Children's Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday 10 February 2026, 7:30pm

Children's Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday, 10th February 2026 at 7:30pm

Agenda

Slides

Transcript

Map

Resources

Twitter

Forums

Speakers

Feedback

Votes

Speaking:

Start of webcast

Share this agenda point

2 Declarations of Interest

Share this agenda point

1 Minutes, 18th November 2025

Share this agenda point

3 Report by the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Task and Finish Group on the Findings and Recommendations of its Review (Paper No. 26-28)

Share this agenda point

26-28 VAWG TF Group Report-Final

4 Drivers of EHCPs and the experiences of young people and professionals throughout the process, final report (Paper No. 26-46)

Share this agenda point

5 Wandsworth Schools Finance FY 2026/27 (Paper No. 26-47)

Share this agenda point

6 Education Performance Report 2025-26 (Paper No. 26-48)

Share this agenda point

Webcast Finished

Select an agenda point

Scroll with video

Disclaimer: This transcript was automatically generated, so it may contain errors. Please view the webcast to confirm whether the content is accurate.

committee meeting this evening. My name is Councillor Sheila Boswell and I'm the

chair of this committee. I'm going to call out your names so that we have a

recording that you are here. Councillor Annan. I think we have apologies.

Okay. Councillor Burchall. Good evening. Councillor Crivelli joining us online.

Yes, I am here, thank you. Online.

Good evening.

Councillor Davies.

Good evening.

Councillor Dobras.

Here.

Councillor Jeffery.

Good evening.

Councillor Osborne.

Good evening, everybody.

Councillor Owens.

Good evening.

And Councillor Sweet.

Hello.

Thank you very much, everybody.

And we also have a number of co -opted members, so I'd like to welcome Ms. Nabilah Haroon

and Mr. Anthony Langdon, and Mrs. Arin Wilson -Home, who is here this evening.

And joining us for the first time actually in committee is Ms. Claire Williams.

Arin is the Southwark Diocese Board of Education, Church of England rep, and Claire comes to

from the Catholic Suddock Archdiocese.

You're welcome, Claire, and thank you for joining us.

I'd also like to welcome our cabinet member,

Councillor Judy Gasser.

Any apologies received?

None, okay.

We have a number of officers present

and they will introduce themselves

as we come to the various items.

So just quickly, a few words before we move into the agenda.

I want to begin by acknowledging that we are considering two very significant reports this evening.

And they are, of course, the reports back from our very first task and finish groups.

The first one being on violence against women and girls, and

the other being drivers of education, health, and care plans, and that report.

And these represent an enormous amount of thoughtful, detailed, and collaborative work.

And I want to extend my sincere thanks to both the task and finish groups for really outstanding contributions.

We've seen some of those this evening in the earlier meeting, and I know we're going to see them as we go into the report.

On education, health and care plans later on.

And a huge thank you to everyone who played a part in shaping these reports.

So that's the members of the committee, our co -opted members.

Thank you so much for getting so involved and taking such an interest in coming on visits.

And of course the officers and our partners in the community.

And that combined commitment and expertise has enabled us to explore these issues with

into real depth and the seriousness that they truly deserve,

both of these issues.

As I've already said, earlier this evening

we held our dedicated joint session

with the Health Overfeels Scrutiny Committee,

where members of both committees had the opportunity

to discuss the Violence Against Women and Girls Report,

and we want to thank colleagues for their engagement

in that discussion, and exceptionally,

the excellent cross -committee working

and cross -party collaboration that there has been in that task and finish group.

We really, really want to acknowledge that.

As this week marks National Apprenticeship Week following this last year's success, just

to let you know, we are again celebrating the week with a dedicated Early Years and

Apprenticeship Showcase, which is taking place in the Town Hall actually tomorrow.

It's an event that will run twice during the day.

It's a brilliant concept where students from local schools come into the Town Hall

and learn about apprenticeship pathways, horizons, internships, and graduate schemes here at

the Town Hall.

And they really do make a tremendous contribution during this time, working very hard and with

them with great commitment to strengthen the workforce really and bring their

perspectives into this town hall. Um, I'd like to thank officers, partners

and young people who work tirelessly to ensure we've had the youth justice

inspection this week and inspections are never easy and put a lot of pressure

on everyone. Um, and thank them for running so smoothly. Um, and for your

dedication to some of our most vulnerable residents.

So, at this committee, we continue our focus on the core pressures and priorities shaping

children's services this year, including education performance, which is a school standards paper

which was requested by the minority party.

And then we have a paper on the financial landscape affecting delivery across the system.

And I hope the discussions today will help strengthen our shared understanding of the challenges facing our families,

schools, and services as we build on our strengths.

So before we enter into discussion on our first report, I'd like to mention that this is

the last committee that will be held ahead of the elections taking place in May.

And I want to thank all members for their valuable input, reflections, and

cooperative spirit throughout this time.

Thank you very, very much.

So we go to agenda item number one, which is declarations of interest.

2 Declarations of Interest

Are there any declarations of interest?

No.

Thank you very much.

We go to the minutes.

1 Minutes, 18th November 2025

Are the minutes of the previous OSC agreed?

Thank you.

So, we also should agree the minutes from the previous Violence Against Women and Girls

special meeting that we had, which was held on the 18th of November.

if everybody's had a chance, that did go out with the minutes, that we agree those minutes.

Thank you very much indeed.

Right.

So we can now go to item three, which is the report against violence in women and girls

3 Report by the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Task and Finish Group on the Findings and Recommendations of its Review (Paper No. 26-28)

task and finish group on the findings and recommendations of the review paper.

So I'm going to go to Councillor Dobres. Is this the correct order?

Yeah, I think we said that we would have a discussion in the other meeting and we would

go straight to voting or to recommendations. If that, unless you want to.

Yes, yeah.

So if we can go straight to recommendations then,

which everybody I'm sure has had a chance to look at.

We're happy to agree them.

You're happy to agree them, thank you very much.

So those that's recorded, yes, unanimously agreed.

Thank you so much.

That's very much in the spirit of those Task and Finish groups.

4 Drivers of EHCPs and the experiences of young people and professionals throughout the process, final report (Paper No. 26-46)

So we go to item four, which is the drivers of EHCPs and the experiences of young people

and professionals throughout the process.

And I'm going to go to Councillor Osborne, who is the chair of this Task and Finish group,

to present.

Okay, good evening again everybody. With regard to the presentation of this report and its

recommendations, I'm not going to rehash what is in the papers in front of you. That's for you to

already have read or to read in future and to absorb and to respond to this evening. But there

There are some things I do want to say about the task and finish group which I think are

It's been said already this evening, I can shout if you prefer.

But now this one needs to go off.

Oh, yeah. OK.

Shall I start all over again?

Surely not. Surely not.

OK. Wandsworth.

I could look at the point well there.

Yeah, very good. Very good.

Thank you, George. Thank you, Councillor Crivelli.

We got that one off. All right. OK.

So, yes, that would be a major change in the engagement of the Children's

Directorate with the facilities available in the assets.

The second area where there must be change,

and one of the recommendations where

I want dramatic change to take place,

is in the question of inclusivity in our schools.

It's clear to almost everybody who has expertise in this area

that the kind of children we've been talking about

and having these discussions about as part of the task and finish group, they are mostly,

not always, but mostly better off if they are educated in mainstream schools.

Now we have a position where the teachers are saying to us, yeah, we'll do it.

We'll do it.

Give us the resource.

We'll get in there.

We shall do it.

It's not easy, but we understand our responsibility and we will do it.

And we were impressed with that reaction from the teachers.

But the fact of the matter is that schools across the borough are operating at different

speeds, if you like, and different levels of engagement with that process of including

the children in their schools.

That's got to change and it's not a matter of giving an ultimatum to the schools in the

borough.

It's about engaging with the schools and trying to bring every single school we've

got up to the same level, same speed, same amount of engagement on that kind of inclusivity,

which we know is right and best for the children.

That is a big change in the way we are going to operate as a borough.

Some of that is happening already, but we're building on that and that's going to change if these recommendations are implemented.

And then finally, one last thing.

I said some of the meetings were difficult and we had to work hard to make sure that the meetings went well.

Because as I've attended all sorts of meetings above and beyond these task and finish group meetings,

to try and accrue as much information as I can about the subject.

