Vulnerable children in need of care not cuts, a review of the impact of Council decisions since 2011

Guest blog by Anon.
 

During the Kenton by-election in February 2011, Muhammed Butt rang my doorbell and asked me if I was going to vote for the Labour candidate. I responded by saying I wasn't sure, that it was unlikely, and he asked why.  I said was very disappointed with the Council, particularly the Labour group, who appeared to be supporting severe cuts to frontline services, which, in my opinion, would affect the most vulnerable in our community. 

Mo asked me for an example and I told him that I heard the Council were proposing to close 24 Crawford Avenue (a large 6 bedroom house that had a 1/3rd of an acre of play space and is situated in the heart of Wembley).  Incidentally, the house was bequeathed to Barnardos specifically for the use of children in need. It was leased to Brent Council for decades at a reasonable annual rent. 

The Council leased the property for decades from Barnardos without any major issues. The unit was registered to provide overnight short breaks for up to 6 children, in addition to providing valuable day care during the school holidays and at weekends for another 6 children. It also accepted lockouts and emergency child protection cases.  Those who benefited from the service were children aged between 5-18 years, who although mobile, suffered from moderate to severe disabilities, including learning difficulties and some with challenging behaviours. In addition to giving children greater opportunities to develop and socialise and through play it also gave families much needed short breaks.

 However, whilst standing in my doorway, touting for my vote, Mo Butt responded absentmindedly. He said, "Oh yes, Crawford Avenue is going to close. Ironically, this was before any official community consultations had begun.  When I raised further concerns about how disappointed I was, he proudly informed me that he was the Deputy Leader of the Council and that I should put my concerns in writing to him.

Months later, the so-called public consultations eventually began and many people put their concerns in writing. Service users took a legal challenge to the high court.  The Council continued to argue that they knew best. That they were building a 'state of the art' unit, which eventually became known as the Ade Adepitan Centre, situated adjacent to the new Villlage School in Grove Park.  Whilst the new build was being built, the Council officially closed Crawford Avenue and merged it with Clement Close, a very small respite unit for children of families who had Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) and other disabilities, designed for wheelchair users. 

 This effectively meant that the service provision was more than halved for both groups of children, as it wasn't safe for the young people to be booked in together. In addition to this, despite some basic refurbishment, the building was not fit for purpose and many families from Crawford declined to send their children to Clement.  Crawford Avenue was eventually closed in January 2012. Interestingly, months later, a pre-change of use planning application was submitted by someone, who recognised the enormous potential of this property. This was in December 2012.   For further details on this matter see LINK

Sadly, Crawford Avenue (a potential jewel in the crown of Wembley) was eventually sold by Barnardos for about £875,000 and the buyer succeeded in their application to the Council for cessation in lease for the  continued use of building as a children's home.

 Meantime, much community unhappiness developed at Clement Close as staff and service users tried to adapt to many changes in a building that was not fit for purpose.  It also appeared that more serious incidents occurred, including assaults on staff by children and in September 2012 an unhappy vulnerable child absconded.

Such incidents are of concern when you hear councillors and managers say that, 'The impact on the child must be our primary concern'.  From January 2012 to February 2013 staff, children and families endured many changes. In March 2013 Neil Macdonald (Interim Head of Service Children’s Commissioning) delivered reported to the Council on short breaks provision for Children with Disabilities. He confirmed that new Village short breaks centre was now open and had received its first children for respite care on 8 February 2013. 

 He said, "The centre was registered to provide short breaks for up to 8 children, double the capacity of Clement Close. The council was currently exploring how best to use this additional capacity" because of the low occupancy. Something, I understand, they still struggle with, possibly due to the institutional feel and poor design that cannot always accommodate the two different client groups safely.

 As for day care and after school care, I understand this has yet to be provided, despite misleading reports from Mr MacDonald to the Executive Committee.  

Further, Sara Williams (Acting Director of Children & Families) and her team, also reported to the Executive Committee in November 2013, less than a year after the closure of Crawford Avenue, that, 'The lack of appropriate children's residential care homes also hampers the council in its duty to take reasonable practicable steps to secure sufficient accommodation for looked after children where it's their best interest to be accommodated locally.

It really does beggar belief that our leaders can be so short sighted. Where will the  cuts end and what impact will they really have on our community in years to come?  

ANON  

Brent Council removes compromising Stonebridge Playground funding proposal from its website

At the weekend I published an item from the Brent Forward Plan which showed that despite the consultation about the future of Stonebridge, including the closure of the Adventure Playground, not ending until today, the Council was intending to cut its funding.

