Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.

The Deputy Leader of the Cabinet presented a report from the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People proposing a re-design in the way in which Children’s Centres in Bury are currently operating to support under 5’s and their families.

The proposal involved five Children Centre Hubs and one ‘spoke’ to deliver targeted services to the most vulnerable families across the borough and would come under the control of the Local Authority. The focus of the Hubs and ‘spoke’ will be on the delivery of:

·      Improved health for U5’s

·      Improved school readiness for U5’s

·      Effective early intervention in safeguarding

·      Improvements in families’ economic prospects

The Hubs will be resourced based upon recognised need as detailed in the Index of Multiple Deprivation Rankings. Staffing would involve a shift in the balance from co-ordination, management and administration posts to front-line outreach support with 24 additional outreach staff being deployed into the community.

The remaining eight current Children’s Centres will be de-designated as centres and seven of the centres will be converted to provide for the delivery of the 2 year old childcare offer for the 40% most deprived families in the borough. Currently there is shortage of these places in Bury.

The Local Authority will not run the 2 year old provision but will tender the service out to interested providers. There will be an initial subsidy of the rents for these centres to encourage schools or private providers to enter the market for two year old provision.

Questions and comments were invited from Members of the Committee and the following issues were raised:

·      Councillor J Smith expressed concerns in relation to the different tiers of funding associated with the ‘Hubs’ and ‘Spokes’ and the possibility of further cuts in the future. Councillor Smith enquired about the criteria used to select the ‘Hubs’ and highlighted the lack of consultation with Elected Members prior to proposals being formulated.

The Deputy Leader explained that a number of variables were taken into account when deciding on proposals including deprivation and the number of social care contacts. The Deputy Leader highlighted that the proposals reflected a targeted approach based on need but stressed that all proposals were subject to consultation with no decisions having been taken.

·      With regard to the issue of outreach workers, the Deputy Cabinet Member explained that it was envisaged that worker would require a base and community venues/Council assets would be looked at for this.

·      In response to a question concerning the possible use of school sites to provide nursery provision for 2 year olds, the Assistant Director of Learning referred to ongoing discussions with Primary Heads and Governors. It was reported that there had been some interest, but any  decisions would be largely dependent on the development of a viable business model.

·      Councillor Carter requested that a map be provided to Members, highlighting the location of Children’s Centres in the Borough.

·      In response to concerns about the length of time for the tendering process for the 2 year old offer, the Assistant Director explained that tenders cannot be developed until the decision making process has concluded. Furthermore, prospective providers would need to be registered with and inspected by Ofsted.

·      The Chair, Councillor Gartside, highlighted the issue of nursery places for 2 year olds. The Assistant Director acknowledged that there was a shortfall, but not in all areas of the Borough. An undertaking was given to provide current figures on this issue.

·      Councillor J Smith recognised the financial constraints faced by the Council and welcomed the decision to concentrate on areas of deprivation and the offer of increased nursery provision for 2 year olds.

It was agreed:

1.  That the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People be requested to examine whether the consultation period could be extended by 3 weeks to reflect the period that had elapsed between publication of the initial consultation document and the subsequent extended version.

2.  That all comments from the drop in sessions be recorded and fed into the consultation process.

3.  That, subject to final proposals being agreed by Cabinet, a report be submitted to this Committee 6 months after implementation.