Minutes:
(1) Councillor Cutts referred to the replacement of the Old School with the New at Herringthorpe at a cost of over £8 million. He asked for an explanation as to the circumstances that prevent us from affording the grass seed for the Playing Field.
Councillor Lakin reported that the new building work required extensive alterations to the school site. The new external works include a new infant playground, an extended and re-surfaced junior play ground. A new football pitch had been created which was not only level but also drained and fully seeded. This was to open in time for the school to use when it moved into the new building. Much of the frontage of the school was turfed in order that it was instantly accessible.
Some of the other areas of the school site had been designed by our architectural services and use was made of wild flower meadow seed on some of the banks. These produce a colourful flower display. Some additional work was being carried out over the summer to the wetlands area to remove surplus soil.
(2) Councillor Cutts referred to the support and enthusiasm for Forces Day Ceremony within the square and asked whether a new flag pole would be included within the minster heritage upgrade and funding.
Councillor Smith reported that Karl Battersby had written to Councillor Cutts on 2nd July 2010 regarding this issue.
He confirmed that the Townscape Heritage Initiative Scheme was jointly funded, with £1,145,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £1,430,000 from Yorkshire Forward and £1m from the Council. This five year scheme commenced in September 2007, and the main objective of the scheme was to repair and restore specific buildings on the High Street. Also the scheme included the currently ongoing works in the Minster Churchyard, and it also included public realm improvements on the High Street, planned for 2011/12.
Funding allocated to the Minster Yard project was extremely tight due to unforeseen items of expenditure, and there was therefore no surplus funding available for the installation of a new flagpole.
(3) Councillor Cutts asked for a balance of provision between the Private and Public Sector in Home Care services and also for the final ratio intention.
Councillor Akhtar reported that we have an enabling service which was provided in-house and a domiciliary maintenance service was commissioned from the independent sector. At the time the Cabinet agreed to shift the balance of In-House/External provision, it was agreed that a 20/80 split was the optimum position. A target of 30/70 was set for 2009/10 which has been achieved. There were frequent changes in service provision and turnover of customers make it difficult to ensure that the balance remained at 30/70 and at times the balance had shifted as far as 25/75. The target position was being reviewed in the light of changing circumstances.
(4) Councillor Cutts made reference to Cerebral Palsy being a deserving requirement for support and asked why we have been withdrawing financial support for over three years?
Councillor Doyle reported that there were many conditions which affect people either from birth or acquired later in life. He would not want to rank them in order of importance as they were all significant to those suffering from them.
He made a visit the previous week to Scope, the national organisation that specialises in supporting people with Cerebral Palsy and spoke to many individuals who were leading a full and active life.
In relation to the budget over the last three years, Councillor Doyle confirmed that the figures were showing a gradual increase as follows:
2007-2008 £310,721
2008-2009 £314,585
2009-2010 £325,217
Projected figures for 2010-2011 were £329,662.
The provider had been informed that in the case of Day Care the ‘Block’ funding arrangement would reduce in value over a three year period to a zero base with the reduction of ‘block’ funding commencing the financial year 2011-12, in line with our approach to decommissioning and re-commissioning for Personalisation. In the case of the ‘Out and About’ service the reduction in the ‘Block’ funding had commenced this financial year 2010-11, in line with that approach.
In both cases the intention was for the service users to take up Personal Budgets to enable them to choose which services they wanted to meet their assessed need. The finance from these budgets would replace the reduction in ‘Block’ contract.
(5) Councillor Cutts commented that as a Governor of one of the selected schools, he would like an explanation as to what “Connecting Classroom” meant and its purpose. Where was Kolti and what was the intended budget for this project?
Councillor Lakin confirmed that Connecting Classrooms was a global programme that created partnerships between clusters of schools in the UK and others around the world. These partnerships bring an international dimension to young people’s learning, to improve their knowledge and understanding of other cultures and prepare them for life and work as global citizens.
Partnerships typically last for three years, depending on the countries involved. There is no joining fee and participating schools and co-ordinating bodies can receive grants to support activities that sustain their links during their involvement in the programme.
Councillor Lakin listed what schools involved in Connecting Classroom do:-
- They work with partner schools on collaborative curriculum projects, which enable learners to interact across geographical boundaries to enhance their understanding of each other’s societies, languages and cultures
- Receive professional development for teachers and school leaders, which builds capacity to support international partnerships and to lead the school in an international environment
- They are supported to work towards full International School Award accreditation, which recognises the school’s commitment to forming international partnerships and developing global citizens
- Become part of a global online community that enables teachers to network with one another in a range of teacher forums, and offers guidance in the use of ICT tools that develop and sustain partnerships.
He confirmed that Kolti was a village in Bajura District in the Seti Zone of north western Nepal.
Schools were able to access a free website to register for ‘Connecting Classrooms’ and it was the schools decision to be involved. The Local Authority was not involved in any funding for the programme.
(6) Councillor Cutts asked for an explanation about the syllabus and the amount paid to “Common Purpose”
Councillor Lakin reported that from 2005-2007, all fees, except for the one for £7242 related to the Common Purpose Leadership and Development programmes. The Common Purpose website describes the courses as follows:
“Common Purpose is a not-for-profit organisation that brings together people from a wide range of backgrounds to help them become more effective leaders in society.
The courses bring together people from very different backgrounds and sectors who might otherwise never meet. They are introduced to unfamiliar situations and presented with challenging scenarios, so they can see at first hand how others make decisions. This provides invaluable insights into how people from varying backgrounds lead their organisations; why they take particular approaches and what works and what doesn’t.
To get people and organisations working together effectively, our courses focus on how leaders need to see and act beyond their own immediate area of responsibility, so they don’t take decisions in isolation.”
The fees were for 3 employees in 2005, 3 in 2006, 2 in 2007 and 1 in 2008. There were no employees involved in 2009.
The other fee in 2007 was paid for a bespoke “Your Turn” course for the Youth Service, who engaged the organisation on behalf of 30 young people.
Your Turn is a leadership and development course especially designed for young people. The Common Purpose website describes it as:
“A leadership course for young people. Your Turn challenges young people to think in new ways about the place where they live and the world around them, to examine how decisions are made and see how they can make change happen.
In England, Your Turn complements the national curriculum, in particular the Citizenship and Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE) syllabuses. Its transferable nature allows young people to develop as leaders in sport, community roles and extra curricular activities, resulting in positive, well informed young people into the school community and beyond.”
The payments of £10,000 in each of the years 2008 and 2009 were for costs relating to Your Turn courses. In each course 30 young people from different Rotherham secondary schools participated.
Common Purpose had provided the Strategic Director with some excellent feedback on these courses from the students. Schools which had enjoyed the courses included Maltby, Clifton, Oakwood, Rawmarsh, Dinnington, Swinton, St Pius, Wath and Milton.
(7) Councillor Cutts asked why the employee figures given to Councillor Gildings’s Question on Common Purpose (Page 66a (2) Council Meeting on 21st April 2010 were incorrect?
Councillor Lakin confirmed that the fees were for 3 employees in 2005, 3 in 2006, 2 in 2007 and 1 in 2008. There were no employees involved in 2009. He apologised for any misunderstanding about previous information.