The Family and Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to meet to discuss the Children's Social Care annual self-evaluation, the Ofsted inspection summary for Northumberland Skills, and the committee's work programme. The committee was also expected to note the decisions taken by the cabinet since the previous meeting, as well as the latest forward plan of key decisions.

Children's Social Care Annual Self-Evaluation

The committee was scheduled to be advised and updated on the self-evaluation that had been completed to support the annual conversation with Ofsted. The report was intended to provide information on the impact of services and subsequent actions that feed into the continuous improvement plan within Children's Social Care.

The self-evaluation covered the period from September 2023 to December 2024, and was intended to share successes and resilience shown by children, young people and families. It was also intended to highlight areas of outstanding practice resulting from the hard work and dedication of the workforce.

The report noted that a conversation was held with Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI) inspectors from Ofsted in March 2025, and that the inspectors felt that the self-evaluation provided a good overview of the services delivered within Northumberland, and the impact that the services have had for children, young people and families.

The report detailed the top four improvement priorities and achievements for 2023/24:

• Strategic Leadership
• Workforce
• Placement, Sufficiency, Stability and Support
• Quality of Practice and Performance Management

The report also included a glossary of terms used within the report.

Northumberland Skills Ofsted Inspection Summary

The Family and Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to receive a report from Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, summarising the outcomes of the Ofsted inspection of Northumberland Skills, which took place from 21 to 24 January 2025. Northumberland Skills is Northumberland County Council's post-16 education provider.

The report stated that Ofsted had judged the provider as 'Good' for overall effectiveness and 'Good' in all specific areas of inspection.

The overall judgements were:

The report also summarised Ofsted's conclusions on what it is like to be a learner with Northumberland Skills, and what Northumberland Skills does well.

Ofsted's conclusions on what Northumberland Skills needs to do to improve were:

1. Collect accurate information on learners' destinations and analyse it effectively to measure the impact of the service and to adapt the curriculum offer accordingly.
2. Make sure that learners complete health and safety 'theory' fully before progressing to practical training.

Reports of the Scrutiny Officer

The committee was scheduled to note the decisions taken by the cabinet since the previous Family and Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Meeting, and the latest forward plan of key decisions.

The decisions taken by cabinet since the last meeting included:

• County Partnership Update
• MS365 Enterprise Agreement License Renewal
• Financial Performance 2024-25 – Provisional Out turn
• Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by Officer Capital Strategy Group
• Highways Resurfacing Contract
• Provision of Food Waste Services to Households under Simpler Recycling
• Northumberland Skills January 2025 Ofsted Inspection Summary

Forthcoming cabinet decisions included:

• Corporate Risk Management
• Financial Performance 2024-25 - Final Outturn (subject to audit)
• Northumberland Local Plan Evaluation Report¹
• Q3 & Q4 Corporate Performance Report
• Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by Officer Capital Strategy Group
• Ashington Regeneration Programme Update
• Future of kerbside recycling collections under Simpler Recycling
• Levelling Up Deep Dive: Town Centre Living Extra Care Facility
• Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by Officer Capital Strategy Group
• Integrated Domestic Abuse Services for Northumberland – Permission to Tender and Award Contracts

The committee was also scheduled to consider the work programme for 2025/26 and the monitoring report for 2024/25 for the Family and Children's Services OSC.

The terms of reference for the committee were:

(a) To monitor, review and make recommendations about:

• Early Years
• Education and Schools
• Special education needs and disability
• Adult and Community Education
• Training and Vocational Education
• Lifelong Learning
• Youth Offending
• Social Services for Children and Young People
• Children's Health
• Teenage Sexual Health
• Looked After Children
• Safeguarding Children
• Youth Services
• Family Services
• Children's Centres

(b) To oversee and monitor school improvement, as follows:

(i) To receive feedback on the Ofsted inspection of schools.

(ii) To support the work of the County Council and the progress of schools on the School Intervention and Support Programme in specified categories.

(iii) To receive an annual report about the number of schools that have been on the School Intervention and Support Programme, the reason(s) for their inclusion, the support given by the Council and the success of this support.

(iv) To receive an annual report on the performance of schools.