Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee - Tuesday 3 February 2026, 6:30pm - Tower Hamlets Council webcasts

Children and Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee
Tuesday, 3rd February 2026 at 6:30pm 

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1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

I'll be chairing this meeting.
Please, when you start talking, talk in my direction.
You'll be on the webcast for public viewing.
Anybody who's online, if you wish to speak, please raise the counter on your...
I feel like a hen sort of thing, and then I'll know you want to ask a question.
I'll give you the opportunity to do so.
Other than that, please put your microphone on the mute.
As I said, you need to put a question on the webcam.
If there is any technical issue, I'll give direction and take it directly from the officers how we proceed.
And they are clearly signed for exit as well for emergencies.
Follow those signs as well.
Any other apologies from anyone else?
No?
Who is missing?
Councillor?
Okay.
Anyone declare of interest?
I have nothing to declare.
No?
So, last thing, please, I knew young people could maybe say,
can members introduce themselves?
Okay.
So, I'll save, I'll do from my right hand side,
because we've got a young team from the time,
let's thank you for really coming, really appreciate,
can you introduce yourself, who you are,
and then we also break the ice on this.
Thank you.
Philip Meer, Principal Scrutiny Officer.
Anybody got any, is the minute accurate?
Yeah, so we'll take that, I'll take it as accurate.
Are we going to get a description on minutes?
The Kitkat spelling should be amended.
I think it's misspelt.
The word Kitkat.
Also the point number 5.
I did raise it previously.
I think the word should be RSC instead of something else that was written in here, HSC
or something.
So it should be RSC, British Association of Guidance.
On that one, I did request that non -strategy or locally developed RSC guidance issued to
primary schools should be paused, clearly marked in the interim and pending for publication
of the revised DFE structural guidance that should be written.
As it stands, it's been, I think, three, four times this issue has been raised.
However, no update has been received from the officers.
I've directly emailed to Justina as well, probably, CC2 chair, who haven't heard anything.
So clearly, there has been concerns.
I have.
I think everyone would agree that we have raised that concern a few times and there
There has not been no update from officers.
So I would like to request that we go on standing in an update item so that it can be until
it's resolved.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Swiftly moving on into our main agenda.
Thank you, Young May's team.
I would say, Joanne, thank you for coming.
Joanne, introduce from the left -hand side so we know who you are.
Thank you.
My name is Musa and I'm the young mayor of Tower Hamlets.
Hello everyone, my name is Amira and I'm the deputy young mayor of Tower Hamlets, cabinet
for education.
Hello everyone, I'm Selina, deputy young mayor of Tower Hamlets, cabinet for community.
Hello everyone, my name is Aliyah and I am cabinet role for social and economic growth.
Hello everyone, my name is Nicole Rahman and I'm a deputy young mayor as well as cabinet
for environment.
Hello everyone, my name is Leticia Ojo, I'm Deputy Young Mayor and Cabinet of Health and Wellbeing.
Members of the committee, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak with you today.
My name is Leticia Ojo and I stand before you as the Deputy Young Mayor representing
the Cabinet of Health and Wellbeing.
I'm 16, studying Biology, Sociology and RAS A -Levels.
I love to spend my free time skateboarding and playing piano as well as cooking.
My goal is to study psychology at university or political science.
I chose to represent health and wellbeing because I believe strongly and unapologetically
that the mental and physical health of young people is not being treated with the urgency it deserves.
Too often young people are expected to cope silently, to be resilient without resources
and to wait patiently while their wellbeing deteriorates.
The reality is deeply concerning.
Between 2022 and 2023, over 40 ,000 children and young people waited more than two years
before receiving mental health support.
Two years.
That is not a short delay in a young person's life.
That is two years of struggling during the most formative periods of development.
This sends a dangerous message that children are non -urgent, that their pain can wait,
and that their well -being is optional.
I have seen too many young people struggle deeply
with their mental health.
I've watched pupils battle anxiety, depression,
and eating -related difficulties,
while some reaching, with some reaching crisis points
and requiring hospital care.
Many of these struggles did not appear overnight.
They were shaped by bullying in schools,
unrealistic societal expectations,
and pressure from social media.
Too often, these warning signs were visible, but unsupported.
With early intervention and accessible mental health services, many of these young people
could have been supported before reaching breaking points.
Acknowledgement alone is not enough.
These young people need action, consistency and resources.
This is not a new request.
Previous cohorts have raised the same concerns and asked for consistent mental health provision
across all Tau Hamlet schools.
While I recognise that this is a challenge, the difficulty does not outweigh the problem.
I am fortunate to attend a school that works closely with Tower Hamlet's education and
wellbeing service.
Because of this, support is accessible, visible and normalised.
However, through conversations with peers across the borough, I have learnt that this
basic necessity is not available to all young people.
Wellbeing should never depend on where you go to school.
This leads directly to my first point of my manifesto.
I propose the implementation of trained counsellors across all Tau Hamlet schools.
Not short -term interventions, consistent, accessible, on -site mental health support.
Early intervention saves lives, reduces long -term strain on services and allows young people to thrive.
My second manifesto priority is online safety.
The digital world is no longer separate from our lives, especially for young people.
Harmful content, cyberbullying and unrealistic body standards are contributing to anxiety,
sleep deprivation and low self -esteem.
Online harm does not switch off when the school day ends.
It follows young people into their bedrooms, into their minds and into their sense of self.
addressing online safety is not about restriction but protection, education and accountability.
My third manifesto point is the creation of accessible free sports and active spaces for young people.
Every young person deserves safe, welcoming environments.
Access to physical activity should not be a privilege.
It's a fundamental part of well -being.
In Tower Hamlets, many young people face barriers such as cost, safety and lack of facilities.
Providing free, accessible, active spaces would help combat health inequalities, address
obesity and improve mental health.
Physical activity is proven to reduce stress, improve mood and strengthen community connexions.
These spaces are not luxuries, they are preventative care.
From this committee, I expect more than polite acknowledgement.
I expect you to listen actively to concerns raised by me and my team and the young people of Albora.
We are not just future adults, we are current citizens, students and community members,
living with the consequences of today's decision.
The choices you make now will shape the generation that come after you.
Ignoring our voices does not make the problem disappear.
It only ensures they return later, deeper and more costly.
Young people are asking to be supported, protected and prioritised.
This is not an unreasonable demand, it is a responsibility.
Thank you for your time and I urge you to act with the urgency that our wellbeing requires.
I'll now pass on to Nicole.
Thank you Leticia.
Greetings everyone.
My name is Nicole Rahman, I'm 15 years old and I'm a passionate advocate for young people's rights and mental health
alongside being a Deputy Young Mayor.
Having relocated to the borough a year ago, I have come to feel firmly rooted within the community.
A sustained interest in politics has shaped my intention to pursue humanities in further education,
concentrating on politics itself, English literature and history
as disciplines through which social structures, governance and collective identity may be better understood.
In parallel, I am particularly drawn to philosophical inquiry, engaging with perspectives that critically challenge and reconstruct my understanding of the world.
My passion centres around empowering the youth voice and leading many community projects across the borough through which I help others reach their full potential.
My role exists for a clear reason. Young people will live the longest with the consequences of
today's environmental decisions. The decisions we make will shape the conditions under which we will
live, work and raise families. That reality gives us both the right and the responsibility to
maintain it. I am here to ensure that environmental responsibility is essential. As cabinet member
of our environment, my core priority is practical environmental literacy. Schools and youth
centres must actively equip young people with the knowledge and habits required to care
for their surroundings, recycling, waste reduction and respect for shared spaces. Awareness without
action is ineffective. During my engagement with young people across the borough, a reoccurring
issue has emerged. Many perceive environmental action as a burden rather
than a contribution. This perception doesn't reflect indifference but a lack
of visible impact. To address this I would propose structured volunteering
programmes within schools and youth centres including litter picking,
planting initiatives and recycling schemes. These programmes should be
and rewarded, reinforcing the message that young people's efforts matter and are valued.
