Issue - meetings

(Report of the Director of the Children and the Young People’s Service – To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People): To report on the proposed re-organisation of children’s centres, extended school services, play and youth services within each children’s network to provide families with better joined up services.

Provision for 0-19 year olds (outside statutory schooling) (Report of the Director of the Children and Young People’s Service – Agenda Item 9)

Councillor Amin declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of working in a children’s centre in another borough.

In introducing the report the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People advised that a review of the five Council-run children’s centres had started over six months ago and the report now under consideration was, in part, the culmination of that review.  Parents and staff had been consulted during this process and, in particular, during the formal consultation period.  Most staff within the play service had been consulted at staff meetings and the managers of the five Council-run children’s centres had been involved throughout the review.  Children’s centre managers had met and discussed the proposals with their staff.

Further discussions would be held with parents, staff and others on a centre by centre basis if the proposals set out in the report were approved.  

The report provided a detailed set of proposals supported by the results of the consultation.  The proposals followed the strategic direction that Central Government was asking of the Council and offered considerable benefits to children and their families.  The future management options for Triangle and Noel Park Children’s Centres were set out clearly in the report and, as stated, there would be further consultation regarding Triangle on a local level. The three schools named had been approached and initial discussions held.  Two of the schools were in  favour in principle, subject to further detailed work, and a meeting was planned with the third school. The Centres would continue under the management of the Council if local schools chose not to take over the management.  However, the Council would seek to understand the reasons why a school did not want to do so.

In response to the specific points made by the deputation in their presentation we noted that the consultation had run for one month in line with the Council’s guidance on local consultation and that Government guidance for 12 week periods for consultation concerned statutory consultation of large scale change not consultations such as this one.

The consultation document could not have been clearer in what it was asking of stakeholders.  The aim was to set out proposals for the strategic direction in joining up 0-19 services rather than a detailed consultation on a centre by centre basis.If the recommendations in the report were approved then further discussions would be held on a local centre by centre basis with key stakeholders, including staff and their union representatives and parents, as these proposals were taken forward and the detail was worked upon. As the report set out recommendations for further formal consultation specifically around the future management options for the Triangle Children’s Centre it would also help to answer concerns raised, as would the firmer proposal around Noel Park Children’s Centre.

The two consultation sessions for parents had been held  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143