Muhammed Butt had assured residents and their children (recorded on video) that nothing had been decided ahead of the outcome  consultatiopn on the expansion of Stonebridge Primary school and the building of new housing that necessitated  the Playground's demolition.  He did go on at length about needing to save money so presumably it was the funding cut he had in mind.

The  Council's  Forward Plan published at the weekend including a proposal for the December 15th  Cabinet that funding for the Stonebridge Adventure Playground be 'terminated'.

Now that item has been removed from the Forward Planning section of the Council website, If you follow the link I published this is what you get:

Luckily I had copied the item on Sunday.  For those of you denied access by the Council, this is what it said (original format):

Revenue funding to Brent Play Association which supports the running costs of Stonebridge Adventure Playground

Details
History

To terminate the funding to Brent Play Association (BPA) at the end of the 2014-15 financial year.

Decision type: Key

Reason Key: Signficant expenditure/savings > 30% of budget for the function in question;

Decision status: For Determination

Wards affected: (All Wards);

Notice of proposed decision first published: 14/11/2014

Decision due: 15 Dec 2014 by Cabinet

Lead member: Lead Member for Children and Young People

Lead director: Strategic Director, Children and Young People

Department: Children and Young People

Contact: Sara Williams, Operational Director, Early Help and Education Email: sara.williams@brent.gov.uk Tel: 020 8937 3510.

Documents

Revenue funding to Brent Play Association which supports the running costs of Stonebridge Adventure Playground 

Other items on the Forward Plan sent out at the same time  are still accessible.

Now what possible motive could Brent Council have for removing something that should be publicly accessible and clearly has major repercussions for the parents, carers and children of Stonebridge?

Gladstone Free School pupils advised to find places elsewhere for September

The Brent and Kilburn Times LINK is reporting that Paul Phillips, Principal designate,  is advising parents whose children were due to attend Gladstone Free School in September 2014 to find a place elsewhere. The school has not yet secured a site or a building. 120 Year 6 children currently in primary school are affected. Sara Williams, Director of Children and Families assured the BKT that places were available elsewhere. These are likely to be at Copland or Crest Academy. Brent Council has not control over free schools or their site arrangements but they do have overall responsibility for the well-being of Brent's children.

I raised the issue of Year 7 places in proposed free schools in my letter to the Brent and Kilburn Times on September 10th. There is no further news about a building for Gateway Academy which was also due to open to 100 or so Year 7 pupils in September.

Sufficient places in other schools for Year 7s if Brent free schools fail to open

In response to concerns I expressed about the fate of Year 7 pupils in  September 2014 if the free schools they have been offered do not  find premises or open in time, Sara Williams, Strategic Director of Children and Families states:

There are sufficient places in Brent secondary schools to offer places to all Brent children offered places at Free Schools in the event that the Free Schools do not open. 

The admissions team always works throughout the summer to place pupils for September and this year will be no different. The council will do everything it can to support families if the need arises.

Gladstone Free School in Cricklewood and  Gateway Free School in Wembley Central have still not found premises. Katharine Birbalsingh has assured parents of children going to Michaela Academy that planning permission has been granted for building works at Arena House in Wembley Park. She assures them that although there may seem to be little evidence of any work going on (I can see none) there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

Christine Gilbert to head up Brent Education Commission as school improvement changes take place

Last week I briefly attended the farewell party for eighteen or so people who are leaving Brent's School Improvement Service, including Faira Ellks who has led the service for many years. Some had accepted early retirement, others redundancy, some have set up a consultancy and a few had been employed by Brent schools who will sell their expertise, such as Reading Recovery,  to other schools..

As I looked on I reflected on the years of experience and expertise in the group that has done so much to improve Brent schools, that will be lost as a consequence of this cull. Yes, a core service will remain but its quality is uncertain and yes, Brent headteachers have formed a Brent Schools a Brent Schools Partnership to support each other, but its quality is untested.

Interestingly these concerns were echoed by Rebecca Matthews, the new interim head of School Improvement, at the Brent Governors Conference this week. She said that the BSP raised issues that include:

• lack of clarity on aspects such as accountability and leadership
• the capacity among senior leaders of schools to undertake the tasks involved
• the threat to a school's own standards when its senior leaders are engaged on collaborative activities with other schools
• measuring and evaluating the impact of such interventions
• engaging all schools so that they looked beyond themselves

As someone said at the farewell party, 'Schools won't know what they are missing until it is gone'.

Matthews also outlined the challenge of Ofsted's new emphasis on all schools being rated Good or Outstanding and the potential of a sudden drop in the rating of schools rated 'Good' under the old Ofsted criteria when inspected under the new framework, particularly if they had been coasting or facing new pressures since the previous Ofsted.

The authority itself faces the challenge of diminishing resources both human and financial which means a reduced core School Improvement team and the challenge of dealing with the mixed economy of school categories - maintained, academy, free - with lack of powers over the latter.

