The Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee met on Thursday, 9 May 2024, to discuss progress on increasing women and girls' access to sports and physical activities, review the draft Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion Strategy, and examine the work of the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership. Key decisions included noting the progress on sports initiatives for women and girls, reviewing the draft SEND strategy, and receiving an update on safeguarding activities.

Increasing Women and Girls' Access to Sports and Physical Activities

The committee received an update on the progress made in increasing women and girls' access to sports and physical activities in the borough. Councillor Iqbal Hussain, Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation, and Simon Jones, Head of Leisure Operations, presented the findings. They highlighted that despite overall participation rates, women and girls continue to be less active than men and boys, respectively. Barriers identified include cost, lack of women-only activities, safety concerns, and childcare responsibilities.

Significant efforts have been made to address these issues, including community engagement sessions, the development of a women and girls' campaign, and the introduction of new activities such as badminton, cricket, and self-defence classes. The upcoming B Well leisure service will feature free swimming for women and girls, more women-only sessions, and training opportunities. The council is also working to improve lighting and CCTV around venues to address safety concerns.

During the discussion, councillors raised questions about managing demand for free swimming, ensuring equitable distribution of facilities across the borough, and linking swimming programmes with schools. Concerns were also raised about the accessibility of online booking systems for women who may not have digital access. Officers assured the committee that strategies are being developed to manage demand, including a mix of pre-booked and walk-in sessions, and that safety concerns are being actively addressed. The importance of engaging women and girls in the development of the sports and physical activity strategy was also emphasized.

Draft Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion Strategy 2024-2029

The committee reviewed the draft Special Educational Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion (SENDI) Strategy for 2024-2029. Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, and Steve Reddy, Corporate Director of Children Services, presented the strategy. The draft strategy, developed through feedback from young people, parents, and professionals, outlines six key priorities: timely and coordinated support, user-friendly services, early identification for under-fives, quality education for school-age children, opportunities for young adults, and creating an inclusive borough.

The strategy acknowledges the increasing number of children and young people with SEND in Tower Hamlets and aims to improve the timeliness and quality of support. It also addresses the need for financial sustainability within the SEND system. Councillors raised important questions regarding the strategy's approach to specific demographic groups, including Asian, Bangladeshi, and Black students, and male students with SEND and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). They inquired whether services are meeting the needs of these specific groups and if there is an under-diagnosis in girls.

Officers confirmed that while general work has been done, the intersectionality of EHCPs with global majority backgrounds and gender will be further considered. The strategy's development has been informed by national SEND reforms and local context, including data on increasing EHCP requests and common needs such as speech, language, communication, autism, and social, emotional, and mental health needs. The committee also discussed the importance of effective consultation to reach hard-to-reach groups and the council's preparation for accompanying legislation to the government's SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.

Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership (THSCP) Annual Overview

The committee received an annual overview of the key activities of the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership (THSCP). Steve Reddy, Corporate Director of Children Services, Korkor Cesar, Deputy Director of Safeguarding Children NHS North East London, and Detective Superintendent Ralph Coates presented the report. The THSCP is a statutory partnership involving the local authority, the Integrated Care Board, and the Metropolitan Police, working collaboratively to protect and promote the welfare of children.

The presentation highlighted significant changes in the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 guidance, emphasizing multi-agency expectations, the inclusion of the voluntary sector, and strengthened accountability. Key achievements for the past year include the development of a new, more accessible website, a robust three-way decision-making process for serious incident notifications, and the establishment of an effective learning group to coordinate training. The partnership has also set up a strategic exploitation group and strengthened its scrutiny functions through the introduction of Young Scrutineers.

Challenges identified include workforce capacity issues within the THSCP business unit, leadership changes within partner agencies, and delays in the publication of a thematic Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) into infant safety and overcrowding. The budget for training is also limited. The committee discussed the importance of considering religious and cultural sensitivities in assessments and the outcomes of the anti-racism conference. Concerns were raised about peer-on-peer harm, with a request for further information and statistics on sexual assault and harassment in schools. The committee also inquired about the prevention of vacancies within the safeguarding partnership team and measures to protect young people from contextual safeguarding risks due to a perceived lack of police presence and committed service workers. Officers noted that youth services are providing safe spaces and that community safety partnerships are working on initiatives like safer corridors and hotspot policing.

Scrutiny Challenge Session: Child Healthy Weight

The committee reviewed the findings and recommendations from the Scrutiny Challenge session on child healthy weight, which took place in November 2023. The session identified eight recommendations across three themes: food, physical activity, and psychological/cultural aspects. Key recommendations include monitoring free school meal uptake, ensuring youth services promote healthy eating, engaging children in food production, maximizing access to green spaces and sports facilities, and using food ambassadors for culturally relevant healthy eating promotion.

During the discussion, councillors raised concerns about the proximity of fast-food outlets to schools and the affordability of healthy food options compared to fast food. They also highlighted that some children find school meals too healthy and are still hungry afterwards, leading them to fast-food outlets. The challenge of making fast-food outlets healthier was acknowledged, with ongoing work by council teams to address this. The committee agreed that the scrutiny report, with its eight recommendations, would be submitted to the Mayor and Cabinet, with an expectation of a response and an action plan to be presented at a future meeting.

The Chair of the committee, Councillor Bodrul Choudhury, reflected on the committee's work over the year, emphasizing the importance of amplifying the voices of children and young people in the borough.

The meeting concluded with thanks to the members and officers involved.