The People Committee of Kingston upon Thames Council met on Tuesday 6 February 2024 to discuss the council's financial strategy, school admissions, and policies relating to children's services. Key decisions included recommending the approval of the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Detailed Budget for 2024/25, approving updated Home to School Travel Policies, and approving the schools capital maintenance programme for 2024/25.

Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024-2028 & Detailed Budget 2024/25

The committee received and considered a report outlining the proposed Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2024-2028 and the detailed budget for 2024/25. The committee resolved to recommend to the Corporate and Resources Committee the approval of the general fund proposals for various service areas, including AFC Commissioning, Adult Social Care, Public Health, Children's Services, and Registration Services. Furthermore, they resolved to recommend to the Corporate and Resources Committee to recommend to Full Council the approval of the Schools Budget for 2024-25, including proposals for the Central School Services Block, Early Years Block, and High Needs Block, as well as the Schools Funding Formula and allocations, with a Minimum Funding Guarantee of +0.5% per pupil.

Admission Arrangements for Community Schools 2025/26

The committee considered the annual statutory duty to determine school admission arrangements for community schools for entry in the academic year 2025/26. It was explained that local authorities have a statutory duty to determine these arrangements and adopt co-ordinated admission schemes. The council was required to publish arrangements for allocating places if schools were oversubscribed. Members noted that no changes were proposed from the determined admission arrangements for the 2023/2024 school year, except for the dates within the primary and secondary coordinated admission schemes, which align with the Pan-London admissions arrangements. The committee unanimously resolved to approve the proposed community school admission arrangements for the 2025-2026 school year.

Kingston Better Care Fund Governance Changes

A report was considered detailing proposals for changes to the governance arrangements and sign-off processes for Kingston's Better Care Fund. The amendments aim to enable the final Better Care Fund Delivery Plan and End of Year Report to be approved by the Kingston Partnership Board, acting as Kingston's Health & Wellbeing Board. This change is intended to support more flexible, joined-up, and compliant strategic oversight for the fund's objectives, which include enabling people to stay well, safe, and independent at home for longer. The committee resolved to recommend to Council that the governance arrangements be updated, specifically Part 3A of the Council's Constitution, to reflect that the Kingston Partnership Board will approve the final Better Care Fund Delivery Plan and End of Year Report. Additionally, they resolved to request that actions arising from the Kingston Place Partnership Committee's meetings regarding quarterly Better Care Fund reporting be reported to the People Committee for noting.

Home to School Travel Policy (Mainstream & SEND)

The committee received a report proposing the adoption of updated policies for home to school transport for children aged 5-16 years and 16-25 years. These updates followed a review of existing policies against new guidance issued by the Department for Education in June 2023. The review identified that changes were necessary to align with the updated guidance and definitions, ensuring the policies reflected the Council's statutory obligations and local priorities, particularly concerning how travel integrates with wider Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) services. It was noted that no changes had been made to the eligibility criteria or the types of travel assistance offered. The key changes included improved clarity on reassessment timeframes, with eligibility reviews to occur at the end of National Curriculum years 3, 6, and 11, requiring families to re-apply with updated information. The committee unanimously resolved to approve the Home to School Travel Policy and the Post-16 Travel Policy, effective from 1 April 2024.

SEND Futures Plan Update

Members received an update on the SEND Futures Plan, including performance against the Safety Valve Agreement. Progress was noted in several areas, including an increase in parent and carer attendance at the monthly SEND Parent Carer Consortium meetings, positive impacts from the SEND placement commissioning team, and the successful completion of Kingston's supported internship programme. New staff training on school attendance was also positively received. However, challenges were highlighted, including waiting times and access to speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, as well as child and adolescent mental health services. The number of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans maintained by Kingston had increased to 1772 by the end of December 2023. Ongoing price increase requests from placement providers and delays in the completion of the permanent site for The Spring School were also noted. The committee resolved to note the progress with implementing the SEND Futures Plan and to submit feedback on the draft updated plan to Achieving for Children by 15 February 2024.

Education Maintenance Grant Programme

The committee considered a report seeking approval for projects proposed to form the schools capital maintenance programme for 2024/25, along with an update on works undertaken in 2023/24. It was reported that delivering a planned schools capital maintenance programme is a key priority to ensure Local Authority maintained schools have suitable facilities. The Council receives the Schools Condition Allocation (SCA) grant from the Department for Education for repair and maintenance works. The report detailed eight priority projects with an estimated value of £0.900m and five reserve projects with an estimated value of £0.850m. The committee resolved to approve the prioritised planned schools capital maintenance works programme for 2024/25 and delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Property Investment and Development, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children's Services including Education, to agree changes to the programme within the year.