I was in a meeting where one of the trade union officers from one of the teaching unions

lamented the fact that when you come to SEND and ECHP questions, parents and officials

and teachers get into what he described as an adversarial environment.

He wasn't criticising anybody except he was criticising, if anything, the system and the

circumstances.

And he wanted his members to not face that kind of thing.

And in the recommendations, there is a lot of stuff about the need to get at an early

stage into a partnership with the parents and carers of the children and

get that relationship between the the professionals on the one hand and the

parents and carers on the other who express their fears and express their

frustrations in a very forthright way in some of the meetings I'm glad to say

And so the third thing that that is going to change is that initial partnership and that initial agreement between parent carers and the professionals.

The word I'm using for it, I mean people are sometimes a bit negative about Americanisms,

But there is a, I found a very useful Americanism for this process.

In the early 70s, the Americans started to talk about something called deconfliction.

And initially it was about timetables and flight paths and things like that for aeroplanes

and so on, to make sure that things were organised in the right way.

It has come, it has changed its meaning a little bit in the last 50 years.

It's used quite often now in peacekeeping discussions.

I'm not sure the word has caught on in this country,

but it's quite commonly used in the United States, deconfliction.

And one of the things we're proposing is a streamlining of the process at a very early stage

when we're creating that partnership between the parent carers and the professionals.

Signposting, if you like, sorting out flight paths for the parent carers and for the professionals.

And so actually deconfliction is quite a useful word for that process.

It describes that kind of sorting out at the beginning and there is a hint in there that

we are avoiding that adversarial environment which the parent carers and the professionals

find themselves through no fault of on either side find themselves having to deal with.

So that is going to be a major change if these recommendations are approved and carried out.

three big changes in lieu of a government white paper, which is going to be a little bit later than we thought it was going to be.

Any questions, anybody?

Yeah, my question is to you, Councillor Osborne, I think in the first instance and then maybe the officers.

But so how do these recommendations outlined in the paper, how do they link to the SEND

Reform Programme and the five key principles indicated by the government as the foundations

for change?

Okay, one thing I should say is one reason why it's a bit difficult actually to come

up with new ideas and to propose real change in what we're doing is not just because we're

in lieu of the government white paper.

But actually Wandsworth is an outstanding borough

in any case.

We are a groundbreaking borough.

And to be even more groundbreaking is quite difficult.

But we can't say for certain exactly what's going to

in the end be in the white paper.

But the DFE officials who are putting the draught together

for the white paper, one of the things that's happening

is they are consulting educational authorities.

One of the most influential educational authorities

in that process, in the language and the approach

and the priorities, as you mentioned, Councillor Davies,

is going to be Wandsworth,

because Wandsworth stands out in this process.

And we know, we can tell already

that we are going to be, as a bar,

thanks to our brilliant officer team,

we are going to be very influential in that process.

The officers may want to say something,

I mean, they may be embarrassed about playing up their expertise in this, but I'm not.

I can say that.

But if you want the detail on that or a more professional response on it, then what do

the officers say?

Deborah Johnson.

For anybody that's not aware of the Secretary of State's five key principles, they are early,

local, fair, effective, and shared.

So that's everything that we took into consideration when looking at the outcomes for this paper.

So when we looked at strength and early health pathways and promote equity, we knew that

that fitted the bill for early, shared, and effective.

When we looked at improved communication and expectations management with families, we

knew that that met the criteria for fair and shared.

Strengthened multi -agency coordination across education, health and care came to shared and effective.

Ensure earlier and more consistent transition support, local and effective.

Strengthen inclusive practise across the local system, early, fair and effective.

And the last two, identify gaps in resource distribution across the borough, a key one for us, effective, early, local.

and sufficiency of local specialist provision to reduce usage of independent settings, local, early, effective.

So all the way through, we kept the five key principles at the heart of the recommendations that we made.

Thank you very much, Ms. Johnson.

And I think some of you had actually been attending briefings with Kevin Curran,

who's been leading on this and you've been able to influence that and yeah it

shows that Wandsworth is leading very effective now questions did I see our

Councillor Burch was gonna Councillor oh thank you and can you hear me all right

with this microphone is the right Councillor is Northcote Ward thank you

Councillor Osman for running through the recommendations and it was a privilege

to be invited to attend two of the four schools visits that we had in the process of putting

this together.

One of the things that struck me, and that was particularly on the Penn -Worthen, a few

of us were there, the Penn -Worthen visit, and I thought I'd bring it up because it's

a sort of real -life example, was how so many, and it ties into one of the important, in

fact, our first recommendation, which is strengthening early health and pathways, was how so many

young children now, particularly at nursery level,

are just not prepared for school.

They haven't been potty trained.

They can't hold a pen, et cetera, et cetera.

And it struck me as well.

I asked to see the data.

They weren't going to necessarily put it in front of us,

but they had it to hand.

Of the 650 700 children at Pemwelen,

which is a highly successful, excellent school,

and a very nice part of teaching in Fersdag,

of the 600 700 children they had,

they showed me well over 200 were registered as SEND.

And I know this is about EHCPs, but it obviously links.

And I suppose what I'm trying to understand and work out,

I know that 10 years ago, the curriculum,

the national curriculum changed.

I know that because both my children

were primary at the time.

And I know that the old MEATS expectations suddenly,

or the old EXCEEDS expectations became the MEATS expectations.

So the level that children now have in comparison

to 10 years ago, or more than 10 years ago, 10 and 11 years ago, is much higher in terms

of the level they need to reach.

I would like to know nationally where we sit in terms of those children which was explained

to me, most of those 230 -odd children had speech and language issues.

Are they really speech and language issues or are they related to the fact that they're

not meeting expectations under the new curriculum, now not so new, and the Labour government

apparently have got a new curriculum that they're putting in place.

and how will that impact send, because a lot of it is around, as far as I'm concerned,

the expectations that the children have to meet as part of the learning journey. Thank you.

Yeah, you're right that there are discussions at least about changes in the curriculum

and the level at which the curriculum is tested even for young children.

At this stage it's impossible to determine exactly what the impact is going to be.

I mean I know there is some trepidation and that's being expressed by the teaching unions,

for example, on a lot of this stuff.

On specifics and measures of these sort of things, I don't know if the officers might

want to add anything to what I've said.

I mean mostly I would say it's early days on a lot of that and difficult for us to reach

any kind of useful conclusion, but the officers may have a different slant on it.

One of the key things that we're looking at at the moment very closely with our therapy

and our ICB colleagues is around what is actually send and what is now being seen as a social

economic issue.

So there are so many more children now that have two parents that work, so therefore they

don't have the time to spend at home to read children their storeys before they go to bed,

to teach them to read, to potty train them before they go to school.

So, and I think the government are aware of this as well,

and I believe this is also coming up in the white paper,

because there are a lot of children now that are being identified incorrectly as SEND, where in actual fact

it's an immaturity thing that is based to their social and economic background.

Councillor Owens, you want to come back and then Councillor Burchill.

Thank you.

That's very helpful because to me, to my mind, a school like Penworthon wouldn't have

250 children who ascend out of 750 under the old curriculum 12, 13 years ago.

To me it seemed quite strange that that many children would be sort of determined to have

speech and language issues.

I mean that to me is being, as you rightly say, perhaps not where they would have been

in the past because the expectations now are so much higher than they were in 2013 -14.

Thanks.

Councillor Burchill.

Thank you very much.

Great report. Very well presented. Thank you very much, Councillor Osborne.

It was good to be part of this.

And like all of the things that we get involved in,

the more you delve in, the more you realise you don't know.

And so it was really very good.

Now, one of the things that was a starting point, I think,

was looking at what was driving the increase in numbers.

Now, I don't think that this is something that Wandsworth can look into,

because somebody, you know, the universities must be looking into why are we getting more

children requiring an EHCP.

So I'm looking at the sort of the high end.

And I wonder if officers do know if anything is happening, or Council Osborn, and are there

drivers like increase in the number of prem babies being born and therefore

we've we've got more or is it an environmental thing thank you very much

councillor Burchill yes councilor's one if you want to answer and I think that

Wyatt would wants to come in it's that yes I mean the truth is it was not

really appropriate for the group to get into an area where there are lots of different

theories.

