Agenda item

Verbal presentation by Service Director Young People, Engagement & Inclusion (copy to follow.)

6.1       The Service Director, Young People, Engagement and Inclusion, Mrs Lesley Munro, joined the meeting and gave a presentation to the Committee on the strategic risks facing the various services within Young People, Engagement and Inclusion and also the corporate risks she managed on behalf of the Council’s Corporate Management Team.  These corporate risks included Mental/Emotional Wellbeing, C&YP/Learners Placements, and the Education System.   Details were then given of the Risk registers for each service within Young People, Engagement and Inclusion which were developed and were owned by Service Managers; these were: Community Learning and Development, Early Years, Educational Psychology Services and Schools.  Mrs Munro explained the internal controls and governance in place to manage and mitigate those risks.  Specific consideration had to be given to the impact of Covid-19 on schools and young people, with several risk having been developed with mitigating actions identified and these were being amended in line with Scottish Government Guidance and the changing National picture in relation to the return of children and young people to schools.

6.2       With regard to external placements, this was a long standing risk to the Service but a complex situation, being a low number of young people with the highest level of need.  To manage this risk, the focus was on individuals to ensure they received the best support.  There would never be a zero target for this risk, as it was likely there would always be the need for some young people to go out-with the region to receive support.  The Borders would always be considered first but the specific needs of the child, not just education but whole family and respite care, etc. would be taken into account.  Staff training was also addressing some needs.  The education system had been tested most over the last year, with the fire at Peebles High School and the impact of Covid.  Enhancements to the digital learning platform meant that risk was being managed differently so the loss of buildings had not had such a great impact.  Each school had undertaken an audit of each pupil’s household to ascertain if there were any difficulties either with having a suitable device or a suitable broadband connection, putting in place funding as appropriate or “my-fi” units.  If there continued to be issues, then these pupils were invited to come in to school to work.   

6.3       Members then asked a number of questions with regard to risks and their mitigations.    Reference was made to emotional wellbeing in terms of not meeting face to face and the levels of reported anxiety amongst pupils and staff being higher than previously reported.   Mrs Munro advised that the risk had changed in terms of visibility of young people and the move of response services online through Quarriers, which did give wider access as it was not restricted to the school day.  That was part of the ongoing work on the support framework.  Staff had identified that some young people needed strong support at a very early stage to minimise the risk of a crisis situation developing with a need for clinical intervention.  A lot of young people were having to address what was happening in the world when they did not have the usual support in place physically so this was being addressed virtually.  Further work was underway on the type of risks and their impact e.g. previously schools closed due to snow but now with Inspire Learning, this would not have as much impact.  With regard to Community Learning and Development, Mrs Munro was due to meet with the Service Director, Customer & Communities, to discuss how best the service could be used to support communities holistically.  Locality support hubs had been a useful resource in response to Covid, targeting specific client groups, but they was now being reviewed to widen out their reach. 

6.4       For Early Years, there had been success in “grow your own”.  In year 1, there had been 12 Modern Apprentices who had gone on to get jobs.  A team was dedicated to quality not just for SBC nurseries but also those in the private sector to ensure all were working to standard.  Recruitment into Educational Psychology was an issue nationally.  It was hoped to have 10 placements in education through the Kickstart programme.  There was discussion around violence in schools and what violence was – Mrs Munro advised that it was difficult to measure violence and the difference between deliberate violence and violence when dealing with pupils learning difficulties and high levels of anxiety.  The trend however was on the downward scale.  The Chairman thanked Mrs Munro for her very comprehensive presentation and responses to questions.

DECISION

NOTED the presentation on Young People, Engagement and Inclusion risk.