Agenda item

Report by Corporate Director, Children and Education

Declaration of Interest

Cllr Allison Bucknell declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of being Chairman of the North Wilts and Devizes Portage Service

Cllr Grundy presented a report by the Director for Children and Education, which sought approval to cluster the management of Sure Start Children’s Centres in Wiltshire from April 2011. The report also sought approval to extend the availability of specialist provision for children under five with difficulties and disabilities in each hub of the County to provide wider choice for parents between 9am and 3pm all year round.

 Wiltshire had 30 Sure Start Children’s centres, developed between 2006 and 2010, managed by a range of providers. The majority were managed by voluntary sector organisations (20), whilst school governing bodies (7) and Wiltshire Council (3) accounted for the remainder.

The end of current contracts on 31 March 2011 offered an opportunity to rationalise the management of children’s centres. The proposal would also seek to address the existing situation whereby the provision for children under five with difficulties or disabilities was not consistent or equitable throughout the County.

Resolved:

That through the commissioning process,  contracts for Sure Start Children’s Centres in Wiltshire from April 2011 be offered on the following cluster basis through the tendering process, to provide best value within the available Sure Start Grant and a more cohesive service within the hub structure of the County:

• Cluster  the three children’s centres in Trowbridge under one contract
• Cluster  the three children’s centres in Salisbury under one contract
• Cluster  the three children’s centres in Chippenham under one contract
• Cluster the two children’s centres in Melksham under one contract
• Cluster the two children’s centres in Devizes under one contract
• Cluster Marlborough with Pewsey under one contract
• Cluster Mere, Tisbury and Wilton under one contract
• Cluster Wootton Bassett with Cricklade under one contract
• Cluster Amesbury with Bulford under one contract
• Offer Tidworth, Corsham, Malmesbury, Westbury, Warminster, Downton, Bradford-on-Avon and Calne as single sites, but through the selection process, commissioners will look positively on proposals to combine individual sites and the named clusters together within a hub area of the County; Chippenham hub, Devizes hub, Salisbury hub and Trowbridge hub, in order to align services and

• to provide a co-ordinated specialist service for children under five with difficulties and disabilities based in the four Council hub areas of the County with outreach services delivered across the hub area, providing a range of support between 9am and 3 pm, Monday to Friday all year round.

• That where possible, for the purpose of stability, experienced staff be retained in the interests of the children and their families.

Reason for Decision:

The present management of the children’s centres by a range of different providers within a geographical area is not delivering best value for money, and causing delivery partner organisations to work with a large number of different managers within an area. Clustering children’s centres together will provide economy of scale and greater cohesion with partner agencies that work on a hub or County-wide basis.