I mean, the two main things expressed to us when we went around and saw places, which

I think are worth noting, some people said it's always been there and just never been

properly diagnosed in a lot of instances.

And some people said, ah, well, we think maybe it's because they're – and this relates

to a discussion we were having in a previous committee meeting, it relates, it's because

the children are not learning to concentrate enough, they're constantly scrolling through

smartphones and so on. So there are all sorts of things flying around out there and you're

right, I think some universities will probably come up with something a little bit more cogent

for us, but I'd be interested in the contribution from the officers on it as well.

Thank you. I just wanted to go back to Councillor Owens' question about children being school

ready and just to follow on from what's been said around the fact that government published

their best start in life strategy which focuses on ensuring that children are supported to

reach a good level of development when they start school. We know that in Wandsworth actually

our children, the numbers of children reaching a good level of development are higher than

the national average but actually we know there are children that aren't reaching that

of development.

Hear me now? Yes, so it's about finding out where those children are, Councillor Owens.

We know where those children are. It's about delivering some of those targeted programmes

through our family hubs to ensure that we are supporting children and their parents

to be school ready. So programmes such as our Dolly Parton Reading Scheme, doing themed

activities in our family hubs to support reading and communication skills. So we are developing

that programme as we speak.

Mr Langdon and then Councillor Sweet.

Thank you. Am I working? Thank you.

Councillor Osborne, can I ask you a question from a different perspective?

A couple of months ago, back in December, I read an article in the FT.

The crux of which was the share of students getting extra time in exams has risen faster and further amongst those from well -off backgrounds.

No one was disputing in the data, and I can happily send you the article,

that the pupils do have special educational needs, but

it was the ability of well -off parents to actually make the most of that.

Can you speak to that point?

Yes, we did touch on this in a previous meeting of this body, actually.

when I was giving an interim report on this process, on the task and finish group.

And I said that the county council's group would come out with a report on special educational needs.

One of the points they made there was that, I think along the lines of your question,

A lot of the time all sorts of people who are perceiving what's going on are concentrating

on the, some of the more articulate parent carers, but there is a clear correlation between

deprivation and the children who require special needs.

And they made that point very strongly for all local authorities all over the borough,

not just the county councils, but the officers will have a bit more to say on that I think.

Yeah, I mean I think I absolutely agree with you. I think to answer the last point about drivers,

there is something around thresholds and access to, I think we're seeing more disadvantaged

families are more likely have children with SEND, but they also then face the greatest

barriers. So if you have time, money, then you can benefit from the system and

therefore those who don't have those advantages wait longer, don't have access

to the support that they need and potentially fool out the system

altogether. So absolutely and that is where the SEND reform has got to come in

and it has got to tackle that equity piece.

You had a question next.

Yes, thank you, Chairman, and thank you to everyone that's been involved in doing this

important work.

My question is really for the cabinet member, actually.

Clearly the white paper is on its way and it would be great to hear from the cabinet

member what she would like the government to include in the white paper as concrete

recommendations.

Yeah, thank you.

So obviously I've been to several meetings about this.

There was one with various leaders of London councils and children's leads and the minister

and there was another one yesterday just for the children's London needs.

Obviously it's all on all of our minds.

It's really desperately important.

They haven't given any clues yet, but what we think is coming is exactly what Councillor

Osborne was talking about actually, much more keeping children in mainstream schools, keeping

the local.

We're expecting all of that.

I don't know hand on heart that's coming, but that's what we're expecting.

And the Minister did say we're going to fund the reforms.

So we all went, whoa, hooray.

I mean, yes, she's going to fund the reforms.

And today we've had an announcement, haven't we, about them helping us with writing off

the DSG deficit, so all councils have, and we can get a 90 % write -off as long as we show

that we're running the service very well, which of course we are.

So it does feel like there's going to be money to put behind the reforms that we know need

to come.

And my understanding, officers may be able to help me, but my understanding is that the

whole administration of SEND funding is going to be taken over by the government, am I right,

the DfE, in a few years' time, so it will be not coming through us anymore, is what

I understand.

So that hopefully will take away some of these adversarial.

So we all just work together to try and get the best for our children.

But maybe I misunderstood that.

Perhaps officers can help.

Mr. Halleck.

I think the battery is moving.

Yeah, by 8 -29, the funding element of the system will be taken from local authorities.

at least that's what is being proposed at the moment.

The detail has to come on what that looks like

for us at a local level.

Thank you very much.

Yes, Ms. Harrin.

So one of the recommendation is about the therapies.

And Rex just mentioned the therapies is basically

ICB works we're kind of leading on it.

As per my understanding, is the therapy is

sometime jointly commissioned by the local authority and ICB. So I just want a more clarification on this. Thank you.

Mr. Lachlan, do you want to answer that or can we go to one of the officers?

I think that's a touch too technical for me.

I mean the dividing line between the ICB and the local authority would be if you can give any guidance on that

from the officer team, that would be good.

We've currently got a programme underway between local authority and the ICB looking at

where we're spending the funding on all therapies, which includes occupational therapy, physiotherapy.

So we're doing that audit of where the use is first, and then finding where the gaps are, and then we're recommissioning.

So it's obviously the commissioning team that are working directly with the ICB

to make sure that we've got the right therapy at the right place.

So we're looking at a total recommission.

Coming back there, and then Councillor Jeffery.

Thank you.

And I was just directing back to your point that you kindly mentioned talking about children that weren't ready and why they weren't ready for school.

And perhaps you were saying that lots of parents, both parents working, etc.

One of the things I noticed on one of the primary school visits, again, in Penworth,

not Falkenbrook, which is a very different type of school, but in Penworth, and I was

quite surprised to hear that every single child in the nursery was there full time.

Now I do realise that under the new system for funding for nurseries, obviously you get

30 hours over 38 weeks of the year and you can spread it, and obviously that makes some

sense.

But it's in the interest of the school to fill those places full time.

What about the people who are local, who perhaps work part -time, who perhaps don't want their

three rolled, who may have just turned three in the August, going to school for six hours

a day?

Back to your point, you're sort of saying, well, I understand, you know, parents aren't

around to help with the potty training, perhaps, you know, to read to them or whatever, but

There are some who work part -time, a lot work part -time, let's face it, and they can't get a part -time place

because the school is insisting on the allocating full -time places.

And I think that's a difficulty, you know, every parent that...

I think that microphone's gone.

Every...

Thank you.

Yeah, obviously there was a legislation change that meant that parents could apply for a 30 hour place for their two year old as well as for their three year old.

And obviously for working parents that are requiring a nursery placement, there isn't always the placements there.

But that doesn't mean to say that we're not looking at how we can expand our earlier offer in other places alongside our family centres,

our hubs, so that there is an offer for early years children.

But unfortunately, there's only so many nurseries and if the places go, the places go.

Just like to come back to that.

Because I actually think it discriminates against part -time parents for the local authority schools to only offer the 30 hours a week.

Not to offer the 15 hours or whatever it would be.

Because lots of people don't want their children at the age of three to go to school six hours a day.

They can offer part -time placements but it's obviously up to the individual school how

they allocate.

So, unfortunately, it's not us that allocates the place, it is the individual schools.

Thank you very much, Ms. Johnson.

I think it's important that we sort of stay within the paper and what's there.

It's a huge area and I know everyone's very interested that that sort of is going outside

and it's difficult for the officers because that isn't, yeah, that's not the areas they've

been working on.

Councillor Jaffray, you had some.

Thank you.

So in terms of increased financial pressures, which is clearly a primary concern for councils

nationally, how would these recommendations assist in reducing placement costs?

Yeah, I can take that.

I think the entire strategy will be both good for children and good for the finances.

The elements of inclusion, helping schools to support more complex children in mainstream,

the investment in resource spaces, we've been working on that for some time, but I think

this commitment is new.

I was going to say it in the school's funding paper, but from a finance perspective and

pretty much from a child perspective, there's no downside to resource basis for schools.

