The Children's Services and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss strengthening the voice of children in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, the Bexley S.H.I.E.L.D. annual report, the youth justice strategic plan, and a six-month update on recommendations for a safety valve programme¹. The committee also reviewed its work programme for the coming year.

Strengthening the Voice of Children and Young People in SEND Services

The committee received an update on efforts to amplify the voices of children and young people with SEND, ensuring their input shapes and improves local services. Wendy Vincent, Head of SEND, highlighted initiatives like the Time to Talk group, school engagement groups, and surveys designed to gather feedback and promote co-production.

Joe, a member of Time to Talk, shared his experiences:

Time to talk has been a lot, it's something different to be fair. It gives you a chance to, like, talk your feelings and have your voice heard.

Grace, another member, added that the group allows young people's voices to be heard, no matter their age or disability.

Councillor Janice Ward-Wilson, Deputy Mayor of Bexley 2025/26, asked about the personal benefits for the young people involved. Joe responded that it was a chance to make new friends and have their voices heard. Councillor Peter Craske noted that the voices of people are not always heard properly, and asked how the group recruits new members. Joe said that the best way to recruit was to go to schools and show them that the group exists.

The committee discussed how to reach under-represented groups, including children from global majority communities, those who do not use verbal communication, and those not attending school.

The committee also heard that young people in the Time to Talk group had enjoyed the opportunity to question leaders, and that they would like to meet more leaders from CAMHS², the council, and schools. Councillor Sue Gower MBE noted that CAMHS had been a frustration for a number of years.

Bexley S.H.I.E.L.D. Annual Report 2024-25

Tim Woodings, Strategic Safeguarding Lead, and Jenny Pearce, independent scrutineer, presented the Bexley S.H.I.E.L.D. annual report for 2024-25. S.H.I.E.L.D. is the safeguarding partnership for children and young people in Bexley. The report detailed the partnership's activities, priorities, and outcomes, including a focus on vulnerable adolescents, basic child safeguarding, and engagement with education settings.

Councillor Jeremy Fosten, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group/Shadow Cabinet Member for Children's Services & Education, asked about the impact of the cash review³ and what was being done to make a specific local train station, identified as a hotspot for exploitation, less attractive for that kind of thing.

Councillor Ward-Wilson asked about the independence of school representatives within the new safeguarding arrangements, given their multiple roles. She also thanked Ms Pearce for her work.

Councillor Andy Dourmoush asked about school avoidance, requesting statistics and information on active measures being taken to address it. He also noted that there were a lot of young people that spent their transitional years either not being able to access the full school as we would expect families and children to know it.

Councillor Gower asked about the relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Child Death Review (CDR) partnership, and whether training programmes included topics like Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma-informed care.

Councillor Lisa Moore asked about the stubborn problem of police engagement, particularly with training, and what was being done to address it. Ms Pearce said that the issue had been discussed with both police and health, and that there was a real problem for a number of police to a lack of time that's needed for the training that we can offer, particularly things like trauma-informed practice, and that take a little bit of time to absorb and accommodate.

Councillor Caroline Newton asked whether the curriculum content on neurodiversity from the London Borough of Bexley education had now been given.

Councillor Bola Carew asked about how often the council gets data from schools about children missing from schools.

Councillor Zainab Asunramu asked how the council was supporting families facing poverty and poor housing, issues raised by the Bexley FLAIR group⁴.

Councillor Ward-Wilson sought reassurance about safeguarding for children missing education, being educated other than at school, and emotional school avoidance.

Youth Justice Strategic Plan

Councillor Chris Taylor, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, highlighted the work that had been done on youth justice, saying that Bexley does youth justice very well on an extremely tight budget.

Councillor Gower asked about the increase in females in the youth justice system, and whether there was any rationale or understanding of what's going on there.

Councillor Asunramu asked about the relationship between neurodiversity and youth justice.

Councillor Ward-Wilson asked what the link was between youth justice work and children with special educational needs.

Six Month Update on the Recommendations of the Safety Valve Early Intervention and Support Programme Scrutiny Project Sub Group

The committee reviewed a six-month update on the recommendations of the Safety Valve Early Intervention and Support Programme Scrutiny Project Sub Group.

Councillor Carew asked whether supported internships were retail or which aspects are this training in anything in particular or just anything anything in any way.

Councillor Fosten asked why no suitable candidate was referred for the September 2025 intake of the LECB Mencap interns, and whether job coaches had been able to set up there.

Work Programme

The committee discussed its work programme, including the annual work programme, the status report, and the budget monitoring report.

Councillor Carew asked how many newly qualified social workers had joined.

Councillor Fosten asked about education training and employment of young people leaving care, and about annual reviews and advice for new EHCPs⁵ within six weeks.

Councillor Ward-Wilson asked about the increase in expenditure on children with disabilities short breaks, and what the expectation of the deep dive was and when the outcome was expected.

Councillor Taylor, as chairman of corporate parenting board, gave an update on the board's recent business, including a focus piece on housing for care leavers and a passing out ceremony for those who had taken part in the challenger troop programme.