unit allocations); funding was reviewed annually;

(vi) the roles of SEN teachers and the SEN link governors and the sharing of good practice between schools;

(vii) the support provided for pupils, in classrooms, who had low incidence needs, but were not statemented;

(viii) the public consultation process about the Transforming Rotherham Learning through Building Schools for the Future strategy.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the Director of Resources and Access provide further information and details to Members of this Scrutiny, in response to the questions asked at this meeting.

(3) That this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

Simon Perry, Director of Targeted Services to report

MINUTES

Consideration was given to a report presented jointly by the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services and by Youth Officer Kerry Byrne containing the responses by Children and Young People’s Services to the recommendations of the Youth Service Scrutiny Review (Minute No. B116 of the Cabinet meeting held on 12^th November, 2008 refers). The report made reference to the terms of reference for this review (legal responsibility; effectiveness of Young People’s Service; Involving Young People; Financial issues) and also included the Cabinet’s response to the recommendations.

There was particular mention of the recommendation for the commissioning of a strategy to modernise the youth service facilities in the Borough, reflecting the need to provide facilities across each locality.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of this matter included the following salient issues:-

(i) funding issues for young people’s and youth services, including the Youth Capital Fund;

(ii) youth club provision in areas of need and the ‘locality’ approach to service delivery;

(iii) the provision of activities and events to try and curb or prevent youth nuisance.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That a further report about the commissioning of a strategy to modernise the youth service facilities be submitted to a future meeting of this Scrutiny Panel.

(3) That a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Youth Service Scrutiny Review be submitted to a meeting of this Scrutiny Panel in six months’ time.

(The Mayor (Councillor G. A. Russell) left the meeting during the Scrutiny Panel’s consideration of this item; the Vice-Chair, Councillor J. Burton, assumed the Chair for the remainder of the meeting)

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Panel held on 31st October, 2008 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meetings of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 24th October, 2008 and on 7th November, 2008 be noted.