The Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to discuss a range of topics, including a review of play spaces, the annual youth services impact report, and a performance report. They will also consider their work programme for the coming months. The meeting will include witness evidence from Make Space for Girls and council officers.

Islington Play Needs Assessment

The committee will be presented with the findings of the Islington CYP Play Needs Assessment 2025 - Main Version. The report pack states that the assessment provides a comprehensive analysis of the borough's play landscape, identifying strengths, gaps, and opportunities to improve access to meaningful, inclusive, and safe play across Islington.

The assessment identifies several key issues:

• Limited Access to Green Space: The report states that Islington has the smallest amount of green space per person in the UK, with only 13% of the borough designated as greenspace and 29% of residents lacking private gardens.
• Socioeconomic Inequality: The report states that high levels of deprivation impact play access and quality, with over 40% of primary pupils eligible for free school meals.
• Disparities in Participation: The report states that girls, older children, and those from Somali, Bangladeshi, and Black African communities are underrepresented in key play settings.
• Declining Opportunities for Older Children: The report states that teenagers face stigma, lack of dedicated spaces, and reduced time for play due to academic pressures.
• Community Intolerance and Risk Aversion: The report states that negative societal attitudes discourage outdoor play.
• Digital Distraction: The report states that digital play is increasingly replacing physical and social play, particularly among older children.

To address these issues, the assessment recommends several strategic priorities, including:

• Developing a borough-wide play strategy and awareness campaign.
• Introducing a play sufficiency framework to assess and improve provision.
• Investing in inclusive and sustainable infrastructure, especially for underserved groups.
• Protecting and expanding time for play, including in schools and public spaces.
• Supporting risk-managed and adventurous play through training and cultural change.
• Strengthening play's role in health and wellbeing, including social prescribing.
• Empowering children, families, and professionals through co-design and training.
• Securing sustainable funding via local, regional, and national partnerships.

The report also highlights the importance of play in different settings, including homes, schools, parks, streets, and community spaces. It emphasises the need for meaningful play that is freely chosen, personally directed, and intrinsically motivated.

The report pack notes that the committee launched a scrutiny review in July 2025, which aims to establish ways in which the council can build upon how it encourages active play, promote the role it has with early development in children and investigate how this could also be incorporated in the support that is offered to families through early intervention and prevention services.

As part of this review, the committee will hear witness evidence from Make Space for Girls.

Youth Work in Islington Impact Report 2024/25

The committee will receive the Islington Youth Work Impact Report 2025, which provides a snapshot of how the Young Islington universal youth offer is supporting young people across the borough. The report highlights the role of youth services in helping young people feel safe, thrive within their communities, and take an active role in shaping the future.

The report focuses on four key areas:

• Physical and emotional wellbeing
• Social, emotional, and life skills
• Sense of agency and motivation
• Connections to communities and support

The report also highlights the enhanced detached offer, which was launched in 2023 to engage and support young people less likely to access centre-based provision. The detached team, led by Prospex, has been engaging and supporting young people across several wards, building trust through consistent, street-based outreach.

The report also notes the launch of Finsbury Fusion and Elthorne Youth Clubs, which aim to strengthen youth provision in north Islington.

The report pack states that youth voice has been central to the report, with young people from across Islington sharing their experiences and opinions through a range of activities facilitated by youth workers, volunteers, and other young people.

Quarter 1 2025/26 Performance Report

The committee will review the 2025-26 Q1 Childrens Services Scrutiny Committee Performance Report - Final Draft, which sets out progress against targets for performance indicators that fall within the Children and Young People outcome area. The report is structured using the missions within the Islington Together 2030 Plan, along with the directorate's objectives from service plans.

The report includes data on a range of indicators, including:

• Children's social care contacts
• Re-referrals to children's social care
• Children subject to a child protection plan
• Looked after children
• Placement stability
• Children missing from care
• Engagement rates at youth clubs and centres
• Early years settings
• Pupil attainment
• School suspensions
• Persistent absence
• Electively home educated pupils
• Youth justice
• Domestic abuse
• Child health

The report also provides an update on the progress of Child-Friendly Islington mission delivery plan deliverables.

Resilient Children and Families

The report pack states that the resilience of children, young people and families is strengthened through system-wide approaches with local partners to intervene early and prevent problems from escalating.

With regards to children's social care, the report pack notes that adults experiencing domestic abuse, poor mental health and/or substance misuse, remain among the most common reasons why children come to the attention of children's services.

The report pack states that there were 1,416 children's social care contacts in June 2025, which was higher than the 1,244 contacts received in June 2024.

The report pack states that 16.5% of referrals at the end of quarter 1 of 2025/26 financial year were re-referrals within 12 months of the previous referral, which was lower than the figure of 17.9% at the end of quarter 1 in 2024/25.

The report pack states that 13.4% of referrals that involved Black Caribbean children and young people at the end of quarter 1 in 2025/26 financial year were re-referrals within 12 months of a previous referral. The re-referral rate for Black Caribbean children and young people were 3.2%age point lower than the overall re-referral rate of 16.5%.

