Children Families & Education SC

Minutes CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND EDUCATION SELECT COMMITTEE 17 July 2024 Meeting held at Committee Room 6 – Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW Committee Members Present: Councillor Heena Makwana (Chair), Councillor Becky Haggar OBE, Councillor Peter Smallwood, Councillor Kishan Bhatt, Councillor Tony Burles, and Councillor Jan Sweeting (Opposition Lead) Co-Opted Member Present: Tony Little Officers Present: Kat Wyatt (Assistant Director, Prevention and Youth Justice) Nuz Ilyas (Service Manager, Hillingdon Youth Justice Service and AXIS) Alex Coman (Director for Safeguarding, Partnerships and Quality Assurance) Donna Hugh (Safeguarding Manager) Ryan Dell (Democratic Services Officer) 13. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (Agenda Item 1) Apologies were received from Councillor Rita Judge with Councillor Tony Burles substituting. Apologies were also received from Councillor Tony Gill. 14. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN MATTERS COMING BEFORE THIS MEETING (Agenda Item 2) None. 15. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING (Agenda Item 3) Members thanked officers for the minutes and asked that the evidence from the witnesses be used when compiling the final review report. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed. 16. TO CONFIRM THAT THE ITEMS OF BUSINESS MARKED AS PART I WILL BE CONSIDERED IN PUBLIC AND THAT THE ITEMS MARKED AS PART II WILL BE CONSIDERED IN PRIVATE (Agenda Item 4) 17. YOUTH JUSTICE STRATEGY 2024-2029 (Agenda Item 5) Officers introduced the Hillingdon Youth Justice Services ’ draft five -year strategy. The strategy contained five priorities:  Priority One – Prevention and Early Intervention: This sought to build on the provision currently in place and the aim was to intervene at the earliest possible stage to prevent escalation and children entering the criminal justice system. This meant explo ring and understanding the root causes of offending by exploring the wider determinants of social inequality. The number of first -time entrants had decreased over the COVID pandemic. It had now started to rise but had remained below pre-pandemic levels. Th e rate remained below both national and London averages. Officers wanted to build on successes in the rate of engagement in children consenting to accessing support and intervention at an earlier stage. This meant continuing to develop the AXIS service and ensuring children were identified and supported at the earliest opportunity.  Priority Two – Over-representation and Disproportionality: The goal was to address disparities and create a system that treated all children equally. Data showed that black and m ixed heritage children were over-represented in the criminal justice system. A disproportionality action plan would be produced to support this priority and provide increased provisions for children with protected characteristics. Officers also wanted to increase the trust in the justice system among children, families and the wider community by listening to their experiences and providing opportunities for active participation.  Priority Three – Child-Centred Practice: The focus was on the holistic needs of children to promote health, well -being, and development to promote positive outcomes. A lot of work had been done to ensure practitioners use d an interpersonal approach when working with children and understand their life experiences and how this forms part of their identity. The aim was to increase active participation and co - production with children so that they were actively involved in decisions about how services were delivered.  Priority Four – Reducing Re-offending: The aim was to use a trauma - informed approach to prevent re -offending. The re -offending rate for the period 2021-2022 had decreased, with a true re -offending rate of 32.8%, which was slightly above the national average and below the London average. It was noted that as there was a small co hort of children entering the criminal justice system in Hillingdon, it only t ook a small increase in offending to impact the percentage change. There had been a reduction in children being remanded in youth detention, which was very positive. There had b een zero children receiving a custodial sentence for three consecutive quarters. Work with partners continued to en sure that children were not experiencing a cliff -edge when they reached the age of 18.  Priority Five – Victims and Restorative Justice: The f ocus was on the needs of victims, giving them a voice and an active role in the justice system. A lot of work had been done to increase the offer to victims and to be innovative and creative in the opportunities for children to repair the harm that they had caused. The restorative justice offer had also extended to schools and care homes to ensure that colleagues were supported to manage behaviour and incidents in a positive way The percentage of victims consenting to restorative justice had increased. Members thanked officers for the child-friendly version of the strategy, which had been co-produced by young people, and asked about the locality -based approach in delivering service s and intervention s to children within their context, and what this looked li ke in practise. Officers explained the locality- based approach as seeing children in their own environment, including home, community, and schools. Members raised a concern about the timing of the consultation period, which straddled the school summer hol idays, potentially affecting responses from schools. Officers assured that the timing for the consultation was considered and that schools and education providers had had an opportunity to engage in the consultation process. There had been a lot of responses coming in from schools. Members questioned the financial implications of the strategy as it came with no additional financing costs, particularly in light of potential increases in youth offending, potential pressures on remand accommodation, and pote ntial reductions in grant funding. Officers explained that they ha d various funding streams including grants from the Youth Justice Board and were not expecting a reduction in funding at this time. However, they were mindful of changes in expenditure, particularly with regards to remand costs. Members asked for clarification on the term “living in poverty” and its implications. Officers defined “living in poverty” in terms of children’s experiences, including the cost -of-living crisis and access to basic necessities. Members raised a question about the increase in burglary and whether it was connected to poverty. It was noted that all 19 offences were committed by two young people. Officers acknowledged the issue and explained that they t ook an individualistic approach to each child and family to understand the causes of the offending behaviour. Members asked about the expected changes as a result of the strategy. Offices expressed the aim to continue the work they were already doing, celebrate their successes, and ensure they were continuing in the right pathway. This was about ensuring a clear direction of travel not only for children themselves but the wider community. Members inquired about the increase in gang culture and if it was localised to any specific part of the borough. Officers acknowledged the existence of gang culture and explained that they had a unique service, the AXIS service, which sought to gain intelligence and data regarding serious violence and exploitation. Officers added that they had a clear understanding of what was going on around violence among young people, and they were working not just within the Council but with their partners such as the Safeguarding Partnership and the community to identify the reasons and start addr essing them. Members asked about the delivery of the programme locally within locality - based family hubs, particularly in areas like Heathrow Villages, which lack ed such facilities. Officers assured that they are constantly thinking about creative and inn ovative ways to reach children in areas where they d id not have family hubs, including supporting transport links to and from the localities. Members asked if audits to the strategy would be a regular item on the work programme. Officers confirmed that it had been recommended that this came back on an annual basis. Members asked about Project Turnaround and what it involve d. Officers explained that Project Turnaround was a Ministry of Justice -funded project (the funding end ed in March 2025) aimed at working with children at the earliest opportunity before they entered the criminal justice system. The data showed that those children that did work with the Turnaround officer were less likely to enter the criminal justice system. Members asked about the Council’s collaboration with schools, community organisations, and other agencies to prevent youth offending. Officers highlighted their multi -agency service and their work with various partners, including schools, social care, probation, and custodial establishments. Members asked if there was any support from the Mayor of London. Officers confirmed that the Mayor of London currently funded some of their work in the prevention area. Officers added that they have received grant fu nding to put together a bespoke programme for children engaged in serious youth violence, particularly around their mental health and well -being. Officers confirmed that the AXIS programme was funded through the local Crime Partnership Fund, which came dir ectly from the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). There was also the Engage project which worked directly with young people in custody suites. Hillingdon was the host of a tri - borough programme funded by MOPAC. In terms of resources, Hillingd on was well -resourced in terms of police colleagues and health colleagues. There was a speech and language therapist and part-time CAMHS officer. Members asked if there were any lasting disruptions from the COVID pandemic. Officers acknowledged the impac t of COVID, particularly on children’s social communication skills. Where children had not entered school, they missed out on socialising with other children. Officers were also aware of emotional well -being and mental health, considering children’s lived experienced in relation to the support that could be offered. Officers added that they ha d seen an increase in children accessing their mental health services on the back of COVID. Every child that entered the service had a speech and language assessment. Officers had been working with colleagues in the Integrated Care Board to look at how to provide a bespoke response to children who were engaged in serious youth violence, particularly around mental health. Through this collaboration some grant funding had been received. Members asked about the strategy’s specific targeting of areas with high percentages of children in poverty to provide early intervention measures. Officers highlighted their collaboration with partners internally and externally to support families living in poverty. This included early health, stronger families, education and health were thinking creatively about how to support families living in poverty. Members congratulated officers on the average of 31% of children consenting to receive intervention and asked about the remaining percentage who did not take up the intervention. Officers explained that some children may decline due to lack of trust in the system or simply choosing not to, but young people can contact the service at any time for support. Members asked about victims meeting with the young people who had committed the crimes against them. Officers referred to Priority 5 – Victims and Restorative Justice. There was the chance offered to have a restorative justice conference where the children and the victim have an opportunity to have a conversation and understand how the victim was impacted by the harm caused. Members asked about the numbers of young people engaged in organised crime; how young people may be getting involved in this; and whether there were family links. Officers highlighted that family links to organised crime did exist across London and nationa lly. Officers took an individualistic approach to each child and each family to ensure that they were understanding the causes of the offending behaviour and working not only with the child but with the wider family unit. Members asked about over -representation in the youth justice system and noted the production of a disproportionality action plan. Officers noted that the Youth Justice Partnership Board was currently working to put together the action plan. Updates would be provided on the Strategy, inclu ding the action plan, to the Committee yearly. Members referred to the ‘Walking in our Shoes’ training delivered by young people and commended the Youth Justice edition. Members asked if it was appropriate to share this with Members of the Committee or al l Elected Members. Officers agreed to take the suggestion back for consideration, depending on the children involved in the programme. Members asked about the issue of accommodation in the borough and its impact on the youth justice system. Officers explained their robust process for planning for children to be in the community from the minute they enter ed custody and their work with social care to prevent multiple moves for children. Members noted that the Committee’s comments to Cabinet could include a request for the final report to have more detail on comparisons to neighbouring boroughs. Officers noted that they were sharing good practise with partners in other local authorities such as on restorative justice and widening this out to schools and care homes. Other local authorities had approached Hillingdon to learn from them. When children came back into the community after being in a custodial establishment, there was a robust process in place. It was ensured that there was an address available six w eeks prior to their release to allow officers to plan around access to health and education. For looked after children, officers worked closely with colleagues in social care to support the staff and child where it was foreseen that there could be a breakd own in placement. Some restorative justice training was delivered to care homes. It was important that there was the same engagement for children where the Council was corporate parent. Members noted the officers continued to deliver transitions work wit hout a seconded probation officer. Officers noted that they work ed in collaboration with the probation team, although probation were experiencing some staffing issues so they could not second an officer at this time. In the interim it was ensured that there was a member of staff who was focused on transitions. It was important to think about each individual child that was turning 18 to make sure they had the right support plan. Once they had transitioned to probation, officers did keep in touch and had services available to continue support. The Committee’s comments to Cabinet would be delegated. Members asked that the action plan be referred to in the comments. RESOLVED: That the Children, Families and Education Select Committee: 1. Noted the Draft Youth Justice Strategy; and 2. Delegated to the Democratic Services Officer in conjunction with the Chair (and in consultation with the Opposition Lead) to agree comments to be submitted to Cabinet 18. ‘PERSISTENT ABSENTEEISM’ REVIEW – WTINESS SESSION 5 (Agenda Item 6) The Chair outlined that the Committee was undertaking a review into persistent absenteeism. The purpose of this session was to discover how young people were protected and safeguarded, especially if they were not attending school regularly. Officers started the discussion by emphasising the importance of education as a safeguarding element, as school was likely the safest place to be for young people. This was because as well as education there would be the child’s support network, friends, tutors and tea chers. Officers highlighted the importance of consistent relationships in schools and the role of teachers and mentors. They also noted the importance of giving children a voice in their child protection plans, reviews and conferences. The child’s input formed part of the plan. There were various mechanisms of engagement, for example if a child was non-verbal. Children were also offered the opportunity to speak to the conference Chair and have the opportunity for an advocate to speak at the conference on th eir behalf. This applied to children with child protection plans and those with looked after plans. Officers work ed very closely with their colleagues from the Virtual School, which provide d intensive support for children who were looked after and enhanced support for every child who had a social worker. They also worked closely with the child protection advisors who Chair the conferences. There was a focus on the safeguarding element of school attendance and how this can strengthen a child’s support network. Officers discussed the collaboration with Designated Safeguarding Leads in schools and officers who managed and arranged the cluster groups. They have attended two cluster group sessions so far and would be attending one in September with a focus on addressing absenteeism among children on a child protection plan. The cluster groups ha d been positive and ha d helped implement strategies and