Children's Services and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Panel
Tuesday 29 January 2008
CHILDREN’S SERVICES AND LEISURE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL
29 JANUARY 2008 (Reconvened on 11 February 2008)
PRESENT: Councillors Lenton (Chairman), Mrs Pitteway (Vice-Chairman), Baskerville, Bicknell (substituting for Councillor Mrs Bursnall), J Evans, Mrs Luxton and Mrs Stock.
Non Members: Councillors Grey, Mrs Herdson and Mrs Quick.
Officers: Mr Abrahamson, Mr Bradley, Mr Brooker, Mrs Chandler, Mrs Crispin, Mr J Gould, Mr Herlinger, Mrs Hewitt, Mr Horler, Mr Jones, Mr Lake, Mr A Scott, Mr D Scott, Mr Taylor, Mr Turner and Mr Wright
part i
55/07 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for Absence were received from Councillor Mrs Bursnall.
56/07 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
The following declarations of interests were received:
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 the Chairman of Windsor and Maidenhead Voluntary Action and her daughter was a teacher at Charters School.
Councillor Baskerville declared a personal interest as a Borough appointed representative on Castle Hill Youth and Community Centre Management Committee.
Councillor Mrs Luxton declared a personal interest as a School Governor.
57/07 MINUTES
- RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 12 December 2007 be approved.
Members considered a report on the performance of the Community and Youth Service for 2006/7. The report contained details on the performance of the Service against the national targets that had been set for youths aged 13-19, which the authority were required to monitor. The report also outlined the initiatives and range of activities provided; including those that were provided for other age groups, and highlighted the future developments of the service in 2008/2009.
In response to a number of questions, the Officers advised how the service was coping with the problem of a shortage of Youth Workers (which was a national problem), commented upon the recruitment of volunteers and provided further information on the reasons for the cessation of the Millennium Volunteer Project.
59/07 APPOINTMENT OF LEA REPRESENTATIVES TO GOVERNING BODIES OF SCHOOLS IN THE ROYAL BOROUGH
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 21 February 2008, 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 and fully endorsed the current applicants.
- RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the above comments.
60/07 CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF LEA REPRESENTATIVES TO GOVERNING BODIES OF SCHOOLS IN THE ROYAL BOROUGH
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 21 February 2008 on the adoption of a revised Code of Practice for the appointment of LEA representatives to Governing Bodies of schools in the Royal Borough. It was noted that Code of Practice had been written in accordance with the School Governance Regulations (2007) and that the revisions proposed provided a more comprehensive Code.
- RESOLVED That the Panel recommends that Cabinet accept the revised Code of Practice.
61/07 CHILDREN'S TRUST ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 21 February 2008 on the proposed governance and accountability framework for the Royal Borough’s Children’s Trust arrangements, for implementation from April 2008. It was noted that one of the key requirements arising from the Children Act 2004 and the Every Child Matters agenda was the duty of Local Authorities to develop Children’s Trust arrangements. Members were advised that Children’s Trusts brought together all those involved in delivering Children’s Services locally into a single organisational focus to design and deliver integrated services around the needs of children and young people.
In response to a number of questions, further information was provided on the nature and role of the Outcome Groups and the Sounding Boards and on the appointment of the Chairman to the Children’s Trust Commissioning Group.
Arising from the debate, the Panel expressed its gratitude to all those involved in the establishment of the Trusts and fully endorsed the proposed governance and accountability framework for the Royal Borough's Children’s Trust arrangements.
- RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the above comments.
62/07 EVERY DISABLED CHILD MATTERS
Members were advised that Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts had been invited to sign a Charter containing nine maxims affirming practical commitment to strategic planning of provision of services for disabled children. The Charter was central to a campaign led by a consortium of pressure groups representing the interests of disabled children and their families to promote best practice in central and local government.
Members considered a report that provided an initial assessment of the Royal Borough’s progress towards the nine maxims and the actions that had been identified in the light of the initial assessment. Members of the Panel welcomed the progress that was being made and endorsed the recommendations for further action.
- RESOLVED: That the report be referred to the Children’s Trust Executive Board for consideration and that a further progress report be submitted to the Panel in 12 months.
