A presentation providing information on the proposed new delivery model for Children’s Centres in Bury will be given on the evening.
Minutes:
Ian Chambers, Assistant Director of Learning, attended the meeting and gave a presentation on the proposed new delivery model for Children’s Centres in Bury.
The meeting was informed of the key objectives for Bury Children’s Centres, which were:
§ To improve the health for under 5’s – measured by higher rates of breast feeding, reduced obesity and improved dental hygiene.
§ To improve child development – measured by improved school readiness and an increasing proportion of children achieving a good level of development.
§ Reducing the risk of mistreatment or abuse of under 5’s – measured by reductions in the rate of family needs, escalating to a level requiring family intervention.
§ Improving families’ economic prospects – measured by reduced numbers of under 5’s in households that are on benefits.
It was reported that these objectives will be used to drive resource allocation to specific Centre activities. The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) rankings will be used to directly allocate overall resources – funding being directly linked to deprivation. The driver will be the number of children within a reach area for a Children’s Centre who are under 5 and living in a Lower Super Output Area. These are among the 40% most deprived nationally.
The presentation provided detailed information of the targeted support on offer as part of the objectives in relation to health, school readiness, early help and job readiness. Specific detail was also provided in relation to the proposed Children’s Centre Hubs across Bury. The meeting was informed as to how each Hub would work, the staffing changes involved, outreach deployment and of the necessary steps required in order to convert the other sites in order to deliver the 2 year offer in Bury.
It was reported that from September 2014, 40% of 2 year olds should have access to free nursery places (a total of 1,177 children in Bury). There was a current forecast of a shortage of 638 places as at October 2014. The Council propose that Children’s Centres which are no longer required as Hubs will be offered as centres for the 2 year old offer.
In relation to service costs, it was reported that the total expenditure on Children’s Centres in 2013/14 was £2.875 m. The Council had seen a reduction of the Government’s Early Intervention Grant of over £2.8 m since 2012/13. The new proposed model of delivery will cost £1.949 m which will deliver a proposed savings target for the service of £820 k.
Cabinet considered the proposal on 3 September 2014 and agreed that there will be a full 12 week consultation on the proposals with all Children’s Centres leaders, staff, users and stakeholders; this has now been extended to 15 December 2014 and a report back to Cabinet in January 2015 with proposals for implementation. If agreed, there will then be a full 30 day consultation with staff and the implementation would begin from 1 April 2015.
Bury East Township Forum, 24 November 2014
Questions and comments were invited from those present at the meeting and the following issues were raised:
· Councillor Cassidy asked what the response to the consultation had been and whether it was correct that Chesham Fold would stay open in Moorside Ward?
Ian explained there had been a good response. He had been to all the Township Forums, which had been well attended and had received plenty of feedback regarding the proposals. In relation to Chesham Fold, it could be converted to the 2 year old offer.
· Peter Firth, Chief Officer from the Mosses Centre, explained that they have a pre-school at the Centre which is full with 2 year olds which is cost effective. Is this an area that has been considered?
Ian explained that following the Township Forums, alternative venues have been offered, such as Church Halls. Some schools have nurseries but others don’t which is more costly and consultations are taking place with the voluntary and private sectors over this.
· Sue Arnall explained that she has already contributed to the consultation but wanted to express that the Children’s Centres met the needs of Parents, especially new Mothers and it was a great shame to lose them. Although the number of outreach workers would increase there would be a reduction of support staff which could prove challenging if there was not the professional support available.
· Tan Ahmed (ADAB) asked about the Universal Provision and if there was any information available on the pilot which had taken place in Radcliffe.
Ian reported that the Hubs will co-ordinate the delivery of targeted services across their area and provide some Universal Provision, eg stay and play and host universal services from other partners and sign post where activities are taking place for families to access these services. In relation to the pilot in Radcliffe, Ian stated that he would make the information available.
It was agreed:
That Ian Chambers be thanked for his presentation.