Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

Officer: Interim Executive Director Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones

Key decision: no

Due to technical difficulties experienced by Councillor Flemming this item was taken as the last substantive item of the agenda.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning noted that the report covered the work which the council had done with schools to support children and young period during the unprecedented times of the pandemic. It was highlighted that this report did not include progress data as young people’s results in 2020 were based on teacher assessments rather than exam results; as such the Department for Education had not published progress data for the previous academic year. Additionally, achievement data had not been provided in the report due to the impact of covid-19.

It was noted that the council had been supporting and working alongside schools in the borough since March 2020 to ensure outcomes were being delivered for young people. It was highlighted that this was an area which would need to be monitored closely going forward, particularly with phonics screening. The Cabinet Member noted that it was important that all young people, including those who had been home schooled and those who had continued to attend schools, were supported with additional learning where necessary.

The Leader recognised how challenging the previous year had been for young people and teachers and thanked all those who had been involved in ensuring education provision continued throughout the pandemic.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning applauded the work of the schools, and those supporting the schools, during such a difficult year. It was noted, however, that the pandemic had widened existing gaps between groups of young people and high and low performing schools. Furthermore, concerns were raised that with the financial difficulties facing the council that early help and adolescent services would be cut, especially as the Children, Families & Education department continued to overspend. The Shadow Cabinet Member queried whether it was a concern that support would be reduced for the most vulnerable children and families in the borough. 

In response, the Cabinet Member stated that the majority of school funding was grant funded and was transferred directly to the schools. In relation to the concerns raised in terms of safeguarding of young people, the Cabinet Member stressed that social care had ensured, where possible, that young people were supported within the school setting and those who were home schooled and were eligible for free school meals were in receipt of sufficient school vouchers.

The Cabinet Member further noted that it was widely recognised that gaps would increase and stated that she had been working with the Children’s London Policy Board to understand what a post covid-19 situation would look like for young people; including their mental and physical health. The Cabinet Member stressed the council had been supporting schools and young people throughout the pandemic and noted the impact would be further reaching than just financial but that the council would continue to provide support.

The Chair of the Children & Young People Scrutiny Sub-Committee raised concerns that some children continued to not have access to the necessary computer hardware and data required to participate in home learning and queried whether there was work which could be done to support those children long term as further investment was required to ensure they were able to access learning opportunities remotely. In response, the Cabinet Member noted that access to computers for young people had been a national problem and whilst some Croydon students had been able to access resources, not all had been able to. It was stated that the Cabinet Member had discussed this matter with the Interim Director of Education (Shelley Davies) who would provide further information directly to the Chair of the Scrutiny Sub-Committee.

The Cabinet Member highlighted the work of a number organisations across the borough to support young people accessing learning; including providing computers or where devices were not available schools, such as St Mary’s Catholic School, had set up mobile buses for students to collect books and materials to continue with their education at home. 

The Chair of the Scrutiny Sub-Committee noted that excellent work had been done but requested that figures were provided so that all involved could work towards ensuring no child was without access to the remote learning.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To note the contents of the report and to recognise the work of staff in schools to support Croydon’s children and young people.