The Children's Services & Education Scrutiny Board met on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, including the Education Strategy, Youth Justice Service, and Children's Social Care Sufficiency Strategy. The board approved the Youth Justice Strategy and Plan for the next two years and received updates on the Education Strategy and the Children's Social Care Sufficiency Strategy.

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair

At a previous meeting on 10 July 2025, a motion was passed to reconsider the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Board. Councillor Andrew Burrow was elected Chair, and Councillor Sally Tomlinson was elected Vice-Chair for the Municipal Year 2025-2026.

Solihull Parent Carer Voice Reports

The board received reports from Solihull Parent Carer Voice (SPCV) on parental views of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services in Solihull, and the voices and thoughts of children and young people with additional needs in Solihull.

Key findings from the SPCV reports included:

• An increase in confidence in educational settings, though this was inconsistent.
• Long waiting times for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, and for speech and language therapy negatively impacting children and young people.
• Waiting times for mental health support for children and young people also having a negative impact.
• Communication having a significant impact on the experiences of families and their trust in the system, particularly for the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Service and for Solar.
• Families needing more support for emotional wellbeing and mental health, to understand their child/young person's diagnosis, and to navigate the system.
• The Local Offer¹ needing to be more accessible for young people, easier to navigate and use clearer language.
• Parent carers needing more support while their young person is waiting for assessment, diagnosis or intervention.

SPCV made several recommendations, including:

• Improving communication between systems and families.
• Reducing waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessments and speech and language therapy.
• Reducing waiting times for mental health support for children and young people.
• Focusing on preparation for adulthood and post-16 options.
• Improving support when a child is unable to attend school.
• Focusing on transparency, timeliness, support and accountability.
• Improving the voice of children and young people in their SEND support plans and EHCPs.
• Improving support available to families.

Youth Justice Service Update and Thematic Inspection

The board was updated on the Solihull Youth Justice Service (YJS) and the findings of a thematic inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) in March 2025. The inspection focused on Out-Of-Court Disposals (OOCDs).

The report noted that Solihull YJS had made progress since earlier inspections in 2021 and 2023, with positive feedback on how well the service knew itself and that audit activity accurately identified areas of need and development.

Areas for improvement included:

• Strengthening the effectiveness of the partnership board.
• Addressing disproportionality in youth justice, with an overrepresentation of young people from minority ethnic backgrounds and a rising number of girls in the youth justice system locally.

The inspection commended the YJS on:

• Excellent staff skills in reaching and supporting children, young people and families.
• A strong offer of support for victims of crime.
• Robust audit processes.
• Effective triage processes.
• High quality assessments.
• Strong links to the Violence Reduction Partnership.

The board approved the Youth Justice Strategy and Plan 2025–2027, which aims to strengthen the YJS through six strategic priorities:

• Enhancing partnership governance and delivery.
• Tackling disproportionality through data-driven actions and community engagement.
• Embedding restorative practices to support victims.
• Amplifying participation and co-creation with children and families.
• Expanding early intervention and prevention efforts to reduce youth offending.
• Developing a skilled, multidisciplinary workforce capable of delivering trauma-informed, evidence-based support.

Education Strategy Update

The board considered progress against the education strategy development and activities underway in the strategic plan. The Strategy for Inclusive Education was co-produced in 2021 to support the education system in improving inclusion and equity for Solihull children.

The board noted that rather than revising the Strategy for Inclusive Education for 2026 onwards, it has been agreed with key stakeholders that this will be replaced with an Education Strategy – with inclusive practice at its centre; but reflecting aspects of the wider education system.

The agreed foundations of the education strategy are belonging, equity, diversity and inclusion and universal design for learning. The intent of these foundations is to ensure that all children and young people feel like they belong in their education setting as there is an evidenced link between belonging and improved attendance, focus on learning, behaviour and progress.

The structure of the strategy will include a continuation of the themes of presence, participation and progress which were identified as strengths from the current strategy for inclusive education – acknowledging that children and young people will make the most progress by attending school and engaging with their learning. These themes will be expanded to cover aspects of curriculum, collaboration and community as these areas were common feedback across all stakeholders in the recent engagement phase.

Children's Social Care Sufficiency Strategy

The board received the Children's Social Care Sufficiency Strategy, which outlines how the council delivers its sufficiency duty, ensuring sufficient accommodation for children looked after and care experienced young people.

The strategy reflects the need to:

• Support children and young people to remain within a family setting.
• Ensure that children and young people that are looked after are placed in local and family-based placements whenever possible.
• Ensure continuous improvement in outcomes.
• Promote the permanency offer.
• Maintain stable placements.
• Deliver value for money.

The board approved the Children's Social Care Sufficiency Strategy and noted the development of an action plan to monitor its progress.

Annual Complaints and Representations Report

The board received the Annual Complaints & Representations Report for Solihull Children's Services, covering 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025. The report provided information and analysis of complaint and compliment activity and related performance data.

Key points from the report included:

• A slight decrease (7%) in complaints to Solihull Children's Social Care Services compared to the previous year.
• 60% of statutory complaint investigations were completed within the 20-working day timescale.
• There was 1 formal complaint received for the Youth Justice Service as part of a wider complaint and there no complaints received for the Exploitation & Missing Team in 2024/25.
• 84% of learning forms sent to managers during 2024/25 had been completed and returned by the end of the reporting year and learning outcomes have been categorised.
• There were 29 new complaints for the EHCP Team, a 6.5% decrease compared to 2023/24.
• Fault has been found in 8 Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman complaint investigations completed for Solihull Children's Services in 2024/25.
• 113 compliments were received for Children's Services during 2024/25, an increase of 30% compared with the 87 received in 2023/24.

The report also highlighted areas for learning and improvement, such as improving communication, following correct processes, and improving record keeping.