Agenda item

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 comments, questions and valuable contributions towards the debate on the Children’s Centres and highlighting the concerns of residents in Westbury.

The Cabinet heard from Cllr Bob Jones MBE and Cllr Russell Hawker, members of the Rapid Scrutiny Exercise on the Children’s Centres Consultation which took place on 15 April 2019. It was noted that the Rapid Scrutiny Exercise considered the results of the consultation, the proposed closures, plans for alternative venues and produced seven recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills.  Cllr Hawker, member for Westbury West, asked for a plan for the continuation of early years help in Westbury, setting out the times and days that the Service would be available.  He further commented that the Westbury Area Board would be monitoring the situation closely.

The Cabinet also heard from Cllr King, member for Westbury East, who expressed great pride in hearing the comments from the public.  He welcomed the additional proposal, detailed above, but that his preference would be for the proposals to be withdrawn and reviewed.  Recent vandalism at the Old Westbury Youth Centre would delay any proposal to use the Centre as it would need considerable investment to bring it up to standard and be ready to open in September 2019.

The Cabinet also received a number of comments from Cllr Thorn. Cllr Hopkinson, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Kunkler, Cllr Jackson, Cllr Cuthbert, Cllr Mathew about the following:

·         The challenge to find alternative venues that provide a safe and private environment.

·         Adoption of the rapid Scrutiny Exercise recommendations.

·         The advantages and disadvantages of access and engagement with communities via the internet.

·         The purpose of the Centres and the move towards the provision of targeted services.

·         The ability to provide support for families in crisis through for drop-in facilities.

·         Identification of the people needing to be signposted to the services.

·         Provision and cost of public transport can be an inhibitor for people to use the Centres.

·         Finance is a driver for the closure of Centres.

·         Evidence confirms that alternative solutions need to be found to target those in need of the service.

·         The challenge in Westbury to reach those in need.

·         Consideration of how the service can be delivered to every family.

·         Potential to use leisure centres as drop-in centres.

·         The need for detailed plans in relation to staffing and opening times and days of the Centres.

·         Alternative venues need to have a degree of privacy.

·         Improved marketing of the services available.

·         Potential for discussions with Westbury Town Council to ascertain their willingness to take over the Westbury Children’s Centre building.

·         No suitable premises for the Children’s Centre to relocate to in Cricklade and the proposed use of the Library would not be appropriate.

In addition to the responses published in relation to the public questions, Cllr Mayes made the following comments:

·         That the Council will continue to provide services that meet the Childcare Act 2016, through the delivery of appropriate services which parents will have advice and assistance on how to access.

·         The future plan is to dovetail services with Health Visitors more effectively so that all targeted families are aware of the Children’s Centres services offer.

·         All Children’s Centre services are advertised on social media and through e-mail to parents. They are also promoted to maternity services, Health Visitors, nurseries and pre-schools.

·         Venues and locations of Centres will be appropriate for the specific requirements of families. There is no intention to make families feel uncomfortable. Other venues are currently being considered to make the service as friendly and accessible as possible.

·         The proposals are for the new Centres facilities to be more local, to encourage accessibility for families.

·         The recommendations from the rapid Scrutiny Exercise can be accommodated and appropriate action taken.

·         The Early Support Hub offer help and advice to families that need specific help.

·         Westbury Town Council are involved in the community project at the Old Youth Centre.

Cllr Mayes agreed to amend the additional proposal detailed above to take into account the comments about the potential use and need for refurbishment of the Old Westbury Youth Centre following the recent damage inflicted on the fabric of the building, and to review the venue for the Children’s Centre in Cricklade.

Resolved: 

1.    To reduce the number of children’s centre buildings by six and focus the work in the community, using space in libraries, leisure and health and well-being centres where possible and practical.

2.    To work closely with maternal health and community child care providers to support the choice of future community venues and keep and expand the scope of services to families in the most deprived areas of Wiltshire.

3.    To work closely with families to utilise social media and community networks to raise the profile of available provision.

4.    To delay the Westbury Children’s Centre building closure until the autumn of 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.

5.    To review the venue to be used for the Children’s Centre services in Cricklade, and in the event that there are any issues arising from this recommendation and the recommendation at (4) above, that the matters be referred back to a future Cabinet meeting.

Reason for Decision:

Children’s centre services provide an important role in offering early help to families with young children. It is vital that this resource is maintained and spread wider into rural communities, particularly those in the most deprived areas. Reducing to 12 buildings will mean that finances can be concentrated on front line staff in priority geographical areas and work directly with families