understand the different perspectives between children’s social care and schools. There was good collaboration between social care and schools and the Virtual School played an important role in bridging the gap between the two. Officers emphasised the importance of education as a safeguarding element and the role of consistent relationships in schools. During school holidays a designated lead would be available for child protection conferences in order to contribute to the education plan. This ensured consistency in approach. Members noted the close work with Designated Safeguarding Leads in schools and asked about their receptiveness and involvement. Officers noted that the safeguarding leads had been appreciative and receptive. They asked questions about addressing school attendance and what they need ed to be aware of when attending conferences. They also discussed the incentives provided to children for good attendance. Presentations were also uploaded to the LEAP websit e. Officers added that the child protection forums and cluster groups had been well established and run by the local authority. They provided training and address recurring issues like school exclusion and absenteeism. The role of safeguarding in schools was recognised by the Safeguarding Children’s Partnership Board. Members noted that this review may be the most comprehensive and difficult review that had ever been done as there were so many strands to bring together, and there was the challenge of synt hesising all the information. Members asked for recommendation examples from the professionals. Officers commended the AXIS programme for collating valuable information. Officers commended good collaboration among multi -agency partnerships. Young people and their families were an important part of this partnership. Officers highlighted that there was a good joined-up approach between social care, the Virtual School and SEND, bringing together all of their expertise. When asked about things that had no t worked well, officers noted that everything that officers were doing was addressing a need. Officers noted the scoping report of the review, which referred t o poverty, mental health, domestic abuse, violence and COVID. All strategies, such as the context ual safeguarding strategy, were to address a need. Officers were rolling out trauma-informed practise across the social care. For example, the impact of COVID was long -lasting and so trauma -informed practice was important. There was a good learning and d evelopment programme to provide training across partners. The LEAP website had a lot of information and so did the safeguarding partnership website. One of the priorities of the Board was around contextual safeguarding. This included consideration of engagement in crime or gangs. Also considered was safeguarding in education. There was a sub -group that reported to the Safeguarding Partnership Board that look ed at how schools, police, health, social care and youth justice all work ed together to address issues and how schools, parents and young people can be supported. This linked to the contextual safeguarding strategy which was published on the website. Whenever there were discussions around strategies, working together plans, joint plans, child protection plans, schools were always involved. DSLs were seeking officer support where necessary. Officers discussed the strategies in place, focusing on the importance of relationships and trust and noted the use of trauma-informed practice across social care. Members asked for more information on trauma -informed practice. Officers agreed to send more information on trauma-informed practice. This had only recently been rolled out and was a project that would cover a year and a half. It was noted that building relationships was important. If children could not attend the conferences, officers would send them a letter to explain what had happened at the conference and they would be encouraged to attend the next time. Members asked how individualised work for ea ch child was ensured with limited resources. Officers emphasised the importance of individualised plans, empowering children and families, and ensuring they were part of the conversation. Individualised work was important to ensure it was relevant to the child. In addition to this there were patterns and trends at the strategic level. Every child protection plan was written by the social workers and Child Protection Chair and was individualised. The conference looked at that child's needs; looked at that family situation; and look ed at the context in which the child lives and grows and develops. It was noted that some concerns were similar such as mental health, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol, housing issues and isolation. Despite this, children’s experiences of these were individual. Child protection plans were family plans in that the child and family were involved in contributing to the plan. This empowered families and children to know that their input was important. Members asked about key s afeguarding indicators for new persistent absenteeism. Officers noted that for them it was the other way round. They will see safeguarding concerns and then attendance may be a contributing factor. There were two levels of need, one was under section 17 of the Children’s Act and referred to a child in need of support where a need was not being met. The Local Authority try to intervene as a statutory service to support a family and to meet that need. The next level was a child in need of protection. This related to section 47 of the Children’s Act and the child is in need of protection because they are at risk of significant harm. This is where everything has a clear legal definition. Quite often for children who are at risk of significant harm and therefore require a child protection plan, education, absence and exclusions are a factor in their lives and this was why school s play a vital role. Sometimes social workers or schools will pick up patterns, for example if a child was late to school every Monday. There was a programme called Operation Encompass in partnership with the police. If the police were contacted overnight or at the weekend for a domestic abuse incident, they will notify the school of the child. There was a domestic abuse advisor to schools within the service who would support the school with this. There were currently roughly four schools in the borough who were not part of Operation Encompass and this was credit to the Domestic Abuse Education Officer for getting schools onboard. If schools started to pick up patterns they could contact social care. This could lead to a statutory intervention which could lead to an assessment. This assessment may say that the child is in need of support via section 17. There would be a plan put in place to su pport the family. A strategy discussion, attended by police, health, education and social care, may suggest that a section 47 investigation is needed. If the risk of harm was confirmed then there would be a child protection conference. Members asked about parental barriers and how to break down any resistance. Officers noted that a lot of parents that were brought to their attention did struggle in regard to education. There may be a language barrier. Sometimes there may not be an understanding that school can be a safe place and can be a positive experience for their children. There may be families for whom education was not the priority and were more concerned about getting food on the table or ensuring that children were not exposed to a violent partner. There were also parents who were very keen to get their children into school but the children are not keen. Members asked about the use of technology to monitor and address absenteeism and allow remote learning for children who are absent for legitimate reasons. Officers discussed the use of technology to monitor attendance patterns and noted that technology is used for virtual meetings and training. Schools did have a good system in relation to using technology to monitoring attendance and trends and having follow ups with parents. Since the COVID pandemic, schools were more aware of providing flexible learning for those children who are not able to attend school, via apps for example. Schools were quite open to work with officers in providing laptops for children so that they can attend school. Schools were coming a long way in providing flexible learning and using technology. There were children who may be anxious as a result of COVID and so being in a large classroom was a struggle and technology could help with this. There were three child protection suites at the Civic Centre fitted with audio - visual equipment. The Virtual School was conducting weekly virtual sessions where professionals like social workers or DSLs can attend to speak to a virtual school specialist about school attendance ; about how to encourage parents; how to support children. Members asked if there was a one stop hub for good practise to be shared with partners. Officers noted that there were various website s where best practise and training were published on, for example, how to engage with children, how to work on absence, how to prevent exclusions. Communication with schools was done via the LEAP website. Officers worked well with DSLs and with headteachers. There was a lot of information about the safeguarding partnership. It was noted that this may be a question for education colleagues. Members noted that this could be a recommendation of the review. Members asked about parents’ attendance, especially y ounger parents and links to their children’s attendance. It was possible to track parents’ attendance if parents were previously looked after children. This could be tracked within the Virtual School. Parents could access this information via the Oracle sy stem. Schools may also hold historical data if parents were known to the school, which can be a good source of information for social workers to consider when they were doing assessments. Health colleagues may also have historical information. Historical data can help to predict current situations. Officers noted that when individual assessments of children were undertaken, the wider family circumstance was considered. This may be the reason that children cannot attend school. It was important to have the right support in place to empower families and help them to meet the needs of the child. RESOLVED: That the Children, Families and Education Select Committee met with officers and asked questions pertaining to the review 19. FORWARD PLAN (Agenda Item 7) Members considered the Forward Plan. RESOLVED: That the Children, Families and Education Select Committee noted the Cabinet Forward Plan. 20. WORK PROGRAMME (Agenda Item 8) Members considered the Work Programme. Officers advised that the SEND Sufficiency Strategy had been rescheduled from September to November 2024. The witness session with young people would take place on 15 August 2024 from 17:30-18:30. Members noted the provisional date of November 2024 for an update on the Youth Offer Delivery Model. This would be confirmed. RESOLVED: That the Children, Families and Education Select Committee considered the report and agrees any amendments. The meeting, which commenced at 7.00 pm, closed at 8.35 pm. These are the minutes of the above meeting. For more information of any of the resolutions please contact Ryan Dell at democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk. Circulation of these minutes is to Councillors, Officers, the Press and Members of the Public. The public part of this meeting was filmed live on the Council's YouTube Channel to increase transparency in decision -making, however these minutes remain the official and definitive record of proceedings.

Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public MOVE-INS TO THE BOROUGH AND IN YEAR ADMISSIONS Committee name Children, Families and Education Select Committee Officer reporting Laura Baldry – Children’s Services Directorate Papers with report Briefing Paper: Move-ins to the borough and In Year Admissions Ward All HEADLINES The report gives an overview on in-year admissions. RECOMMENDATIONS That the Committee note the report SUPPORTING INFORMATION See attached briefing note. PERFORMANCE DATA See attached briefing note. RESIDENT BENEFIT This report related to how applications for school places for children are processed during the academic year. BACKGROUND PAPERS NIL.

Briefing Paper: Move-ins to the borough and In Year Admissions Laura Baldry September 2024 Overview: When compared to the previous academic year, Hillingdon has received and process ed an increased number of In Year applications during 2023/24. The table below demonstrates data specific to move-ins to the borough for the last academic year (Sept 2023 - Aug 2024). Date Primary Secondary Total 01/09/2022 - 31/08/2023 2377 1438 3815 01/09/2023 - 31/08/2024 2534 1391 3925* *This is an increase of 2.9% compared to the previous year The table below shows the number of applications which have been received for children applying for a secondary school place that have either arrived newly from overseas or from another local authority. The data provided illustrates the top four countries or local authorities' children have arrived from. This equates to 40% of the total applications received for secondary admission last year. Previous Country Total - 407 have arrived from abroad Previous LA Total – 151 moved in from another LA Afghanistan 14 Brent 8 India 96 Ealing 12 Nigeria 21 Harrow 7 Pakistan 37 Hounslow 10 The table below shows the number of applications which have been received for children applying for a primary school place that have either arrived newly from overseas or from another local authority. The data provided illustrates the top four countries or local authorities' children have arrived from. This equates to 17% of the total applications received for primary admission last year. Previous Country Total - 329 have arrived from abroad Previous LA Total – 151 moved in from another LA Afghanistan 12 Ealing 26 India 115 Harrow 8 Nigeria 17 Hounslow 5 Pakistan 24 Lambeth 7 There has been a decline in the number of applications w hich have been received from families residing in hotels compared to the previous year: Primary Secondary 2022-2023 221 2022-2023 121 2023-2024 98 2023-2024 59 Decrease of 56% Decrease of 51% Fair Access Panel 132 children were presented through Fair Access Panel in the academic year 2023-24. This is a significant decrease of 34% compared to the previous year. This reflects the reduction in families living in hotel accommodation which impacted the south of the borough due to the location of the hotels used by the DfE (Department for Education) for temporary accommodation. Current position of In Year Admissions for the new academic year With the new year upon us, the team are receiving high volumes of applications from families who have moved into the borough over the summer holidays and are looking for a school place. The team will be actively processing these applications to ensure as many children as possible are allocated a school place in time for census day at the beginning of October. This census return is particularly important as it sets the funding schools receive in the following academic year. Secondary vacancy breakdown School Name Year Group 7 8 9 10 11 Harefield School 51 22 38 60 43 Haydon School 126 71 58 14 47 Hewens College 56 27 13 32 0 Oak Wood School 14 20 5 0 19 Park Academy West London 15 8 7 0 10 Parkside Studio College N/A N/A N/A Unknown 16 Rosedale College 0 13 0 8 0 Swakeleys School for Girls 2 2 5 3 13 The Douay Martyrs Catholic School 5 3 0 0 0 *Some of the vacancy data above was provided prior to the summer holidays, therefore , some of the figures may have changed since, however there should not be any significant changes For our primary cohort, we have sufficient vacancies across all year groups, borough wide. Allocations Children starting Reception, moving from infant to junior, those starting Year 7 or those looking to move into a UTC (University Technical Colleges ), or Studio College in September 2025 can now submit their applications through the eAdmissions website. All relevant information on the process is available on the Hillingdon website, and schools have been sent posters and leaflets to share with their parents to ensure they are aware and apply on time. Plans moving forward: With the announcement in July that the government will be bringing in VAT for private schools from January 2025, the team will be closely monitoring the number of applications being received from parents of children looking to move their child from the private school to a state school. This is to ensure we have sufficient school places available to accommodate the potential influx. In addition to this , the team will be attending the next scho ol place planning meeting of London Councils where we will be discussing the possible impact on demand brought on by this. The team are aware there are several settings which have one or more class empty within their schools and we are working directly with them to manage this. As a Council, we will ensure we are able to adjust to both increases and reductions in demand for school places, working in partnership with our schools and partners. The Admissions team works closely with our Place Planning colleagues and Education Improvement Advisors to manage these changes and conversations.

Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public HILLINGDON SAFEGUARDING PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT Committee name Children, Families and Education Select Committee Officer reporting Alex Coman, Director, Safeguarding Partnership, Quality Assurance and Residential Provision Suzi Gladish, Head of Safeguarding Arrangements Papers with report Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report Children and Young People’s – You Said, We Did. What Next? Easy Read Annual Report Ward All HEADLINES The Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023 -2024 outlines the vision and activities of the Safeguarding Children Partnership and the Safeguarding Adults Board. The report emphasizes the importance of ensuring safety, health, and opportunities for children, young people, and adults in Hillingdon. Key sections of the report include:  Impact Statement: Highlights the increased complexity of needs due to financial hardship and rising emotional and psychological needs. It also mentions the implementation of business plans for both children and adults' safeguarding.  Safeguarding Arrangements: Describes the structure and function of the Safeguarding Children Partnership Board and the Safeguarding Adults Board, including their oversight and governance roles.  Voice of the Person: Emphasizes the importance of understanding the lived experiences of children, adults, and their families. It includes feedback from children and adults with lived experiences.  Safeguarding Priorities: Outlines the priorities for children, adults, and shared priorities. This includes addressing child sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation.  Learning from Practice : Discusses the importance of learning from both good practice and areas where improvements are needed. It includes reviews of cases that meet the criteria for statutory reviews.  Quality Assurance: Details the auditing activities undertaken to ensure the effectiveness of safeguarding practices.  Multiagency Safeguarding Training: Highlights the training programs provided to ensure practitioners have up-to-date knowledge and skills.  Agency Contributions: Includes contributions from various agencies such as the NHS, Metropolitan Police Service, and London Fire Brigade.  Priorities for 2024 -2025: Lists the focus areas for the coming year, including neglect, exploitation, and transitional safeguarding. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the safeguarding activities and priorities in Hillingdon, emphasizing collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement to ensure the safety and well-being of residents Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public RECOMMENDATIONS That the Committee: 1. Is reassured that the partnership continues to provide leadership and scrutiny of the safeguarding arrangements for Hillingdon residents; 2. Is updated regarding the way in which the partnership has responded to the challenges posed by changing local, national and international contexts; 3. Is assured that local learning is identified to enhance and strengthen safeguarding practice; 4. Is informed of the strategic priorities for safeguarding for 2024-2025; 5. To submit any comments to Cabinet, or delegate comments to the Democratic Services Officer in conjunction with the Chair, and in consultation with the Opposition Lead. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 1. In September 2019 the Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership arrangements were launched in line with the statutory requirements set out in the Children and Social Work Act 2017 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 20 18 (updated December 2023) . The Local Authority now shares equal responsibility with our statutory partners, the NHS Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group and Metropolitan Police, to safeguard children and young people. 2. The Care Act 2014 placed a statutory duty on each Safeguarding Adults Board to produce an Annual Report, outlining the work undertaken to achieve its strategic objectives, the work of each member to implement the Safeguarding Adults Boards’ strategy and detailing the findings of any Safeguarding Adult Reviews and subsequent required actions. 3. In promoting this joint approach, both boards are now scrutinised and held to account through the multiagency Executive Leadership Group. The group is chaired by the Chief Nurse at the ICB and attended by the senior representatives of the safeguarding partners (Police and Local Authority). 4. In December 2023 the Department for Education published an update to Working Together to Safeguard Children . Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership, in common with all other partnerships nationally, is in the process of implementing changes. PERFORMANCE DATA As set out in the Annual Report RESIDENT BENEFIT Hillingdon adults with care and support needs, children and their families and carers remain safe and the safeguarding partnership continues to respond effectively and efficiently to the needs of residents. Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS None at this stage. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS None at this stage. BACKGROUND PAPERS The Care and Support Statutory Guidance, Department of Health and Social Care, October 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care- and-support-statutory-guidance The Care Act 2014 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/43/enacted Working together to safeguard children, Department of Education, 20 23 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2 The Children and Social Work Act 2017 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/16/contents/enacted

Annual Report 2023-2024 ‘…there continues to be many strengths to the safeguarding arrangements for both children and adults across Hillingdon. I have found a strong partnership that is open to scrutiny and challenge and one that strives to continually learn and improve practice… I have not come across any areas of poor practice or weaknesses in service provision… There is strong leadership from the ELG and a clear sense of joint and equal responsibility from the three safeguarding partners. The partnership is one that is built on high support, high challenge and where difficult conversations are encouraged.’ (Alan Caton, OBE, Independent Scrutineer December 2023) Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 2 | P a g e Table of Contents 1 Impact Statement 3 2 Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership: Safeguarding Arrangements 5 3 The Voice of the Person 6 4 Safeguarding Priorities 10 4.1 Children’s Priorities 10 4.2 Shared Priorities 12 4.3 Adult Priorities 14 5 Learning from Practice 16 6 Quality Assurance 18 7 Multiagency Safeguarding Training 21 8 London Borough of Hillingdon Children and Young People Services 24 9 London Borough of Hillingdon Adult’s Services 31 10 NHS North West London Integrated Care Board 34 11 Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) 35 12 Agency Contributions 41 12.1 Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) 41 12.2 Local Authority's Designated Officer (LADO) and Education Safeguarding 44 12.3 Children’s Rights and Participation Service 49 12.4 The Hillingdon Hospital 50 12.5 Domestic Abuse Steering Executive, Safer Hillingdon Partnership 51 12.6 London Fire Brigade 52 12.7 The Churchill Clementine Hospital 52 12.8 The Probation Service 52 13 Priorities for 2024-2025 55 Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 3 | P a g e 1 Impact Statement 2023-2024 marked another busy year for the Hillin gdon Safeguarding Partnership. The Partnership has striven to meet an increase in complexity of need for those adult s and children requiring safeguarding support and intervention. We have seen a particular rise in the emotional and psychological needs of children, families , adults, and their carers . Many of our residents have experienced significant financial hardship due to the cost-of-living crisis with the associated stresses that this generates. This increase in complexity of need occurs in a context of increased pressure on safeguarding agencies, rising inflation, and the associated implications for public sector organisations providing services in a challenging financial context. Each of the statutory partners has navigated areas of challenge in respect of recruitment and retention, and restructure of services. This rise in need impacts across all sectors, including universal services like our schools and primary care, to those services providing targeted and specialist support and intervention. In December 2023 the Department for Education published an update to ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’. This is the underpinning Guidance for the Safeguarding Children Arrangements, with applicability to operational and strategic services, and to every agency working with children and families. We are in the process of identifying the Lead and Delegated Safeguarding Partners ahead of publishing an update to our 2019 Arrangements by the end of the calendar year. We have implemented a business plan for the Safeguarding Children Partnership, and reviewed and updated the existing plan for Safeguarding Adults Board. Th e Business Plans are complimentary and ensure that the strategic focus of the Partnership is maintained, and we can effectively monitor our progress against the agreed objectives. This necessitates close working arrangements with the other related strategic boards, including our Community Safety Partnership, Youth Justice Board and Health and Wellbeing Board. To this end, a Chair’s Network meeting has been implemented that enables the Chairs of each to meet regularly and ensures th at we are coordinate approaches, principles and priorities. During the year there has been considerable scrutiny of local services. O ur local authority children’s social care services were subject to Ofsted Inspection and graded as an Outstanding service , with specific recognition of the strengths in partnership working. The process of CQC inspection of Adult Social Care is underway and will conclude in the next financial year , with preparation also underway for the Local Area Partnership Inspection for SEND and Alternative Provisions expected in 2024 -25. The Metropolitan Police Service has res ponded to the findings of the Casey Review and HMICRFS Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 4 | P a g e Inspection of adolescent safeguarding services through the development of the New Met for London initiative. The CQC has also undertaken inspection of Maternity Services at the Hillingdon Hospital . These focussed inspections take place in a context of routine regulatory activity for our schools, residential services, and care providers. This year our Independent Scrutineer, Alan Caton OBE, was commissioned to review the effectiveness of our senior strategic boards: the Safeguarding Children’s Partnership Board, the Safeguarding Adults Board, and the Executive Leadership Group and to consider the functioning of our safeguarding arrangements within statutory partners and relevant agencies. The scrutiny process is structured in line with the ‘Six Steps for Independent Scrutiny’ developed by the University of Bedfordshire. Alan was also able t o hear directly from children and adults with lived experience , highlighting that ‘engagement with children, young people and adults is a real strength in Hillingdon’. The full outcome letter, with areas for further consideration, is published on the Partnership’s websites and has been widely shared. The letter concludes that: ‘…there continues to be many strengths to the safeguarding arrangements for both children and adults across Hillingdon. I have found a strong partnership that is open to scrutiny and challenge and one that strives to continually learn and improve practice … I have not come across any areas of poor practice or weaknesses in service provision… There is strong leadership from the ELG and a clear sense of joint and equal responsibility from the three safeguarding partners. The partnership is one that is built on high support, high challenge and where difficult conversations are encouraged.’ (Alan Caton, OBE, December 2023) Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 5 | P a g e 2 Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership: Safeguarding Arrangements This report provides an overview of the activity of Hillingdon’s Safeguarding Partnership. The report seeks to provide assurance around the effectiveness of our local safeguarding arrangements , and to evidence the impact of these arrangements in ensuring the safety of Hillingdon residents irrespective of age. The Safeguarding Partnership Implementation Unit provides support and drive to both the Adult’s and Children’s Partnerships. A key focus of the team is to facilitate, develop and maintain links between the Safeguarding Children Partnership and The Safeguarding Adults Board. The team also seeks to develop links and coordinate delivery with the other relevant strategic boards across Hillingdon and Pan-London. The main engine of the safeguarding arrangements for children is the Safeguarding Children Partnership Board and, for adults, the Safeguarding Adults Board. The Boards have oversight of safeguarding practice and performance, resolving issues as they arise. Where this is not possible, the issue will be escalated to the relevant organisation(s) via the Implementation Unit and if the individual organisation(s) still cannot resolve the matter, it is escalated to the Executive Leadership Group. To ensure the success, coordination, and impact of the shared arrangements we have a joint Executive Leadership Group (ELG) that provides governance, leadership, oversight and challenge to both Boards. The ELG consists of the Local Authority's Chief Executive, the Chief Nurse of Hillingdon NHS Integrated Care Partnership, and the Metropolitan Police Service BCU Commander. This group has joint and equal responsibility for safeguarding in Hillingdon. The statutory partners share responsibility for funding the Safeguarding Arrangements, with a tripartite agreement in place in respect of statutory reviews. We are working on meaningful inclusion of Education leads at a strategic level in line with the updates to Working Together to Safeguard Children , with a focussed subgroup well embedded, and representation at the Safeguarding Children Partnership. Due to the complexity of education as a sector representation at the Executive Level requires careful consideration due to the need to reflect the broad range of providers across the sector. Each partner is subject to internal scrutiny in accordance with their internal governance structures. In addition to this, the ELG has commissioned regular independent scrutiny of our s afeguarding arrangements for both children and adults to provide reassurance of the effectiveness of the arrangements and independent critical challenge and appraisal that supports learning and future development. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 6 | P a g e To reflect the vision of joint and equal responsibility the Boards are chaired by a representative of the three statutory partners. From September 2022 responsibility for chairing the Executive Leadership Group passed to the Integrated Care Partnership, for the Children’s Partnership Board to the Metropolitan Police Service, and for the Safeguarding Adults Board to the Local Authority. The Boards steer learning and development for the safeguarding environment across the London Borough of Hillingdon, and are informed by independent scrutiny, quality assurance activities, and subgroups. 3 The Voice of the Person In 2022 our Communication and Engagement Strategy was agreed . This document sets out how the Safeguarding Partnership interacts with individuals in receipt of services, the wider community, and professionals. One of the cornerstones of our local arrangements is an emphasis on understanding the lived experience of children, adults, their families, and carers. This ensures that we understand the impact of our work and provides a steer for future areas of priority and focus. The Strategy is scheduled for update in the next financial year, this will solidify the central emphasis of coproduction and consultation with adults, children and young people, and their parents and carers to inform strategic work. Over the last year all partners have worked to embed the findings of our coproduced review ‘Exploring Practice: The Voice of the Person’. It is important to highlight that this is not an area of work that can ever be completed, to facilitate meaningful engagement partners agencies all continuously strive to ensure that services are informed by feedback from those who receive them. This includes respecting the efforts of those children, young people and adults who generously shared their expertise and experience to inform our strategic work , and communicating this respect through providing routine updates about what has been achieved, and w here this has not been possible, why this is, and what our next steps are. One significant impact of this work was an approach from a care experienced young person, Max, who wished to share her lived experience of mental health difficulties to raise awareness. We built on this through also seeking input from adults and carers with shared wisdom and made learning from lived experience the focus of World Mental Health Day 2023 . This resource was shared across the Partnership and demonstrates the power of meaningful coproduction. The Partnership is unable to do this without the generosity of those ch ildren and adults who agreed to contribute, our thanks go to Angela, Ron, John and Max. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 7 | P a g e In response to feedback from our children’s consultations groups that they would like to know who strategic leads ‘actually are’ we held a ‘You Said: We Did’ event in October. This was attended by our Independent Scrutineer, and senior representatives of the local authority, police, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and Hillingdon Hospital. The aim of the event was to support children, young people and adults to build relationships and links. Three young people presented their feedback directly, with updates provided by the strategic leads around the actions their agencies had taken in response. To further amplify the views of children and adults with lived experience we recorded videos of them sharing the findings of the reflective review and delivering their feedback in their own words , using their own voices. These were widely shared across the safeguarding networks and are available to any practitioner working in the Borough. A member of the Safeguarding Partnership Team was invited to deliver a session on co production, lived experience and Making Safeguarding Personal as part of the Pan London Safeguarding Adults Week Conference. Over the course of the year, we have continued to engage with the various consultation groups facilitated by the council, with members of the team supporting the activities of the Children’s Participation Team and attending the Learning Disability Partnership Board and Older People’s Forums. In March this culminated with formal updates about the work that has been achieved across the partnership in response to the reflective review. This was adapted according to the age and needs of children and young people, with support from Children’s Residential Services to ensure that it was accessible to children with disabilities. Children and adults have felt listened to and valued through this approach: ‘This is amazing I truly feel empowered as I read all of it and felt so heard and so much a part of it. I’m so glad that this is going this way onwards and upwards’. (Care Experienced Young Person) “May I also say how much I value your person-centred approach to safeguarding. It is really reassuring to know that lived experience is being given such prominence. As you know, this hasn’t been my experience, but this seems a really positive step forward.” (Adult with Lived Experience) Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 8 | P a g e Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 9 | P a g e Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 10 | P a g e 4 Safeguarding Priorities This section outlines the highlights of multiagency working in the last year. To reflect our ethos of shared and equal responsibility for safeguarding we have continued to encourage partner agencies to chair subgroups. In the last year we have secured improved multiagency engagement, with subgroups chaired by representatives of the statutory partners, and relevant agencies including London Fire Brigade. Subgroups are generally well attended across all aspects of partnership work, statutory partners are represented in all, with relevant agencies attending according to the focus of the subgroup. 4.1 Children’s Priorities The Strategic High -Risk Panel is co-chaired by the Metropolitan Police and Children and Young People’s Services. There has been considerable flux in senior leadership within the police service, this has resulted in changes in the responsible officer for the chairing role. In effect , during the year, the group was largely chaired by the local authority. The focus of the subgroup remains developing a collaborative strategic response to children at risk of extrafamilial harm. The overarching objective is to prevent, intervene and disrupt child exploitation. The group collates and scrutinises information from a variety of sources and partners to identify trends and themes. This facilitates multiagency solution-focussed discussions to determine the best way to strategically address the identified needs and priorities. Highlights in the last year include the Contextual Safeguarding Strategy and achieving funding for a pilot project to rollout the approach in Hayes. This project is being led by the Stronger Families Team leader with the benefit of comprehensive local knowledge of the area, and pre-existing networks with the local community. The project is reporting into both the Community Safety Partnership, and the Panel with governance facilitated through the newly formed Community Safety’s “Serious Violence” subgroup. The Child Sexual Abuse Subgroup was established in December 2021. Its purpose is to raise awareness of all forms of child sexual abuse within the community and across our partnership. The subgroup aims Children's Priorities •Strategic High Risk Panel (Contextual Safeguarding) •Child Sexual Abuse •Education Safeguarding (new) •Stronger Families (concluded) Shared Priorities •Joint Strategic Safeguarding and Trafficking (concluded) •Practice Development Forum Adult Priorities •Neglect •Preventing Fatal Fires (new) •Self Neglect (concluded) •Cuckooing and Adult Exploitation (new) Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 11 | P a g e to enhance practitioner capacity to identify sexual abuse , increase knowledge and confidence , and develop a coordinated response when a child sexual abuse concern arises. Additionally, the subgroup addresses issues of equality and diversity, including the unique risks faced by children with disabilities. While it had been anticipated the strategic work would conclude last year, after consultation with partners, we recognised the need for ongoing efforts to ensure best practices in our multiagency response to child sexual abuse. In the last year there has been increased regional focus , with partners contributing to the ICB led project to develop a North West London Child Sexual Abuse Hub. This is anticipated to be a comprehensive service for those children impacted by sexual abuse. There are some challenges to the approach, with the location of the Hub in Kensington and Chelsea. Representatives of the subgroup continue to advocate for Hillingdon residents to have access to an accessible service and are mindful of the potential increased barriers to support for children with disabilities. The NSPCC PANTS Programme has now been launched in Hillingdon. This is a preventative approach to child sexual abuse, educating children in an age-appropriate way, about their rights to safety and support. There has been great enthusiasm across the partnership, with practitioners, schools, health, and voluntary agencies encouraged to sign up to be trained as a ‘PANTS Champion’. In August 2021 the Local Authority launched the Stronger Families approach to early help services in Hillingdon. This is a locality -based approach with three hubs, each developing networks to support children and families in the local community. In 2022-23 the subgroup continued to provide scrutiny and strategic vision for the approach, enabling direct feedback from partners to identify and address any implementation issues, and to share information and updates about the progression of services. In the last reporting period, the subgroup concluded the strategic aspect of the rollout, progressing to operational delivery and development at a locality level. This ensures that the work of each locality team is informed by the needs of the local community they serve. The Education Safeguarding subgroup is co-chaired by a senior manager within the local authority education department, and the child protection lead for education. The subgroup has representatives from early years, primary, secondary, special schools, and further education in addition to wider multiagency partners from health and policing. The aim of the subgroup is to provide education leaders with a formal conduit into the wider work of the partnership. Key areas of work have included coproducing the audit tool for the s175/157 education safeguarding audit, this is underway and will be concluded in the next financial year. The subgroup is also mapping the complex network of Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 12 | P a g e consultation and feedback groups within the sector, this will enable improved information sharing across the education landscape. 4.2 Shared Priorities The Joint Strategic Safeguarding and Trafficking Subgroup originally formed in 2015 to provide scrutiny and oversight of the safeguarding arrangements for children and young people arriving at Heathrow and was later expanded to include safeguarding vulnerable adults . In 2022 the terms of reference were updated to reflect a focus on the prevention, identification and response to safeguarding concerns arising within the airport. In the reporting period the subgroup developed, finalised and agreed the Safeguarding Partnership Modern Slavery Practice Guidance. This provides practitioners with clear guidance and pathways to safeguard adults and children who are believed to be exploited. During its tenure the subgroup facilitated the development of relationships between operational and strategic leads across the partnership. These are now well embedded with good links, systems and processes between those agencies based at the airport and local safeguarding services. The work of the strategic subgroup was subject to reflective review this year, to establish progress made and identify any areas of continued focus. This concluded that there was no requirement for strategic leads to continue to meet, with the development of an operational networking group to ensure the maintenance of achievements, with the c apacity to refer to the senior strategic boards should there be any intractable issues. The focus of the Practice Development Forum (PDF) is to ensure that learning from any statutory or non-statutory review, local or national, is disseminated across the safeguarding partnership as required. The Practice Development Forum also considers learning from audits and other statutory reviews. The group has a core membership across both partnerships, in recognition that learning from practice usually has applicability across both sectors. This year there ha s continued to be three affiliated Task & Finish groups: Child Learning from Practice; Adult Learning from Practice; and Female Genital Mutilation. During the year, to help disseminate and share information in different ways, we published the Safeguarding Partnership Newsletter which continues to provide professionals with an accessible overview of key practice developments, resources and learning from practice. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 13 | P a g e We believe that in addition to good information sharing, learning activities and good communication, quality assurance plays an important role in assessing and evaluating the impact of various activities and the effectiveness of the safeguarding arrangements. A coherent structure to the quality assurance activities of the partnership and an analytical approach has continued through the annual multiagency quality assurance schedule that is further explored later in this report. The Safeguarding Partnership proactively raise s awareness of safeguarding themes and issues throughout the year to continuously reinforce knowledge and increase awareness of issues of abuse and neglect. Through doing so it contributes to a community of residents and professionals who are well informed to prevent harm before it occurs and know how to seek help when needed. This year the Partnership has promoted: ➢ Carers Week ➢ Show Racism the Red Card ➢ Safeguarding Adults Week ➢ Mental Health Awareness Week ➢ Child Exploitation Awareness Week ➢ World Suicide Prevention Day Tools and resources are developed in advance and shared across the professional network, in addition to being available on our websites. Input from expert leads across the partnership is sought where required, both in the development of resources, and in ensuring that the target audience is reached. There is evidence to support direct impact on safeguarding practice, and positive feedback from safeguarding partners about the usefulness of the resources. Our focus for Show Racism the Red Card was to highlight the impact of structural inequalities, and the centrality of anti- discrimination and cultural literacy to safeguarding practice. The Partnership embraced the ethos of the campaign, reflecting on the increased diversity of the community we serve, and the value of celebrating culture and history. In the coming year we will build on this through reviewing the impact of the Safeguarding Partnership’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 14 | P a g e The proactive acknowledgement of awareness days enables the partnership to revisit previous areas of priority practice, ensuring sustainability of strategic work and highlighting intersections between the often-diverse nature of need that residents can experience. Our World Suicide Prevention Day resource provided easily accessible training videos for practitioners and highlighted the increased risk of suicide for victims of domestic abuse. Each briefing highlights the nature of the campaign, the intersection with safeguarding, local resources, and signposting to further support. They provide an opportunity to highlight services and resources that are sometimes overlooked, for example the specialist post suicide bereavement service delivered by Mind on behalf of North West London Integrated Care Board. For Child Exploitation Awareness Day, we trialled the delivery of a ‘conference in a week’ through designing and implementing a series of standalone webinars across a five-day period. Each webinar focussed on an a rea of practice, with attendance across all three supporting practitioners to develop a foundational knowledge of exploitation, to understand our local picture, and to increase awareness of the importance of disruptive activity and transitional safeguarding. The approach was well received and will be repeated as appropriate. 4.3 Adult Priorities The self-neglect subgroup was led by the Head of Service for Safeguarding in Adult Social Care. In the last year the subgroup has progressed through the strategic objectives to raise awareness of self - neglect, to improve practitioner knowledge, capacity and confidence and to develop the multiagency safeguarding response. The 2022-2023 audit considered barriers to best practice, interagency working and information sharing and identifying good practice. Actions taken in response to the audit have included raising awareness of referral pathways, increasing practitioner knowledge of the Clutter Image Rating Scale, and practice development around the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act. The subgroup concluded at the completion of the agreed multiagency action plan. In terms of further developments, the specialist self -neglect training remains in place, with positive feedback from Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 15 | P a g e delegates around applicability to practice. The SAB has sought assurance from partners around the sufficiency of training in respect of the Mental Capacity Act and has continued to promote widespread use of the Clutter Image Rating Scale. Our priority to address the impact of Neglect on adults has been the focus of a designated subgroup for a year. The subgroup is attended by representatives of core agencies, with specialist input provided by Care Providers, and the voluntary and community sector. There have been some challenges with the capacity of adult social care to provide consistent representation due to staffing changes. Key areas of output in the last year include the development of briefings to highlight key information for frontline practitioners and operational managers, commissioning of neglect training, the development of a neglect focussed section on the SAB website and seeking assurance around practice and procedure in partner agencies. In the coming year the subgroup will develop a local multiagency guidance/strategy to collate information about best practice into one strategic document. During the year the Pan London SAB identified the need for regional development in response to learning from fatal fires. Our local efforts have been co-ordinated within the Learning from Fatal Fires Task & Finish Group. By design, this was a highly focussed group led by our Borough Commander for London Fire Brigade with the support of the Safeguarding Partnership Team. Key areas of focus have included awareness raising activity, incorporating fire risk into routine assessments, and reviewing local mechanisms for response where a fire has been established. This work culminated in the design of a multiagency training webinar that is scheduled for delivery in the new financial year. A follow up meeting to review impact will take place six months after the conclusion of the group. Our most recent area of focus is the multiagency response to exploitation and cuckooing. This work is in its infancy and will continue into the coming financial year. Strategic work in this arena necessitates close working with colleagues in Community Safety , to ensure that the imperative to disrupt perpetrators as well as safeguard victims is achieved. The community safety leads are developing a local exploitation and cuckooing protocol to inform multiagency practice. From the perspective of the Safeguarding Partnership an assessment tool has been developed to assist in identifying signs and indicators, inform risk assessment and shape safeguarding intervention for those affected. This will be implemented within Adult Social Care in the first instance, with a rollout plan to partner agencies and services in development. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 16 | P a g e 5 Learning from Practice It is acknowledged that learning can be gained from recognising good practice but also from those circumstances where we, as a partnership, could have responded differently to a child or adult’s circumstances. Systemic learning and practice improvement is not only based on local experience but includes that which stems from regional and national research, policy, and practice. This approach seeks to ensure that safeguarding practice in Hillingdon is research informed and evidence based and that our residents receive services that are of a high standard delivered by a partnership that strives to continuously improve. A fundamental duty of both the Safeguarding Children Partnership and Safeguarding Adults Board is to review those cases that may meet the criteria for a statutory review of practice. This review process is undertaken in line with the statutory guidance set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018/2023 and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014. A notification to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the National Panel) is made when a child has suffered serious harm, and that abuse and/or neglect is known or suspected. For each serious incident notification, a multiagency Rapid Review is convened to bring together and consider information known about the child by all agencies involved and to identify any areas of learning. The Rapid Review is held within 15 working days of the notification, with a report detailing the circumstances of the child, the actions of involved agencies, any learning identified and a decision around Local or National Child Safeguarding Practice Review. In the reporting period the Partnership convened 2 Rapid Reviews. There are two ongoing Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, one in respect of safeguarding infants, and one in respect of child sexual abuse. Our child sexual abuse LCSPR is delayed due to an accompanying police investigation. The Hillingdon Safeguarding Adult Review Panel is chaired by a Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent with responsibility for safeguarding. It has a core membership of senior representatives from key agencies, with others mandated to attend according to the specific requirement of the case. The purpose of the Panel is to review circumstances that may meet the criteria for a Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) as specified in the Care Act 2014. In 2023-2024 the Panel considered five referrals, of these three met the criteria for a statutory safeguarding adults review (SAR). For each review there is consideration of the most appropriate methodology, options include externally commissioning a review author, or co-ordinating within the SAB. All SARs are underway and will be concluded in the next reporting period. In January 2024 the Partnership published the ‘Carol’ SAR. This considered the circumstances of a 77- year-old woman who suffered serious harm due to her care needs not being met . The SAR was Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 17 | P a g e coordinated by the Safeguarding Partnership Team and undertaken by a Panel made up of representatives of the core agencies. The key lessons for local practice were summarised as follows: • Practitioners should strive to understand the lived experience of adults. • Working with carers is necessary to reduce the risk of abuse and neglect. • Supervision and management oversight supports better safeguarding practice. • Practitioners need to correctly apply the Mental Capacity Act. • Effective partnership working is integral to the identification and management of risks. A multiagency action plan is in progress to address the learning identified. To support agencies to disseminate and address the areas of learning within their organisations a practice briefing was written to expand upon each domain, highlighting useful sources of support, advice and information to improve safeguarding practice. Addressing learning meaningfully necessitates that it is revisited on an ongoing basis and incorporated into wider practice development. This is achieved through agencies incorporating learning into their training for staff, and by the Partnership continuing to seek assurance that it is being addressed. Our Learning from Practice Frameworks promote the continuous improvement of safeguarding practice in both adult and child services. The Task and Finish Groups have a broad remit that includes undertaking non-statutory learning reviews, progressing actions, and identifying any thematic barriers to good practice. In the last year the Frameworks have been updated to incorporate learning from domestic abuse related reviews where appropriate. The aim is to support the development of a learning culture across the partnership that: Learning from Practice High profile cases Local Statutory Reviews Rapid Reviews National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Themes from single agency reviews Key Research Seminal SAR/CSPR Domestic Abuse Related Death Review Regional learning Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 18 | P a g e - is open and honest. - is proportionate and avoids hindsight bias. - identifies and addresses systemic practice issues. - supports and challenges safeguarding partners to make continuous improvements to practice. In response to The National Review Safeguarding Children with Disabilities in Residential Settings the partnership developed a n action plan , that facilitated application of the core findings to local safeguarding practice. This informed the focus of multiagency quality assurance activity in 2023-2024, including an audit of responses to allegations against staff and volunteers, and consideration of multiagency safeguarding practice in relation to children with complex needs placed outside of their community. These are explored in more detail in the next section. 6 Quality Assurance One of the core functions of the Safeguarding Partnership is to seek assurance about practice in Hillingdon. To this aim we have undertaken a wide range of auditing activity in the last year: - Allegations against People in Positions of Trust - Evaluating the Impact of Local Safeguarding Adults Reviews - Safeguarding Children with Disabilities placed outside of the Local Community - Adult MASH - The Quality and Impact of Safeguarding Partnership Training Each audit has been completed with the support and expertise of representatives across the multiagency group, with methodology adjusted according to the nature and matter under review. Methods used include self-assessment, file audits, roundtable discussions and the development of bespoke review tools. Where reviews considered the quality of safeguarding practice the outcomes were largely positive, providing assurance about the impact of multiagency safeguarding arrangements on practice in Hillingdon. The findings, analysis and recommendations of each review have been communicated to the relevant subgroup and Safeguarding Board, with a standalone report produced for each area of focus. In response to the findings of the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review the Partnership sought assurance about local processes and practices in respect of the management of allegations against professionals in a position of trust working with children. This includes both paid staff and volunteers. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 19 | P a g e The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) function is a statutory requirement set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018, subsequently updated in December 2023). The task of the LADO is to coordinate and respond to allegations against members of the children’s workforce.  The audit was designed using the draft Standards agreed by the London LADO network. The review highlighted a need for continuous awareness raising activity of the role and function of the LADO service. In response to the findings of the s11 Audit in 2022 -2023 the LADO provides multiagency training four times per year, with a bespoke offer for foster carers and residential staff. This is good practice and demonstrates a proactive safeguarding approach. It was highlighted that there was a need to extend this to voluntary, community and faith-based organisations. The LADO has seen increasing numbers of referrals, and an extension of the recording requirements to include low level concerns. This raises a question about sufficiency within the service. At the time of the audit the local authority was developing new recording systems to improve data collection and quality. The need for this was confirmed within the audit and has subsequently been achieved. Following the audit the local authority has established routine quality assurance processes for LADO, with monthly qualitative auditing in place. The referral pathway for allegations and concerns is clear, and well understood by those agencies making referral s. Triage of allegations is timely, with formal management meetings and reviews arranged as needed. Investigations were conducted thoroughly fairly and in a timely manner, with risk identified, agreed actions proactively monitored and outcomes both appropriate and proportionate. There are a small number of cases that have not progressed in a timely manner, this is due to ongoing criminal investig ations. The LADO and senior officers within the Metropolitan Police Service have developed an escalation pathway to address this. In 2022 the Partnership published two Safeguarding Adults Reviews, E velyn and Angela and Chris: A Thematic Review of Self-Neglect. As previously outlined to ensure that the Partnership has embedded learning it is necessary to intermittently revisit the findings, this serves an additional purpose of providing insight into methods for reaching frontline practitioners and operational managers. For this purpose, focussed quality assurance activity was undertaken : Evaluating the Impact of Local Safeguarding Adults Reviews. A multilevel questionnaire was developed to seek input from frontline practitioners, operational managers and strategic leads. The review found good evidence that both SARs have impacted Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at a strategic level, shaping training delivery and policies and processes that embed many aspects of learning from the SARs into practice. Unfortunately, there was no strategic level response from Adult Social Care, the ICB, the Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 20 | P a g e Police, London Ambulance Service, Circle Health Group, all of whom were involved in at least one of the relevant SARs. In the absence of strategic level assurances or greater frontline and management responses to this survey, there was little assurance provided by this survey that learning from SARs has been embedded into policy, procedures, or training. Subsequently assurance has been sought by the SAB around the actions taken to embed learning. The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review ‘Safeguarding Children with Disabilities in Residential Settings’ was published in 2022. The Review was undertaken in response to abuse and neglect that occurred in a residential school setting, with multiple children and young adults suffering harm, over a period of months and years. It was published in two phases, wit h phase 1 exploring the specific circumstances of the children, and phase 2 the wider national implications. The purpose of this reflective review was to consider the themes and recommendations of the National Review for local safeguarding partners. The review sought to highlight specific areas of practice strength, and opportunities for development in multiagency practice across Hillingdon through exploring how well partners understood the children’s lived experiences and how effectively partners ensured that their outcomes are met. The focus was on children placed outside of their local community in residential homes and schools. Overall, the review group found that children with complex health needs and disabilities that were placed outside the borough were receiving good safeguarding responses and their needs were being effectively met within residential settings. There were elem ents of good practice with partners working together to safeguard children and families ensuring that specialist services were implemented when required. The experiences of these children before they became looked after demonstrated the need for professionals to be more child centred when assessing the risks and harms that could be caused by their caregivers, rather than focussing on the needs of the parents. Hearing and amplifying the child’s voice and understanding their lived experiences helps to improve safeguarding practice whilst ensuring the family get the right holistic support at the earliest opportunity. In September 2020 the Adult Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub was launched in Hillingdon, led by Adult Social Care. The hub has responsibility for screening potential adult safeguarding concerns, triaging all safeguarding concerns, undertaking initial safety p lanning, and determining whether the criteria for section 42 are met. Whilst the Adult Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) was the focus of Independent Scrutiny in 2022-23, with positive feedback, our Thematic Self-Neglect SAR published in September 2022 found learning in respect of the identification of safeguarding concerns and the sufficiency of interagency Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 21 | P a g e information sharing at the concern stage. Practice Development Forum agreed that the Adult MASH would be the focus of a Quality Assurance audit in quarter three of 2023 -24. This was to seek assurance about robustness of safeguarding practice at the concern stage. The period audited was during a time of significant and rapid turnover in staffing and management of the MASH and this likely had a detrimental impact on the ability of staff and managers to ensure consistency of practice. There are opportunities to improve the quality of referrals, consideration of neglect as a potential crime, and to better seek the views and wishes of adults at risk when raising a safeguarding concern. Once safeguarding concerns reach Adult MASH there is evidence of some good practice in triaging concerns, effective use of the daily high-risk meeting, good partnership working to assess and manage risk, and efforts to seek the views and wishes of adults at risk. However, there was considerable variation in the quality of practice across the sample. This included in the application of Making Safeguarding Personal principles. In jus t under half the triages the person did not appear to have received the right help and protection at the concern stage, and information had not been shared effectively. 7 Multiagency Safeguarding Training The purpose of the Safeguarding Partnership training programme is to ensure that practitioners have the most relevant and up to date opportunities for ongoing professional development. To promote accessibility training is delivered through a range of methods, including online, face to face and via webinar. Training by our children and young people is delivered in person. In total, 1846 sessions of professional development activity have been facilitated by the Safeguarding Partnership in 2023 - 2024. This includes commissioned training and that delivered via the webinar programme. In April 2023, the Safeguarding Partnership Team was transferred responsibility, from the council’s Learning and Development Team, for full administration of training, including the creation of new Learning Zone account requests for any practitioner external to the council. In the last year over 350 new accounts have been created. To ensure the continued relevance and accessibility of multiagency safeguarding training, and to measure the effectiveness of the Late Cancellation Policy at reducing non-attendance, we undertook a structured analysis of training in the reporting period. F indings have informed ongoing commissioning arrangements, with the extension of the Late Cancellation Policy to include all training. Where there are agency specific challenges with attendance at safeguarding training this is monitored with feedback provided to the lead within the respective agency. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 22 | P a g e In recognition of the time pressures faced by frontline practitioners we offer a programme of webinars. These are sharply focussed, last around 90 minutes and address a specific topic or area of practice. All webinars are available on the Safeguarding Partnership websites and can be accessed using a password that is shared with Hillingdon practitioners. Webinar Attendees An Introduction to the Safeguarding Partnership 147 Child Exploitation Awareness Week - Myth Buster & Back to Basics - AXIS – Understanding Local Trends - The Children’s Society – Disruption and Transitional Safeguarding 59 48 45 An Introduction to Contextual Safeguarding 73 Introduction to the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse 49 Total: 421 Following attendance delegates are asked to complete a feedback form, this enables the Partnership to monitor the effectiveness and impact of sessions and informs our needs analysis. ➢ 97% of delegates rated their understanding of the topic after training as very good to excellent. ➢ 96% rated the quality of the training as very good to excellent. ➢ 98% of delegates agreed that they could apply learning from the training to their practice area. A core aim of our training programme is accessibility and relevance across the diverse range of professionals and volunteers working in the borough. In addition to monitoring training quantitively, in terms of attendance and representation, we also seek qualitative feedback from delegates. A selection of comments, from a range of different agencies across the scope of the training offer is provided below. This highlights that the training programme is broadly accessed, and that delegates find the content to be useful and applicable to their practice. Nursery Worker: Children’s LADO ‘I have a better understanding of what needs to be reported to LADO and how they can help’. Early Years: Contextual Safeguarding ‘Although my work is mostly with children under 5, we work with the whole family. Using the training to inform staff during staff meetings and their 1 -1s’. Primary School: Working Together ‘I will use this training to help in following questioning techniques and knowing who to contact’. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 23 | P a g e Independent School: Contextual Safeguarding ‘I will cascade to my DSL team and then to wider staff’. Special School: Working Together ‘'Seeing situations from a different perspective. Knowing how to deal with situations calmly and being able to respond in an effective way’. Adolescent Development Services: Child Neglect ‘ Being more confident in "reading" situations …more able to respond’. Child Development Centre: Working Together Refresher ‘I am a community Paediatric Consultant so doing lots of safeguarding and child protection medicals. This refresher course is very useful.’ Children’s Social Care: Child Sexual Abuse ‘updated my knowledge to support my team’ CNWL Mental Health Services – Working Together ‘I have developed better awareness o f signs and symptoms, some of which could/would have been overlooked in encounters with CYP …’ CNWL Health Visiting Modern Slavery ‘Be more aware of indicators of possible modern-day slavery’. Hillingdon Hospital Safeguarding Disabled Children ‘Information to be included within internal training on this subject’. Maternity Services: Contributing Effectively to Child Protection Plans and Core Groups ‘I will use the knowledge constantly (referrals, strategy meetings, professionals' meetings, core groups, CP conferences) Adult Social C are: Adult Safeguarding ‘It will help me to make sure that the person is always at the centre of each decision, fully informed at the right level and pace and that information is only shared with those who need to know’ LBH Housing Department: Modern Slavery ‘I will use this training when interacting and visiting Tenants to identify and raise safeguarding concerns where modern slavery is suspected ’. LBH Rent Team: Walking in our Shoes ‘I will make sure I go the extra mile’ Heathrow Airport Ltd: Modern Slavery ‘Share contacts & information with my team.’ H4All: Self Neglect & Hoarding ‘The training will help me to support my clients better as it’s given me a deeper insight into this topic and resources available.’ Age UK: Adult Safeguarding ‘I have become SG nominated lead person for our Charity so this will enable me to have a better understanding’ Areas of training need are identified in line with the priorities of the strategic boards, and in response to learning from practice. In the coming year this will include the rollout of the NSPCC PANTS programme, with a range of options for professionals and parents. The Partnership is also supporting the ICB launch of ICON, this is a preventative programme to reduce the risk of abusive head trauma Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 24 | P a g e through supporting parents to better cope with crying infants . From an adult perspective, our focus will be on raising awareness of the signs and indicators of cuckooing and adult exploitation and to promote consistency across the partnership in adult safeguarding enquiries. In terms of generic safeguarding training, we continue to promote a trauma informed approach to practice and will be working around best practice in professional curiosity. 8 London Borough of Hillingdon Children and Young People Services Children and Young People Services provides support to children, families, and carers where there are welfare or safeguarding concerns. There is evidence to support the effectiveness of our Stronger Families approach with the Hub responding to over 25,000 contacts. Out of these contacts over 11200 were received via the online portal which can be accessed and completed anywhere and at any time by all professionals. Joint, locality work is at the centre of the way in which we work with the partnership to identify needs early and to support our families to identify their support networks and to build resilience without the need for statutory intervention. To make this aspiration a reality, our three locality-based key working teams cover three defined areas and facilitate holistic partnership working with statutory (health, education, police, children’s centres) and voluntary sector partners. Over 1,600 children have been referred to our Stronger Families Localities Teams, ensuring that their needs are assessed, and proportionate support is provided to all who need it at the earliest possible stage. This empowers our families to address their n eeds and utilise the resources available to them in their communities and extended networks and it also reduces the need for statutory social work intervention in the life of the family. At the end of the financial year, over 2,700 children were supported by social workers 11% of whom have a disability. 254 children are at risk of significant harm and therefore supported via a Child Protection (CP) Plan. It is a positive that this number remained cons istent over the year showing a good management of demand and risk. Hillingdon is corporate parent for the 329 children in our care (LAC). This is a reduction of the number of children in our care from 364 the previous year. This is a strong indicator o f effective early intervention and management of risk that focuses on partnership with the families and relationship- based practice approach that supports young people to remain living with their families or move towards successful independence. Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 25 | P a g e At the end of the financial year, we have 765 young people being supported into independence as care leavers, 49% of these young people came into care due to their need as unaccompanied asylum- seeking children. We have seen a significant increase in the number of young people eligible for some form of ongoing support as care leavers, with an increase from 441 in the previous financial year. Our population of asylum-seeking children is predominantly male, this is a consistent trend over the last three years. Most of our children have travelled to the UK from Sudan, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iran, Vietnam and Kuwait. The overall number of asylum-seeking children in our care is now reducing due to the National Transfer Scheme. However, our context as a port authority of providing support and care to those children presenting in the borough means that there will be an increase in the proportion of care leavers who have an asylum-seeking background. We continue to support our children in a difficult local and national context, and we have experienced a continuing increase in the complexity of needs. The impact of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and the wider economic climate has seen increases in the number of children and adults experiencing poor mental and emotional health, an increase in persistent absence from education, and of families experiencing increased pressure impacting on parental capacity. We continued to see the systemic and compounded impact of the current pressures on all the providers of services including Courts, Police, primary health and mental health provision. The impact of various national and international factors combined with associated difficulties at the Home Office has resulted in a significant increase in numbers of people seeking asylum accommodated in the borough. The change in demand and additional pressures created by the current economic situation required us to adapt and innovate quickly to ensure we can continue to achieve the best outcomes for children and their families, whilst supporting our colleagues and workforce to continue to deliver high quality support and intervention. These combined pressures re -emphasise the importance of co ordinated and strong partnership working with other agencies and with our families and young people, to ensure a proportionate and timely response in the difficult local and national context. Our focus remains on cooperation and coproduction with our partners, schools, families and communities, aiming to foster a culture of empowerment, independence, and early intervention for our families. Through our relationship-based practice approach we continued to encourage children, families, adults and their carers to recognise and address difficulties before they become entrenched, and to do so in a way that promotes independence, resilience, choice and control that minimises dependency. Over the last year, we have realigned our social care services and Education and SEND provisions by joining them up under one service for the first time in over a decade. This provides a strong end -to- end understanding of the children’s continuum of need and, in conjunction with the embedding of Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 26 | P a g e our innovative Stronger Families multi-agency locality-based practice, we have moved away from ‘early help’ to ‘help’ that is available when needed and delivered by the right person/service at the right time. We remain an active and committed safeguarding partner and we contribute to a variety of boards and forums to ensure the voice of our children and the needs we are identifying in the cohorts we work with are reflected in the strategic decision making and contributing to the strategic coordination of services and priorities: Health and Wellbeing Board, the Domestic Abuse Steering Executive, the Youth Justice Strategic Partnership Board, Safer Hillingdon Partnership, and the Hillingdon Health and Care Partners CYP Transformation Board (HHCP). We are proud that the high quality of work delivered in Hillingdon was acknowledged by the regulator OFSTED during their inspection of local authority children services (ILACS)in October 2023 which said that “Children in Hillingdon continue to receive highly effective services. Very strong political support and diligent partnerships have enabled the senior leadership team to be an excellent champion for children, families and young people.” the services were graded as Outstanding and the inspectors also found that: “Partnership work is a strength within Hillingdon, with a relentless focus on cooperation with partners, families and communities. Through relationship -based work and the creation of the Stronger Fami lies Hub, families and communities are well supported to address issues before they require more intense interventions”. As a result of the inspection recommendations, we have focussed on the following areas: • We have reviewed and relaunched the process and policy for providing consistent services for 16- and 17-year-olds who present as homeless. • We are in the process of launching a new Local Offer for care leavers that will emphasise the importance of keeping in touch and ensur e that their rights and entitlements are communicated effectively. We continue to work with our partners to meet the needs of the children who are at risk of harms outside their home through adopting a contextual safeguarding

What is going well? I feel loved I feel cared for What our 6-12year olds said about being in care: I get the help I need “It helps me to know that other people have been through the same kind of things” Get to know us by listening to us and doing fun things. What Helps? Make it easier to see my social workerWe should meet somewhere that feels homely Help me understand what I'm thinking and feeling Understand what it's like to be us When adults show us that they care Learning about the things that matter to us! People are kind I have fun Listening to us and doing the things you say that you will do. Having groups where there are fun activities, and where we can speak to other kids and adults that understand us. You Said ! The Safeguarding Partnership is all the people that help and support us. Our social workers, doctors, carers, mental health workers, nurses, police officers, GPs, housing officers, mentors, support workers and many more. Being outside late at night Being searched at school... Travel costs Social media Changing workers Schools aren't getting us ready for adult life Worries Walking in OurShoes! We Did ! Some children choose their own social worker Interview new members of staff We come back to you and tell you what we have done Social Media like whatsApp and TikTok Making sure that you know who we are ALL children and young people can contribute by using simple and accessible words and pictures listen to us more We are not quite there just yet, but we heard you! Make the community better and safer 84 professionalsacross lots ofdifferentagencies You will soon betraining teachers and leads inschools You have trained police officers, nurses and other health professionals. Training should be valued and People now pay some money to hold the training. This money funds some of your activities – like KICA The Safeguarding Partnership is all the people that help and support us. Our social workers, doctors, carers, mental health workers, nurses, police officers, GPs, housing officers, mentors, support workers and many more. Help me understand what I'm thinking and feeling Set up a new group of all different professionals Have raised awareness of what adults might see when a child or young person needs support Have raised awareness about mental health and support that is available to children and young people Every child attending school in Hayes will be asked what they think will make Hayes safer. working more closely with experts in community safety residential homes are linked up with their local police team We are doing Awareness Weeks Helping Adults understand Risk in the community What Next More therapy places locally What we want to see Prioritising the police time to make streets safer Better advertisement of support groups and help Making sure everyone has a voice and it is heard More education opportunities What is going well? To feel loved. Keep me safe. Help us understand when we have done something wrong - Don’t shout. Being interested in what we like. Listen to us and care about what we tell you Do not make promises you can’t keep “I enjoy cuddles” What we want from adults in our lives Work experience and spending time with friends Having people in our lives that care about us. “Having groups to go to with people like me” Speaking to the police about stop and searching. Supporting health and social care with interviews. People not giving us time and being too busy. limited mental health services Not enough police to keep people safe. “Having to move placement all the time.” Worries Not being heard What Next !? The Safeguarding Partnership is all the people that help and support us. Our social workers, doctors, carers, mental health workers, nurses, police officers, GPs, housing officers, mentors, support workers and many more.

Annual Report 2023-2024 Easy Read Version The Safeguarding Partnership is a group of people from different organisations. This includes the London Borough of Hillingdon, Police, NHS and Healthwatch. We work to keep children and adults safe from abuse and neglect. Our aim is for all people to live in safety with their rights protected. People should not be abused, or feel scared. What is the Safeguarding Partnership? We have a business plan that we try to follow. This says what we need to do, and when we need to do it by. Every year we must write a report to say what we have done, how well we have done it, and what we plan to do next. This report is about our work to keep adults safer. Every year we ask a man called Alan Caton to come and check our work, and help us to do things well. Alan Caton is our Independent Scrutineer. This year Alan asked us questions about how we work together, and how we listen to adults and children. Alan found that we work together well, and that we try hard to listen to adults and children. Alan asked us to think more about how we make changes when we realise we need to do them. We asked adults and children what professionals do well, and what could be better. Some adults who are carers came to meet with the Board to tell us what we do well, and what we can do better. Some children did the same for our child board. We have kept working to make sure that all professionals know how to listen to your views and work with you to stay safe. What we have done We trained professionals about different types of abuse and how to help adults and children to be safe. We write papers called briefings and have a newsletter to keep people informed. This is sent to every organisation working with children or adults in Hillingdon. Sometimes things can go wrong. It is important to learn from this. We talk about what could have been done better and write it in a report called a Safeguarding Adults Review. We have started two new Safeguarding Adults Reviews We checked what had changed after Safeguarding Adults Reviews we did in 2022. We found out that we need to do more to make sure that professionals know about Safeguarding Adults Reviews and what we can do differently. Alan agreed with us that this is important. We work together in meetings called subgroups. Subgroups have people with all different jobs so that we can learn and plan together. There is always police, social care and health professionals. Subgroups work on one topic, and make a plan about what needs to happen. The Self-Neglect subgroup worked to help professionals know how to help people who cannot help themselves. Self-neglect is when someone is not able to keep themselves clean, safe and well. Sometimes people do not want help even though they need it. We worked with Heathrow Airport and Border Force to make sure that adults and children get any help and support they need when they are at the airport. This subgroup finished everything on the plan Some people need help to look after themselves, maybe they need help to have enough to eat, or to stay clean. Neglect is when carers don’t give the person the care they need. Our Neglect Subgroup has worked with care providers and carers to understand what can make Neglect happen, and to try to stop it. This year we have worked with London Fire Brigade to reduce the risk of people being hurt in fires. We have trained lots of professionals to know about the things that can increase risk. The Adult Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub has been very busy, managing 250 referrals every week. In the year Adult Social Care have completed 2077 adult safeguarding enquiries. Neglect is the most common reason for an adult to need support or protection. Next is financial abuse and then physical abuse. The police service is trying to reduce crime and increase safety. This includes stopping domestic abuse, and to help people with mental health problems. The police have changed how they help adults with mental health problems, making sure that they have support from the best service to help them. This is called Right Care Right Person. The NHS has started a new project to train GPs to better help adults affected by Domestic Abuse. This is called IRIS. Hillingdon Hospital has made more safeguarding referrals than ever before. The most referrals were for neglect and then self- neglect and mental health issues. The hospital has a safeguarding team of specially trained nurses. They attend all the Safeguarding Partnership meetings. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust organised a whole day of safeguarding training that thought about children and adults. This is the first time it has happened. Over 600 people attended. This part of the report tells you some of the important things that have happened this year. All of the organisations will keep working together to keep people as safe as possible. We will keep learning and improving. We have some new priorities for this year. These are: What will we do next? Transitional Safeguarding, working to make sure that children and young people have the support they need as they get older and become adults. We want to make sure that the views of adults, their carers and families are heard. This is to help us understand what it feels like to have a safeguarding service, so we can get better. If you have any ideas or questions please let us know. Call: 01895 277855 Email: safeguardingpartnership@hillingdon.gov.uk Cuckooing and adult exploitation. This is when an adult has their home taken over by a person or people who cause them harm.