They allow the schools to have increased inclusion, have children with more complex needs in their

settings, reduced placements in special schools. We see it every single day. I see Nabilah

nodding. It does happen. There is that move from independent back into special and then

into resource and then into mainstream. So pushing the whole system down, I think is

the key to making it more sustainable and cost effective. And I think at every level,

those recommendations do that. Thank you. I've got Councillor Davies and then

Councillor Osborne. Yeah, my question is about, you know, we've been expanding

local send places but how is this report and these recommendations going to sort

of support our further expansion locally?

Yeah, so similarly, I think being able

to have more resource bases, obviously capacity in schools

support the system, looking at one problem

and turning it into an advantage for the schools.

As I said, for the finances and for the children

of the schools, resource spaces are beneficial. We've seen it time and time again in the last

five years when we've done that. And so we support the school, we support the child,

we support the financial sustainability in the system overall.

Councillor Osborne, I know you want to...

Yeah, just actually Mr. Halleck is more eloquent on this than me, but that process of wandsworthization,

of making everything as much as we can, as much as possible inside the borough.

We've talked a lot about the designated schools budget, but

actually those kids who have to travel out of the borough, the money's not coming from there.

The money, that's transport money, huge amount of transport money that we're

paying out to get the kids to go to these facilities that are not in Wandsworth.

and so the changes and recommendations will make a difference to some of the expenditure there.

Thank you, Councillor Osbourne.

Councillor Crivelli, I can't see you but I've heard that you would like to come in.

Thank you for that, Chair.

It's just to follow up on the points that were just made there about trying to keep children in

effect in Burra. One of the recommendations made on page 38 is that the increase in funds

allocated to the higher needs capital work committed by the Government continues to invest

in maintaining special school capacity and satellite settings. I assume that what we

are trying to look at, as we have said, is to allow schools to create new facilities

so that they can actually have the same children in the school?

And by that, will we then have a programme, a potential programme of capital expenditure,

to assist schools in readying themselves and adapting for SEND needs?

I note that on page 38, it also says we want to ensure SEND sufficiency where suitable

sites and buildings become available.

I assume by that again I'll be corrected by the officer on this.

Are we going to be looking at similar sort of situations that we had with the Broadwater's

paddock development, which obviously means we have to have an initial outlay of capital

expenditure, but in the long term it saves us funding quite simply because we don't

have to pay for independent placements outside.

I was just interested whether or not we did have a plan for capital expenditure in that

respect.

Mr. Harlech.

So the government has announced 3 billion pounds of investment in high needs capital.

But if it's done in a similar formula to the previous allocation, there we go, we should

get in the region of 10 million which will allow for a significant investment.

Resource bases don't cost as much capital as a new school like PADOC.

But we have spent four million on Granard to create 94 places.

I mean, it's an incredible return of investment.

That school saves over four million pounds a year if those children were out of borough

in independent provision.

Or even in special schools, it's probably two million, and it's a resource base.

So we would want to replicate that.

We have the opportunity to do that with space in schools.

Thank you, Mr. Halleck.

Are there any further questions?

Otherwise we could move to the recommendations.

Councillor Gasser.

Is that working?

Not a question, it's just a suggestion.

So when the government white paper comes out, there'll be a consultation period of about

six weeks.

And I wondered whether this group or the task and finish group might create a response to

that consultation together, taking into account everybody's views.

Yes, we could discuss that outside the meeting.

That's a very good idea.

Thank you.

Councillor Osborne.

One last thing on the task and finish group is to say that because we don't know about the government white paper,

what I have said to everybody about the task and finish group is despite its name, it is not finished.

We will have to pause the work of the task and finish group.

It's a technical device for just getting us through the next few months.

So I ought to at least say to people that that's the way we've come to a kind of

we've come to a kind of a sort of conclusion, a bit like an international meeting deciding to stop the clock

in a kind of metaphorical way.

Thank you, Councillor Osborne.

And so that is the very purpose of the recommendations,

because a task unfinished group needs to have actions that come out of it.

And we've heard that in the violence against women and girls in our earlier meeting.

That was one of the questions asked by the minority party, and

a good question to ask, what are the actions that are going to come out?

And these recommendations are the beginning of those actions,

and that's what we were really keen to happen.

And I think you, Ms. Wilson -Holm, made that point as well, that it can't just be projects or one -offs or superficial.

It has to be actions that get to the heart of it.

Councillor Bachelet, and then I think we'll move to the recommendations.

Thank you very much.

It's just a quick question.

How many children do we have going to schools out of the borough, special schools?

and how many children do we have going to fee paying special schools within the borough?

I just want to get an idea of how many more places we need to find to accommodate all of our children.

I can do approximates.

We've got about 330 children in independence, a good few of those in borough, but about

400 to 500 out of borough in state funded maintained provision.

Thank you, Mr. Halleck.

And I'm sure, Councillor Burchill, if you want the exact numbers that can be provided for you outside the meeting.

So I think we'll go to the recommendations now.

I'm sure you've all had a chance to look at them, and they've been referred to throughout.

There are seven of them.

Councillor Osbourne, did you want to comment on these?

No, I think we really moved to the recommendations.

And Ms. Johnson has explained very clearly to us how they meet the five principles that have been set down.

So the committee is asked to note this report for

information and to approve the recommendations to go to cabinet.

Do we approve these recommendations to go to cabinet?

Yes, agreed.

Everybody unanimous.

Thank you very much indeed.

So we can now move to the school's finance paper at five.

5 Wandsworth Schools Finance FY 2026/27 (Paper No. 26-47)

I think Mr. Halleck is going to give us a brief presentation on it,

that just for me to say given the new way of doing scrutiny, members are invited to

note this report but provide any comments on it to be passed on to cabinet,

who will be making the executive decision.

So this is slightly different

to how we've done things previously.

So any comments?

We can take them and note them

and they can be passed on to cabinet

when they make the decision.

So Mr. Halleck, if you could just do.

Yes, this paper is our annual paper

that where the council approves

the school budget settlements.

It's set at a national level, but locally we do still have a local funding formula,

though we have to move towards a national funding formula at 10 percent at a time.

As you can tell by the paper, our schools forum have proposed a 20 percent move to the

national funding formula.

that does have some impact on the funding.

A move closer to the National Funding Formula

does move more money to secondary schools

and obviously takes away because it is a zero sum

from primaries.

This paper is set in the context of falling rolls and the high needs challenges that we've

just discussed, but I am very, very proud of the entire system that we wrap around schools

in this borough to support our schools.

And our stats are incredible, really, when it comes to the number of schools and deficits.

We are a real outlier, especially in London, but even nationally.

Thank you, Mr. Halleck.

I'm sure the committee all commend that.

To anybody who's watching online, you've probably realised we're having problems with microphones this evening.

I do apologise for that, but I hope that you're able to follow the meeting.

I have a question, I think, from Councillor Chafree.

Thank you.

So my question is, how is the council ensuring that schools with falling pupil

numbers are supported to make sustainable medium -term financial plans and how can we

strengthen the long -term sustainability of the school system?

I think we've spent about five years or so working with our schools to try and create

a culture that's possibly a bit more businesslike, monthly monitoring, proper annual forecasting,

a real rigour around proactivity and anticipation of the future, especially within the context

of roles.

Kicking the can doesn't work, and we try to make sure we've got enough examples to highlight

that.

We really do bring the whole system around, so the education teams, our HR teams, we pull

in all that expertise to wrap around schools at a very early stage, as soon as their three -year

forecasts, five -year forecasts, are showing weakness or census data or preferences show

that schools might have an intake that's low.

The best thing we can do is try and keep our classes full.

We are a well -funded borough.

If our classes are full, our schools will be strong, even to support high needs, all

the challenges.

And I think on the whole we've done that pretty well by reducing forms of entry, et cetera.

But that anticipation and productivity and the help of schools forum and their wisdom of

Allowing setting aside some money to support schools that are going through those changes does really really have an impact

Wheat

Thank you. I think councillor. Jeffrey is going down exactly the right

route for our discussion

And I wonder if we could just hear from both the officers and the cabinet member on the outlook for

the survival of some of these schools in Wandsworth.

Who would like to take that Mr. Halleck and then maybe cabinet member.

I'll go first.

So yes, we identified falling rolls early. We're in a London is hit the hardest by falling rolls.

You have both low birth rates plus net.

Well then, a lot of our peers.

I think I've got Councillor Crivelli behind me, I can't see, and then Councillor O 'Brien.

