Agenda item

At its 23 February meeting Cabinet will consider a report on the proposed future of Children, Education and Family Services including children's centres and early intervention services. The report and associated papers are attached for the attention of Performance Scrutiny Committee members. 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider the proposed future work of Children, Education and Families Directorate, and to make any recommendations on those matters to Cabinet.

At its 23 February meeting Cabinet will consider a report on the proposed future of Children, Education and Family Services including children's centres and early intervention services. The report and associated papers were considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee members. 

Charlie Payne, speaking as a service user, highlighted the information she had provided to members. She referred to page 108 of the report which illustrated the public rejection of the options proposed. She believed that the report failed to consider the consultation and failed to take an evidence based approach and the recommendations should be rejected. She would wish to see economic modelling and use made of the Evaluation of Children’s Centres in England Research Report. Consideration should be given to keeping all the centres open on reduced hours, if necessary’ until such time as funding can be found to return them to current levels of service.

Responding to questions from members Charlie Payne explained what she meant by economic modelling and the evidence that she felt the Council needed to consider in reaching a decision. She felt that the Council needed to understand the impact of their decision on other services. Referring to the numbers responding to the consultation she commented that as a percentage of users of children’s centres it was significant (10%) and that the consensus was to reject the proposals.

Jim Leivers, Director for Children’s Services, Lucy Butler, Deputy Director, Children’s Social Care YOS, Rebecca Matthews, Interim Deputy Director Education & Early Intervention presented the report and associated papers, explaining the context of the proposals and the approach taken including the role of the Cabinet Advisory Group.

During lengthy discussion Performance Scrutiny Committee:

·         Thanked officers for their work in developing the proposals and undertaking the extensive consultation, and to those who responded to the consultation with their views and ideas for maintaining services.

·         Recognised the financial and demand imperatives for delivering the service in a different way, and supported the overall focus on the County Council’s statutory responsibilities and services to the most vulnerable.

·         Noted that Council has agreed both a temporary £1m of 'pump priming' funding for local groups who may wish to take on the running of current universal services, and £2m of additional core funding towards children's centres and early intervention hubs (i.e. a reduction in the long-term savings target from the previously proposed £8m to the originally agreed £6m).

Performance Scrutiny Committee AGREED to:

·         Ask Cabinet to ensure that the additional funding over and above what was anticipated in preparing officer recommendations should be used to retain as many services as possible in appropriate locations, with as much open access provision as possible.

·         Request that this is delivered through the undertaking of a "service and geography gap analysis" which identified those areas and service users who would be most disadvantaged by the current proposed pattern of provision.

·         Suggest that the deployment of the additional funding should be used in a way which reduces compulsory redundancies, both to reduce the cost to the authority and to retain the most skilled and experienced workers.

·         Recommend Cabinet to incorporate all of Paragraph 72 of Annex 4, into the recommendations so that with the possible support of the £2m some universal services which could include health visiting services can be maintained in the childcare settings.

·         Support the ambition of any local areas, voluntary groups, district, town, and parish councils, and independent providers who wish to operate a children's centre which would otherwise close with no, or significantly reduced, council funding.

Performance Scrutiny Committee further commented that they would also welcome:

·         An emphasis on the full age range of children and young people being supported by the service, in order that 'early help' is delivered across the 0-19 age range and youth engagement is maintained.

·         Written clarity around the costs of, and service provided, by the bus-based outreach service, whose work members support.

·         A briefing on any legal or central government challenge which has been presented to other local authorities who have undertaken the closure of children's centres.

·         Further information around how the process for engaging with organisations and groups exploring alternative models of provision will be structured.

In addition to a discussion focused around changes to the public-facing service Performance Scrutiny Committee also discussed the council's role in education, and action on safeguarding. On these issues Performance Scrutiny:

·         Affirmed the desire for Education Scrutiny Committee to organise a member briefing on school attainment and the council's remaining role.

·         Remained concerned that Oxfordshire may "lose out" as a result of a weakened relationship with schools, and asked that education-related policy form part of devolution discussions.

·         Thanked officers involved, and praised the improvements to safeguarding provision including the opening of new local residential provision, and the authority's work with "NEET"s.