The Barnet Children's Partnership Board met on 2 September 2025 to discuss the future of the board, updates to the youth strategy, and children's social care reforms. The board was also scheduled to discuss verbal input from young people, and review the forward work programme and action tracker.

Here's a breakdown of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed:

Future of Barnet Children's Partnership Board

The Barnet Children's Partnership Board was scheduled to discuss its future. A Stakeholder Feedback Presentation included in the report pack outlined feedback from various stakeholders, including the London Borough of Barnet, North Central London ICB¹, the Metropolitan Police, schools, Barnet Education and Learning Service (BELS), the voluntary sector, young persons representatives, the Multi-faith Forum, and parent carer group representatives.

The presentation noted that the board:

• Brings together health, education, social care and public health
• Only borough wide forum offering such breadth
• Direct children and young people voice at a senior strategic level
• Supports networking, alignment and shared priorities

However, the presentation also highlighted some limitations that had been raised:

• Duplication with other boards (Schools and Settings Standards Partnership Board(SSSPB), SEND/AP Board, MH & Wellbeing Board)
• Meetings too infrequent for timely action
• Attendance challenges particularly online format
• CYP engagement inconsistent and sometimes unclear in purpose
• More effective work often done in smaller topic-led forums

Alternative forums already in place were listed as the Schools and Settings Standards Partnership Board (SSSPB), the SEND & AP Strategic Partnership Board, the Community Services Delivery Group, the Mental Health & Wellbeing Partnership Board, and CYP engagement through My Say Matters, the School Food Board and other topic boards.

The report pack stated that there were mixed opinions on the board, with some seeing it as essential, and others seeing duplication. It noted a strong desire to keep the voice of Children and Young People (CYP) at a strategic level, and called for format changes to make meetings more effective and engaging.

The report pack proposed to retain the Barnet Children's Partnership Board, but with changes to increase its value and efficiency. These changes included aligning agendas with other boards to reduce duplication, using a mix of face-to-face and virtual meetings to improve engagement, and ensuring a clear role, preparation and support for young people representatives.

The report pack stated that a formal evaluation would be conducted in March 2026 to assess the impact on collaboration and outcomes, the effectiveness of changes, and the continued need for the Barnet Children's Partnership Board.

Youth Strategy and Children's Social Care Reforms

The Barnet Children's Partnership Board was scheduled to discuss the youth strategy and children's social care reforms. The report pack did not contain any further information on these items.

My Say Matters

The Barnet Children's Partnership Board was scheduled to receive verbal input from young people. At the previous meeting on 24 April 2025, Freddie, Youth Member of Parliament for Barnet, provided an update on his experience as the Youth MP and stated that he had passed the manifesto on diversifying the curriculum. Connor, Youth Member of Parliament for Barnet took part in a debate in the House of Commons.

Forward Work Programme

The Barnet Children's Partnership Board was scheduled to note the Forward Work Programme - 2025-2026. The forward work programme included items for discussion at future meetings, such as the FAB (Fit and Active Barnet) Framework Refresh, the Places Strategy, the Children and Young People's Action Plan, the SEND White Paper, School Streets, the Economic Development Framework, Temporary Housing/Accommodation, and Youth Justice.

Action Tracker

The Barnet Children's Partnership Board was scheduled to note and update the BCPB Action Tracker 2025-2026. The action tracker included outstanding actions from previous meetings, such as Joanne Kelly and Eleanor speaking offline regarding the comfort pass, and Rebekka Deighton speaking to Jalpa Patel regarding the needs assessment for the development of the Youth Strategy.