Cabinet Representative - Councillor Lionel Grundy
Councillor Lionel Grundy, Cabinet Representative for Children’s Services, will give a brief overview of his area of responsibility. The Chairman will then invite questions from the public.
(Note: Written questions may be submitted in advance – please email to james.hazlewood@wiltshire.gov.uk by 4 May 2010)
Minutes:
Councillor Lionel Grundy, Cabinet Representative for Children’s Services, gave a brief overview of his area of responsibility, which included schools, vulnerable children, and youth and skills.
The budget for the whole area of responsibility was £350 million, £238 million of this was funding from central government and was ringfenced to the 232 primary schools and 28 secondary schools in the county.
In the Pewsey Community Area, there were 11 primary schools and one secondary school. Of these, three had been rated “outstanding” by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education); another five had been rated “good” and a further three had been rated “satisfactory”.
One of the major on-going projects was the initiative to include children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in mainstream education. These proposals were currently out to consultation.
Other significant current issues included:
· The possible boycott of SATS tests by headteachers
· The tightening of inspection regimes by Ofsted
· The increased media focus on Social Services after recent high profile cases in the national press
· The need to promote employment and apprenticeships for young people.
Responding to a question regarding the budget for services to young people, Councillor Grundy referred to the additional £100,000 made available by the Cabinet for Area Boards to allocate towards projects for young people. This equated to around £5,000 for each Area Board, and was specifically intended to support transport initiatives to allow young people from rural areas to access the locations where facilities and services were provided.
Following a comment regarding childhood obesity, Councillor Stuart Wheeler, as the Cabinet Member for Leisure, referred to the work undertaken by the Council’s leisure centres to identify and support children by promoting exercise and regular sport.
The Chairman thanked Councillor Grundy for his presentation.