Another pressing issue brought to my attention is infrastructure. In areas such as commercial
roads, insufficient bin provision directly contributes to littering. While cleaning services
already provided by the borough work tirelessly, young people must also understand that maintaining
public spaces is a shared obligation, not a service they rely on after the fact.
Effective environmental policy prioritises prevention through accessible facilities and
clear behavioural expectations.
Improving bin accessibility combined with consistent education on personal responsibility
will result in environments that encourage better actions rather than excusing the inadequate
ones.
Commitment and collaboration from the committee would be profoundly appreciated.
Support for youth -led programmes, investment in practical infrastructure,
as well as genuine inclusion of young people in decision -making processes which shape their surroundings.
When young people are trusted with responsibility, we do not disengage, we lead.
The environment is not an abstract issue, it is our streets, our help and our future.
Maintaining it isn't optional, it's necessary.
Thank you everyone for listening, I'm going to pass on to Alia now.
Thank you Nicole.
Hello everyone, thank you so much for this opportunity.
My name is Alia, I'm 15 years old and I'm proud to serve as a cabinet member for Social and Economic Development,
representing the voices and experiences of young people in our borough.
I am someone who commits fully to things. I've been involved in boxing for over two
years and now I work as a boxing coach which has taught me discipline,
leadership and how to bring out confidence in others. Coaching has pushed
me to lead by example, manage responsibilities and support young
people both mentally and physically. Alongside this I'm involved in police
cadets and tennis. I'm also a GCSE student and I would like to study psychology,
sociology and politics for A -levels. I work closely with an organisation called
Streets of Growth where I am a young leader. I've hosted events, delivered
workshops and led programmes across the borough. That work has
exposed me to the real challenges young people face but also the scale of
potential that exists when support is consistent and well delivered. It has
taught me how to organise, communicate clearly and turn ideas into action.
I love public speaking. I've spoken at high -profile platforms including the Bangladeshi Embassy,
where I have learned how to represent complex identities with confidence, build bridges and find common grounds with people from various different backgrounds.
All of this has shaped how I lead. As Deputy Young Mayor, I would like to take these experiences and apply them on a larger scale,
using my networks, leadership skills and community understanding
to expand opportunities for young people across Tower Hamlets,
just as I've been so fortunate to experience myself.
In Tower Hamlets, Canary Wharf and Whitechapel stand only minutes apart,
yet for young people they represent worlds apart.
In one, opportunity is everywhere, secure jobs, thriving schools and a promise of a bright future.
In the other, poverty is a daily companion.
Children go to school hungry. Young people struggle to find jobs and dreams
are quietly crushed under the weight of bills, overcrowded homes and a sense that
the world has forgotten them. This is not just a statistic, it's real lives, real
hopes, fading away before they even have a chance to grow. The hardest part is
poverty is not a single moment, it's a cycle. Children born into it face
barriers their parents face and without intervention that cycle repeats.
Lack of access to education, jobs, safe spaces or support traps young people
into a world of limited opportunities. Brilliant, capable young children grow
out feeling that their dreams are out of reach, not
because of who they are but because of where they were born.
Social and economic development is how we close that gap. It's how we replace cycles
of disadvantage with pathways of hope, dignity and ambition. As a young person, I believe
our responsibility is to ensure a child's postcode does not decide the size of their
future and that every young person in Tower Hamlets is given the chance to rise.
Now my manifesto points. My manifesto points directly came from speaking to young people
across Tower Hamlets and asking them what issues they face in their daily lives.
These priorities are based on lived experiences and what young people themselves told me they
needed the most.
My first manifesto point is education.
This focuses on preparing young people for life beyond school in a practical and meaningful
way.
As part of this, I want to push for equal access to work experience across schools since
only some schools provide it. And also introduce compulsory CV building
and employability workshops. Many young people are capable but are never taught
how to write a CV, prepare for interviews or understand pathways such as
apprenticeships. These are practical skills and are essential for accessing
jobs, training and long -term opportunities. My second priority is youth

2 DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

3 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

4 ACTION LOG

5 REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION

5 a) Young Mayors team

opportunities. Young people told me that they lack access to high quality work
experience, especially in corporate fields like law firms, these opportunities are often
only available through personal connexion, which creates unfair barriers. We need to
open up these spaces so all young people can see and access real career pathways. I also
did not choose to keep social housing as a core manifesto point. It's a vital issue,
but it's large scale and it's long term. I wanted to focus on areas where I can deliver
real measurable impact early on while building the experience needed to engage
with bigger structural issues in the future. One of my biggest issues young
people face is poverty but poverty does not come alone. It brings crime,
exploitation and lost opportunity. Growing up surrounded by struggle
illegal money can feel like survival not choice. A family friend once told me that
they couldn't leave the drug life because legal jobs weren't hiring them.
And without that income they couldn't afford food. Leaving could also have
deadly consequences they said. Once pulled in, escaping that life can become
almost impossible. It traps young people, ruins families and in too many cases
ends lives. Poverty also damages education. When a young person is worried
about money, safety or stability at home, school stops being a priority. Not
Not because they don't care, but because they're constantly in survival mode.
This creates a vicious cycle where poverty fuels crime, crime fuels exclusion, and exclusion
fuels more poverty.
The solution is prevention, not punishment.
Early intervention, such as youth clubs, mentoring, safe spaces, real job pathways, and family
support can break the cycle.
Investing in young people early doesn't just save money, it saves lives.
And now this is what I'd like to ask from the committee.
First, investment in youth opportunities.
So programmes that give young people access to education, mentorship and career pathways
so they don't feel forced into crime or unsafe activities.
Two, support for local businesses and jobs.
Funding or initiatives to help small businesses thrive, especially for young people, reducing poverty and unemployment.
and three, targeted crime prevention programmes.
Support for anti -drug and anti -violence initiatives
that provide alternatives and guidance rather than just punishment.
Thank you for your time. I'll pass on to Selena.
Thank you, Elia.
Good evening, everyone.
My name is Selena Meer.
I am 17 years old, studying A levels in year 12,
maths, economics and psychology.
Maths is by far my favourite of the three
because of the way everything logically fits into place.
That being said, my passion lies within helping people, leading me to my role as Deputy Young
Mayor, Cabinet of Community.
My overarching goal within my role is to bring together young people, which can be done through
the responsibilities given to me, such as diversity and inclusion, safety and culture.
I chose to be a part of the Young Mayor team because not only am I a young person, I am
a young carer, an ethnic minority and a woman.
Throughout my life, I was fortunate enough to have been placed in situations which have allowed me to become better educated for my role.
A few years ago, I was approached by a youth worker who pushed me out of my comfort zone.
Despite absolutely hating it in the moment, I could not have been more grateful.
This was a journey I never knew I needed.
I have hosted events, youth assemblies and worked very closely with youth charity leaders in community.
Being here today is a clear example of how active involvement with not only mentors but
peers can lead to success, allowing better confidence within oneself and the society
they reside in.
I want young people to embark on this journey intentionally, understanding fully the rewards
they can reap from applying themselves within the community.
When coming up with my manifesto, I found the underlying issue was clear – youth involvement.
Upon the recent years, there has been a rise in radicalism, leading to a lack of community
cohesion, causing a disconnect within the community.
I have felt it, my peers have felt it, we all have felt it.
Young people are increasingly feeling out of place within their own borough, causing
a reluctance in participation.
I aim to change that.
After speaking with young people, it seems as though the outreach of safe spaces and
opportunities need to be improved.
In fact, many did not know of Young Tower Hamlets unless they knew someone already involved in it.
I propose having assemblies at the start of each academic year educating students of the potential they can grow with Young Tower Hamlets,
or even just contacting schools to inform their students about events, safe spaces and opportunities that arise.
There needs to be a greater emphasis on getting this knowledge out there because young people deserve to know they have a place where they belong.
Growing up with a deaf mother was no easy feat.
