Issue - meetings

Report by Executive Director Terence Herbert

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills, presented the report which outlined proposals to move Children’s Centre Services from buildings to community venues.

Cllr Mayes reported that Children’s Centre Services are a vital resource for parents with very young children, they provide a one stop service of advice and support.  Due to the rurality of Wiltshire it is not easy for all parents to access services in a building in a particular area of a community. It is more important to offer services in the places that are accessible to families and to ensure that the delivery of outreach services in the home to those who are most in need is available.  Children’s centre services are an important part of the early help offer in Wiltshire and they must be aligned with all partner services to ensure that there is a joined up streamlined service for families.

Cllr Mayes, in confirming the proposals for consideration by the Cabinet and in light of the statements and questions received from concerned parents, indicated that there was an additional proposal in relation to the Westbury Children’s Centre, as detailed below:

‘To delay the Westbury Children’s Centre closure until September 2019 to allow advantage to be taken of Wiltshire Council’s transfer of Old Westbury Youth Centre, Edenvale Road to the Westbury Community Project Trust (WCPT).  Children Centre services can be run from this building when it is ready.   Should the transfer not take place, then the services will be run from alternative venues in the town. ‘

The Cabinet noted that the report comments on the consultation and responses to consider the proposal to extend the activities of Children’s Centres into more community venues. This would achieve savings and further develop the outreach work of Children’s Centres, bringing services closer to families.

The Leader invited statements and questions as detailed below:

Nadine Crook read out a statement and asked for detailed evidence to show how, through the proposals put forward in Westbury, it will be meeting its statutory duties under the Childcare Act 2006.  Ms Crook also presented a petition to Cllr Mayes in support of the retention of Westbury Children’s Centre.

Lydia Wiltshire read out statements from herself and Hebe Mitchell and asked (i) if there were only 4 families in Westbury who receive outreach support that meet the intervention level or are targeting methods not finding other families; and (ii) the methods used to advertise the services that Westbury Children’s Centre provides and the improvements needed to improve advertising in the future.

Delcey Orchard-Smith read out a statement and asked about the privacy required for people using the Centre and the need for a neutral location for the services run from the Centre.

Cllr Ian Cunningham (Mayor of Westbury) read out a statement and asked if the Cabinet agreed that deprivation, rather than specific need for services, should be the main factor for the receipt of support.

The Leader thanked the parents and Mayor of Westbury for their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54