Sorry, I did want to ask the cabinet member that question as well.

Okay.

Yeah, thank you.

Well, I'd love to tell you that every single school is going to be absolutely fine.

Even with all the support that we're offering, some schools are struggling, I have to say.

Some are.

And sometimes, it depends on what type of school.

But if it's an academy, there are people that run the academy, or if it's a church school, dioceses.

Sometimes they have to make really tough decisions, and they have done in the last year.

We've seen a couple of those really tough decisions,

and it might be, I hope not,

but it might be that it be one of our schools.

I cannot hand on heart saying everything's gonna be fine.

We're doing everything we possibly can to support them.

But sometimes we have to take tough decisions.

So, I mean, I think you're right.

It is tough with falling roles,

and that's no one's fault in, you know,

it's no one's fault in some respects.

Can you then commit that you won't close another school

in Wandsworth?

I can't make that commitment.

But no, I've just told you, because some of the schools are struggling, some of the smaller ones.

So I can't promise you that.

I wish I could, but I just can't because there are not enough people having babies.

So you might close a school in Wandsworth.

And in that case -

Not willingly, but -

I think it's really important that we all understand what the message is we're meant to be giving to parents and

families that will be really worried that their schools might be closing.

Ms. Fenaroli wants to come in.

Well, we're doing absolutely everything we can to support those schools that they're

having fewer applications.

We can see that happening sometimes.

So I don't want to make any false promises.

Ms. Fanaroli.

Yeah, and I just wanted to add, you know, we have taken those difficult decisions over

last few years and actually they were the right decisions to make and as a

result they have strengthened the wider education system in Wandsworth our

schools are fuller as a consequence it's not easy they're not the sorts of

decisions we want to take but actually we've got to think about the interests

of education across Wandsworth and what we don't want to do is compromise

quality and for me you know and that's where even not just the local authority

but schools, governors, trusts will take decisions because they actually are

it in the interests of their children. I want to deliver a lower quality.

Thank you very much. Did I have Councillor Cuvelli behind me?

Thank you, Chair.

Councillor Dix?

It is to be honest about the budget in general. Teachers are receiving a 4 % pay rise for the

financial year 24 -25, sorry, for the previous year 25 -26. For the 26 -27 period, the Government

is proposing a 6 .5 % increase over three years and schools are expected to contribute to

that pay award, the DFE has confirmed as usual that schools will have to part fund part of

that pay award.

Bearing in mind you've already pointed out there isn't much leeway within the school

budgets. Are we looking realistically at the fact that we may well be encountering some

teacher redundancies, schools making cuts to other staff as a result of the pressure

the budget. Who will take that Mr. Halli? The settlement obviously isn't or the increase

isn't agreed yet. So in the past those above formula funding increase pressures have been

funded by separate grants to schools in the last couple of years. So it'd be hard for

me to hypothesise what we're going to do or try and predict.

Thank you. I think I've got Councillor Davies next and then Councillor O 'Connor.

Yeah, I've got a question about how the initiatives like the auto enrollment into free school

meals and bringing more funding into ones with schools, but you know, if there's, you

know, are there sort of other opportunities for innovation that could build the funds

base there?

Yes, thank you.

Yeah, I can say that one.

And this also raises the last question as well, because in times of, you know, gaps

pay awards, etc.

We need to be really, really smart and

make sure that schools get every pound that they're entitled to.

And so one of the things, as Castle Davies has just said,

is we've introduced quite innovatively an auto enrollment process, which in the past

two years has found another 1 ,100 children who are not identified as eligible for

free school meals, that's brought in over 2 million pounds into our schools.

So it's work like that which helps make sure the schools are funded as fairly as

possibly can be that makes those things bearable.

But also because we've had experience of it now, we can do that more frequently and that

makes, because of three census a year, which that identification is based on, we're able

to make sure that we get that money to schools as quickly as we possibly can.

We've also started some work leading across London on that work without a borough children.

So that work, along with other partnerships that we've spoken about here before, I think

in the last committee we talked about our partnerships with, you mentioned imagination

libraries, we find things and funding and resources and capacity, our work with Apple

funds IT within our schools, and that work led by the council helps to fund all those

things.

Maybe just a follow up.

Thank you.

Yeah, so just following up on the same theme, so there's 21 % increase in the early years

funding and so I'm wondering how can the council and schools really maximise that opportunity?

Yeah, as I said, it's maximising. It's just thinking about all our partnerships that we've

got with other organisations. And that's not just bringing in extra cash, but also enriching

the curriculum and some of the things we did innovatively this year was a

supporting school trips for schools so that small investment looking at reusing

our SCN transport during the hours between drop -off in the morning and pick

up in the afternoon we use that at very low cost to support schools with their

trips but then different you know avoids cost with it within those schools but

It also allows those schools to do more in which the curriculum and aspect.

Thank you, Mr. Hipple.

That is one of my favourite innovations.

The fact that the community transport lies idle between drop off and pick up.

And I think we the me busses go out to private schools and they we charge them a fee to use

the busses and then they used again.

So yeah, they're an endless source of funds those how many busses are there 22?

Yeah, yeah. Thank you Councillor Owens

Thank you

Just a couple brief questions again on the falling pupil numbers

Obviously we've saying that they're falling now broadly in line with expectations, but they're still falling

We're not we're not expecting things to improve in in the near future

Where are we?

And secondary, of course, will be following primary.

One of the things I liked seeing a couple of years ago, and I think it does exist online,

but we don't get it anymore, was a spreadsheet that showed for each primary how the numbers

of pupils that are coming in in September.

Now I haven't seen that for a couple of years, but I did find it online.

And what would be useful is to have some sort of breakdown for some of the schools where

it doesn't actually show in the spreadsheet how many children are coming in.

because if the number isn't say obviously 30 or 60,

you're not showing it because there could be a school

with a number that's coming in and into reception

is less than 20.

And that would give us an indication

as to where some of the problems are going to be coming

down the line.

The other thing is we did this with the task

and finish group, I know slightly different,

but I was in Falkenbrook and it was fascinating to see

that obviously half the classrooms are empty

because they haven't, they're half full.

But what they are doing is they are using the classrooms

for different things.

And again, from a sort of council perspective, it would be useful to know if these classrooms

are not full of children, what are these schools doing?

In the meantime, yes, they want more pupils.

And finally, just on the one on the early years block, of course, the 30 hours of free

childcare for children between nine months and two years has come in.

That's the money.

And that money goes to nurseries, doesn't it?

I mean, private nurseries as well as not many schools take children from nine months.

So I'm not entirely sure they're going into ones with schools, but anyway.

But yes, it would be useful to know what's what the future is.

And also, I have a school in my just on trips in my ward that has sent out

an announcement that there will be by the end of the year, no trips,

no work experience, no D of E, no sport.

Maybe you could talk to them. Thanks.

Thank you, Councillor Owen.

I think there are about three questions in there or maybe four.

Mr. Halleck, do you want to make a start?

Yeah, there's no sign of well, far bigger decrease in secondary school numbers.

What we did expect this year was a bigger increase in secondary school numbers than

we actually received at the end.

The initial indications were over 2 .5 percent, but by the time we started September and Census

Day it was only 1 percent, and there are a few interesting little trends.

We are a net importer from other schools for that.

Made up the difference because obviously if you're losing in primary.

Also, we thought maybe the VAT on independent schools meant more secondary schools stayed

because that's the trend at secondary into independent.

So those two combining, we believe, led to our secondaries not feeling as much of a decline,

which was good.

The longer term, yes, obviously less children is less parents equals less children.

So it's a vicious cycle.

and the only way to break that is to have four children,

and that's very hard, so, or net immigration.

So I don't know how we're going to get out of this,

but for the foreseeable future,

the good news is it's slightly slowing rate of decline.

Thank you very much, yeah, that's good news

that it might be slowing.

I think it's also worth saying that,

I think maybe Councillor Sweet said it

right at the beginning, that the falling rolls,

this isn't anybody's fault.

It's partly COVID and people moving out.

It's definitely Brexit,

which possibly could be attributed to

minority parties party, but definitely can be.

But it's a trend right across London.

It's not something that Wandsworth is doing.

and I think we're doing really, really well to combat it.

Councillor?