There was a clear language barrier between our family, no matter how hard we tried.
I soon came to realise how difficult it must be, not only for my mum, but other deaf and hard of hearing people.
Picture a life where an 8 -year -old child would have had to communicate to their parents through a piece of paper because one party could not understand.
That was my life and the lives of others in Tower Hamlets.
When I was 10, I wanted to take matters into my own hands and learn BSL.
This was merely just an idea at best, because despite an unimaginable determination to simply
find a good resource to aid my learning, there was none.
None that even now 17 -year -old me could access.
Many families across Tower Hamlets struggle with the communication between a deaf household member.
In a community heavily based around inclusivity, I am sure we can all agree this is not up
to par.
Most if not all good and accurate BSL courses are fee based.
There needs to be better accessibility for these courses, potentially free or discounted
for their families.
No individual in Tower Hamlets has to feel inferior because of their language.
I hope my words have highlighted the importance of these issues and I urge you to take into
account and act now to improve our lives. Thank you very much, I will now pass to Amara.
Thank you Selena. Good evening everyone, my name is Amara Katial and I'm currently a Deputy Young
Mayor of Tower Hamlets serving as the cabinet member for education and I have been involved
in youth work for the past two years through the Youth Council. I'm 15 years old studying in year
11 and preparing to sit my GCSE soon. I aim to study English, history, economics and politics
at A -level with a view to pursuing law in the future.
I'm passionate about youth empowerment, giving young people the ability to
advocate for their rights and spreading kindness by making sure
that I can be someone others can rely on. Outside of my role I'm involved in dance
as some of you may already know and I also enjoy reading literature to
keep myself busy. As a cabinet member for education it is
an important responsibility for me to reflect the views of young people in
schools and echo their concerns about school
life to the council. My role is about bridging the gap between schools and the
council to ensure that the services and systems currently in place are held to
the highest standards and serve young people as effectively as possible. For me
this role is important because it allows me to bring the problems and ideas of my
peers into this space where they can be acted upon to create a more
comprehensive and supportive environment. With this responsibility in mind I chose
education cabinet to enable young people to gain the skills and experiences both
within schools and in youth centres that allow them to succeed in life with
confidence, build through a healthy and creative environment. This choice was
shaped by my manifesto points and the experiences of peers that I have
witnessed over the past few years. To give a brief overview, my
manifesto focused on advocating for work opportunities, skills outside of school
and mental health. As young people we are often underestimated because of our age.
and it becomes harder to step into the world of work through inside days, internships and smaller work experiences.
Young people, as echoed by many today, are the future of our borough and our generation,
yet still have to fight to gain the skills needed to support their prospects.
Our borough is not short of opportunities or links to companies that can offer experience.
With Canary Wharf so nearby, it is simply a matter of connecting these opportunities to young people
and enabling them to access these corporate workspaces.
This can be achieved through career fairs, inside events,
and by strengthening connexions between schools and companies
to improve access to opportunities.
Another approach could be creating a platform
where schools can connect directly with companies,
alongside incentives for corporate workers to devote some of their time
to mentoring young people and supporting applications.
The struggle to find quality work experiences is a real and ongoing issue,
experienced by many of my peers.
And through collaboration, we can shape a brighter future for young people.
Another one of our manifesto points focuses on enhancing skills for young people,
giving them the ability to adapt to the environment and confidently advocate for themselves.
These skills include public speaking, coding, digital marketing, and more.
And these are skills that can be valuable in the future and provide young people with opportunities
to explore their passions, learn new things and build confidence.
Offering these courses can make a significant difference in a young person's life.
Having the ability to advocate for oneself or gain employable skills
can empower young people to build stronger and more secure futures.
My final manifesto point was inspired by a personal experience
and centred on mental health, particularly targeting support for students in schools,
including those with SEND.
Many young people experience stress, anxiety and other challenges both inside and outside of school, often due to factors such as exams.
While services exist to support young people, the support available within schools themselves is often limited.
As a witness to a close friend who struggled deeply with her physical health, missed school due to frequent medical appointments and lacked adequate mental health support, it was difficult to see her needs go unmet.
While peer support is valuable and professional help is there, it is difficult for teachers and teenagers to replace that.
Mental health services are already stretched, so providing accessible support within schools could prevent issues from escalating and offer relief to these wider services.
Linked to this are further challenges faced by young people.
While counselling support can help students during difficult times,
in -school provision is also crucial for those with special educational needs.
School staff are often overworked and required to balance the needs of many students,
which can result in some young people not receiving the level of care they need.
This can leave students feeling confused, overwhelmed and unsupported.
Additionally, many young people with special educational needs or mental health concerns
may go unnoticed as less visible signs are not always easily identified.
This can lead to worsening mental health and a wider impact on young people's lives,
including challenges at home that remain unseen.
Stigma around mental health and asking for help can further prevent students from reaching
out.
To ensure young people receive the support they need, a stronger in -school support system
must be developed to provide safety and care.
This could include having counsellors in every school,
working proactively to cheque in with students and support those in need.
Regular sessions will be held once a term or every two terms,
with opportunities for additional support where required.
This will reduce the risk of students being overlooked
and allow for early intervention,
recommendations for further support and a safe space to manage stress and anxiety.
As a young person studying in this borough,
and as a Deputy Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets,
I have full faith in our ability to deliver for young people as we have done in the past
The systems are already in place and I look forward to collaborating to improve the quality of his services to the highest possible
Standard now I shall pass on to Musa
Thank You Amara good evening everyone. My name is Musa
I'm 17 years old and this December I was elected as a young mayor of Tower Hamlets now as I mentioned
I'm 17 years old and as I mentioned I start two which means I'm studying my eye
levels. I'm studying maths, further maths, chemistry and an EPQ. Planning to go into
software engineering in the future. Now I know what you might be thinking what's
an aspiring software engineer doing as a young male and how is it gonna help me
in my future? Well if I'm gonna be honest with you it won't. It might but it won't.
Me taking this role wasn't for myself. It wasn't to build my portfolio but rather
it was for the betterment of every single young person in the borough.
It shows that I'm here as someone who's looking out for the interests of others rather than
for the interests of myself.
Now as I've been entrusted with the role of young mayor by my peers and fellow young people
across the borough, I take this responsibility extremely seriously.
I look forward to fulfilling the promises that myself and my cabinet have made by keeping
the youth's best interests and experiences as a top priority.
In the two meetings that I've sat in with the Council and the Youth Council, I've noticed one reoccurring theme
and that's the theme of the importance of youth participation.
Not just youth participation, but the importance of giving to young people so that one day when they grow up
and when they're doing well for themselves, they can give back to the bar that helped them thrive.
However, as Selina mentioned earlier, not enough young people are aware as to what Tower Hamlets has to offer for them.
I myself, for example, had no clue what the Youth Council was up until a few months ago,
where my cousin, who was also a Youth Counsellor, had told me that I should go for the role of young male.
So I'd really like to emphasise the importance of pushing Tower Hamlets' offers for young people to young people.
I found that during my youth, which I now try to reject so that you can see me as a bit more mature,
I heard a lot of how important it was to advocate for young people to be heard.
Now, while it said so much that me saying it now here sounds cliché, there's a reason for that.
I'm extremely driven to ensure that the trend of wanting to strengthen youth voice is a reality.
Now this directly links to my first manifesto, which was to strengthen youth voice.
I wanted to create a local youth assembly within the borough in which two students from every single school, male and female,
could come together and feedback the thoughts, voices and concerns that their school student body has.
This way we can ensure that young people are heard all across the borough.
My second manifesto point was to make it easier for young people to find work.
Now, as someone who was just coming out of year 11, just before campaigning, I felt first -hand
how hard it was to get a job as a young person.
Not for money, although every young person wants money, don't they?
But to launch my portfolio, because I realised the importance of work experience.
I realised how important work experience was for young people and employers.
After all, if it's a struggle to get a job without work experience, how do we actually
expect young people to ever get into the field of work.
