Children's Services and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Panel
Tuesday 20 November 2007
CHILDREN’S SERVICES AND LEISURE
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL
20 NOVEMBER 2007
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL
20 NOVEMBER 2007
PRESENT: Councillors Lenton (Chairman), Mrs Pitteway (Vice-Chairman), Baskerville, Mrs Bursnall, J Evans, Mrs Luxton and Mrs Stock.
Also present: Councillor Mrs Quick
Officers: Mr A Abrahamson, Mrs E Hornby, Mr A Scott, Mr D Scott and Mr C Turner.
part i
39/07 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
- The following declarations of interests were received:
Councillor Lenton declared a personal interest as he had been approached to become a Governor of Wraysbury Primary School.
Councillor Mrs Luxton declared a personal interest as Governor for Charters School.
Councillor Mrs Pitteway declared a personal interest as a School Governor.
Councillor Mrs Stock declared a personal interest as a Governor at Courthouse Junior School, her husband was Non-Executive Director of the Berkshire East Primary Care Trust and her daughter was a teacher at Charters School.
40/07 MINUTES
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 2 October 2007 be approved.
41/07 FEES, CHARGES & ALLOWANCES 2008/09
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 22 November 2007 on the proposed fees, charges and allowances for 2008/2009 that fell within the remit of the Panel. In response to a number of questions, the Officers explained the reasons for the increase in some of the charges above the rate of inflation. In particular, the charges for Allotments had increased in order to reduce the level of subsidy, although it was stressed that the demand for allotments remained high, and that the charges for some leisure related services had increased or had remained the same in order that those services remained commercially competitive.
Arising from the debate, Members of the Panel considered that some of the charges being proposed appeared to be higher than one would have expected. In addition, it was suggested that future reports provide an indication of the cost of the service and level of subsidy. It was also noted that the reduced level or nil increase on some prices was an effective way to target the resources of the Council to offer positive opportunities to specific user groups.
RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the comments outlined above.
42/07 APPOINTMENT OF LEA REPRESENTATIVES TO GOVERNING BODIES OF SCHOOLS IN THE ROYAL BOROUGH
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 13 December 2007, which advised Members of vacancies that had arisen or would shortly arise for education authority representatives on governing bodies within the Royal Borough, and of nominations received.
Arising from the debate, the Panel welcome the additional information provided on the nominees, was particularly pleased with the calibre of applicants seeking nomination and fully endorsed the current applicant.
RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the above comments.
43/07 ANNUAL CONSULTATION ON SCHOOL ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 13 December 2007 on the statutory consultation on school admission arrangements. Members were advised that the report would be amended to include a proposal to amend the Designated Catchment Areas for Oldfield Primary and Holyport Primary schools. A number of typographical inaccuracies in the report, which would be amended prior to the submission of the report to Cabinet, were also highlighted.
Arising from the discussion, Members expressed disappointment that the consultation did not contain any details about the review of rising 5’s; concern about the staffing shortage in the School Admissions section and the effect that would have on the service; and surprise at the low position of the aptitude criteria for children wishing to gain entry to Charters and Windsor Boys’ School, bearing in mind that Specialist Schools were given additional funding to support the specialist activity.
In response to those concerns, the Panel were advised that the rising 5’s issue had not been overlooked but that there were other issues that had taken a higher priority and that the position of the aptitude criteria had been agreed in consultation with relevant education partners.
RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the comments and proposed amendments as outlined above.
44/07 SERVICE MONITORING REPORT CHILDREN’S SERVICES & LEISURE SERVICES
The Panel received and noted the latest 2007/08 Children’s Services and Leisure monitoring report. With regard to the projected £40,000 overspend in respect of the Speech & Language Therapy service, Members noted that the overspend was due to an increase in demand for the service. Members expressed concern that 26 children were on the waiting list for Speech Therapy and that a vacant Speech and Language Therapy post remained unfilled. The officers advised that attempts to fill that vacant post were ongoing and that the speech and language therapy service were revising the way it worked in order to address the issue, such as Speech and Language Therapists passing on their expertise to teachers to enable them to self-support when needed. It was agreed that the issue be closely monitored and that it be highlighted in the next Service Monitoring Report.
The Officers also provided further information on the overspend in the Youth and Community – Outdoor Education Project and the reasons for the differences in cost for external and internal foster care.
45/07 HOLYPORT MANOR SCHOOL
Members received an update on progress with the proposal to develop a new special school on the Cox Green site to replace the existing Holyport Manor School. Plans had been developed and had been presented to the Holyport Manor Steering Group, which had given its broad support to the proposal. It was noted that the School’s Governing Body had asked that the proposal contain a distinctive feature, which was currently being evaluated. Members were advised that the proposal contained a number of ‘Green’ features, which, although the initial costs would be high, would generate long-term environmental and financial benefits.
It was suggested that the possibility of addressing the flooding of the highway under the nearby railway bride during the construction of the project be investigated, subject to there being no cost to the project.
The Panel recorded its gratitude to the Officers, in particular Mr Thomas, for their hard work in developing and progressing the scheme.
46/07 TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Panel received relevant extracts from the Council’s Constitution relating to the operation and terms of reference of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels. Following some discussion it was agreed that a Working Group be set up to draw up specific terms of reference for the Panel.
RESOLVED: That a Working Group be established, comprising Councillors Baskerville, Lenton, and Mrs Pitteway, to draw up specific terms of reference for the Panel.
47/07 WORK PROGRAMME
Members noted the items that had been identified for submission to the next meeting and identified a number of items for inclusion in the work programme.
48/07 CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENT – BOROUGH’S LEISURE CENTRES
Members were advised of the results of the assessment of the operation and performance of the Borough’s Leisure Centres against the leisure industry’s national accreditation standards and best practice - QUEST. The Magnet Leisure Centre had been assessed as joint third in the country, out of a total of 777 leisure centres, with a score of 85%, and that the Windsor Leisure Centre had been ranked seventh in the country, with a score of 81%. The Panel congratulated the officers and the staff at the two leisure centres for that achievement and asked that their thanks be passed on to all the staff as it was recognised that the results were very largely due to their efforts and service to the public.
49/07 MEETING
The meeting, which began at 7.30pm, concluded at 9.00pm.