The report pack states that 142 children were supported by a Child Protection Plan at the end of June 2025, which is lower than the same point in 2024/25, when there were 179 children supported by a Child Protection Plan.

The report pack states that 15.8% of children became subject to a Child Protection Plan (CPP) for a second or subsequent time, below the target of 22%.

The report pack states that at the end of June 2025, there were 245 non-UASC looked after children.

The report pack states that 50% of children supported by pre proceedings PLO remained with their parents/ families without entering proceedings.

The report pack states that 1.4% of looked after children had three or more placements during the year.

The report pack states that 59.8% of children looked after for more than 2.5 years had been in the same placement for at least 2 years or were placed for adoption.

The report pack states that there were 13 different children missing from care for 24+ hours in June 2025.

The report pack states that the rate of engagement for quarter 1 in 2025/26 financial year was 44.2%.

The report pack states that there were 2,308 contacts at Youth providers and also at Rose Bowl, higher than the same period last year's figure of 1,727.

The report pack states that there were 1,019 participants at Youth providers and at Rose Bowl, higher than the same period last year's figure of 669.

Lifelong learning, skills and enrichment

The report pack states that the 'Lifelong learning, skills and enrichment' performance measures inform how the local authority is doing towards the objective of ensuring children, young people and their families are empowered with the learning and skills for life, work and the future of work supported by a high quality and high performing, inclusive education and skills system.

The report pack states that 98.8% of Islington's registered active early years providers that had been inspected by Ofsted had received a good or outstanding inspection outcome.

The report pack states that the 2025 results for Early Years Foundation Stage Profile will be published by the DfE on 27 November 2025 and will be included in the next performance report.

The report pack states that the provisional autumn 2025 term calculation showed 87% take up of 2-year-old FEEE places.

The report pack states that the published suspensions rate at Islington primary schools in Autumn 2024/25 academic year was 0.82%.

The report pack states that the published suspensions rate at Islington secondary schools in Autumn 2024/25 academic year was 9.04%.

The report pack states that the published 2024/25 Autumn & Spring terms combined figure shows 18.2% of Islington primary school children having had been persistently absent.

The report pack states that the published Autumn & Spring terms 2024/25 combined figure shows 24.7% of Islington secondary school children having had been persistently absent.

The report pack states that the published provisional DfE data shows figures show 78% of Islington pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check in year 1.

The report pack states that the published DfE data shows 89% of Islington pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check in year 2.

The report pack states that the published provisional DfE data shows 66.0% pupils meeting the expected standard in Key Stage 2 Reading, Writing and Maths.

The report pack states that the provisional DfE data shows Islington's Key Stage 4 Attainment 8 (A8) figure as 46.9.

The report pack states that there were 342 electively home educated pupils for the period ending 30th June 2025.

Care, support and safeguarding

The report pack states that children, adolescents and young people are kept safe through effective safeguarding, preventative and violence reduction arrangements which respond to familial and extra-familial harm, early identification and reduce escalation of concerns

The report pack states that 100% of children aged 10-17 triaged were diverted away from the criminal justice system.

The report pack states that there were 7 first time entrants into YJS in Q1 2025/26.

The report pack states that the Q1 re-offending percentage figure of 25%.

The report pack states that there were no custodial sentences in Q1 2025/26.

The report pack states that there were a total of 649 domestic abuse (DA) crime offences reported to Islington police in quarter 1 of 2025/26 financial year.

Progressing well to adulthood, independent and fulfilled lives

The report pack states that there were 10 new referrals made for the Tier 3 service in Q1.

The report pack states that there were 18 new referrals made for the tier 2 service in Q1.

Children's Health Measures

The report pack states that the NCL average is 4.3% for the percentage of mothers smoking at the time of delivery.

The report pack states that uptake of two doses of MMR vaccination by age 5 in Islington was 67% at the end of 2024/25.

The report pack states that in 2024-25, 23.7% of Islington Reception and 36.4% of Year 6 children were recorded as overweight or very overweight.

The report pack states that across the year 2024-25, 83% of all babies were seen within the specified time constraints for their 6-8 week review.

The report pack states that the national 2023/2024 Oral Health Survey led by the National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) and published by the OHID Dental Public Health team found that (28.8%) of children aged 5 in Islington had signs of dental decay.

The report pack states that the most recent Active Lives Survey, which surveys 5–16-year-olds about their activity levels, found that the proportion of children meeting recommended levels (average of 60 minutes or more physical activity a day) in Islington was 54.8% in 2023/24.

Work Programme

The committee will also consider their Work Programme 2025-26.

The scheduled items for future meetings include:

• 29 January 2026: Scrutiny Review Witness Evidence from ZCD Architects, Executive Member Report, Update on the progression of young people into adult services / Post-Sixteen Progression, Family First Programme Update
• 5 March 2026: Quarter Two Performance Report, School Results 2025 Full Report, School Results 2025 Special update on the attainment for global majority and vulnerable groups, Scrutiny Review Draft Recommendations
• 23 April 2026: Lifelong Corporate Parenting (including update on The Family Business and CEEYP Protected Characteristic), Child Friendly Islington update, Therapies Review update, Scrutiny Review Final Report