I wanted to work with the council to entice local businesses to employ more young people
by offering some sort of incentive, whether that was an offered lowered business tax
or some other sort of incentive that would allow them to want to employ young people.
And last but most certainly not least, I wanted to work with the council to extend
the free school meal scheme that was offered to young people below the age of 16
to everyone who isn't working below the ages of 18.
Families are already struggling in Albora, and we know this.
People below the age of 18 are still considered young people who are, in many cases,
dependent on either their families, parents or carers.
This causes further strain on the families who are just finding relief from the mayor's
free school meal scheme that he introduced for students in secondary school and below.
Now I'm aware that Tower Hamlets led the nation in introducing free school meals
for students below the age of 16.
So why not also lead the nation in releasing free school meals
for students below the age of 18?
For the years of 2026,
myself and my cabinet's priorities will be finalised soon
and we will be able to share that with you at a later time and date.
As I'm aware that all these asks that we're giving you
are huge for the council,
but all I ask for is support for myself and my cabinet
to complete the manifestos and promises that we made towards the young people of our borough
during November within the next two years.
Myself personally, I'd love to gain the council's help to implement free school meals for sixth -school and college students,
as well as working with local businesses to make it easier for young people to be more employable,
find local work and build their experience, preparing for their futures.
And I think we'll now open the floor to questions. Thank you.
Thank you. Well done guys.
Thank you. That was a lovely speech from each one of you.
I'm going to put to the floor those who want to put a question through.
Thank you guys. It was really awesome to hear your views as well.
I was young once, a long time ago, so I understand your pain.
It seemed like, from my perspective, when I was younger, the borough had a lot more to offer than what they have now, from what I'm hearing from you guys.
And I think you guys came before, and we talked about the Canary Rough initiative as well, but since then there has been no progress.
We don't know to say that we're going to go and link with Canary Grove, maybe hire a lot of the borough residents,
not just the young people but care leavers and residents, but I don't think that happened again.
So when I was younger there was two things the council offered, and I want to get your opinion on what you think this was.
So I'll be quick.
So there was an initiative called the Valley International Initiative where the council kind of nominated about 20 young people
to go abroad for three months or two and a half months and basically it's for
charity so you do like experience over there, you live with the community there,
you do like environmental work and support work. That really like gives a
lot of young people experience and also people who can't normally afford to go
has opportunity to go. I went, that changed my life completely like sent me
a different direction. The other thing that really helped me in the job market
was the internships and apprenticeships that Council,
where I started, had offered.
And I think that got taken away as well, which is a shame,
because you could kind of select which department
you wanted to work in within the Council,
and they're running over the summer period,
so it's not affecting your education.
So when I was in university, I had a job,
they paid a London minimum wage,
which is really good for a student,
and it looked so good on my CV, and I was employable.
What do you guys think of those opportunities?
Do you think we should additionally get it back?
Thank you for your question.
I think everything that you said was something that can always be improved.
Opportunities for young people are some of the most important things,
as you've noticed from all of us speaking.
Regarding what you said about residentials,
while I believe it's a great opportunity and I'd love to see that coming back,
and I do have that noted down, so I will bring that up at another point in time.
A reason for it being taken away that I can kind of, not guess but kind of predict,
was the cost of living crisis, I mean that's taken a huge toll and it made everything that's gone up in price,
so you can kind of tell why that's happened.
But still, I don't think it's a horrible idea and I'm always open to pushing for more funding for young people
so that they can have more opportunities.
Regarding the Barra endorsed internships that you mentioned, the Barra does offer work experience for young people within the town hall.
But yeah, the way you've described it is something that I haven't heard of before, so I'm more than happy to take that forward and keep thinking of that.
Just to add, within the internship they had, once a week there was a specialist coach who would come in and you do CV building, like you guys mentioned, there was nothing but CV.
So it's basically interviewing skills, it was really good.
Thank you, I really appreciate it.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you guys for coming here tonight.
It's really wonderful to see so many talented
young people of Barra,
and to present yourselves here.
It's really wonderful.
I've got some small questions just picked up
from your speeches when you spoke.
One of you mentioned that your team feel underestimated.
Just my first question, in what sense
you think that you feel underestimated
by the council or whoever?
That's one question.
And another one is, you said,
Tower of Hamlets have to offer.
So what offer do you lacking?
Do you think that the council is not willing to give you
or something that lacking in your organisation
or in Tower of Hamlets, especially for your age?
So if you kindly just some key points,
I would want to know, thank you.
I think I'll take the first part of your question about young people being underestimated because of our age
and I think the reason all of us are here today is to make sure that
the views of young people are reflected into the decisions made by the council and
Like we've said before these kind of things can always be improved. They can always be worked on on
collaboration and co -production specifically with young people working in every single part of the process of
decisions and projects that are introduced in the council. So I suppose
when I say underestimated because of our age I think it's that young people we
have amazing opinions and we have great ideas that we do want to see come to
life and we do want to be a part of the process where decisions are made and
things are made for us and I think it's just kind of something that can be
improved and I think it can be improved every single time every single year.
So I suppose that's what I meant.
To answer the second part of your question with what can Tower Hamlets offer to our young people,
this was touched upon on how it's not that you as Tower Hamlets don't offer,
it's we as young people don't get told.
Like I mentioned, a lot of people don't know about Young Tower Hamlets or the website where they can find opportunities
and that's why it's really important that we focus on the outreach of these
opportunities because it's not that there is a lack of it but there is a
lack of advertising towards it to get young people into these opportunities.
And I'd just like to add to that. A big thing for Tallahassee exposure is social
media and I've realised this throughout our campaigning. All of our campaigns were
somewhat revolved around social media and we amassed around 6 ,000 followers in total
between all of us.
Oh sorry, I think it was about 3 -4 ,000 between all of us.
So it's like something that's really huge and all of us I'm sure we've at least once
been recognised in either a youth centre or on the streets and I think having that recognition
is a big thing but also pushing out that initiative of oh this is what Talhamans are offering
or this year is the Young Mayor election for example
because like I said during our campaign we had a huge outcome
and we had possibly the biggest outcome of votes being casted
out of all the previous Young Mayors elections
so I think pushing for social media would be a great thing for Tower Hamlets
and for Tower Hamlets youth. Thank you.
I'm really sorry, just because we already had a lot of people
adding on this question is quite an interesting question like what could young like whilst young
people need from the council so another thing I would like to add on um just as previously
mentioned that young people are not taking seriously the thing I'd like to comment on is that
let's say there's like an issue like um something environmental something um let's say or like a
community -based issue for example depends on being taken out like there's a problem in the community
if an adult reports it, it's being taken more seriously than if a young person reports it,
it wouldn't be resolved as efficiently.
And young people are affected by the same thing as the adult residents,
in fact even more since young people are more vulnerable to the effects of the society they live in.
So as well as the projects that the decision making,
it should be, young people's opinions should be taken into consideration, especially programmes which are developed for young people.
For example, if there's like a new youth club coming into place, like a new initiative that is for young people,
I feel like young people should definitely be in the decision making process, especially if it's centred towards them,
since they have like the right opinions of what will help like their peers, what is it that their peers want,
because we know each other better than anybody else.
So if any initiative revolves around young people,
then I strongly suggest that young people should be in the decision -making process of each and every one of them.
Just quickly, thank you.
It was really nicely explained.
I would like to say that we want to have a miscommunication
and we want to underestimate any children in our borough,
or especially the team like yours.
So it's really wonderful to share this.
And if you can work together in future
so you can feel that you're being underestimated
or you've been ignored, especially from the council.
So if you can work on that thinking.
Thank you upon noting and after the comms teams
to make sure that whenever something happen,
that you guys are notified in advance. We do a lot of activity for the youngs but
I'm sure we can just work something on that.
Thank you chair and thank you Yarmouth and deputies for presenting.
It was very insightful. Thank you. I've got three things to do. Number one, I'm
top three priorities that you think that immediately that needs to be action or be looked at.
