Agenda item

The Director of Children’s Services/Chief Executive of Worcestershire Children First (WCF) and the Director of Education and Early Help, WCF updated the Panel on developments relating to the wider reopening of Worcestershire schools and settings from 1 June 2020 and work to support schools in planning for September 2020.

By way of introduction, the Chief Executive of WCF reminded Members that the COVID-19 pandemic was not an easy situation and had had a real impact on children.  However, she believed the Council could be proud of staff who had risen to the challenge.  Schools were now preparing for a full reopening in September.

The Director of Education and Early Help agreed that the Council could be proud of the efforts made by staff throughout the lockdown period, both those working at home and those in schools.  She went on to highlight the following points:

·       The wider reopening of schools had started on 1 June in primaries and 15 June in secondaries.  In terms of attendance, schools had seen a strong start.

·       Overall, there had been a remarkable response to the pandemic which had brought the whole school system together.  The Education Incident Planning Group had met over 40 times and would continue to meet throughout the school holidays on a weekly basis.  This group included phase leads and key partners.

·       The SEND task group, the alternative provision task group and the early years task group would also continue to meet weekly throughout the summer holidays.

·       From September, schools would move from the COVID response phase into an education strategy phase.  WCF had produced an information bulletin for schools on a frequent basis and to date had produced 62 issues.

·       Feedback from schools suggested that the return to school had been a relief for children and staff.

·       It was confirmed that places had been found for all children whose early years setting had not reopened following lockdown.

·       An addendum to the risk assessment tool had been circulated to schools and completed responses were now being received.

·       WCF had worked with schools to provide additional storage where this was required in order to reconfigure classrooms in line with the government’s social distancing guidance and 61 schools had taken up this offer.

·       The school improvement team had developed a ‘recovery curriculum’ with the aim of supporting schools to create a safe, healthy, celebratory space when children returned to school.

·       Ofsted had informed schools that it would resume visits in the autumn.  These would last for one day, with one day’s notice and would not be inspections.  Visits would be to schools previously judged to be inadequate and others.

·       The Director was proud to say that all laptops and other IT equipment to support remote learning had been delivered to maintained schools by the end of the summer term.

·       Members were reminded that the Learning and Achievement Service was now part of Worcestershire Children First.  This included the Educational Psychology Service which had recently offered training in trauma support to all schools.  170 delegates had attended the training, which highlighted the caring nature of staff in Worcestershire schools.

Panel Members were given the opportunity to ask questions and the following main points were raised:

·       It was agreed that the local County Councillor would be informed if an early years setting in their division closed.

·       In relation to the distribution of IT equipment to schools, an update on the situation in academies was requested.  It was understood that academies had ordered IT equipment direct from the Department for Education.

·       A Member of the Panel congratulated the Director of Education and Early Help and her team on their excellent response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Schools within her division had been pleased with the support they had received from WCF.

·       A second Member suggested that, although Worcestershire had done better than some other areas of the country, some schools may not have been ambitious enough.  She referred Members to her own experience where her child had received no contact from their teacher and, although work was sent home, parents were expected to support this work.  She suggested that more use could have been made of technology and expressed concern that the same would happen if there were to be a second lockdown.  There was a need to acknowledge that parents could not replace the role of teachers.  The Chairman expressed further concern about those children whose parents had not even tried to support their children’s education while at home.

·       In response the Director of Education and Early Help informed the Panel that the management of remote learning was a key concern for schools and this would be a focus for the autumn term.  She agreed that there had been a mixed picture in schools to date.  All schools had been given e-safety guidance but not all had felt equipped to put this into practice.  She confirmed that remote learning would be a part of the blend of learning in the autumn and would be looked at as part of Ofsted visits.

·       Another Panel Member expressed his congratulations to the Director and her team for their response.  He went on to ask whether the Director was confident that WCF had given as much guidance as possible to schools to support them in preparing for reopening fully in September.  In response, the Director informed Members that schools had been given support as guidance was issued by the DfE.  The Incident Planning Group would continue to meet throughout the summer and further guidance would be issued as key issues emerged.  Further government guidance was expected on home to school transport and catch up funding.  WCF would continue to work on guidance although officers did not want to continually bombard schools.  Two weeks before the start of the autumn term would be a key phase in communication with schools.

