Lead Member: Councillor Andy Hall, Portfolio Holder for Children & Education

Lead Officer: Natasha Moody, Families First Partnership (FFP) Strategic Lead

RESOLVED:

1.     To note the work completed to rebalance the Children’s Services budget for 2026/27, alongside managing the additional known pressures for this financial year.

2.     To note the successful work already undertaken to safely reduce the total number of children in care.

3.     To note the nationally prescribed children’s reforms and programmes outlined in this report and the expectations they place on Shropshire Council and its multi-agency partnership arrangements.

4.     To note the investment requirements of up to circa £8million over 4 years to deliver an anticipated £21 million savings for the local authority contained in the report and instructs the Director for Children’s Services and the Section 151 officer to make arrangements to include these estimates within the councils Medium Term Financial Plan for future consideration by Cabinet with a view to approval by Council.

5.     To endorse that the Families First Partnership (FFP) requires multi-agency agreement of operating models and supporting business cases for Family Help, Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) and Family Group Decision Making (FGDM), to drive earlier intervention and that these will be progressed through the relevant safeguarding partnership governance.

6.     To endorse the Council’s proposed integrated approach to deliver these reforms through a single Children’s Transformation Programme (“one plan to guide them all”), aligned to the Corporate Plan, Improvement Plan and the thematic pillars (Point 4.32) set out in the report and recommends it approval to Council.

7.     To endorse the draft Best Start in Life (BSIL) Family Hubs Delivery Plan (outlined in 4.45 of this report), including the requirement to enhance the supporting digital offer (including a GDPR-compliant registration/insight system) to enable effective engagement, communication and timely access to support for families.

8.     To endorse that progress, delivery risks and mitigations will be monitored through the governance structure described in the report (Section 8 of this report) with at least annual updates provided to Cabinet and the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

9.     To approve the proposed locations for the three BSIL Family Hubs in Shrewsbury (at The Lantern), Oswestry and Ludlow, and the proposed additional multi-disciplinary team (MDT) bases in Highley, Market Drayton and South Shrewsbury, to provide coverage across the county’s rural geography.

10.To delegate authority to approve the final BSIL Delivery Plan for submission to the Department for Education (due 12th June 2026) to the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services.

11.To delegate authority for exploring and confirming premises options for Oswestry, Ludlow and the additional multi-disciplinary team bases to the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services. Ensuring that they are considered in conjunction with the current Community and Family Hub locations, on-going Council Asset review and the development of the NHS Neighbourhood programme to strike a balance between efficient use of public sector assets and effective delivery across the county’s rural geography.

12.To delegate authority to approve, on behalf of Shropshire Council, the Council’s participation in, and commitments arising from, the Family First Partnership business cases (including any Council owned implementation decisions and associated resourcing or locality work base implications) to the Chief Executive (as Lead Safeguarding Partner), in consultation with the Director for Children’s Services (as Delegated Safeguarding Partner) and the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education.

13.To delegate authority to approve the Council’s position on consequential updates required to the local safeguarding framework documentation, including the Threshold Document (including any renaming), Local Protocol, Escalation Policy, and Information Sharing Agreement, as required by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, to the Chief Executive (as Lead Safeguarding Partner), in consultation with the Director for Children’s Services (as Delegated Safeguarding Partner) and the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education.

14.  To delegate authority to approve the Local Area SEND Reform Plan for submission to the Department for Education (deadline 19 June 2026) to the Director for Children’s Services and in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education, working with system partners as required, particularly the Integrated Care System (ICS) Executive Lead for SEND, noting the financial implications described in the report (including eligibility for up to 90% High Needs Stability Grant historic deficit write-off subject to Department for Education approval). The latest draft versions are included as Appendix F and G.

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Education set out the ambition to rebalance spending towards early help and prevention.  Cabinet acknowledged that this would require upfront investment without guaranteed short?term savings, creating financial risk.

Questions were raised about the evidence base for projected benefits, delivery capacity, reliance on partners, and workforce pressures, alongside the need for clearer financial modelling, measurable outcomes, and contingency planning.  The approach used was based on national best practice, learning from other authorities, and external challenge, but demand and outcomes could not be predicted with certainty.