Sorry, I can't comment as to whether it was a pandemic or Brexit, but people aren't having

children.

That's the reason.

It's across the country.

So, you know, I'm not sure how much Brexit affected Devon where I'm from, but that's

the same problem now.

Ms. Fionnarelli, did you want to come back?

Yeah, just to say, I mean, particularly for London, the pandemic and Brexit significantly

impacted London particularly. So I think that's you know it's important to state

that and also just in terms of the comment about the school that was

stopping trips work experience I think it's important for context there

probably not for this meeting but there is you know understanding what sits

behind those decisions as opposed to it just making a statement in a meeting so

that is a conversation obviously we can pick up with the school but it's important to think about

the context that sits behind any decision that a school takes. Yeah absolutely and I'm sure you'll

be able to speak to Councillor Owens about it outside the meeting that this is being webcast.

Miss Poblici I think you want to come in. Yes please can you hear me okay I just wanted to

I think this is the right point to talk about the transformation programme that actually this

Council is embarking on.

And this department is at the heart of that conversation,

not just because I'm the SRO, the sponsor of the programme,

but actually this conversation, children's agenda

is going to be sat at the heart of that programme.

I'm mentioning this because there's no darlings in the game.

Across the council, we are going to work together

to think about how everything that this council is going to do

is going to benefit children, families, and the communities.

And this conversation is pertinent for that,

because actually whether we are talking about assets, growth,

and place, I'm strongly encouraging everyone

across the council to think about the homes

for the future that actually will create bigger

homes, social, affordable housing, for actually families

that have children to actually stay local and remain local.

So hopefully, then in turn, we will see the domino impact

and our schools potentially picking up

in terms of the population that they are currently losing.

The work that we are doing with ICB actually

is equally important.

We are talking about neighbourhood hubs

and how we can together think about supporting,

encouraging young parents to actually have conversation

about having children.

We have seen actually since the pandemic

a massive reduction in birth rates

at any one given time in Wandsworth.

We are seeing around 3 ,700 births year on year.

That is not enough at the moment, but hopefully with all the work that we are doing across the council,

whether it's housing, whether it's revisiting the assets, and where we are and where communities actually interact with us,

hopefully that will drive a different conversation.

So hopefully good news in the future.

Thank you, Jen.

So on that good news note, can I ask the committee to note this report?

Note this report.

Thank you very much.

6 Education Performance Report 2025-26 (Paper No. 26-48)

So we now come to the last paper, which is titled Education Performance Report 2526,

paper number 26248.

It's a briefing and it provides a comprehensive overview of attainment, attendance, inclusion,

and post -16 outcomes across the borough.

Whilst overall performance remains strong and above national averages, the report also

highlights areas which are for targeted improvement, and this item is for information.

And I should also say that we have this paper at the request of the minority party under

the new form of doing scrutiny.

I know we've had task and finish groups on other subjects, but we can also make a start

at looking at these areas with a paper jam packed full of information and think of lines

of inquiry should we wish.

Anyway, are there any questions on this or?

Sorry, Mr. Hoff, you were going to do a brief presentation and then Councillor Crivelli.

It wasn't so much a presentation, it was just a very brief introduction because I think

it's important to say first of all it's a real privilege to introduce this paper because

it clearly encapsulates the really strong work of our school leaders and their staff.

And the first thing is to extend thanks for their contributions which have led to the

outcomes that we have in Monsworth.

And I think it's interesting particularly in the context of what we've been discussing this evening in terms of increasing complexity of needs

Of young people and also the pressure on resources, which as you've heard schools are managing remarkably well in Wandsworth

I would say the finance team as well

But the schools don't exist exist in isolation

They're supported by a network of agencies social care early help our link advisors our school support and our traded services

And as you'll see from a number of the areas,

we work very closely with our schools.

We benefit from good relationships

in order to support them with attendance

with vulnerable young people that disadvantaged.

Which is good, because I'm very nearly

at the end of my introduction, actually.

So suffice to say that, so yeah,

any questions, I'll leave it there.

Thank you very much.

Before we go to questions, I think Councillor Gasser, the cabinet member, would like to say something.

Thank you.

Yeah, just to chip in, just to echo what Mr. Hoff said, actually, there's so much to be proud of in this report.

So much to be proud of in our schools.

I think it's 98 % for either good or outstanding.

That's amazing.

So we're giving the best possible start to our children.

So thank you to all the schools and all the officers and all the partners that are making all this happen

And the areas where we need to improve we will improve

I know everybody's working flat out and doing everything they possibly can we want to be absolutely the best

Thank you very much

Councillor gusset. I've got councillor gravelli behind me and then councillor Davies

Thank you chair, can I just ask about the data that's on page

You have supplied a lot of helpful data in respect of suspensions and exclusions.

It is obviously very positive to see that overall suspensions and exclusions are low.

You have given a figure for exclusions for the period 23 to 24 and you say there is only

22 permanent exclusions.

Are you able to give us the figure for 24 to 25?

I believe.

They are unofficial figures because they are,

there's a serious lag in the DFE data,

but we have been taking our REU tracks, real -time figures.

It will be less than that.

Off the top of my head, I think it's at 19.

But I can cheque that for you.

I can get the number for you.

I think it's important to recognise

that none of those permanent exclusions,

or exclusions as they are now,

are from primary schools.

And I think that's a real achievement

of our primary cohort.

Often, obviously at secondary schools,

young people present with different challenges.

And I think I'm pretty confident in saying

that our secondary heads will only use exclusion

as an absolute last resort.

And they will do everything,

whether that's working between each other,

working with the secondary pupil referral unit

to avoid exclusions. I think though whilst it remains a sanction that schools can use

if their community is made unsafe by the ongoing presence of that young people, they will use

it. But as I say, I'm confident they use it as a last resort, hence relatively speaking

our exclusions are low.

Thank you. Councillor Davies and then Councillor Sweet.

Yeah, my question also is about the permanent exclusions or suspension rates.

I'm recognising they're very low and it's very important they're very low.

But I just wondered what the school practises and strategies are that, you know, account

for that success.

What, yeah, what, what, yeah, what was cancer?

Thank you.

I think, first of all, credit to head teachers, because I think for recognising that where

possible children should be kept in schools and recognising the negative

impacts that exclusions can have on the effects on people's life chances.

And actually, we had at one of our secondary heads meetings, we had a very

powerful session where a group from a voluntary sector organisation had got

some pupil voice of young people who had been excluded on that was presented

to head. So I think it was very powerful, really bringing home what the

impact of that can be.

We also have, at secondary level,

we have very strong improving behaviour

and attendance partnership,

which is a group of secondary pastoral leads

who can be come together terminally.

We have input from a number of agencies

so that we can ensure we can signpost to resources,

whether that be internal, such as early help,

or whether it's voluntary agencies,

and also sharing good practise.

We're fortunate to have a very experienced

Inclusion Service, who can provide advice and support to schools, both in terms of SEND

issues, but also in terms of behavioural issues.

And part of that, that's underpinned by a very, very strong Senko network, which has

been – some of you will know Jackie McCalley, who's recently retired, but actually has

now been taken over and moved forward really encouragingly.

As part of that system, schools have recently had training on relational behaviour systems,

which is about recognising that behaviour is communication

and really important to understand what's behind

the external manifestation of that behaviour,

which again comes back to that recognition

that young people are best off kept in school

and their behaviour managed appropriately

rather than sent elsewhere.

I'm slightly worried about this,

but because I know we have the chair

of the pre -management board here,

and actually we were having a conversation

where we recognised that sometimes our peers

sometimes roll their eyes when either of us

mention the proves because we do mention them a lot,

but the reason we mention them is because I think

we are very, very fortunate in this borough

to have three exceptional proves.

And as I said, we've had no primary permanent exclusions

for some time, and that's down to A, the inclusive work

in our schools, but also the support that they get

from Victoria Dry Pupil referring it,

and likewise, at Francis Barber again,

the support that they provide in terms of the intervention,

the dual registration before things get to the point

where people's upon excluded I think is key. There is still proportion disproportionately

in terms of the figures. We're aware of that and that's what we continue to do.

Thank you very much. I've got Councillor Sweet, then Councillor Osborne, Ms Haroon

and Ms Wilson. Thank you. Thank you very much. A lot of the paper is about places where we're

meeting minimum standards or coming close to them or achieving kind of things that come

close to London or national average performance.

