Issue - items at meetings - Performance Update for CYPOSC

Report of the Acting Director of Children’s Services.

19.1         Paul Brewer (Head of Performance) presented the report and answered questions.

19.2          In answer to question on the why certain cities were benchmarked with Brighton & Hove, the committee were told that the deprivation profiles within these cities were similar to Brighton & Hove’s.

19.3         In response to a question on the reasons why the achievement of good GCSE’s (including Maths and English) for 2009 had declined, members were advised that a Working Group had met up to answer Councillor Pat Hawkes letter which expressed concerns stipulated in the “Oneplace” Audit Commission report. The final report on the group’s findings, which covered underachievement would answer CYPOSC’s queries, and the report would be circulated out to members shortly.

19.4         In relation to a question on the reduction in funding for Connexions, the committee were told that there was a genuine concern on collating high quality data from the different providers.

A member told the committee how the connexions 1:1 intensive work with vulnerable young people was still required as this was preventative work.

19.5         A member informed the committee how performance must be related to getting young people involved in the community projects, e.g. like the Hangleton & Knoll Youth Forum.

19.6         Azdean Boulaich (Youth Council representative) asked why the government had abolished the Tellus4Survey even though there was a rise in reported substance misuse; members were informed that the authority will utilise the Safe at School Survey in it’s place to ensure that young people were still consulted.

The committee noted that future figures would be difficult to compare with previous results from the TellUs survey as the surveys are delivered differently

Additionally, substance misuse was also an issue for young people who had left school and RU-OK and A&E figures should also be reported in future reports

The issue of substance misuse was complex and lengthy and there was a whole range of data relating to this which the officer suggested would be best explored in detail as a theme

19.7         A member requested whether there was any data comparisons made with other South East regions, the committee heard how this data could be collated CYPOSC,however it was noted that Brighton & Hove would compare unfavourably with other authorities due to the high profile of substance misuse within the city.

19.8         There was a debate over the best way that performance data could be reported to the committee.

Members requested that all the indicators would need to be reported with a summary of the challenges, action plans and outcomes for the indicators that were under- achieving (in red).  This would help members understand the context and have a more holistic approach. Equalities issues information was also requested.

19.9         RESOLVED –

(1)   The Committee noted the information.

(2)   The Committee requested that the information be presented differently with all 19 priorities (including equalities issues), any indicators in red to have a summary on the challenges, action plans and outcomes.