·       In terms of attendance figures, it was suggested that the return so far appeared to be slow and steady, as fears were slowly being allayed.  It was hoped that confidence would be higher by September.  The Recovery Curriculum was very impressive and would be very valuable to schools.  The Director was confident that it was a comprehensive document.

·       In relation to parental confidence, it was important to be clear about the expectations for a full return to school in September.  It was not yet known whether there would be a national campaign on this, but it was confirmed that there would be a Worcestershire response.  ‘Back to school’ would also target vulnerable children, something that would require a whole system response.

·       It was suggested that confidence levels would be worse if there was a second spike in COVID cases in September.  The Director agreed and reiterated the need for clear communications to ensure parents were confident that schools were safe.

·       Concern was expressed about the potential long-term impact on the early years sector.  As restrictions eased, it would be difficult for some people to return to work if early years provision was not in place.  In response to a question about whether there were any plans to improve sufficiency, Members were reminded that the Early Years Task Group would continue to meet weekly.  Childcare would continue to operate over the summer and, although it was acknowledged that the sector was fragile, Worcestershire had a history of responding well to sufficiency issues.  WCF was working with settings and providing sustainability grants if needed (funded from WCC COVID-19 grants).

·       Although, there was no specific sufficiency project planned, this was part of WCF’s usual business.  Officers were in touch with the sector and ensured that settings were aware that they could contact WCF for support.  However, it was recognised that there may be further issues in the longer term.  In response to a question about what would happen if other local settings were not able to offer places to children when a setting closed, the Director informed the Panel that this situation had not previously arisen, as the local market had always responded.  Opportunities would be explored through the existing sector and through engagement with schools.

• It was noted that all 202 nursery, first, middle and primary schools in Worcestershire were now open.  A question was asked about how many pupils in Worcestershire schools had tested positive for COVID-19 and what action had been taken.  Members were reminded that all schools had access to the standard operating procedure and, although there had been suspected cases, these had tested negative.  The Director agreed to consult with Public Health colleagues and provide up to date figures on the number of students who had tested positive after having returned to school.
• A question was asked about how long a setting should be closed when a child attending tested positive.  This was with reference to a specific nursery in the county.  Members were reminded that schools and settings were operating a bubble system whereby, if a child tested positive, their bubble would be closed and they would need to self-isolate for 14 days.  It was suggested that this might not necessarily mean that the whole facility had to close for 14 days.  Any closures would be for the minimum amount of time to ensure children were not affected unnecessarily.  The Director agreed to give Cllr McDonald further information on the response to an outbreak in a specific nursery in his division following the meeting.

·       The importance of getting accurate information to parents and carers on what should happen if a child had symptoms or tested positive was noted.  In response to a question about how this would happen during the school holidays, it was confirmed that families would receive advice from the public health track and trace system.  It was acknowledged that from September, if a child was required to self-isolate, this would present a real challenge for working parents.  A Member noted that the procedure for what would happen if there was an outbreak of COVID-19 at a school was already available and she had received a copy via her child’s school.

·       Although advice given to schools had been excellent, it was down to schools to decide whether to take it up.  Some teachers had been very successful in creating remote lessons and it was suggested that these could be shared across the maintained sector.  The Director agreed that sharing good practice was key and confirmed that WCF was encouraging schools to do this.

·       Travel to school remained a huge issue, in particular for children with SEND and it was suggested that social distancing regulations were likely to lead to an increase in costs.

The Chairman welcomed the update and noted, in summary, that:

• Officers would ensure that local Members were informed of any early years setting closing within their division.
• An update would be provided on the provision of IT equipment to academies.
• Figures on the number of students who had tested positive for COVID-19 after having returned to school were requested.
• Further information would be provided to Cllr McDonald on the response to an outbreak in a specific nursery in his division.
• A further update would be provided in September to include information on:
  • Arrangements for home to school transport
  • Advice regarding the use of face coverings in and around schools
  • Progress in online learning

o   Handling of outbreaks in schools and other settings.