That's number one.
And I think the four of you have mentioned about safety, shared space, what is the real
concern if there is any.
The third thing is as deputy and the mayor of, young mayor representing the young people,
What input have you seen that you have put in yourself and that has changed the decision
or directly influenced the council decision or policy or service, if there is any?
Thank you.
Just quickly, could you please repeat your second question?
Thank you.
Second one was the shared space regarding the concerns you have, I think three or four
your previous speaker mentioned the shared space and safety, what is the real concern
of the shared space that you are sharing, be it the community clubs they are running
or in the hubs?
I would like to answer that question. I would say that it's vital for young people to have
a place where they could interact with other young people and not feel alone while being
involved in problems or issues. I think also it could prevent from feeling alone.
Like, imagine like a young person is going through something they can connect with other young people
and not feel alone in a situation. And I also think it's good to also like build relationships with each other
and have friends because a lot of the time young people can't concentrate because they feel lonely,
they don't want to go out because they feel lonely and that they don't have any friends and I think
shared spaces could allow people to make more friends.
Oh yeah from an environmental perspective since shared spaces was mentioned in my speech
young people should also like be responsible in taking care and maintaining their shared spaces
since I know there's a lot of like shared spaces for young people such as like areas around youth
clubs and that the conditions have slightly deteriorated even though that I
have been here for only a year I have seen that some of the shared spaces such
as like local parks like areas around youth clubs that young people have their
condition are slowly worsening because young people aren't taking care of it
and another thing about the fact that young people are getting together is
that they should have that mutual respect for each other since I know some
young people, even though shared spaces is a good thing and it should be since
communication is very important like especially with peers, young people
shouldn't like put each other down for instance I have a brother who's he's 12
he's scared to come out the house due to the effect that other young people have
had on him like they've brought his confidence down and everything so young
people should use their shared spaces as something beneficial not as a way to
bring each other down.
Just to answer your last part of the question about the influence that
Youth Council or the Young Mayor team have had, I would like to highlight the youth participation strategy
and I know we had members of the Youth Council and the all Young Mayor team presenting it to
Council last week and it is something that as part of the all Youth Council cohort we co -produced together
we had many consultation sessions and we talked about
different aspects of the strategy and how they could benefit young people in the borough.
And it's amazing to see that the strategy has come to fruition and it is being introduced to the council.
And I suppose that's just like one example of what we have helped co -produce as part of the Young Merci Manid Council.
Thank you, Mayra. I think we'll move on to the first question that we didn't talk about, the top three priorities.
Did you want three of us? I think we're just a quickfire.
So for myself it would be to see free school meals extended at the age of 18,
launch a youth assembly before Tower Hamlets and see jobs and work experience become a lot easier for young people to get.
For me I would say the top issues are opportunities, youth involvement, mental health and just that over all arching support.
For me, I'd say my top three priorities would be online safety for young people, as well
as mental health support in schools and access to sports and active facilities.
Thank you everyone. Thank you.
Dr Phillips, please.
The country has a dilemma. You're split between under 16 and over 16. I cannot see...
You are all highly articulate. Your presentation skills are great. I just wonder how many of you would have been here
if there had been controls on access to smart phones under 16.
So I mean the country really does have a very serious dilemma over this, over the way forward,
and you are just uniquely placed to say that.
So that's a number to base. The second thing is really a study.
I wonder how many schools do have access to the resource of mental health counsellors.
It would be fascinating for this committee to find out what is the range of full -time equivalents in secondary school that are able to act as counsellors.
So there is I think a statistical need.
Okay, make the most of that question please.
If I may, just to start on your second question, you mentioned mental health counsellors in
schools.
Now I wouldn't be able to give you the exact statistic of how many schools have these mental
health counsellors.
I know myself and I'm sure the rest of the team will have their own answers, but myself
and my school, we don't have designated mental health counsellors, which I actually find
is really important.
Now the school are always kind of encouraging our students to speak up, but who do you really
go to? Who are you really going to speak to? Now yes, you have your head of year, you have
your pastoral lead, but are they really there for our mental health? Are they there specifically
designated for us to go and speak to them about what we're going through at home, or
is that their kind of secondary job? I'm going to pass on.
Just to add on to what Musa said about councillors, I know my specific school doesn't really have
for that kind of support.
I know there is other support for people
who have SEND needs.
However, as mentioned before in my speech,
a lot of the teachers are overworked
and they could not focus on specific needs
for every single person in the school.
And sometimes people do go unnoticed
and those needs do slip by and it's really hard.
Also, stigma around mental health
is also very quite present right now.
And it's just that people think that
if they do talk about their mental health,
if they do talk about these issues,
it will kind of like go out to the parents or maybe you know it's not the best thing to speak
about or it's embarrassing to speak about your mental health and I think really having that
support of counsellors in school can kind of ensure that you know it's confidential, it's a
safe space and that whatever they want to speak about they can without any fear of judgement or
anything around that. I'm just quickly building on that, I also think there is an issue with the
quality. Knowing people who have gone through school counselling and stuff like that compared
to external therapy, there is a very clear divide in the quality they receive and I don't
know if it's because the counsellors aren't properly trained, if it's a secondary job,
but that is also an issue there as well. So regardless of the number, it's more important
that we get properly trained counsellors that can deal with youth issues and help them navigate them properly.
Now, like the quality of counselling within schools, I think it's worsening because I personally know a lot of people with a mental health diagnosis,
it's increasing more and more each day.
And the thing is that in schools,
the councils prioritise those who sort of demand
their attention, like the people who are problematic,
they stir up the most sort of chaos.
However, those who are in need,
but the diagnosis isn't like their condition
isn't as strong or they're just like facing a minor issue,
they are not getting the support they need
just because mental health issues
have become so normalised within young people that schools and counsellors within schools
for the mental health are focusing on those who, not even demand, but require more of it,
ignoring those who have minor issues. However, those minor issues then develop into major
mental health problems which increases the actual mental health problems within young people that
actually affect their learning and their daily life.
And on your first point about how it's split
into over 16 and under 16,
as someone who's under 16, I feel like that gap sort of,
even many people who are under 16,
they may be intimidated by those over 16.
So for them, that may be beneficial.
However, that was never sort of the intention
because we are all young people, we are all humans.
and when we were never actually meant to be intimidated by each other.
So I feel like that gap is definitely a negative and if not social media,
like even from the candidates as you've mentioned like would we be here?
I feel like not many people would be because I know there were a lot of applicants candidates for this
who were under the age of 16 and through social media that's how some people sort of found out about this.
So closing social media would to some extent protect the young people from being exposed
and finding out things they shouldn't and so of having like being a distraction.
But it will also like close some of those opportunities for the under 16s so they can
progress like get information for when they're over 16 because over 16 is like a crucial
period like picking the career.
So not many people would have found out about this and that gap like it needs to be bridged
shouldn't be there. Thank you everyone on the team who answered that question and
I'm sorry it took so many answers but it was a very deep question and it was a
question that I enjoyed listening to everyone's answers to. You're sorry you are
unique you're somewhere under 16, somewhere over 16, I cannot think of a greater
dilemma. Yeah no it was a great question thank you. I just want to add one more
point on the mental health question. And it's, I think schools look at it in a way of funding.
That's why they're often assigned that role of a mental health counsellor to someone who
already has a job, for example, your head of year. And it really links back to, I forgot
whose question specifically it was, but how are young people underestimated and what help
do they need from the borough? And I think that if the borough could kind of help allocate
some sort of funding towards young people for these mental health counsellors to be
in schools rather than having it be as like a secondary job as I mentioned before for
one of your teachers or head of years. And also just one more thing about the under 16
over 16 split question when you mentioned smartphones. I'm not 100 % sure but I'm pretty
sure most of us here wrote these speeches that we gave to you today on our mobile phones.
Myself and Selina who were the first people in the room today, we were both sitting there
writing down or she was writing down on her phone and I was reading it off my phone.
