Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2025 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  For further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 8.30am on 4 June 2025.

When submitting your question or statement please note that: 

• You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.
• a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.
• It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.
• Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.
• when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g., the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 
• Include your name, address, and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 
• questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda. 
• all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.

There were no questions or statements from members of the public or local organisations.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total.   Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. 

The submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected]  by 8.30am on 4 June 2025.

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13

There were no questions from councillors.

To consider the Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan was noted.

To note the shareholder committee terms of reference.

The terms of reference for the shareholder committee were noted.

To consider a report of the Head of Service – Health, Education and SEND Commissioning.

The Shareholder Committee received a report of the Head of Service – Health, Education and SEND Commissioning, which provided an overview of the position in relation to delivery by the Dorset Centre of Excellence (DCoE) against the commissioning agreement.

Councillors considered the issues arising from the report and during discussion, points were raised in the following areas:

·       Good progress was being made in a number of areas and a question was raised as to how progress was measured. In response, it was noted that there were a range of key performance indicators in place, including measures around teaching, attainment, safeguarding, health and safety, finance and corporate. Some of these could be brought forward to the shareholder committee moving forward

·       Reference was made in the report to pupils earning valued qualifications and further information was provided at the meeting on how this was being progressed including through the provision of a widening range of subjects

·       The school continued to focus on children within the Dorset Council area although there had been interest from neighbouring local authorities, which could be explored further in the future

·       There was a discussion around the number of children that could potentially attend the school moving forward, although it was noted that a level of capital investment would be required and that this would need to be carefully managed. Further work was required in this area

·       Consideration was given to commercial opportunities in relation to the wider use of the site. Although it was recognised that the priority for the site was for the school and the provision of SEND services, the site needed to be looked at as a wider asset, including longer term plans to generate additional income from the site

·       The Executive Director Corporate Development and S151 Officer provided an overview of the key considerations for the council in respect of potential additional capital expenditure at Coombe House and at other locations

·       A request was made for a report on the longer-term intentions for the site.

The report was NOTED.

To consider a report of the Chair of the Board.

The Chair of the Board introduced the report, which provided an update on the current situation at the Dorset Centre of Excellence (“the Company”) and the Coombe House School (“the School”). The report included progress made in relation to governance, leadership, staffing, estate, community use and finance.

In presenting the report it was noted that work was being undertaken with the children to choose subjects to assist with life beyond school, noted that bespoke solutions could be put in place where required, links being made with parents and the local community and thought being given to the creation of a group of schools with similar characteristics, for the purpose of making comparisons in areas such as attendance and key performance indicators.

Councillors considered the report and discussion was focused on the following areas:

·       Recruitment issues were considered and there was confidence in the position with staffing levels for September

·       It was noted that there had been no use of agency staff and that cover was being provided by teachers

·       In response to a question regarding the potential use of part of a building on site as a gym, it was noted that there was a current issue with regard to the application of business rates and that the board was engaging with Dorset Council and relevant professionals to consider the issues and options.

The report was NOTED.

To consider any items of business which the Chair has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.  

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.