My question is about what we're doing to support young people that are well above that level.

So what are we doing to support children that may be academically gifted or talented?

Very important question.

and I don't know who would like to say that, Mr. Hullick.

I think it's a valid point, but also I would say

that our schools are far from average,

and actually our high achievers do very well.

I mean, in key stage two, for instance,

high level of attainment, well above statistical neighbours,

and national in all three core subjects.

Likewise, at Key Stage 4, the number of people achieving Grade 5 or above in English and

Maths remains above national and London averages, even though there was a decrease in that,

but that was mirrored by the national picture.

And so I think there was information in there, and again, the table on page 65 again shows

that

Thank you very much.

Yes, because of course we're here for everybody and that's really important to make that clear.

Okay, I think I had Councillor Osborne next and then Ms Haroon, Ms Wilson -Helm and then

Councillor Owen.

Thank you, Chair.

One of the things that came out of the other task and finish group was a lot of the teachers.

I think it's really important to recognise that poor attendance is not just an education

issue and sometimes I think that gets lost but actually it's clearly an indicator of

wider issues often in the family or wider social context.

The new guidance that came out recently is aptly titled, I think, Working Together to

Improve Attendance.

And by together, that means genuine multi -agency work.

Our education welfare team, in particular, Mark Holiday, has done an enormous amount

of work raising awareness amongst our multi -agency partners, whether that's GPs, whether that's

social workers, whether it's early health practitioners,

making sure that they are curious about attendance,

that they're curious about school,

and where there are issues with attendance,

not just writing it off as well.

That's just a school issue that actually,

it's a whole family issue.

And we know often that poor attendance

is entrenched in families.

The other thing I think is worth mentioning is that,

again, it's slightly glib possibly, given that conversation,

but poor attendance is also a safeguarding issue.

And so it's really important that we address it, that again,

it's a multi -agency involvement that our social workers and schools are involved, social care.

Again, we have a really strong designated safeguarding leads network that really understands that attendance is so key.

Part of the new guidance was ensuring that every school had an attendance champion who is on the senior leadership team.

And I'm sure I won't have escaped you that for the DFE it is an absolute priority because

the data is stark and it's not surprising if you don't attend school you're not going

to achieve and the less you attend the less you achieve.

I've mentioned the Education Welfare Service.

We have a traded service which schools that will do case work with schools.

Many schools have their own attendance offices but we also have a single point of contact

Education welfare officer for those that don't trade, who will meet with those schools once a term,

will discuss particular concerns where there are children who are persistently absent and

what other agencies can be brought in to support them.

And I think a key part of it is, again, it seems very obvious,

is the fact that schools need to be welcoming places.

And that's work that we've done with our inclusion team, particularly with our curriculum inequalities advisor.

is first of all that physically they're welcoming,

but also that the curriculum that they're engaging with

reflects their own experience

and is something they can relate to

and they don't become,

they're less likely to become disenfranchised,

if that's the case.

And also, of course, I couldn't not say about

the Hospital Home Tuition Service

when it comes to attendance and supporting attendance.

They have produced a really, really impressive toolkit,

and if you haven't seen it,

I urge you go onto the Home Hospital Tuition website,

have a look at their toolkit for schools,

which is an exceptional checklist for schools to go through.

And also the head teacher there is doing more and more

outreach work in terms of what she calls tenacious schools,

ensuring that schools are really supporting

those young people there,

and making sure they engage with school.

Thank you very much.

A really comprehensive answer on such an important issue.

Ms Haroon, I've got next.

So on page number 74, it's about suspensions and exclusion.

So the data shows disproportionate suspension rate for certain groups, black herbons.

what precise actions are being taken for the EDI team

and schools improvement partner to address this issue?

So I think it's key to note that that is a,

it's a nationwide issue,

but it's particularly a London centric issue.

And I actually sit on, we have a strategic education

London leads group who are looking at ways specifically

to tackle disproportionality.

both in terms of progress and achievement at school

as well as suspensions,

because it's no surprise that the two are related.

So our Curriculum and Qualities Advisor

has done an enormous amount of work with schools

in terms of training, in terms of unconscious bias.

I've mentioned the relational behaviour training

that we've already done,

which is understanding trauma -informed practise,

understanding that behaviour is often an expression

of much more complex issues

and shouldn't be treated simplistically.

Again, I think it's much more complicated

than it just being a school's issue.

It is a wider social issue.

And again, I think it's about the wider wraparound care,

which again, I think the best start for life,

family hubs, the development of the early health service

will help to approach it.

But it is a deeply embedded issue,

and that's recognised by us in London.

And also just to add that obviously data around this is really important and our schools understanding the data and our REU do some fantastic work to really drill down, analyse.

They share that with schools so that schools have a real understanding of what's happening within their settings.

And we've got an EDI pledge as well. So again that will really think about everything holistically.

And also part of this is around governor training as well,

because obviously when it comes to exclusions, etc.

If it is appealed, you know, governors are part of that process.

So it's again, for governors to understand as well the data and

what that means and their role then in that process.

So I think for me that the data is so, so important and sharing that with schools and

having that frank and open and honest conversation with schools about what the data looks like.

Can I add to that?

It's interesting because we argued, is possibly the wrong word, we discussed it at length,

is actually the pledge which we put together with schools and we will be going through

a final draught.

The first thing in the pledge is actually about the analysis of data and reviewing data

and what it tells you about your particular groups and should.

Yes, Miss, we really want to come back.

Yeah, so in term of, you know, the engagement from families,

I think this is another kind of like concerns that we heard and we are facing as well.

So how you're going to engage the families when it comes to exclusions?

Because I don't think so it's the only the schools and the, you know, the services.

I think families are also really important.

So you are going to address with them.

Thank you.

Some.

So, we were, I'll have to try another one.

So you're right, it has been an issue for a number of years

and it was an issue which really exercised us

and we thought why is it?

Because it does seem slightly bizarre,

for want of a better word,

that you have really strong outcomes at key stage two,

key stage four, and then at key stage five,

they appear to be very different.

So actually, my colleague mentioned

the research and evaluation unit

who did some really detailed work on this

to try and ascertain why outcomes

are lower than at other key stages.

What we've also put there is that we placed third

in the country for a number of young people

who go into a sixth form.

Wandsworth is unusual in that every single secondary school

has a sixth form.

Now, sick form retention is higher in London

than the rest of the country,

but it is particularly high in Wandsworth, as I said,

because we're ranked third for that.

This is positive, I think, because this demonstrates

we have an inclusive and attractive sick form system.

And you'll notice also that the destinations cohorts,

62 % wanted to attend higher education,

which is well above national.

The flip side of that, though,

is that there are a greater number of pupils

who are going into sixth form with a lower starting point

than would be the case elsewhere,

and who in some cases will be taking academic subjects

which are not necessarily best suited to their abilities.

We've worked with schools to ensure they're aware of this.

We've done an extensive analysis of what courses

young people were taking based on their starting points.

And as a result, schools have been reviewing

their curriculum and have been offering

more appropriate pathways, encouraging parents and pupils

is to take the more appropriate qualifications.

So rather than for someone aspiring to be a doctor

and taking sciences and math and science

when they clearly don't have the GCSEs

that are gonna support that

and possibly looking at an alternative

academic qualification in science,

which some of our schools have taken on board.

As a result, we have seen a narrowing of a gap

in academic achievement and applied general qualifications.

So it is an anomaly, but I think clearly it is about

the fact that our sixth forms are retaining

a much wider cohort than would normally be the case elsewhere.

Thank you, I had the sixth question as well,

but it was a slightly different version of that.

But back to cancer Suites' point.

The English baccalaureate, and talking

about the children that are doing particularly well,

you've got here that English baccalaureate grades were

9 to 5, rising from 32%.

This is page 55 to 34%, making ones with the seventh highest

nationally.

Obviously, not all children do the English baccalaureate.

It's actually, as I understand, it's actually

quite a small percentage.

Am I right in saying it's around 20 %?

Because you have to take a language, don't you,

in order to have that qualification.

I was just kind of curious because at 32%,

I mean obviously it's got to be marked

against the rest of the country

and obviously we're quite high.