Minutes CORPORATE PARENTING PANEL Tuesday 16 July 2024 Meeting held at Committee Room 4 - Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW To Members of the Panel: Voting Members: Councillor Nick Denys (Chair) Councillor Heena Makwana (Vice-Chair) Councillor Jan Sweeting Non - voting Members: Representatives of the Children in Care Council, and Care Leavers Ash Knight, Children’s Participation Team Manager Emma Kavanagh, Assistant Director Corporate Parenting and Fostering Kathryn Angelini, Assistant Director for Education & Vulnerable Children Bridget Owen, Designated Nurse Looked After Children (Harrow and Hillingdon) (NHS North West London ICB) Dr Kate Head, Designated Doctor for Children Looked After covering Harrow, Hillingdon and Brent Officers Present: Ryan Dell, Democratic Services Officer Rebecca Reid, Democratic Services Apprentice 9. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (Agenda Item 1) There were no apologies for absence. 10. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN MATTERS COMING BEFORE THIS MEETING (Agenda Item 2) There were no declarations of interest. 11. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING (Agenda Item 3) Members raised a query on the tentative agreement on Council Tax for care experienced young people. Officers noted that discussions on this were continuing. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting dated 22 May 2024 be approved as an accurate record. 12. LAC & LEAVING CARE AND FOSTER & ADOPTION SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT (Agenda Item 4) At the end of the financial year, the London Borough of Hillingdon acted as Corporate Parent to 318 Looked after Children and 603 Care Experienced Young People (18-25 years old). This represents an increase of 162 Care Experienced Young People from the previous financial year. There has also been a significant decrease in the number of Looked after Children (LAC) from 351 LAC at the end of the last financi al year, a reduction of 33 children. Among the total Looked after Children, 78 were Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC), accounting for 25% . of the LAC population. Health assessments remained stable; annual Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) were conducted. Education and training statistics were in line with national figures. Placement numbers were stable. There was a slight increase in foster placements, with 63 in-house carers for Children in Care. A large number of Children in Care were in supported accommodation. The Kids in Care Awards (KICA) supported Children in Care. A total of 545 children and young people were nominated, with 148 KICA winners and their guests attending the event. Dental checks and places were part of a wider national issue. Private funding for Children in Care ensured their access was not impacted. Priorities for the year ahead include d expanding the Staying Close programme beyond the grant offer and embedding a therapeutic approach through services. Workforce stability remained steady. Members noted an increase in placement moves from 3.7% and requested an explanation on how this issue was being prioritized. Officers responded that the placement stability process was effective. In October 2023, supported accommodation became regulated by Ofsted. Officers ha d limited control over whether these accommodation facilities chose to register with Ofsted. Efforts had been made to contact the top 20 providers and assign a dedicated Officer to support the registration process and ensure compliance. Members raised accommodation queries related to pages 7 and 10 and asked whether placements were predominantly within the borough or if children had to be placed out of the borough. Officers responded that placement largely depended on the age and needs of the child. National sufficiency of placements were currently inadequate, so the best interests of the Young People were addressed within the limited options available. Members raised an additional question regarding whether the size of some HMOs, which would accommodate seven young people, was suitable. Officers responded that those accommodations were for those over 18. Properties were vetted before use. Such accommodations would typically offer multiple bedsits for young people with no unknown occupants and generally included support hours. If support hours were not included, support advisors or referrals to P3 were available for additional support. Officers discussed the challenges ahead, specifically finding effective ways to engage young people. There were opportunities such as internships in a building next to The Shard in Central London, which provide d references and payment to young people . However, there was a difficulty in engaging young people in these opportunities. Despite good intentions, the opportunities were not being presented effectively to better engage young people. A Children in Care Council Member proposed trauma training for foster carers, focusing on age-appropriate approaches, behaviour management, and communication. Members heard from officers that the new training offer was commendable. It included DDP PACE training, which had been implemented from the top down. A trauma-informed approach was being adopted for foster carers and was mandatory for social carers to ensure consistency in care. The standard of care aligned with foster care expectations. Additionally, AC Education had been commissioned to provide onli ne training for foster carers, offering over 100 courses that could be completed at their own pace. This approach was said to engage foster carers in diverse learning methods and upskills those transitioning from residential placements. Even experienced foster carers would receive refreshed induction training. Foster carers were required to complete a set amount of training before being approved. The learning needs of foster carers were addressed for their annual reviews and panels. A second Children in Care Council Member expressed that the ir social worker was caring, and the placement was good, but suggested that maintenance work need ed improvement. They also noted that the house manager should inform residents when new people moved in. The Chair emphasised the need to consider ways to enhance the experiences of young people. Members inquired about the local offer. Officers responded that the care leavers’ offer was available on the Hillingdon Council website. Feedback on this offer was welcomed. Members also requested further information about whether MAPS (Multi -Agency Partnerships) was used for refugees. Officers responded that there was a high demand for unaccompanied young people to stay in the borough. Currently, referrals to MAPS did not occur. RESOLVED: That the Panel noted the content of the report. 13. CHILDREN’S SERVICES PERFORMANCE DATA Q1 2024-25 (Agenda Item 5) It was highlighted that 50% of children were placed with foster carers. Less than 10% were in residential placements. The remaining children were placed in various other settings. Officers noted that there were nine newly qualified social workers who had joined the Children's Services department. Four "Step Up" students would begin in Septemb er 2024, and apprenticeships would also start in the same month. The Chair expressed support for the "Step Up" and apprenticeship models. Officers noted a low number of agency staff. An increase in school attendance at the end of the academic year was highlighted. Attention was drawn to the launch of a NEET tracker for specialised support in the Virtual School, which started in May 2024. Officers a nnounced "Walking in Our Shoes" training and highlighted the end-of-year events, which showcased excellent opportunities for promoting and supporting young people. Members asked whether accommodating asylum -seeking young people in borough schools remained a challenge. Officers responded that the challenge depended on the specific placement within the borough. There were 10 places available in the Virtual School, and there had been no issues with placements for Children in Care this year. Members inquired about the meaning of "EOT AS", to which the response was that it stands for “Education Other than at School”. Members referenced page 16 and the map at the end of the report, questioning whether the percentage of placements within the borough was higher than those outside. Officers reported that the percentages of placements both within and outside the borough were stable. Nationally, there were issues with placement sufficiency, which affect ed availability rather than the choice of how far Children in Care were placed. Members expressed concern that some young people with local connections may lose their ties when placed out of the borough. Officers responded that for safeguarding reasons, it was sometimes preferable to place young people out of the borough, particularly in cases involving criminal issues. Rural placements could be used temporarily to ensure safety and break negative connections. Currently, there were no more than 35 young people in residential placements. Monthly planning and discussions were held to explore strategies for bringing Children in Care closer to the borough. RESOLVED: That the Panel noted the content of the report. 14. WORK PROGRAMME (Agenda Item 9) The Chair expressed a desire to evaluate the effectiveness of Corporate Parenting Panel (CPP) meetings moving forward to ensure the current format for meetings was achieving the desired outcomes. Plans were made to convene a meeting in September with Panel Members to discuss the optimal use of the CPP. The Health representatives were also planning a sim ilar meeting. The Democratic Services Apprentice was instructed to schedule a meeting to outline objectives and explore ways to enhance the CPP ’s effectiveness , with a view to maximize the value of the CPP , ensuring that young people ha d a voice and ma de meaningful contributions. Officers suggested inviting direct managers to future CPP meetings to gain their insights on various projects they were involved in. The Health representatives noted that Hillingdon had the best Corporate Parenting Panel of those that they attended, and commended the inclusion of young people in the meetings. RESOLVED: That the Corporate Parenting Panel considered the report. The meeting, which commenced at 5:30 pm, closed at 6:10 pm. These are the minutes of the above meeting. For more information on any of the resolutions, please contact Rebecca Reid on democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk. Circulation of these minutes is to Councillors, Officers, the Press and Members of the Public.

Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public CABINET FORWARD PLAN Committee name Children, Families and Education Select Committee Officer reporting Ryan Dell, Democratic Services Papers with report Appendix A – Latest Forward Plan Ward As shown on the Forward Plan HEADLINES To monitor the Cabinet’s latest Forward Plan which sets out key decisions and other decisions to be taken by the Cabinet collectively and Cabinet Members individually over the coming year. The report sets out the actions available to the Committee. RECOMMENDATION That the Children, Families and Education Select Committee notes the Cabinet Forward Plan. SUPPORTING INFORMATION The Cabinet Forward Plan is published monthly, usually around the first or second week of each month. It is a rolling document giving the required public notice of future key decisions to be taken. Should a later edition of the Forward Plan be published after this agenda has been circulated, Democratic Services will update the Committee on any new items or changes at the meeting. As part of its Terms of Reference, each Select Committee should consider the Forward Plan and, if it deems necessary, comment as appropriate to the decision -maker on the items listed which relate to services within its remit. For reference, the Forward Plan helpfully details which Select Committee’s remit covers the relevant future decision item listed. The Select Committee’s monitoring role of the Forward Plan can be undertaken in a variety of ways, including both pre-decision and post-decision scrutiny of the items listed. The provision of advance information on future items listed (potentially also draft reports) to the Committee in advance will often depend upon a variety of factors including timing or feasibility, and ultimately any such request would rest with the relevant Cabinet Member to decide. However, the 2019 Protocol on Overview & Scrutiny and Cabinet Relations (part of the Hillingdon Constitution) does provide guidance to Cabinet Members to:  Actively support the provision of relevant Council information and other requests from the Committee as part of their work programme;  Where feasible, provide opportunities for committees to provide their input on forthcoming executive reports as set out in the Forward Plan to enable wider pre -decision scrutiny (in addition to those statutorily required to come before committees , i.e. policy framework documents – see para. below). As mentioned above, there is both a constitutional and statutory requirement for Select Committees to provide comments on the Cabinet’s draft budget and policy framework proposals after publication. These are automatically scheduled in advance to multi-year work programmes. Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public Therefore, in general, the Committee may consider the following actions on specific items listed on the Forward Plan: Committee action When How 1 To provide specific comments to be included in a future Cabinet or Cabinet Member report on matters within its remit. As part of its pre -decision scrutiny role, t his would be where the Committee wishes to provide its influence and views on a particular matter within the formal report to the Cabinet or Cabinet Member before the decision is made. This would usually be where the Committee has previously considered a draft report or the topic in detail, or where it considers it has sufficient information already to provide relevant comments to the decision-maker. These would go within the standard section in every Cabinet or Cabinet Member report called “Select Committee comments”. The Cabinet o r Cabinet Member would then consider these as part of any decision they make. 2 To request further information on future reports listed under its remit. As part of its pre-decision scrutiny role, this would be where the Committee wishes to discover more about a matter within its remit that is listed on the Forward Plan. Whilst such advance i nformation can be requested from officers, the Committee should note that information may or may not be available in advance due to various factors, including timescales or the status of the drafting of the report itself and the formulation of final recommendation(s). Ultimately, the provision of any information in advance would be a matter for the Cabinet Member to decide. This would be considered at a subsequ ent Select Committee meeting . Alternatively, information could be circulated outside the meeting if reporting timescales require this. Upon the provision of any information, the Select Committee may then decide to provide specific comments (as per 1 above). 3 To request the Cabinet Member considers providing a draft of the report, if feasible, for the Select Committee to consider prior to it being considered formally for decision. As part of its pre -decision scrutiny role, t his would be where the Committee wishes to provide an early steer or help shape a future report to Cabinet, e.g., on a policy matter. Whilst not the default position, Select Committees do occasionally receive draft versions of Cabinet reports prior to their formal consideration. The provision of such draft reports in advance may depend upon different factors, e.g., the timings required for that decision. Ultimately any request to see a draft report early would need the approval of the relevant Cabinet Member. Democratic Services would contact the relevant Cabinet Member and Officer upon any such request. If agreed, the draft report would be considered at a subsequent Select Committee meeting to provide views and feedback to officers before they finalise it for the Cabinet or Cabinet Member. An opportunity to provide specific comments (as per 1 above) is also possible. 4 To identify a forthcoming report that may merit a post - decision review at a later Select Committee meeting. As part of its post -decision scrutiny and broader reviewing role, this would be where the Select Committee may wish to monitor the implementation of a certain Cabinet or Cabinet Member decision listed/taken at a later stage, i.e., to review its effectiveness after a period of 6 months. The Committee should note that this is different to the use of the post-decision scrutiny ‘call-in’ power which seeks to ask the Cabinet or Cabinet Member to formally re-consider a decision up to 5 working days after the decision notice has been issued. This is undertaken via the new Scrutiny Call-in App members of the relevant Select Committee. The Committee would add the matter to its multi-year work programme after a suitable time has elapsed upon the decision expected to be made by the Cabinet or Cabinet Member. Relevant service areas may be best to advise on the most appropriate time to review the matter once the decision is made. BACKGROUND PAPERS  Protocol on Overview & Scrutiny and Cabinet relations adopted by Council 12 September 2019  Scrutiny Call-in App

