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AGENDA
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Apologies for Absence
-
Declarations of Interest
- Minutes
To receive the minutes
of the meeting held on 6 November 2001 (EX3
- TO FOLLOW) and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom.
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Petitions and Public
Address
- Integrated Early Years
and Childcare Service
Forward Plan Ref: 31/2001
Report by the Chief
Education Officer, the Director of Social Services
and the County Treasurer (EX5).
The report sets
out detailed proposals to establish a new integrated early years and childcare
service within the County Council. The new service would be based in the
Education Department and would include all existing Social Services early
years and childcare functions. This proposal arises from the recent Best
Value Review of Early Years and Childcare.
A joint Social Services/Education
Steering Group has carried out consultations with staff and with a number
of external bodies affected. The resource implications have been assessed
and broad agreement has been reached on the need to transfer resources
from Social Services to Education in 2002/03 to help meet the management
and support costs of the new service. Agreement has also been reached
to end the Social Services recharge to Education from April 2002 onwards.
The Steering Group‘s full report is attached at Agenda Item (EX5).
The Executive
is RECOMMENDED to:
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approve the
establishment of a new integrated early years and childcare service
within the Education Department from April 2002, as set out in the
joint Steering Group’s report;
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note that
the new service will operate as a single County Council service in
which social care values and those relating to learning and development
will have equal importance;
-
approve the
creation of a new Senior Education Officer post and 1.5 new administrative
posts within the Education Department as part of the establishment
of the new service with effect from April 2002, the new posts and
the other costs of the new service to be financed from either existing
resources or from external grant funding;
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agree that
the Social Services recharge to the Education budget should be discontinued
from April 2002.
- The Foundation Stage
of Learning
(Children 3-5 Years) – Approval to Consultation Process
Forward Plan Ref: 32/2001-
Report by
the Chief Education Officer (EX6).
The Foundation Stage
is the new national framework for young children’s learning between the
ages of 3 and 5. The framework applies to all settings which offer publicly
funded education to children within this age range.
The Foundation Stage
was one of the key issues addressed in the recent Best Value Review of
Early Years and Childcare. As one of the key tasks arising from the review,
officers have drawn up a draft discussion/consultation document entitled
“Learning 3 to 5” (download as rtf). The
document sets out a five point strategy for implementing the Foundation
Stage in the period 2002-2007 and some of the specific actions needed
to take the strategy forward.
The issues raised
in the draft consultation document are highly significant for the Council.
This is because:
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They affect a
very large number of children and families across the County,
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They have the
potential to raise children’s educational achievement and to contribute
positively to the Council’s social inclusion objectives,
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They are likely
to impact on many individual providers and partner organisations in
the private and voluntary sectors,
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They have substantial
and long term resource implications for the Council.
In the light
of the above factors, the Executive is asked to:
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endorse the
draft “Learning 3 to 5” for public consultation in November 2001 –
January 2002 along the lines outlined in the report;
- consider what
role, if any, Councillors should play in the consultation exercise.
- Cycle Routes – Bloxham
and Culham
Forward Plan Ref: 26/2001
Report by
the Director of Environmental Services (EX7).
This report deals
with cycle provision along two routes, in Bloxham and Culham, that have
been previously considered by the Highways & Road Safety Sub-Committee.
It seeks approval for the implementation of a ‘Toucan’ crossing and conversion
of footways to shared use.
The schemes are designed
to promote safety and convenience for cyclists, and the new crossing in
Bloxham will also be of substantial assistance to pedestrians. The Bloxham
proposals are also designed to enhance the National Cycle Network route
through the village. The Culham proposals are part of the County Council’s
Cycle/Rail to Oxford project which supports the Council's strategy to
encourage use of public transport.
The Bloxham proposal
has not been included in the Forward Plan; however, it is not considered
that the decision being sought amounts to a key decision, and it is therefore
open to the Executive to consider the report and determine the recommendations.
The Executive
is RECOMMENDED to:-
-
approve the
implementation of the ‘Toucan’ crossing in A361 South Newington Road,
Bloxham as shown on drawing no BPN768/B3250 Rev B;
-
approve the
conversion to shared use footway/cycle track of the lengths of footway:
under sections
66 (4) and 65 (1) of the Highways Act 1980.
- Forward Plan
The Executive Procedure
Rules provide that the business of each meeting of the Executive is to
include “updating of the Forward Plan and proposals for business to be
conducted at the following meeting”.
The Forward Plan
must formally be updated on a monthly basis, in accordance with a schedule
of published dates; the next publication date, for the period December
2001 – March 2002, is 19 November 2001. It will therefore be necessary
to determine the content for the roll-forward month, and any amendments
for the preceding 3 months, at this meeting. Recommendations for amendments
and additions are attached as EX8 (Schedules
1 and 2).
As to business for
the next meeting, the Forward Plan gives either a specific or general
indication of possible items; members are asked to indicate their own
priorities for the items to be brought forward to the next (or any following)
meeting, subject of course to the ability of officers to provide the necessary
reports and other information, external deadlines and any other relevant
constraints. Items allocated to November in the Forward Plan list (as
now proposed to be amended) are included in EX8 as Schedule 3.
The Executive
is RECOMMENDED to:
-
determine
the content of the next Forward Plan, for the period December 2001
– March 2002;
-
identify
any specific items it would wish to see included in the Agenda for
the next meeting and (if considered appropriate) any subsequent meeting.
- Publicity
Members may wish
to identify any matters considered at this meeting which should be the
subject of particular publicity; and if so:
The Executive
is RECOMMENDED to instruct relevant members and/or officers accordingly.
November 2001
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