But the maths result really does stand out

given the fact that you've got a third,

got a grade seven or above.

My eldest son was in that cohort this year.

But I'm just curious with the eBAC

because we keep talking about it,

but actually it's a very small percentage of children,

isn't it, as I understand.

It is, rather than small, a separate direction.

Wandsworth, thank you.

Wandsworth is very highly ranked in terms

of the amount of young people that it puts forward

into the baccalaureate.

My understanding, though, is that under the curriculum

assessment and review, the baccalaureate will be going.

Will be going anyway, yeah.

There is that.

But I was just interested, because obviously not

one of the reasons being, of course, that in 2004,

languages were no longer compulsory.

So therefore, no child, I would imagine, in the state system

I certainly know with one of my children's schools

that you have to tick a box saying you're doing a language,

but you can even get around that

if you tick a different box type thing.

So it's not the case, everyone's taking a language,

which is very sad.

But just again on the sixth point,

which has been raised, and the fact that we are,

what are we, 13 % below the national average on A star A,

and I understand your answer to the question,

but I just wonder what could be done about it,

because clearly we work closely with other boroughs,

And a lot of children, I know a lot of children go to Esha College to do a wide range of subjects.

And perhaps, I don't know if there's more to be done to encourage children to go out of borough.

I know we don't want that because we've got all these fantastic fixed forms and frankly, we're performing people numbers, we don't want to have fewer.

But I do sort of feel that you're right, that you're pushing lots of children, or you're not.

But the schools are pushing, so anyone who's at schools, my youngest son attends, pushes children to do these academic subjects.

suits him, but you know, it doesn't see everyone and

People need to know about more options. Thank you

So, yeah, no as I say and it's about we've been doing work with schools to ensure they are making a wider offer than just

a level so as I said the alternative academic qualifications be text and the like and

You'll know that from 2028 this landscape is changing again with the with V levels

and the like, v levels to go with your t levels, yes.

Thank you very much.

I think I have got Councillor Davies

and then Mr Langdon would like to comment in

and Ms Haroon and then we might start bringing it to a close.

Thank you.

Councillor Davies.

Well, what caught my eye is on page 68 when a report from the Education Policy Institute

said that one's worth consistently having one of the smallest disadvantage gaps across

education phases.

So I just wanted to know a little bit more about that.

And I also actually just wondered whether, this isn't really a question, it's just me

pondering whether things like the Dolly Parton Library you know in future is

actually going to show a little bit of a difference there more so. Yeah I think

what was impressive at the end.

So I think what was impressive about the Education Policy Institute figure was that we were

only one of seven local authorities,

but incidentally were all London authorities,

that had, were in the top 25 local authorities

for the smallest disadvantage gap.

So what I think is particularly heartening about that

is that that is from the early years stage

right through to key stage five.

I think that's a real achievement to be celebrated.

I think first of all, it's about willingness of leaders

to recognise and tackle this issue.

Again, that goes back, I think, to data.

The research and evaluation unit produce fantastic,

what are called super school profiles,

which allow schools to really forensically

look at individual children on an individual level

and what they would need to do to close the gap there.

I think it's also about starting early,

getting children into education settings early.

Some of you will be aware of the good level of development

with the best start in life that Kat mentioned earlier.

We're already at, which is starting 1 % under

what the national target is,

and we've been given an extra slightly arbitrary target

to take us up to 80%.

But the strength of the Best Start in Live project,

I think, is that it, again,

it encourages multi -agency working,

encourages the use of data to really look at

where young people are not engaging in provision early.

When we looked at the good level of development,

those children that weren't getting them,

for the disadvantaged cohort, it was really,

it was pretty obvious that it was where

where there was slow language acquisition.

So again, getting young people into education settings,

getting them into our early help hubs,

using the Fantastic 2s programmes is really important.

The inclusion work, again, I think ties into this

in terms of supporting good intendant

and ensuring schools are welcoming places

where children want to come and are engaged with.

not only supports also challenged. So for instance, making sure that they're looking

at people premium statements, actually holding schools accountable for that on providing

advice and support. Mr Langdon and then Ms Haroun and then I think we'll bring it to a close.

Okay thank you chair. I just want to come back, I'm sorry to do this if I may, just come back on

And the suspensions and exclusion question that Ms Suin raised and which Ms Fenwali answered

with a comment about governors.

And as a trustee of the National Governors Association, I feel I have to say something

in support of governors here.

The role that governors play in terms of PEXs, exclusions and suspensions is the most stressful

role governors have to play.

They are the hardest panels to fill because we take them seriously.

Governors don't just walk onto those panels.

They have a lot of training before they get there.

And there are three governors on each of those panels, so they are objective.

So by the time we have the evidence, we are working objectively with the case we are given.

I just want to make that point.

I think also if I may, I think in terms of governance, because we govern those briefings,

and you may notice that having been in a chair, is that we will, we also, you know, we make

it clear that it is important because part of the role of governance, as you know, is

to hold leaders to account and it is also about making sure the governors are aware

of what, you know, what are the suspensions in their school, what is the particular profile,

are there any, is there any clear disproportionality?

And to hold leaders to account for that,

I think that's a key role that governors have.

Sorry, and also to say just again,

in terms of diversity on governors panels as well,

I think that's particularly around disproportionality.

That's, you know, it's about that upskilling,

just giving governors that, all the support that they need.

Because I agree with you, that's what I'm saying,

that the importance of governors is key.

So it's really important that our training fits that

so they have the support that they need around exclusion panels.

Thank you very much.

And Ms Haroon, I think you had a final question.

So yes, I have different questions, but I want to comment about the exclusions and the

governor's role.

I think I'm also the, you know, governor in school, but when it comes to exclusion, I

think they're somehow kind of partiality, because if the hat teacher wants to exclude

and spend and you want to go against the decision, it's really hard, despite you have the training.

That's true.

Okay.

The question is on page 69.

And it's about attainment for people with ESCP at key stage two, which is shows our

dip by 5 .2 % points in 2025.

So what analysis has been done on the causes and what target sport is being provided to

school to reverse this trend?

So I think I'll make a couple of points here.

First is that although it may look alarming, actually the year that is just off the page

2022 was pretty much the same as it was.

So there is an argument that possibly two years were outliers.

I think that's possibly explained by the fact

they are different cohorts.

That's not the progress of one particular cohort.

And the complexity of need, types of need, cohort

to another will change.

I think what is a shame in this case

is that we don't have progress dates because I think

it's the thing that would tell us more than just

the pure attainment outcome. The other point I would make is that this is it's

aggregated. It's an aggregate across the range of schools. So you

is just using our S. E. N. Network that there are where we feel the S. E. N.

possibly where we would want it. We provide

I'll say we provide.

There we are.

Thank you very much, everybody.

I just wanted to quickly say thank you, Mr Langdon, to those points that you made and

backed up by Ms. Haroon because this committee is really unusual. We have you here, we have

co -opted members to represent all the areas around education and so your contributions

are always important and thank you for them over the last four years this term but that

was a really good particular point just now. So yes, so we bring this meeting to a close.

Thank you very much everybody for all your work, officers, and it's been a pleasure being

Chair of this Committee for this time.

We welcome your comments

Required field

Name

Comments

Need an accessible hCaptcha?
Check available options.
Sign up to hCaptcha or Log in to hChaptcha.

By clicking Send feedback, you agree that Wandsworth Borough Council and Public-i can use the information above to review your feedback and contact you about it. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

Children's Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday 10 February 2026, 7:30pm - Wandsworth Council Webcasting

Children's Overview and Scrutiny CommitteeTuesday, 10th February 2026 at 7:30pm

Agenda

Slides

Transcript

Map

Resources

Twitter

Forums

Speakers

Feedback

Votes

2 Declarations of Interest

1 Minutes, 18th November 2025

3 Report by the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Task and Finish Group on the Findings and Recommendations of its Review (Paper No. 26-28)

4 Drivers of EHCPs and the experiences of young people and professionals throughout the process, final report (Paper No. 26-46)

5 Wandsworth Schools Finance FY 2026/27 (Paper No. 26-47)

6 Education Performance Report 2025-26 (Paper No. 26-48)

Children's Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday, 10th February 2026 at 7:30pm