So it comes about, the question kind of leads to what do young people use their phones for?
Are they using it for what's classed as socially wrong or are they using it for things that
will be progressive towards their academic achievements?
But yeah, thank you.
Thank you all very much.
It was really, really interesting.
We never had nothing like this when I was your age,
which was a shame because I'm sure I would have been
up there causing havoc.
But I think you've hit the now right on the head
because it's something that I was making notes.
And in terms of trained counsellors,
obviously I'm from a primary background,
so I haven't got as much for secondary.
But we're at that right stage now
where we're coming up to set our budgets,
where they're coming in for next year.
And as a primary background,
We are already looking and we are I mean, I'm very lucky. I've come from schools where we have external counsellors
but we're at that stage where can we afford them and
So you've hit the nail right in the head. It's funding
Now something that we spoke about as a group of business managers when we all annoy each other
Was can you afford someone for two days if I'll do two days? Can you do one day?
So we are trying to work across the schools to come up with these plans
But it's something that maybe we need to throw back to central services, because we do things
like EDCYX and other people where we buy into the service.
And maybe it's something that as a council we should be thinking about employing for
schools that perhaps schools can buy into that service.
So whether it's, I mean, ideally we'd like someone there five days, but we cannot, we
know we cannot physically afford that.
But even if we could buy in for like 1 .5 days, something like that might be something that
we could take back because for me that is a concern because we really use our service.
But again you're right, sometimes it's those that scream the loudest that get the service
and other people get, you know, go under the radar research.
So that could be a possibility.
The other thing that I looked at was, or listened to, sorry, was environmental officers and
And in terms of recycling, when you were saying, and I'm not that old, but about ten years
ago the borough used to have specific environmental stroke recycling offices for schools.
And we used to really especially target again, sorry, but primary schools because I'm from
that background, but also because we felt if you could get primary schools children
age, if you get at that age into that mind frame of right, we're going to recycle, we're
And we used to have things like recycling competitions.
And we used to take home like,
come bring in all your newspapers and whatever.
I mean I'll show you old now because catalogues, you know,
because they're really heavy and you would weigh it every week.
But by getting the children's mindset at that age,
you knew that you could carry through.
So there was someone I bumped into and she's in year 11,
and she was saying,
I always remember when we run the recycling competition, Miss,
and it was like, yeah, you know.
We had the equivalent of like a small elephant or something.
And I was like, yeah, it stays on our school wall for ages.
And they was like, come on now, you've got to take it down.
Like, it's really old, but we want it.
So I don't know if there's any plans, but as I say,
if you can target younger especially, then again, and it is, it's true,
it's about taking care of your environment,
because if you can kind of instil it at that age,
you know, it works as your way through.
So I'm really with you when it comes to things like that,
because there's nothing worse, as you say,
or Cannon Street Road, walking down there,
and it's like someone has just dumped a whole truck
down the road.
So yeah, but sorry Steve, some things to take back.
But thank you very much.
I'm gonna round up.
Thank everybody coming over for,
it was a good speech from each one of you.
And we value your input,
insight, and we'll take you from there
We will come back to you on this. We have taken your detail as well.
Your contribution does help us understand your priority and ensure that our discussion and security reflect a wide range of life experience.
Another thing I would like to add, you talked about the online and cyber bullying and stuff like that, mental health.
It is on our agenda.
Hopefully we are able to put it on the road map and we'll do outreach work on that if we do get a go -ahead on that.
So that's on a big agenda for me to see because I knew there's a lot of children in this school who get affected by cyberbullying,
which lead to mental health and things like that and follow from school to home, home to school.
And we are working on that to see if we can do anything about it.
Thank you for coming again. Thank you very much.

5 b) Healthy Weight Update

Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Steve.
Thanks, Kay.
Our final agenda on the item is health rate updates.
Over to you, Kay.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Good evening.
I'm Katie Cole.
I'm the Associate Director of Public Health for Children and Families.
And I'm presenting a report which is an update for you.
My predecessor, or the President was previously leading on child healthy weight in the Public Health Division,
led a, with you, led a scrutiny review of child healthy weight back in 2023,
and recommendations were made in spring of 2024.
They reported back to the scrutiny committee, I think, in autumn last year.
So this is the final update on the action plan
against the recommendations that were made
from that Child Healthy Weight report.
The report sets out a huge range of progress
made against all of the eight recommendations in some detail.
And it also sets out our approach
for the Child Healthy Weight agenda in the council
going forward.
So I'll quickly just skim through some of the highlights of the achievements that have
been undertaken through this action plan. There's been wide ranging work on improving
the uptake of free school meals, in particular in primary schools there's been a programme
called Fantastic Food in Schools which has worked to improve the whole school environment,
not just the lunchtime meals, but the whole journey and the experience of having lunch in schools.
In secondary, we've won an award, a national award for our work around improving uptake of
universal free school meals. By linking council data sets together, we were able to develop an
opt -out scheme for free school meals, which enabled us to improve the uptake of free school
meals across the borough.
And alongside that, we've been doing work
to improve the quality of the food that's
served in schools by a range of different initiatives
with the in -house contract caterers.
We've also developed a commitment
around using the public health grant funding on free school
meal funding for schools so that we're not
using public health grant money to pay for unhealthy food.
and the schools are committed to delivering a balanced, nutritious diet for children,
as well as employing staff on London Living Rages.
Our relationship in public health with Young Tower Hamlets has grown over the last year
and we now have a service level agreement between the service that's being progressed
by Samara Tyub, who's on the call here.
It started with a training needs assessment of staff to see what they know already about health and wellbeing
and we're building a training programme so that young town staff are able to give really strong messages to children around how to be healthy.
We're continuing to offer Be Well Junior Leisure Services which is all inclusive access to six leisure centres
and we have nearly 400 junior memberships.
On top of that we've been providing training across the workforce,
not just for youth services staff, but all children's professionals on child healthy weight.
And that centres on not just the nuts and bolts of what you eat,
but also how to talk to people in a non -stigmatising way
and how to feel confident about signposting them to services that are available for a healthy lifestyle.
Other work has been on going around developing the local plan as a key instrument to building a healthy environment in Tower Hamlets.
We're working with the community sector as well to supply food through food hubs.
And finally we're also working through provision to improve healthy food and sports and exercise
for children with SCMD.
So I think those are the main highlights.
In terms of the impact that we're having, we measure children at two points.
We measure them in reception in year six.
In reception we have a general slight downward trend that shows in Tower Hamlets.
So our children, there's more children becoming healthy weight or of a healthy weight
and our overhead weight and obesity levels are slowly decreasing
and at the moment are below the England average.
In year six there's an improving picture with an increase in the number of children with healthy weight.
However, in contrast to reception to handlets,
continues to have a high proportion of children
with an unhealthy weight status compared
to the national average.
So is it in our year six period, the time between reception
to year six, that we really need to focus our work?
Then finally, we've undertaken a review of our child healthy
weight work to date.
We had a really well attended summit.
And some of the key findings we had from there
is that people felt it was quite difficult to engage with the idea of a child healthy
weight programme as a whole. Because it, one is, often people as you start talking about
child healthy weight they think about their own weight and their own issues with their
maintaining a healthy lifestyle. That can be quite an off -putting entry point into what
is a really important conversation. It also centres the problem as weight rather than
causes of excess weight which is cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke or the problems of what
causes poor weight which is not eating an excess of calories and not burning off enough
calories so the eating well and moving well elements. So what we're proposing doing is
we're going to move away from keeping this programme as one healthy weight programme and
instead splitting it into two main areas. One is around eating well and one is around
moving well. And for eating well, what we'd really like to do is not just talk about calories
and that, we're going to think about people's lives. So at the beginning of eating well,
we need to make sure that people can actually afford to eat well, that they have access
to healthy foods, that shops sell it in the first place and it's affordable. And then
that they know how to plan their food, that they enjoy meal times, that they're sociable experiences.
