To consider the submitted report on an update on 0-5s with School Nursing and Family Hubs.

The Director of Public Health – Lincoln Sargeant and the Public Health Specialist – Children and Families – Joanne Needham presented the submitted report which provided an update on the 0-5 with school nursing and Family Hubs contract (previously known as 0-19) and responded and responded to questions.  Key points included:

·                     A new 9?year contract for 0?5s with school nursing and Family Hubs commenced in April 2025.

·                     There was good performance on mandated indicators but there were challenges with meeting the targets for the New Birth Visit within 10–14 days due to priority for continuity of care and a part-time workforce as well as babies being cared for on the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) or mothers remaining in hospital.

·                     Universal plus targeted offer through school nursing had increased staffing investment.

·                     The aim was to increase Good Level of Development (GLD) to 78% by 2028 and this required 9% improvement over 2023/2024 baseline figures.

·                     Speech and language support was aligned through the locality model with the 0-5s with School Nursing Service supporting children who were below the threshold for specialist support.

The Sub-Board asked the following questions:

·                     Could the Sub-Board have a document showing percentage of Good Level of Development (GLD) achievement for pupil premium and free school meal (FSM) children?

·                     Why don’t primary schools receive Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) support when early childhood was when issues arise such as communication, speech and medical conditions?

·                     How do pupil premium and FSM families access the targeted offer?

·                     How often do school nurses attend primary and secondary schools?

·                     How does confidentiality work when secondary pupils disclose issues to nurses?  When does the school get informed of what had been discussed?

·                     How does speech and language therapy integrate without duplicating or creating gaps?

·                     What would happen to early years development if all 0–5s received free school meals?

·                     What was happening with the Best Start in Life Plan, and when would it be published?

The following responses were received:

·                     Currently 68.5% of children achieved GLD and 50.7% of children eligible for Free School Meals (the following update was received after the meeting: for 2024/2025, Torbay had 68.5% of children at a good level of development (GLD) overall and 50.7% of children eligible for free school meals reaching a GLD.  The overall target for children reaching a GLD by 2028 was 77.8% and for children eligible for free school meals was 61.6%.)

·                     Focus on pupil premium would be examined.

·                     The School Nursing Service had been agreed following positive feedback through primary?aged workshops where schools and families were happy with the support being provided.  There were limited resources which required focus on GLD and early speech/language.  Early years and primary support is available through early language consultants and advisory teachers as part of the wider Home Learning Environment Programme.

·                     Targeted offer used data systems linked to Family Hubs and 0–19 services and looked at families who miss developmental checks to proactively contact families.

·                     School nursing is offered to every primary school through a weekly clinic led by registered nurses and community nursery nurses and every secondary school through fortnightly drop?in sessions with the SCPHN.

·                     Nurses follow strict guidelines about disclosures and only certain issues must be shared with parents/school.

·                     Children who need support for speech and language were referred to specialists, with the service supporting families while awaiting specialist input.  There are speech and language therapists located within Family Hubs to remove duplication and ensure timely access.

·                     Most early years settings were not run by the local authority and therefore rollout of free school meals for 0-5s was complex.  Benefits included improved cognition, nutritional health, and reduced inequalities.  A detailed impact sheet would be circulated following the meeting.

·                     The Best Start in Life Plan is being prepared. The report is scheduled to be published by 30 March 2026.

Resolved (unanimously):

1.         that the Best Start in Life Plan be presented to the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board on 16 March 2026; and

2.         that the Director of Public Health be recommended to explore the roll out of auto-enrolment of free school meals to early years settings to enable it to be rolled out as soon as possible in order to benefit our younger children.