63/07 RISING NUMBERS IN WINDSOR FIRST SCHOOLS
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 21 February 2008 on the proposal to consult with stakeholders on a range of options to expand first school provision in Windsor. The report provided an overview of past and present first school numbers in Windsor and outlined the proposed forecast of pupil numbers, which indicated that overall number of children on roll would rise considerably over the next five years. It was noted that the option to expand St Edward’s Catholic Primary School and Homer First School would be deleted from the consultation.
In response to a number of questions, the officers advised that the proposed increase in pupil numbers had not taken into account the pressure arising from rising 5 admissions and commented further on the schools where expansion was being proposed and also the constraints that prevented some schools expanding further. Arising from the debate, the Panel were of the opinion that the consultation should be considered in conjunction with the proposed consultation on the First Admission to School.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet be advised that the Panel endorses the range of options proposed but requests that the outcome of the consultation be considered along with the proposed consultation on the First Admission to School (rising 5's).
64/07 FIRST ADMISSION TO SCHOOL
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 21 February 2008 on the proposal to consult on changing the current policy on children’s first admission to school. Members were advised of the pressure facing a number of Borough schools to admit rising fives, particularly in the light of the Childcare Act 2006, which had placed a range of new duties on local authorities in relation to Early Years and Childcare Services for children and their families.
Arising from the debate concern was expressed about how the change in policy would affect nursery schools and independent providers.
- RESOLVED: That Cabinet be advised that the Panel endorses the proposal to consult on changing the policy on first admission to school but expresses the view that the review should be much broader and should take into account other factors such as the implications for Nurseries and independent providers.
Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 21 February 2008 which outlined the achievements of schools within the Royal Borough for the Academic Year 2006-2007. Using statistical comparisons with national figures, the report identified standards of achievement from the foundation stage to Key Stage 5. The report also provided details of those areas that had been identified as requiring further development, which, where appropriate, would be addressed in the Borough’s Children and Young Peoples’ Plan for 2007-2008.
Members were advised that, overall, pupils continued to receive good quality education within the Royal Borough and that the attainment of pupils continued to be high in comparison to the national average. In addition, Ofsted inspection outcomes had been generally positive and had reflected the good quality of education provided.
Arising from the debate, the Panel congratulated Headteachers, teachers, support staff, governors and officers for the high standard of education within the Borough Schools. The high attainment levels by pupils in the Borough's First/Primary and Secondary Schools was welcomed but concern was expressed about issues facing Windsor Middle Schools. Members spent a considerable amount of time discussing the middle school issues and noted the measures that had been introduced to address the situation, in particular, the sharing of expertise between the Middle Schools and between the Middle Schools and the Upper Schools. A number of suggested format changes to future reports were put forward, such as the inclusion of further comparisons with previous years figures regarding schools' inspection reports (including date of inspection), attendance and exclusion statistics. The Panel also asked for absence figures to be analysed by ethnicity.
RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the above comments.
Members received the latest 2007/08 Budget Monitoring Report for all service areas, with areas relevant to the Children’s Services and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Panel highlighted. In response to a number of questions, the Officers provided a comparison of the foster care costs for a child compared to residential care costs; although it was stressed that the costs would vary dependant upon the needs and requirements of the individual child. The reasons for the overspend on the re-provision of Woodlands Park Youth and Community Centre were also outlined.
67/07 BUDGET REPORT 2008/9
The Officers then responded to a number of questions raised by Members regarding the content of the report. Arising from the debate, the Panel made a number of comments on the report as follows:-
Revenue Budget 2008/09
Concern was expressed about the effect any proposed reductions in the level of administrative and support staff in the area of learning and achievement would have on the service, although the Panel were encouraged by the assurance given that any savings could be accommodated without detriment to the level and quality of service provided.
Capital Programme
With regard to the Capital bids, the Panel were of the opinion that the priority of the bids should be maintained, subject to the following comments:-
- It was considered that the proposed funding of the Legionella Surveys (bids 131 and 132) should be a higher priority in the light of the health and safety implications. The Panel expressed concern that the surveys were at risk of not being funded given their relative low priority.
Clarification be sought on the status of the Lowbrook additional classroom scheme (bid 212).
RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to the inclusion of the comments outlined above.
Members noted the items that had been identified for submission to the next meeting and agreed that a further item - The monitoring of the effectiveness of Governing Bodies - be included in the Panel’s work programme.
RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting whilst discussion takes place on items 16 – 20 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 - 7 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.