The Children's Select Committee were scheduled to discuss a range of reports and updates, including the Safety Valve Programme, school attendance, updates from the Department for Education (DfE), education performance outcomes, safeguarding, adoption, and the committee's forward work programme. The meeting was also scheduled to include verbal updates from the Cabinet Member and Directors.

Safety Valve Programme

The committee was scheduled to receive an update report on the Safety Valve Programme, accompanied by a performance dashboard. The Safety Valve Programme is a DfE programme designed to support councils facing financial challenges related to their High Needs Block¹. The report pack included background information on the programme, noting that Wiltshire Council had entered into an agreement with the DfE in March 2024, with the DfE agreeing to contribute £67 million towards the council's cumulative debt. The report noted that a revised plan had been submitted to the DfE, and that officers believed that the High Needs Block could be balanced by March 2031.

The update highlighted positive feedback from DfE advisors, but also noted that the number of EHCPs in the system had continued to grow faster than expected, reaching 6,800. The report stated that this was due to a sustained higher rate of requests for new EHCPs, and that while there had been improvements to the number of plans ceased, it was still behind target. The report stated that a strategic review of the High Needs Block Sustainability Plan was being undertaken.

The dashboard indicated that the overall status of SEND Transformation was Amber/Red - At Risk, reflecting negative trends in the data. It highlighted concerns about the sustained uptick in requests for EHCPs, the number of plans ceased being behind target, and the increasing number of Independent Placements.

The dashboard also included a portfolio summary, key programme risks, and updates on active transformation programmes and workstreams.

School Attendance Update

The committee was scheduled to receive a report summarising progress towards implementation of statutory guidance, 'Working Together to improve School Attendance 2024' and regulations relating to school attendance.

The report included details of activities undertaken during the 2025-2026 academic year, including:

• Confirmation from the DfE Attendance Advisor that ongoing oversight was not needed due to excellent existing attendance practice in Wiltshire.
• Implementation of an attendance dashboard for the LA.
• Continued engagement with schools to sign up to Groupcall for attendance data sharing.
• Senior Attendance Champion Network (SACN) with schools.
• Completion of targeting support meetings (TSMs) through the Education Welfare Service (EWS) for all Wiltshire schools including independent schools.
• Attendance update to Wiltshire Association of Secondary & Special Headteachers (WASSH).
• Strengthened collaboration between the LA and schools for process of meeting S19 of the Education Act 1996[^2] through school representation at the weekly S19 panel meetings. [^2]: Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 places a duty on local authorities to make arrangements for the provision of suitable education for children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise, may not otherwise receive such education.
• Introduction of the Attendance Re-engagement Officers (AROs) in support of addressing EBSA concerns for children with SEND.
• Introduction of the Virtual School Officer (Extended Duties) in support of addressing absence concerns for children with a social worker.
• Introduction of the EBSA Mentors through the LA's S19 duty (Education Act 1996) in support of addressing EBSA concerns for children with SEND as identified through the S19 panel.
• Co-production sessions for the Wiltshire Attendance Strategy 2026 with stakeholders including Wiltshire Learning Alliance (WLA), Wiltshire Parent & Carer Council (WPCC), and Children Absent From Education (CAFE) Strategic Group.

The report also included absence data for Wiltshire schools, including breakdowns by absence code and specific cohorts such as EHCP, SEN Support, CIN, CP, and Learners Experiencing Disadvantage (LED).

Education Performance Outcomes Annual Report, Academic Year 2024-25

The committee was scheduled to receive an Education Performance Outcome Report for primary education (Key Stage 2) for 2024-2025. The annual report was the outcome of the Final Report of the Education Performance Outcomes Rapid Scrutiny group, March 2025.

The report included key strengths such as the proportion of pupils achieving GLD² being consistently above the national average, and outcomes at KS2 having increased in maths, GPS³ and RWM⁴ expected standard and in reading, maths and RWM higher standard. Areas for improvement included the proportion achieving the phonics standard at Year 1 having decreased, and all outcomes at KS2 being below national averages.

The report included data and analysis for various key stages and pupil characteristics, including:

• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Good Level of Development (GLD)
• Phonics Year 1 and Year 2 expected standards
• Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)
• Key Stage 2 (KS2) Reading, Writing, Maths, and Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling (GPS)
• RWM Combined Pupils meeting expected standards in Reading, Writing and Maths

The report also detailed actions to improve outcomes for 2025-26 and onwards, including targeted support for schools, a maths strategy, a teaching toolkit, and curriculum networks.

The report pack also contained the Executive Response to the Final Report of the Education Performance Outcomes Rapid Scrutiny Group, and a presentation containing screenshots from a live interactive Power BI Dashboard built by the Performance & Insights Team for use by operational teams within School Effectiveness.

Safeguarding Vulnerable People Partnership Annual Report 2024-2025

The committee was scheduled to receive a presentation on the Safeguarding Vulnerable People Partnership Annual Report as it relates to children and young people. The Safeguarding Vulnerable People Partnership (SVPP) is the name of Wiltshire's multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.

The annual report provides an update on progress against the five partnership priorities:

• Domestic abuse
• Exploitation
• Safeguarding unborn babies and under 1s
• Transitional safeguarding
• Social, emotional and mental health

It also includes information about case review activity. In 2024/25 the partnership received 5 referrals in relation to children for possible review, and subsequently undertook two local learning events, creating 7 minute briefings to share the learning with practitioners.

The partnership also delivers a programme of multi-agency safeguarding training, including Safeguarding Week events.

Wiltshire Council Annual Adoption Report 2024-2025

The committee was scheduled to receive the council's Annual Adoption Report. The Regional Adoption Agency, Adoption West, is commissioned to provide defined adoption services. Adoption West is scrutinised by a Joint Scrutiny Panel, made up of members from each of the commissioning local authorities. The Annual Report of the Joint Scrutiny Panel was included for information.

The report noted that it is a statutory requirement that Wiltshire Council's Adoption Service provides a year-end report to the Council for the period 01 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 in relation to the child's journey to adoption. It describes the management arrangements, outcomes, priorities, and finances.

The report stated that the number of adopters approved this year had increased to 72, a 20% increase compared to a 0.8% increase across England.

The report included data on the timeliness of a child's adoption journey, measured by three key indicators:

• A10: the average time between a child entering care and moving in with its adoptive family
• A2: the average time between a local authority receiving court authority to place a child and the local authority deciding on a match to an adoptive family
• A20: the average time between a child entering care and a local authority receiving court authority to place a child

The report noted that Wiltshire's adoption performance remains strong, despite slight increases in timescales across all three indicators.

The report also included information on children placed outside the Adoption West area, reversals of ADM decisions, adoption disruptions, Early Permanence (EP) placements, and the Adoption West Adoption Panel.

Forward Work Programme

The committee was asked to note the attached documents showing the relevant items from the overview and scrutiny forward work programme and the latest version of the strategy list for the Children, Education and Skills directorate.