So it isn't just about the calories. And then secondly with moving well, we'd like to
conceptualise that in the way of thinking about enjoying moving, feeling safe to walk around
the borough or take active travel around the borough, feeling like you belong. So in a gym,
Many women feel that they don't belong in gyms.
And creating really inclusive opportunities for people
to be active as part of their daily lives.
So we're also thinking of a smaller programme
around specialist support, at least smaller for children.
And in the Public Health Division,
we've agreed to try to merge this approach with the adults
approach.
And I think that's very important for families,
is because children have very little control of their lives.
And if we don't bring their parents along on the journey,
then we're less likely to have an impact.
So we're working on developing an all age approach
to moving well, an all age approach to eating well,
and expanding our specialist support offer.
We need to do that in partnership.
We need to bring people along with us on this journey.
So the next stages are building up that programme
and co -producing it.
So I'd just like to say thank you for your support and real interest in this issue over
the years.
I hope you're satisfied with the work that we've done so far and support the change of
or the evolution of this work in the future.
Thank you Katie.
Thank you for your presentations.
Fantastic.
Anyone else?
Thank you, Chair.
You spoke about quite a lot.
On page 12, you can see the figures, one in five, about 20 per cent children in reception
have excess overweight and over two in five, which is about 42 per cent children in year
six have excess weight. Do you think is that because there is something we, our council
should look into the free school means that could be contributing to because from reception
to year six the overweight portion is pretty much double. Do you think is there something
Yeah, well we know that obesity is driven by a whole range of different factors and
we talk about the environment in which we live and the way we've constructed the worlds
we live in is that there's lots of driving factors for us to gain weight. We go to the
shops and it's very difficult to find healthy food. I mean in Tower Hamlets there's hardly
sorry, Whitechapel, there's only one salad within 15 minutes walking distance. You can
find some plenty of deep fried food within about three seconds of here. So the way we
construct the world, the way that we construct roads that make it very dangerous to walk
or you feel quite depressed as a cyclist in the borough if you want to go cycling, the
cars have dominance which means that it's harder to be active. There's all sorts of
different factors that contribute to us putting on weight but you're right, one of the factors
around free school meal, the food that we serve in schools and the food environment
in schools is really important. I think our free school meal programme, we know from the
that I think only 10 % of lunch boxes in the UK meet healthy eating requirements. So as
an intervention in schools, putting in free school meals and then making sure that they're
healthy is a really effective way of sorting out one of those meals a day. It also brings
a lot of cost benefits to families and it's efficient because you've got one person cooking
many meals rather than many parents cooking a single meal for each child. So the investment
in free school meals benefits, I think there's evidence based around the healthiness of them,
the financial benefits of them and the academic benefits of them. So from a public health
perspective they're a very strong investment. Does that answer your question?
Thank you very much. Just to follow up on that, obviously I'm assuming you don't have any data of what are the reasons that the numbers have doubled in year six.
Have you tried to look into and get the feedback from the young people and from the schools as well that if you were to change or modify the menu would that change anything at all?
So when you look at the next time we measure people's weight, we hear adulthood and you
can see just over people's life courses, their BMI, the average, their healthy weight
status, the proportion of people who are overweight and obese increases with age and that's
because they have ongoing exposure to this unhealthy lifestyle and unhealthy environment
that we all live in. So I think it's important that we put in interventions at every age
group and that increase from reception to year six should be alarming and there's
lots that we can do in schools to deal with that but outside of schools children are still
exposed to unhealthy advertising, fast food, you know the culture of giving out sweets
whenever it's your child's birthday which means your children come home with sweets
every day from school because it's always somebody's birthday. There's a lot of things
that we do in our culture and our built environment that impact our lives and the older you get
the more years of experience of that you have unfortunately.
I am going to ask you a question.
Sorry.
You mentioned about the fried food
and I remember
the conversation
in 2023, briefly somehow,
is that there are some
food restaurants
that take away
the chicken shop.
They had the initiative
about the healthy oil initiative
and you guys
were going to go
and maybe subsidise
all of that
because it was really
expensive basically that's why they know everybody was a voluntary thing wasn't
it so I just wanted like an update on that and then my second question is like
obviously you stated like future work will report through like existing
government governance why should members accept this because given like the
scrutinised of identified problems with the oversight last time
So it's a different team to mine that lead on the initiatives around healthy fried chicken
shops and fast food things.
So can I take that question away and bring an update for you there.
In terms of governance, it's a good question and I'd welcome your steer on the next question.
next steps for this and for keeping an eye on the government. I mean ultimately this
reports to the Children and Families Executive and the part of the work that we want to do
around splitting the programme into moving Well Eat and Well Specialised support is that
the existing governance has been quite challenging because of the large number of people that
involved in Child Healthy Weight is the whole council and its partners beyond that as well.
So having a meeting that brings everybody together is very unwieldy and it's not a very
effective use of time because many people will be in the meeting where agenda items
won't be necessarily relevant to them. So the aim is by breaking it into three areas
we're able to really focus the work so that those people that are really involved in helping
people move well in the borough, where there's lots of overlap between
their agendas and priorities, they can collaborate together closely and then
the same for eating well and the same for specialist support which sits more
in the NHS space. So that's the approach to kind of trying to improve the
governance but I would welcome your continued challenge on it.
The three groups you mentioned, is that already happening now or what's the time scale for that?
I'm hoping it will be developed over the next year. The aim is to do some internal work within the Public Health Directorate to reorganise our different work
because it's currently listening to children and adults and bringing that together and then also to then bring partners around it.
This approach was taken to the health and wellbeing board in October time.
They supported the overall approach.
Now it is more trying to make it happen.
Just a recommendation, I don't know if that is already happening for us.
The take away of the restaurant that is already taking part of the initiative,
is that list somewhere or can that be advertised to the local residents?
so they can actually actively choose to go there instead of the unhealthy ones I guess.
Thank you.
My question, I mean since the school has been introduced we've been talking on it for quite
some time now.
I just want to highlight something on the terms of food waste,
because much a little so they go through the local schools as well.
I mean in terms of monitoring, what's your outcome of last few years'
institutional monitoring? Is there any food being, how much food being
where it's probably being served on the plate,
but it's probably not been eaten,
or who is monitoring this?
Is it going to be?
Or what are we doing to annoys children are used to,
so probably unhealthy foods previously.
So that's something we have to sort of overcome
by introducing healthy food
and get the food into their taste
while it's healthy as well.
So are we monitoring that, is there no food being waste, and who is doing it?
And the food is being eaten as well?
Is there school staff or some council staff or whoever it is?
Yeah, thank you. The issue of food waste is really important.
The Fantastic Food in Schools programme that I've just mentioned
has been trying to introduce the concept of family -style dining
into primary schools and one of the outcomes of that is a reduction in food waste. So what
family style dining is, is where children come into the dining room and sit down at
a table and then food is brought to them in the table in large dishes. It's often brought
to them by children in year five and six who really enjoy that opportunity to play the
parent in that group. It's mixed ages as well so there's a sort of social benefits to that.
The advantage of not, the issue with the system of when you have to go up with a tray is that
you have to choose one thing.
So you're only going to choose the thing you know because you know it's safe.
And then if you choose something you don't like, the whole thing goes in the bin and
you don't get lunch.
The advantage with family style dining is that all of the options are on the table.
You know you're going to get something you like but you could also try a little bit of
broccoli and there's no risk there.
And other people are doing it too.
there's a conversation about it. So I think family style dining as part of
Fantastic Foods in Schools is a really important initiative. It takes a lot of
work with the schools, especially the school meal, the midday meal supervisors.
There's logistical challenges if there's a mixed age group in different classes
coming in, so it takes a lot of work from our Healthy Lives team to engage the
schools in transitioning to that. But the schools that have done it have been
overwhelmingly positive about not just food waste but the social aspects, the adventurousness
of children's eating, the children love it and it's been a really fantastic opportunity
for them.
