Issue - meetings

(Report of the Director of Children’s Services – To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children): To set out a proposed model for delivery of Children’s Centres. To follow

NOTE BY HEAD OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY AND MEMBER SERVICES

In accordance with Part Four Section B Paragraph 17 of the Constitution only the item set out in this notice may be considered at the special meeting, and no other business shall be considered.

It was noted that the previous proposed model for the delivery of Children’s Centres in the borough had been the subject of a call in. At this Overview & Scrutiny meeting stakeholders, such as head teachers, children’s centre managers, had expressed their unhappiness around the consequences and impact of the proposed model.  The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s service had asked officers to undertake further work, with the involvement of interested parties, known as the Children’s Centre’s Alliance, to develop an alternative model for the delivery of children’s centre services. Subsequently a Children’s Centres task group was formed to undertake this work. The group included Head teachers, a Chair of Governors, Centre Managers from school-run centres, the Head of an LA-run centre, local authority officers (including those representing children’s social care), and representation from health services. Meetings were held with the wider Children’s Centre Alliance group, and with partners in the NHS, to develop an alternative model. 

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People placed on record her thanks to the working group and Alliance for their participation and hard work in compiling this alternative proposal in a short timescale.  The new proposed alternative model was considered by both the Alliance and Council as an acceptable way forward. As was maintained and made clear following the call-in of the May Children’s Centre report, there would be no additional long-term funding for Highgate, Rokesly and North Bank Children’s Centres other than the commitment already given that money will continue to be made available to pay accommodation costs for health services to continue from these centres.However through a one off pump priming grant, the Council were able to support them to stay open. The pump priming grant would discontinue after a year but it would allow the centres time to develop business models  on how children’s centre  related  activities  could  continue to be provided from the centre.

In considering the proposed model for delivery of children centres, there were some similarities between the model presented in the enclosed report and that set out in the report of 18^th May 2011. It was based on four clusters, it did not feature ‘lead’ centres, and the work of each cluster would be overseen by a Local Partnership Board. There were now also some key differences. The composition of the clusters was different. With the exception of the existing local authority-run centres, staff will be employed and line managed not by the local authority but by the school in which they are primarily based. Whilst centres would work together to plan services across the cluster, there was no Cluster Manager role to co-ordinate/ oversee provision.

We noted that number of cluster options was considered by the Task Group. The preferred option was set out in the table in paragraph 9.2 of the report and was selected on the basis that it:

• Breaks through east/west barriers
• Builds on existing relationships and links
• Reflects patterns of family usage
• Is widely supported by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38