Rebecca Matthews said that as a consequence of diminishing resources a new core offer to schools would be made which would include:

• A closer focus on 'need' rather than a universal offer
• A lighter touch with 'secure' schools with the bulk of support going to schools in need of improvement
• Brokering school to school support arrangements
• Regular meetings to judge and recognise progress rather than once a year meeting
• An emphasis on the speed of improvement

To address the wider challenge facing the authority a short-term Education Commission for Brent would be set up. Interestingly in the light of the appointment of Sara Williams as acting director of Children and Families, this will be headed up not by her but by the council's Interim Chief Executive, Christine Gilbert (former head of Ofsted) and Robert Hill from the University of London Institute of Education. They would look at the context of the performance of Brent schools, examine inspection evidence, visit schools and take evidence from stakeholders, including governors. They would identify the 'scope for innovative support for improvement' and work with the BSP and Teaching Schools on a sustainable shared model.

The Commission will report in November 2013.

In a way this can be interpreted as the authority attempting to claw back responsibility for  school improvement from the group that set up the BSP. With Ofsted and the DfE focusing on the role of local authority's when their area's schools are under-performing the LA has to demonstrate that it is proactive.

Cllr Michael Pavey, lead member for Children and Families, had a Q&A session,  in a candid reply to a question from me why Camden had managed to keep the maintained sector intact but Brent hadn't, said that the authority had 'allowed the best schools to walk away' and now faced losing 'our failing schools because of government legislation'.  He repeated his belief that the imposition of an Interim Excutive Board and academisation was the only viable solution for Copland High School because it was failing its pupils and the local authority did not have the resources to support it.. When asked about how Copland had been allowed by the local authority to get into that state he said, 'I can't say. That was before my remit'.

Unfortunately the situation at Copland, and precisely that last question, is likely to put Brent Council's school improvement arrangements under the Ofsted and DfE microscope. However, it also raises questions about the government policy where foundation schools, academies and free schools have autonomy with reduced powers of direct intervention by the LA whilst that at the same time they have an overall responsibility for the education and well-being of children in the borough.

Pavey agreed with a governor who said that governors had not been involved in the development of the Brent Schools Partnership despite having a strategic responsibility for school improvement, and should be better represented on the Brent Schools Partnership.  Only one place on the headteacher dominated management committee has been allocated to governors.

Interestingly,in his workshop, Luca Salice, Vice Chair of Camden Schools Forum, discussed the imposition of  IEBs by the local authority, not as a way of bringing about academisation, as in the Copland case, but as a way of the LA preventing a school academising against the wishes of teachers and parents.

Krutika Pau to take early retirement following Brent Council's restructuring

Photo: The Globe

 Krutika Pau, Brent's Director Children and Families, has announced that she will be taking early retirement and will leave the Council at the end of this month.

This follows the restructuring of the Council's corporate management whcih will see a new post of Strategic Director (Education, Health and Social Care) who will manage education, adult and children's social care, and public health.

An interim Director of Children and Families will be appointed through an internal process to bridge the gap before the new structure comes into effect. Sara Williams is currently assistant director.

Under Krutika Pau's directorship standards of achievement in Brent schools have risen often to above the national average, but  almost all Brent's non-faith secondary schools have become academies and a crisis at Copland High School is currently hitting the headlines. Pau has faced criticism for not taking a stronger line on forced academies and being too accommodating on free schools.

Dr Pau's resignation also follows the change in councillor leadership leadership on Chiodlren and Families with Michael Pavey replacing Mary Arnold.

Some clues about Krutika's views can be found on this April 2013 post on The Globe LINK

Krutika Pau is the Director of Children and Families at Brent Council. She previously worked for the then Department for Education and Skills, where she led on the development of city academies across London. She was appointed director of children and families at the council in September 2010.