Just one more question. We have over 100 schools in the borough and I believe the offices only
only with 30 of them, I believe.
Not us.
Yeah, that's essentially just a work in progress.
We've got a number of about three offices
that are leading on this and it takes time.
Also schools might, it might not be their main
transformation priority at that moment in time.
So we're just working through the schools on that.
So just on the family style dining, obviously like I think we discussed that as well, the
family style dining you talked about, isn't there like a, because obviously there's a
shortage of staff in school anyway and like isn't there like a, she's from a school, so
she knows, like I can see like a big disadvantage to that when the older kids or the more confident
kids go up and take what they like and it's finished. The kids who don't have, then what happens then?
What do you do then?
Well it's not quite like that. So the year fives and six are given the responsibility for their table.
So they go up and they take a bowl of say peas for the whole table and then they bring it down to the table
and then they are encouraged to share it out and serve up to the little children on the table.
So they really enjoy that experience of caring and sharing.
That's what I've heard anyway. I haven't heard about the food stealing.
I think I was sharing kind of with Shibloo, I think for me we have days where we know the children are not eating the meals.
And the majority of the food goes in the bin. Which then leads on to, which we're trying to ban at the moment, is extra food in the playground.
because what you find is you've got children coming out at the end of the day and parents just giving them stuff.
And it's not necessarily good stuff. So we're trying to put posters at the moment like,
do not feed the children, as opposed to the birds, you know.
But I think that is one of my concerns, because there's times even now when we run out of two options,
going back to the old fashioned way as such, everyone coming through.
And if you're in that situation and everyone's sitting down,
then are we in that same situation?
I mean, I have suggested this, but I'd just like,
is there any schools that we could go and see?
Because I know we've looked at the other schools,
but somewhere where it's actually working,
because it would be really good as well to be able to wave the banners
to the other schools and say,
this school's really fantastic.
Have you thought about doing this in your school?
We can arrange that. There's a school in particular that's been a flagship and they've done a few videos around it.
So we'd be happy to put you in touch with them. Thank you.
Dr. Phillips.
Thank you. I'm a great believer in fruit and vegetables.
So I'm completely with you in trying to get the fruit and vegetables for more of the benefits of fruit and vegetables to be perceived.
When we went and visited the schools two years ago, it was a fascinating experience, I think I can speak for most people,
to see the nitty -gritty of the interaction in the food hall.
And I'm just, again, I recognise this family -style dining
and the work of the years five and year six.
So it sounds as though we're doing all the right things,
but we are trying to move people and change behaviour,
which is slow, I suspect.
Yeah, and I think children come to school with a fixed diet, their own preferences.
They may be used to drinking sugary drinks at home as their main liquid.
So for me, I think I would like us to turn our focus to the early years and think about
how we, what we introduce children to when they first eat solid foods.
Children around the world eat very different things and they eat very different things because that's what their parents give them.
So we can change what children eat if we introduce children to healthy foods from the very beginning.
So we spend a lot of time talking about school meals and that's right but I also think we need to talk about starting solids and healthy eating in the early years as well.
I agree with you on that one.
In regards to education, because obviously I'm like a new parent, I guess you can say
that.
I know the older generation before me, with a lot of the little, from the test scores,
you can buy the little meals.
Nowadays I know a lot of young parents that make the meals.
It's more accessible to social media.
It would be really good if you could have the campaign or run workshops for parents
to show that they can make and help them make it.
Obviously my wife, she just makes it
and puts it in the ice tray and puts the cubes in there.
But not everybody knows that unless you are very
computer savvy or whatever.
Imagine somebody who came from back home.
It would be really good if they could run
a workshop like that.
Yeah, thank you.
Hasnot, can I just ask you your last question?
Thank you, Joe.
So looking at your data on page 5, 2 .2, I could see this was 69 % male and 31 % female
is their uptake. So what targeted action has been taken to address the significant gender
gap in accessing the leisure and physical activity among the girls specifically? And
if there's possibility, I think, to develop a girls physical activity action plan,
which could be co -designed with the young woman, including the culturally appropriate and single gender options,
where needed, I think that could reduce the gender gap.
Thank you.
Thank you. I mean the data came through as I was developing the report,
So we haven't now gone the next step to explore what we're going to do about it.
I think it's a really good question and perhaps that's one we can take away for the group
to, for colleagues to respond to.
Also just to note I think that the proportion of children who are aged 11 to 17 who are
Bangladeshi is higher than 43%.
So I think perhaps there's some ethnicity inequalities there that we could look into
as well.
Is there anything else?
Thank you, Chair.
Chair, just briefly, it is a really important point and it takes us back to our young Mayor and Deputy Mayors
and listening to them and what they say and what young girls say to us about what would attract them to physical activity
and exercise in the same way as you'll be aware we've just opened the Girls Only Youth provision at St Paul's Way
and that was listening to what young girls told us they wanted.
Thank you.
I have the last questions on this please, which is probably still would know.
How the children of the SAND support the access FSM and benefit from improvement in school food provision?
There's ongoing provision for children with SEND through our holiday clubs as stated.
We've also undertaken a physical activity health needs assessment and also a SEND joint
strategic needs assessment recently. Both of those have highlighted gaps in accessing
physical activity opportunities for children with SEND and it varies depending on what
disability or impairment they face. So we see people with visual disabilities have very
different access requirements to somebody with a physical disability, a sort of musculoskeletal
disability, or somebody with autism or other sort of sensory processing needs. There's
So, in both respects, Children with Send will be picked up there.
And I think that's the main strategic place where we're driving improvements around physical
activity for Children with Send.
The council is putting in a bid for that at present or it just went in in the most recent week so that's a kind of work in progress at the moment.
Just a couple of quick points. First of all to say that I think the piece of the work that your committee did looking at school meals was important and helped feedback some issues around the quality provision.
But there is that ongoing discussion isn't there about, because I was talking to primary heads the other day about
some children and parents feeding back by the quantity of food, but when you got into it, the quantity of food was fine
they just didn't want the healthy option that would make it into a proper, like, rounded meal.
So that's an ongoing challenge, but I do think the work you did as a committee was really helpful in that regard.
When we step back and think about children in our borough and when we compare their health and wellbeing to other London boroughs, this is still an area where we stand out.
So obviously it's an area where you as a committee I think will need to come back to us and ask us about progress.
And the final thing, I'm sorry to do this again, but I just need to embarrass Katie.
Katie's got a new job, she's leaving us but she's done a decent shift, she's done eight years here
and she's made a really positive difference for our children so I just want to thank Katie.
Thank you.
We miss Katie from our team, so you've been great.
Good news in the bad news.
Yes, well that's bad news that you're leaving us, so it's a great contribution to the school of children.
Thank you.
Thank you, that's very kind. Please keep thinking about children's health and healthy weight.
Thank you.
Yeah, grateful.
Finally, anybody from the online want to say anything or questions?
No, thank you.
Thank you, Katie.
Our scrutiny panel, our GAFE announcement is due to Ramadan next month, this month.
Our meeting will be moved from 16th of March, Monday, but will be scheduled at 5 o 'clock
instead of 6 .30.
Can you make a note on that, please?
Monday 16th of March, our next meeting, we're scheduling at 5 o 'clock, 5 p .m.
So pre -meeting 5 o 'clock and main meeting 5 .30.
So it should consider the lifted time.
So, I think that's it for this meeting.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
and then reconvene the meeting to conclusion.
Any issues you want to tell me before I conclude the meeting for tonight?
The 16th is our last meeting?
Well, should we all go for if, after?
I'm the counsellor.
Can I say it's an impossible dilemma the country faces over organising any ban on the smartphones,
mobile phones.
I mean, we've seen such a fantastic range of abilities and they were all clear, they
were using their mobile phones to produce the material and disseminate it.
So I'm not sure this is quite relevant, Councillor, but I'm sure all of these will...
Thank you for noting, Dr Phillips.
And on that basis, we have closed the meeting.
Thank you very much. Thank you.