The Camden Council's Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee met on 23 June 2025 to discuss a range of issues, including free school meals, the functional needs assessment for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), updates from cabinet members, an annual health report, persistent absences, and the findings of a recent Ofsted inspection.

The meeting included two deputations: one on the provision of free school meals and another on Camden's functional needs assessment in relation to autism.

Here's a more detailed look at the topics that were scheduled to be discussed:

Deputations

Two deputations were scheduled to be presented to the committee:

• Camden Free School Meals Scandal: This deputation, submitted by Rachel Dooley and Serinity Isaiah, was expected to focus on the alleged denial of free school meal (FSM) vouchers to out-of-school SEND children, despite the council receiving significant High Needs funding. The deputation was also expected to highlight the differences between Camden and other councils, and alleged breaches of the Equality Act 2010[^1], Human Rights Act 1998[^2], and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child[^3]. The deputation requested backdated vouchers, a published FSM policy, extended eligibility, voucher parity, and public data. [^1]: The Equality Act 2010 is a UK law that protects people from discrimination. [^2]: The Human Rights Act 1998 is a UK law that enshrines the rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. [^3]: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health, cultural and other rights of children.
• Camden's Functional Needs Assessment and Autism: Also submitted by Rachel Dooley and Serinity Isaiah, this deputation was expected to address concerns about Camden's use of an outdated Functional Needs Assessment tool that allegedly excludes autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sensory/communication needs. The deputation also raised concerns about systemic exclusion from early help and safeguarding, the failure to deliver a local autism strategy, and a roadmap to statutory compliance and inclusion.

Ofsted Inspection of Children's Services

The committee was scheduled to discuss the report from an Ofsted Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS). The short inspection, which took place in March 2025, resulted in Camden Children's Services being judged as Outstanding. The report summarised the inspection findings and set out initial reflections on Camden's improvement plan in response to the findings. The Appendix A - Camden Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services - March 2025 detailed the inspection's findings, highlighting areas of strength and areas for improvement.

Persistent Absence Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on persistent absence in Camden schools. This followed a previous report on the topic considered by the committee in November 2024. The report provided updated data on persistent absence levels in Camden schools, including data trends over time and benchmarking data with other local authorities. It also examined ongoing work to improve school attendance in Camden.

Annual Health Report on Children, Young People and Families 2024/2025

The committee was scheduled to discuss a report summarising health outcomes for children and young people (CYP) and families in Camden. The report focused on population health metrics, inequalities, and intersectionality data, drawing from sources such as the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) Finger-tips Child and Maternal Health dashboard, COVER, HealtheIntent, and commissioned services across the council and health system. The report also provided updates on work undertaken to improve health and address inequalities across 2024/25, as well as plans for work in 2025/26.

Insight, Learning and Impact Report – Quarter 4/End of Year 2024-25

The committee was scheduled to review the Insight, Learning and Impact Report Quarter 4 End of Year 2024-25, which focused on the year 2024-25. The report included a summary table highlighting key responses from services across the council's four directorates, a more detailed narrative of individual service responses, and a data dashboard in Appendix A - Corporate Performance Data Dashboard Q4 End of Year 2024-25.

Cabinet Member Updates

The committee was scheduled to receive updates from Councillor Marcus Boyland, Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families, and Councillor Sabrina Francis, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Young People and Culture.

The report from Councillor Boyland provided a short round of updates from across the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children, Schools and Families, highlighting key pieces of work, successes, challenges and opportunities. The report included updates on the SEND Inclusion Board and SEND Strategy, Camden Safeguarding Children's Partnership, the Children's Trust Partnership Board, the AI Campus, Opportunity Centres in Camden, the use of AI and technology innovation in service delivery, the launch of the Corporate Parenting Strategy and Pocket PA app, School Place Planning, and the Ofsted ILACS Inspection.

The report from Councillor Francis introduced a new format, centring on Camden's Youth Mission. The report provided the Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee with an opportunity to reflect on key achievements, ongoing challenges, and emerging opportunities related to children and young people in the borough. The report highlighted how the Youth Mission is contributing to a shift in long-standing patterns of inequality and disengagement, particularly among those facing the most significant barriers.

Other items

The committee was also scheduled to discuss its work programme and action tracker for 2025/26.