Ref Scheduled Upcoming Decisions Further details Ward(s) Final decision by Full Council Cabinet Member(s) Responsible Relevant Select Committee Directorate / Lead Officer Consultation related to the decision NEW ITEM Public or Private (with reason) 203 Hillingdon Adoption Services Cabinet will consider a report regarding an extension of the services provided by the Regional Adoption Agency. N/A Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS / R - Poppy Reddy / Sally Offin Private (3) SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. All All TBC C - Democratic Services TBC Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public 210b Youth Justice Plan 2024-2029 Following consultation and select committee input, Cabinet will consider recommending a 5 year strategic Youth Justice Plan to full Council for approval. Annual updates to this Plan will be submitted and monitored by the Cabinet Member and Hillingdon’s Youth Justice Partnership Board. The proposed 5 year Plan will set out the overarching priorities and goals for the youth justice service linked to national key performance indicators and standards for children in the youth justice system and will align with the wider Council Strategy. All Proposed Full Council adoption - 28 November 2024 Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS - Nuz Ilyas / Kathrine Wyatt Select Committee and Public/Stakeholder Consultation Public SI The Annual Report Of Adult and Child Safeguarding Arrangements This report provides the Cabinet with a summary of the activity undertaken by the Safeguarding Children Partnership Board and the Safeguarding Adults Board to address the identified local priorities. The Cabinet will consider this report and approve the activity and the local priorities for the two boards. All Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education / Cllr Jane Palmer - Health & Social Care Health & Social Care / Children, Families & Education CS / AS - Alex Coman / Sandra Taylor Select Committees Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public Cabinet meeting - Thursday 10 October 2024 (report deadline 23 September) Cabinet meeting - Thursday 12 September 2024 (report deadline 23 August) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - September 2024 SI = Standard Item each month/regularly Council Directorate/Service Areas: AS = Adult Services & Health P = Place C = Central Services R = Resources CS= Children's Services D = Digital & Intelligence 1 Ref Scheduled Upcoming Decisions Further details Ward(s) Final decision by Full Council Cabinet Member(s) Responsible Relevant Select Committee Directorate / Lead Officer Consultation related to the decision NEW ITEM Public or Private (with reason) SI = Standard Item each month/regularly Council Directorate/Service Areas: AS = Adult Services & Health P = Place C = Central Services R = Resources CS= Children's Services D = Digital & Intelligence SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. All All TBC C - Democratic Services TBC Public 236 SEND Sufficiency Strategy The Cabinet Member will consider approval of the Council's SEND Sufficiency Strategy that compliments the SEND & Alternative Provision Strategy 2023-2028 to ensure that there is provision that meets the needs of Hillingdon's children and young people. N/A Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS - Dominika Michalik / Nav Minas Select Committee NEW ITEM Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI The Council's Budget - Medium Term Financial Forecast 2025/26 - 2029/30 (BUDGET FRAMEWORK) This report will set out the Medium Term Financial Forecast (MTFF), which includes the draft General Fund reserve budget and capital programme for 2025/26 for consultation, along with indicative projections for the following four years. This will also include the HRA rents for consideration. All Proposed Full Council adoption - 20 February 2025 Cllr Martin Goddard - Finance All R - Richard Ennis / Iain Watters / Andy Goodwin Public consultation through the Select Committee process and statutory consultation with businesses & ratepayers Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. All All TBC C - Democratic Services TBC Public Cabinet Member Decisions expected - October 2024 Cabinet meeting - Thursday 12 December 2024 (report deadline 25 November) Cabinet meeting - Thursday 7 November 2024 (report deadline 21 October) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - November 2024 2 Ref Scheduled Upcoming Decisions Further details Ward(s) Final decision by Full Council Cabinet Member(s) Responsible Relevant Select Committee Directorate / Lead Officer Consultation related to the decision NEW ITEM Public or Private (with reason) SI = Standard Item each month/regularly Council Directorate/Service Areas: AS = Adult Services & Health P = Place C = Central Services R = Resources CS= Children's Services D = Digital & Intelligence SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. All All TBC C - Democratic Services TBC Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI The Council's Budget - Medium Term Financial Forecast 2025/26 - 2029/30 (BUDGET FRAMEWORK) Following consultation, this report will set out the Medium Term Financial Forecast (MTFF), which includes the draft General Fund reserve budget and capital programme for 2025/26 for consultation, along with indicative projections for the following four years. This will also include the HRA rents for consideration. All Proposed Full Council adoption - 20 February 2025 Cllr Ian Edwards - Leader of the Council / Cllr Martin Goddard - Finance All R - Richard Ennis / Iain Watters / Andy Goodwin Public consultation through the Select Committee process and statutory consultation with businesses & ratepayers Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All CS - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. All All TBC CS - Democratic Services TBC Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC CS - Democratic Services Various Public Cabinet meeting - Thursday 13 February 2025 (report deadline 27 January 2025) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - February 2025 Cabinet meeting - Thursday 9 January 2025 (report deadline 9 December 2024) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - January 2025 Cabinet Member Decisions expected - December 2024 3 Ref Scheduled Upcoming Decisions Further details Ward(s) Final decision by Full Council Cabinet Member(s) Responsible Relevant Select Committee Directorate / Lead Officer Consultation related to the decision NEW ITEM Public or Private (with reason) SI = Standard Item each month/regularly Council Directorate/Service Areas: AS = Adult Services & Health P = Place C = Central Services R = Resources CS= Children's Services D = Digital & Intelligence SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All CS - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. All All TBC CS - Democratic Services TBC Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of non-key decisions each month on standard items - details of these are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC CS - Democratic Services Various Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI School Organisation Plan annual update The School Organisation Plan, originally approved by Cabinet in 2024, sets out how the London Borough of Hillingdon in accordance with its statutory duty, seeks to ensure there are sufficient primary, The Cabinet Member will consider the annual update to the Plan. N/A Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS - Nav Minas / Abi Preston Children, Families and Education Select Committee Public SI Standards and quality of education in Hillingdon during 2023/24 The Cabinet Member will receive the Annual Report regarding children and young people's educational performance across Hillingdon schools, for publication. N/A Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS - Abi Preston / Michael Hawkins Children, Families and Education Select Committee Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of decisions each month on standard items - details of these standard items are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public Cabinet meeting - Thursday 13 March 2025 (report deadline 24 February) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - March 2025 Cabinet meeting - Thursday 10 April 2025 (report deadline 24 March) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - April 2025 4 Ref Scheduled Upcoming Decisions Further details Ward(s) Final decision by Full Council Cabinet Member(s) Responsible Relevant Select Committee Directorate / Lead Officer Consultation related to the decision NEW ITEM Public or Private (with reason) SI = Standard Item each month/regularly Council Directorate/Service Areas: AS = Adult Services & Health P = Place C = Central Services R = Resources CS= Children's Services D = Digital & Intelligence SI Reports from Select Committees Reports, findings and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet, when referred from the appropriate Committee. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI Public Preview of matters to be considered in private A report to Cabinet to provide maximum transparency to residents on the private and confidential matters to be considered later in Part 2 of the Cabinet meeting and agenda. TBC All Cabinet Members All C - Democratic Services Public SI Standard Items taken each month by the Cabinet Member Cabinet Members make a number of decisions each month on standard items - details of these standard items are listed at the end of the Forward Plan. Various All TBC C - Democratic Services Various Public SI Urgent Cabinet-level decisions & interim decision-making (including emergency decisions) The Leader of the Council has the necessary authority to make decisions that would otherwise be reserved to the Cabinet, in the absence of a Cabinet meeting or in urgent circumstances. Any such decisions will be published in the usual way and reported to a subsequent Cabinet meeting for ratification. The Leader may also take emergency decisions without notice, in particular in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be ratified at a later Cabinet meeting. Various Cllr Ian Edwards - Leader of the Council TBC C - Democratic Services TBC Public / Private SI School Governing Bodies, Instruments of Government and Governors / Authorising Academy Appointments To approve appointments, nominate appointments and make reappointments of local authority governors and to approve any changes to school governing body constitutions. To also authorise any Member to be a Governor or Director of an Academy. N/A Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS - Julie Kelly / CS - Democratic Services Public SI Release of Capital Funds The release of all capital monies requires formal Member approval, unless otherwise determined either by the Cabinet or the Leader. Batches of monthly reports (as well as occasional individual reports) to determine the release of capital for any schemes already agreed in the capital budget and previously approved by Cabinet or Cabinet Members TBC Cllr Martin Goddard - Finance (in conjunction with relevant Cabinet Member) All - TBC by decision made various Corporate Finance Public but some Private (1,2,3) CABINET MEMBER DECISIONS: Standard Items (SI) that may be considered each month Cabinet meeting - Thursday 22 May 2025 (report deadline 2 May) Cabinet Member Decisions expected - May 2025 5 Ref Scheduled Upcoming Decisions Further details Ward(s) Final decision by Full Council Cabinet Member(s) Responsible Relevant Select Committee Directorate / Lead Officer Consultation related to the decision NEW ITEM Public or Private (with reason) SI = Standard Item each month/regularly Council Directorate/Service Areas: AS = Adult Services & Health P = Place C = Central Services R = Resources CS= Children's Services D = Digital & Intelligence SI Petitions about matters under the control of the Cabinet Cabinet Members will consider a number of petitions received by local residents and organisations and decide on future action. These will be arranged as Petition Hearings. TBC All TBC C - Democratic Services Public SI To approve compensation payments To approve compensation payments in relation to any complaint to the Council in excess of £1000. n/a All TBC R - Iain Watters Private (1,2,3) SI Acceptance of Tenders To accept quotations, tenders, contract extensions and contract variations valued between £50k and £500k in their Portfolio Area where funding is previously included in Council budgets. n/a Cllr Ian Edwards - Leader of the Council OR Cllr Martin Goddard - Finance / in conjunction with relevant Cabinet Member TBC various Private (3) SI All Delegated Decisions by Cabinet to Cabinet Members, including tender and property decisions Where previously delegated by Cabinet, to make any necessary decisions, accept tenders, bids and authorise property decisions / transactions in accordance with the Procurement and Contract Standing Orders. TBC All TBC various Public / Private (1,2,3) SI School Redundancy Payments To consider requests for School Redundancy Payments and decide whether to approve them on behalf of the Local Authority TBC Cllr Susan O'Brien - Children, Families & Education Children, Families & Education CS - Julie Kelly / Abi Preston Private (1,3,4) SI External funding bids To authorise the making of bids for external funding where there is no requirement for a financial commitment from the Council. n/a All TBC various Public SI Response to key consultations that may impact upon the Borough A standard item to capture any emerging consultations from Government, the GLA or other public bodies and institutions that will impact upon the Borough. Where the deadline to respond cannot be met by the date of the Cabinet meeting, the Constitution allows the Cabinet Member to sign-off the response. TBC All TBC various Public The Cabinet's Forward Plan is an official document by the London Borough of Hillingdon, UK - Published 8 August 2024 6

Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public WORK PROGRAMME Committee name Children, Families and Education Select Committee Officer reporting Ryan Dell, Democratic Services Papers with report Appendix A – Work Programme Ward All HEADLINES To enable the Committee to note future meeting dates and to forward plan its work for the current municipal year. RECOMMENDATION That the Children, Families and Education Select Committee considers the re port and agrees any amendments. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 1. The Committee's meetings will start at 7pm and the witnesses attending each of the meetings may include representatives from external organisations, some of whom travel from outside of the Borough. Forthcoming meeting dates are as follows: Meeting Date Room 13 November 2024 CR5 07 January 2025 CR6 04 February 2025 CR5 11 March 2025 CR5 15 April 2025 CR5 Implications on related Council policies The role of the Select Committees is to make recommendations on service changes and improvements to the Cabinet, who are responsible for the Council’s policy and direction. RESIDENT BENEFIT Select Committees directly engage residents in shaping policy and recommendations and the Committees seek to improve the way the Council provides services to residents. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS There are no financial implications arising from this report. Children, Families and Education Select Committee – 18 September 2024 Part I – Public LEGAL IMPLICATIONS There are no legal implications arising from this report. BACKGROUND PAPERS NIL.

MULTI-YEAR WORK PROGRAMME 2022 - 2026 August September October November December January February March No meeting 18 No meeting 13 No meeting 7 4 11 Review: Persistent Absenteeism Policy Review Discussion & Guidance Topic selection/ scoping stage Witness/ evidence/ consultation stage WS4: Private WS with YP Findings, conclusions and recommendations X Final review report agreement X Target Cabinet reporting X Regular service & performance monitoring - Minutes of the AGM Safeguarding, Quality Assurance, Partnerships and Residential Care Children's Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report 23-24 School Organisation Plan inc. School Places Planning update Annual Education Standards report (prior to Cabinet/ Member) 23-24 Adult Education Learn Hillingdon Self-Assessment Review (annual) 23-24 Education and Vulnerable Children Reports/ minutes from the Corporate Parenting Panel X X X Hillingdon Music Hub Hillingdon Music Hub Annual Report - Quarterly Performance Monitoring Provisional - Mid-year budget/ budget planning report X - Cabinet Forward Plan Monthly Monitoring X X X X X One-off information items SEND Strategy 2023-2028 update X Alternative Provision Strategy update X SEND Sufficiency Strategy (for comments) X School Admissions Arrangements - Whitehall Infant/ Junior Consultation on changes to school admissions arrangement Update on School Admissions Move-ins to the Borough (in-year admissions) and ease of their accommodation in secondary schools X Ofsted report - PART II Ukrainian Children - how funding from Central Govt. has been delivered to schools/ "Ukraine Education support update" Early help/ support available to young people | Services available to low-income families DPS for Alternative Provision – Education and SEND Engagement with schools (Part II) - TBC Provisional Witness session on Higher Education - TBC Provisional Outcomes of consultations regarding: (i) Proposed closures of the Physical Disability (PD) Special Resourced Provision (SRP) at Coteford Infant School (ii) Proposed increasing of the age range for the Assessment Base at Ruislip Gardens Primary School (iii) Proposal for some community schools to lower their age range to take two year olds. X Draft Hillingdon Education Strategy 2024-2029 X Overview of Corporate Parenting Responsibilities Corporate Parenting Panel Membership to agree + subs Corporate Parenting Panel - update to Terms of Reference Children's Centres delivery model and Early Years Nurseries - review of implementation of Cabinet's decisions Sept. 2023 X Hillingdon's Youth Offer & Delivery Model - review of implementation of Cabinet decisions from Sept. 2023 X Prevention and Youth Justice Youth Justice Service Strategy 2024-2029 - Council Strategy 2022-2026 consultation - Scrutiny Introduction (Democratic Services) Past review delivery Adult Education Adult & Community Learning Review 2021/22 Children's Social Care Stronger Families Hub 2022/23 - 2023/24 X Education and Vulnerable Children Persistent Absenteeism WS6: Parents/ foster carers TBC Children, Families & Education Select Committee Education and SEND Education and Vulnerable Children Children's Social Care Service Area Education and Vulnerable Children Education and SEND