The Children and Families Scrutiny Committee of Waltham Forest Council met on Tuesday 20 January 2026 to discuss school improvement, violence affecting black boys, child sexual and criminal exploitation, and the committee's own scrutiny processes. The meeting's agenda also included updates on the council's complaints management and the Waltham Forest Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy.

School Improvement

The committee was scheduled to consider proposals for the development of a Waltham Forest Education Partnership. This partnership aims to deliver school improvement initiatives across the borough, ensuring the council continues to meet its statutory duties in maintaining school standards. The partnership would be jointly funded by the council and de-delegated funds from maintained schools. A report indicated that Cabinet was being asked to approve a five-year contract, with a direct award to Haringey Education Partnership (HEP) for the first year while a procurement exercise is undertaken. This initiative arose from concerns raised by maintained school heads in Summer 2024 regarding the lack of an appropriate school improvement offer.

Thematic Review into Violence Affecting Black Boys

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the Thematic Review into Violence Affecting Black Boys, published in October 2025 by the Waltham Forest Safeguarding Children Partnership (SCP). This review served as a local child safeguarding practice review (LCSPR) and examined 11 incidents of violence between March 2023 and July 2024 that led to 14 children, predominantly Black boys, coming to serious harm, including two murders. The review aimed to understand the contributing factors and identify lessons to prevent future occurrences, drawing insights from engagement with children, case records, and professional feedback. The findings highlighted concerns about interrupted schooling, special educational needs and disability (SEND), criminal justice involvement, and missed opportunities. The report detailed six recommendations being acted upon, focusing on enhanced safeguarding and community safety interventions, closer working with schools, rebuilding trust between young people and the police, expanding youth provision, improving mental health support for Black boys and young men, and strengthening the partnerships' capacity to identify and respond to risks.

Joint Review: Child Sexual Exploitation and Child Criminal Exploitation

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the current arrangements for identifying and responding to Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE). The report focused more prominently on CSE, given the committee had recently received the Youth Justice strategic plan which addressed CCE. It was intended to provide a review of national and regional developments, an analysis of local data on CSE prevalence and demographics, and outline the council's and partnership's response. The report noted that in July 2024, Ofsted had stated that multi-agency information-sharing and planning for children vulnerable to exploitation were effective. However, the council and its partners had reviewed and strengthened their multi-agency arrangements for managing CSE and CCE in the preceding six months, updating governance and oversight to align with London-wide ambitions. A Strategic Multi Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) panel, co-chaired by a Police Superintendent and Children's Social Care, was established to monitor safeguarding responses to risks outside the home and allocate resources.

The Scrutiny Report

The committee was also scheduled to review its own work programme. This included reviewing the Forward Plan for the ongoing municipal year, with a view to making recommendations and suggesting items for future inclusion. The committee was also invited to review and comment on the Action Tracker, which details actions required of officers from previous meetings, and the Recommendations Tracker, which outlines the committee's conclusions on service improvements. The report highlighted key decisions falling under the committee's remit in the upcoming Cabinet Forward Plan, including the School Improvement Service.

Other Scheduled Discussions

The agenda also included reports on:

• School Improvement: Outlining intentions to develop a Waltham Forest Education Partnership.
• LGO Report and Management of Complaints: Detailing improvements in complaints management following an LGO report.
• Waltham Forest Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2025 - 2028: Presenting a summary of consultation responses for the new strategy.
• Corporate Parenting Board Annual Report: Covering the work of Corporate Parenting Services.
• Children's Social Care – Annual Complaints Report: Providing an overview of complaints regarding Children's Social Care over the 2024/25 period.

The meeting was scheduled to take place at Waltham Forest Town Hall.