Q: What are your proudest achievements?
A: An outstanding education enables young people to follow their passions and can be an exit strategy out of poverty.  There is an overall trajectory of improving educational standards in Brent and our young people are more likely to continue into higher education and are succeeding in securing places at the very best universities. However, we cannot afford to be complacent and need to ensure that all children in Brent are receiving a top quality education of which we can be proud.
Q: Please tell us about your current position?
A: I am the statutory director of children’s services in the London Borough of Brent.  There are over 70,000 children in Brent and currently the Council is the corporate parent for 344 children.  My department works directly with children, parents and carers, schools and a wide range of partners, including health, police and the voluntary sector. I work closely with elected councillors to ensure we continue to improve outcomes for all our children and families, particularly the
most vulnerable.
Q: What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?
A: Of course you get some lucky breaks, but I have always tried to take responsibility for developing my own career. You need to be self aware and continue to cultivate your strengths whilst working on those skills which require further improvement. You have to be courageous and seek opportunities to step out of your comfort zone.
Q: Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
A: I have been very fortunate to have had a handful of key people who have actively supported me along my journey.  However, the strong public service ethos demonstrated by my father throughout my childhood, has been like a golden thread running through my career. This provided me with a firm value base including the key characteristics of perseverance, resilience and reflection which act as a moral compass in turbulent times.
Q: What is the best thing about your current role?
A: The ability to lead across a whole system to build alliances and translate strategic vision into local improvement plans.  My role gives me a vantage point – a helicopter view of needs, resources, solutions and connections.  This is essential in order to navigate through a complex set of challenges as we move forward with an ambitious agenda to deliver sustained improvements for Brent residents.
Q: And the worst?
A: Seeing the impact of neglect and abuse on children by adults who should be keeping them safe and supporting them to grow into happy and confident young people. We need more people to come forward as potential foster carers and adopters – ordinary people have the ability to make an extraordinary difference in the lives of our most vulnerable children.
Q: What are your long term goals?
A: I am passionate about improving the life chances and choices of all children and young people and I want for them, what I want for my own children….the very best opportunities so they can fulfil their potential in life. Sadly many children have the odds stacked against them at a very early stage and some never recover from this poor start. I will continue to improve the system which supports the most vulnerable children and families, wherever they are, to overcome the barriers which prevent them from leading fulfilling lives.
Q: If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
A:Not quite a historical figure, but I think it would be interesting to spend some time with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader.  She comes across as a woman of great conviction, dignity and inner strength.

Brent Council accepted Michaela Free School as a 'fait accompli' in letter to DfE

In Brent Council's  letter to the DfE regarding the application by Michaela Community School to set up a secondary free school in Wembley, Krutika Pau reported on the views that came out of a meeting of a group of Brent headteachers, councillors and council officers who met with the Michaela proposers. She said  that Katharine Birbalsingh's 'highly laudable intention to provide excellent education' in a way that 'helps them overcome social disadvantage' accords with the aims of existing Brent secondary schools. However concerns are expressed about the 'experimental character' of the school and the risks arising from this and the fact that it does not have a track record.

The position of Arena House and the facilities offered, even after refurbishment, also concerned the Council and particularly the need for external play space.

In a key sentence Pau accepts that the school is a fair accommpli despite the fact that the results of the very poorly attended public consultation have not yet been reported:

It is fair to say that this local authority would not have invited the Michaela Community School into the borough as part of its school expansion plans but given that its opening is a fait accompli, we plan to work with the school both constructively and with vigilance.

In another (redacted) document released as a result of my freedom of information request, Sara Williams, Assistant Director, reports on her meeting with Tome Legge and Katharine Birbalsingh of Michaela Community School. The report is undated but before March 2013:

·         The purchase of Arena House has gone through

·     The school will open with 4 forms of entry in September 2014.  They will open in Year 7 only though they are open to suggestions for provision in Year 10 if we need it

·      Under the free school legislation, there has to be a period of consultation (Section 9/10?).  The timing of this hasn’t been nailed down yet.

·     Tom has agreed that the school will do a presentation to a group of Brent stakeholders as part of the consultation:  I will organise this once we know the timeframe of the consultation.  It needs to be handled carefully (including the invitation list) but will be a good opportunity I think.

·      The school will enter the authority’s admissions process

·      It will sign up to the Fair Access Protocol

·      They will send their admissions policy for us to vet

·      They want to balance the intake through banding like Capital City (good practice in my view)

·      They are interested in an admissions ‘node’ in the south of the borough (like Ark).  We are suggesting near QPCS as that school is very oversubscribed yet the transport routes to the undersubscribed schools are not good.  Carmen will talk to Mike Hulme about this to give him the heads up.

·      They will admit SEN pupils like any other school and aim to be inclusive

·      The curriculum will be depth before breadth – extra Eng, Ma, Sci with no D&T or ICT as discrete subjects

·      Music and art will be included in the curriculum

·      There will be an extended school day

·      They will look to rent PE space from other schools

·      They will recognise TUs if their staff want to be members

·      They will require QTS (Qualified Teacher Status)

·      They will have an LA rep on their governing body

·      They will have parents on their governing body

·      They will share performance data

They will let the premises to the community and encourage suitable community uses

 Williams notes:

The consultation is not a process whereby the local authority can realistically prevent the school opening – or this is my understanding from reading up on it.  Jean can you look into it and give me some wording on the legal position? 

LINKS

Krutika Pau's full letter with additional information on banding and catchment HERE

Sara Williams' full notes HERE