To receive an update from the Executive Member for Children’s Services and to discuss Trafford’s position in relation to COVID 19.

The Executive Member for Children’s Services informed the Committee that schools had broken up for the summer and around 7000 children had gone to school before the break up. There was not an expectation from the Council that schools would provide activities over the summer, however a number of providers including some schools were offering activities. The virtual school was offering support to vulnerable children over the summer holidays. The Schools had been working on plans to bring pupils back in September and the Council had been supporting the schools in this, for example by aiding in the completion of risk assessments. This was particularly challenging in schools that had a limited amount of space available.

The Public Health team had been supporting schools around the implementation of health and safety measures within schools, including what to do if there were any localised outbreaks. The Council noted that there was a lot of anxiety amongst children and parents about returning to school and it was a key priority to address that anxiety and provide assurance that it was safe to return to school. Schools had been communicating to parents and children as to what to expect when they go back. There were a range of tools being used to do this with some schools providing pupils with a virtual tour of the school so that children and parents could see what it would look like and how the one way system would work.

There had been a lot of discussions around catching up on lost learning. The first part of this work was ensuring that children and parents felt supported in going back to school so they were able to start learning again. There were a number of emotional and social aspects of the return to school but there were also some practical steps being put in place around specific areas of focus. Ashton on Mersey were leading on a collaborative programme which promoted projects around maths, as that was an area where it was expected children would need specific support.

The catch up funding would not be available until the autumn and would be provided in three tranches. The funding would equate to around £80 per pupil and would only be able to be used on specific things, for example tuition for pupils. The Council were working with TFGM on the transport needed to facilitate children going back to school. This issue was specific to Trafford as pupils tended to travel further for school than in other areas. The Council were also working with SEND pupils including circulation of a survey in order to ascertain what their transport needs would be.

The Corporate Director of Children’s Services also provided a brief update of the work ongoing. The Corporate Director of Children’s Services had visited some of the Schools in the borough and met with some of the young people and staff. The reality of what the schools looked like in the COVID 19 setting was something that needed to be seen to be fully understood.  Schools were being clear that the initial two weeks would be focused upon getting children familiarised and settled in a school environment again. There would still be structured learning but the first priority was getting the setting right. There were a number of initiatives that had been promoted with schools. One piece of work was around supporting the BAME community and the Council had invited an Ofsted inspector to come and work with them. That work was around providing toolkits for schools with a significant piece of work around meeting the BAME community’s needs. Councillor Carter had hosted an event with Kate Green MP the previous Friday which was focused on engaging with the BAME Community. Trafford was aware that a lot of work was needed with the BAME community beginning with engagement to find out their needs.

The SEND transport survey had gone out as Trafford had a low level of SEND Children attending school so far due to a number of issues. One key issue was many of Trafford’s passenger assistants were part of groups vulnerable to COVID 19 and so only 27% of passenger assistants were available. The Council needed to understand what the need was going to be when the schools reopened so that plans could be in place to meet that need. The Council was promoting the use of personalised budgets and promoting parent and carer choice as to what they thought would be the best way to support their child to get to and from school.

Due to the limited amount of time left in the meeting the Chair thanked the Executive Member for Children’s Services and the Corporate Director for Children’s Services for their update and asked Committee Members to submit their questions to officers after the meeting.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the update be noted.

2)    That Committee Members send their questions to officers after the meeting.