Issue - meetings

To consider the Business Plan.

Please note: At time of publication the Business Plan is awaiting final approval by the Board of Directors and will be published as a supplement to this agenda as soon as practicable.

The Managing Director for Dorset Centre of Excellence introduced a report which set out the need to adopt the Business Plan that was appended. A brief slideshow was displayed to highlight the key themes to be included within the plan, which were as follows:

• Vision
• A Strong Investment
• Security from Uncertainly
• Recovery and Growth
• Prudence vs. Ambition
• Strength and Depth
• Core/Additional

The plan was designed to be quality-led and robust to ensure that Coombe House School was both stable and successful in terms of its offering to its pupils and assisting the Council in delivering its objectives.

Officers responded to Members’ comments and requests for clarification, detail included:

• Flexibility was a key part of the business plan as it would allow the school to grow and develop to meet its pupils needs, together with those commissioning needs of the Council as and when they evolved.
• The Board had been balanced in setting its required leadership structure within the school, which was designed to be efficient and fit for purpose.
• The Board remained committed to developing a training centre for teaching staff as the business grew.

RESOLVED

That the Shareholder Committee approves the proposed business plan and continues its support for the Company, particularly with regard to the priority of provision of pupil places for September 2024, and further approval is subject to further reassurance as set out below:

The business plan is based on a number of assumptions for other areas of delivery beyond the September 2024 pupil places, which as the plan states are finely balanced and need careful monitoring and mitigation. The business plan states that the Company intends to test and explore these in further detail to firm up the assumptions over time. The Shareholder Panel looks forward to receiving further the outcomes of this work, for its approval, including the master planning, survey information, cost and market information that is planned.