Agenda and minutes

Councillor D. Hughes declared a personal interest in item number 83 (Education and Awareness Programme (School Year 2008/2009 – SHIELD South Yorkshire HIV Support Group) 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 that the Youth Cabinet was making good progress with its study of the Personal and Social Health Education (PSHE) curriculum. The Youth Cabinet had already met with the teacher co-ordinators of this subject in various schools and later today there was a meeting with parent-governors.

FOR DISCUSSION

(1) The Scrutiny Panel welcomed Mr. Michael Burn, co-opted member from the Diocese of Sheffield, to his first meeting.

(2) Scrutiny Panel members were invited to attend the official opening of the new Cyber Café at Treeton Youth Club, to be held on Saturday, 12^th December, 2009.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Zoe Davies (Client Services and Education Manager) of SHIELD, the South Yorkshire HIV Support Group, concerning the HIV Education and Awareness Programme delivered during the 2008/2009 school year.

The report stated that the aim of the Education and Awareness Programme is to make the HIV issue real to young people and the public at the local level. Through these projects young people and members of the public increase their own personal knowledge and consequently in the future make better life choices whether their own sexual practices or their perception of people living with HIV. The aims of the programme and the work in schools were summarised in the report submitted.

Members noted that the SHIELD organisation appreciated the Council’s support for the delivery of the education and awareness programme in Rotherham schools and colleges of further education. Some funding was provided by Area Assemblies for healthy schools projects. However, SHIELD did not yet have any confirmed sources of future funding for the longer term.

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

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

Further to Minute No. 66 of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 28^th November, 2008, consideration was given to a report presented by Melanie Simmonds, 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, was continuing to be mirrored in Rotherham.

The report stated that, although there has been an increase in sexual health awareness work, there are still relatively low levels of public awareness about the risks and consequences of unprotected sex. The draft strategy approved by the Board of NHS Rotherham is due to be finalised based on the findings of the Sexual Health Needs Assessment which is currently being carried out and is due to be completed by March, 2010.  It is envisaged that this process will confirm the proposed strategy and management model, which was documented in the draft.  Amendments to the structure for overseeing the implementation of the strategy have begun and will be in place at the start of the next financial year.  This will ensure that the principles of World Class Commissioning are utilised to develop high quality, value for money sexual health services.

The current sexual health services are being evaluated as part of the sexual health needs assessment.  The findings will inform the review and update of service specifications with the aim of delivering services that offer choice, flexibility, and work in partnership in the best interests of their clients, as well as being cost effective.

The Scrutiny Panel noted that the communications strategy and campaign, intended to increase awareness of the sexual health services in Rotherham, was effective and would be evaluated in full during September, 2010.

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.

(3) That the report, referred to at (2) above, include details of the evaluation of the communications strategy and campaign, due to be undertaken during September, 2010.

FOR MONITORING

Further to Minutes No. 67 of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 28^th November, 2008, consideration was given to a report presented by Keri Duffy, Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Co-ordinator at NHS Rotherham, which described the progress being made with the Rotherham Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.

The Scrutiny Panel discussed details of:-

- targeted preventative interventions;

- increasing access to contraception;

- working with parents to support their children around relationships and sexual health issues;

- various successful initiatives (eg: at Maltby, the ‘S Word’ services and specific nursing services).

Reference was made to the pilot project in Maltby, which would be introduced to other parts of the Borough area.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and the progress of the Rotherham Teenage Pregnancy Strategy be noted.

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

Further to Minute No. 78 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services held on 18th November, 2009, consideration was given to a report presented by the Senior Director, Schools and Lifelong Learning concerning the Children and Young People’s Services’ Improvement Plan summary. The Scrutiny Panel noted that detailed regular monitoring takes place against a number of actions across several themes.

The report stated that the full improvement plan has been formatted to ensure accuracy in tracking the achievements made in the monitoring period and the calculation of actions completed. 

The Scrutiny Panel also considered the highlight report for October, 2009.  This report detailed the items achieved during that month, overdue items and the items planned for the forthcoming month. Risks and Issues of concerns were also illustrated. 

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

(2) That the progress being made with the Children and Young People’s Services’ Improvement Plan, as now reported, be noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Performance Management Officer outlining the performance of the Children and Young People’s Services’ Directorate at the end of the second quarter 2009/10 (September 2009). The report and accompanying appendices provided analysis against targets, direction of travel against previous performance and where possible comparisons with statistical neighbour and national data.

Resolved:- That the report and accompanying Assessment and table be received and their contents noted.

Further to Minute No. 80 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services held on 18^th November, 2009, consideration was given to a report presented by the Head of School Effectiveness stating that, during 2008/2009 the Local Authority responded to significant and increasing challenges to its provision for children and young people arriving in Rotherham, principally from the newly incorporated European Economic Community countries, by fundamentally reorganising its education services to this most vulnerable of groups. The report provided an assessment of progress in relation to this strategy approximately two terms into its inception.

Reference was made to the progress of the implementation of the recommendations of the scrutiny review of newly arrived children and families in Rotherham.

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

(2) That the progress made in the introduction of the ‘Welcome Offer’ in the context of schools and the Local Authority meeting the needs of this group of pupils be noted.

(3) That the work of schools in continuing to develop their provision to address the needs of these acutely vulnerable pupils and their families be endorsed.

(4) That the good work of the Vulnerable Groups Team in this important area be recognised.

(5) That the development of a coordinated strategy across all the appropriate Council services, on behalf of this vulnerable group, be supported.

(6) That a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel describing the progress of the implementation of the recommendations of the scrutiny review of newly arrived children and families in Rotherham and invitations be extended to school head teachers to attend the meeting for consideration of the report.

MINUTES

Further to Minute No. 7 of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 5^th June, 2009 and Minute No. C70 of the meeting of Cabinet held on 29^th July, 2009, consideration was given to a report presented by the Transportation Unit Manager detailing the progress of the implementation of the recommendations of the scrutiny review into concerns about road traffic safety outside schools in the Rotherham Borough area.

Discussion took place on the progress of each recommendation and in particular, liaison with Area Assemblies and Parish Councils and the monitoring of school travel plans within schools.

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

(2) That the review and associated action plan be disseminated to Area Assemblies and Parish Councils for consideration.

(3) That this Scrutiny Panel continue to be informed of the progress of the implementation of the recommendations of this scrutiny review, at intervals of six months.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 30^th October, 2009 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services, held on 21^st October, 2009 and on 4^th November, 2009, be noted.

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meetings of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 23rd October, 2009 and on 6th November, 2009, be noted.

The following item is likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended (information relating to financial or business affairs)

Resolved:- That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended (information relating to financial or business affairs).

The Scrutiny Panel noted the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Services Value for Money Budget Review Group held on 5^th November, 2009.