Children And Families Services Committee - 05/09/2022

At a MEETING of the CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES COMMITTEE held remotely on 5th September, 2022.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

External members for Articles I to IV

Ms J BARCLAY, Teacher Representative

Mr D BAXTER, Teacher Representative

Ms M LECK, Roman Catholic Church Representative

Mrs M McVEAN, Church of Scotland Representative

Mr B CHOHAN, 3rd Religious Rep

Councillor Stewart HUNTER, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 27th June, 2022 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

II BROAD GENERAL EDUCATION (BGE) AND SENIOR PHASE: ATTAINMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT UPDATE

There was submitted Report No 225-2022 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service informing the Committee of the progress and attainment of Dundees pupils in relation to the Broad General Education (BGE) and Senior Phase attainment in 2021. The report also included a high-level overview of the interim 2022 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) results, as well as an overview of the achievements of young people with complex additional support needs. Broad General Education (BGE) attainment data was based on Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Teacher Judgement returns submitted to the Scottish Government in August, 2021, which were published in December, 2021. Senior Phase Attainment data for S4-S6 school leavers in academic session 2020/2021 had been extracted from the national Insight Senior Phase Benchmarking Tool. The overview of the interim 2022 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) results was based on the raw data received from SQA in August, 2022.

The Committee noted the content of the report and the improvements in outcomes for children and young people.

III UNACCOMPANIED ASYLUM-SEEKING CHILDREN (UASC) AND UKRAINE

On a reference to Article IV of the minute of meeting of this Committee of 6th September, 2021, there was submitted Report No 227-2022 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service providing a 12-month update on developments to support Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) across the UK and local arrangements. It included details on developments with the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) since it was announced by the UK Government on 10th June, 2021. It also provided an update on the emerging implications of the conflict in Ukraine and potential routes into Scotland for unaccompanied children and young people.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the content of the report;

(ii) noted the developments locally since the Council formally agreed to join the NTS;

(iii) noted the emerging response to the conflict in the Ukraine; and

(iv) instructed the Executive Director to provide a further update in 12 months.

IV BIG NOISE DOUGLAS - PROGRESS UPDATE

There was submitted Report No 228-2022 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service providing the Committee with an update on the progress of Sistema Scotland Big Noise programme in Douglas.

The Committee noted the content of the report.

Stewart HUNTER, Convener.