Discussion focused on special educational needs and disabilities and the rising demand for education, health and care plans (EHCPs).  Recovery plans were in place and reforms aimed to improve early identification and inclusive support in mainstream settings. Officers also highlighted ongoing work to manage placement costs, strengthen commissioning, and explore options for local provision, including foster care and residential capacity, while maintaining safe and effective services.

RESOLVED:

3.1 To note the work completed to rebalance the Children’s Services budget for 2026/27, alongside managing the additional known pressures for this financial year.

3.2 To note the successful work already undertaken to safely reduce the total number of children in care.

3.3 To note the nationally prescribed children’s reforms and programmes outlined in this report and the expectations they place on Shropshire Council and its multi-agency partnership arrangements.

3.4 To note the investment requirements of up to circa £8million over 4 years to deliver an anticipated £21 million savings for the local authority contained in the report and instructs the Director for Children’s Services and the Section 151 officer to make arrangements to include these estimates within the councils Medium Term Financial Plan for future consideration by Cabinet with a view to approval by Council.

3.5 To endorse that the Families First Partnership (FFP) requires multi-agency agreement of operating models and supporting business cases for Family Help, Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) and Family Group Decision Making (FGDM), to drive earlier intervention and that these will be progressed through the relevant safeguarding partnership governance.

3.6 To endorse the Council’s proposed integrated approach to deliver these reforms through a single Children’s Transformation Programme (“one plan to guide them all”), aligned to the Corporate Plan, Improvement Plan and the thematic pillars (Point 4.32) set out in the report and recommends it approval to Council.

3.7 To endorse the draft Best Start in Life (BSIL) Family Hubs Delivery Plan (outlined in 4.45 of this report), including the requirement to enhance the supporting digital offer (including a GDPR-compliant registration/insight system) to enable effective engagement, communication and timely access to support for families.

3.8 To endorse that progress, delivery risks and mitigations will be monitored through the governance structure described in the report (Section 8 of this report) with at least annual updates provided to Cabinet and the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

3.9 To approve the proposed locations for the three BSIL Family Hubs in Shrewsbury (at The Lantern), Oswestry and Ludlow, and the proposed additional multi-disciplinary team (MDT) bases in Highley, Market Drayton and South Shrewsbury, to provide coverage across the county’s rural geography.

3.10 To delegate authority to approve the final BSIL Delivery Plan for submission to the Department for Education (due 12th June 2026) to the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services.

3.11 To delegate authority for exploring and confirming premises options for Oswestry, Ludlow and the additional multi-disciplinary team bases to the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services. Ensuring that they are considered in conjunction with the current Community and Family Hub locations, on-going Council Asset review and the development of the NHS Neighbourhood programme to strike a balance between efficient use of public sector assets and effective delivery across the county’s rural geography.

3.12 To delegate authority to approve, on behalf of Shropshire Council, the Council’s participation in, and commitments arising from, the Family First Partnership business cases (including any Council owned implementation decisions and associated resourcing or locality work base implications) to the Chief Executive (as Lead Safeguarding Partner), in consultation with the Director for Children’s Services (as Delegated Safeguarding Partner) and the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education.

3.13 To delegate authority to approve the Council’s position on consequential updates required to the local safeguarding framework documentation, including the Threshold Document (including any renaming), Local Protocol, Escalation Policy, and Information Sharing Agreement, as required by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, to the Chief Executive (as Lead Safeguarding Partner), in consultation with the Director for Children’s Services (as Delegated Safeguarding Partner) and the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education.

3.14 To delegate authority to approve the Local Area SEND Reform Plan for submission to the Department for Education (deadline 19 June 2026) to the Director for Children’s Services and in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education, working with system partners as required, particularly the Integrated Care System (ICS) Executive Lead for SEND, noting the financial implications described in the report (including eligibility for up to 90% High Needs Stability Grant historic deficit write-off subject to Department for Education approval). The latest draft versions are included as Appendix F and G.