Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 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.  Further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 8.30am on 26 November 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 26 November 2025.

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13

There were no questions from councillors.

To consider the Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan was 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:

·       There was a particular focus on the development of pathways for reintegration of pupils into mainstream education. Information was included in the Annual Performance Report and further information was provided at the meeting in respect of children transitioning after Year 11 and opportunities to identify children in earlier year groups for future transition into mainstream education. A key aim was to prepare children for life after education

·       Steps being taken to improve environmental impact were noted and how this could link with climate-related work being undertaken by Dorset Council, including work to reduce the carbon footprint across the council’s estate

·       Areas for improvement flagged during the recent Ofsted inspection were areas that had already been identified by the school and had the full attention of the board and leadership

·       The primary aim was to ensure the best outcomes for children attending the school

·       In response to a question, the Managing Director provided an overview of work undertaken to support the transition of pupils out of the setting. This began at an early stage and included prioritising high quality careers advice and familiarisation visits to colleges. Work was also undertaken with families within the school, in terms of setting out the pathways and ensuring it was a positive experience for children and families

·       Work continued to investigate opportunities to enable wider community use of the school site, which included considerations relating to business rates. A number of options were being looked at, with further investigation required

·       The use of some of the buildings as college provision was being considered.

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.

The recent Ofsted report had been included with the report as an appendix and the Chair of the Board thanked those involved for their work on this and in particular the curriculum and quality committee.

The focus for the meeting was in respect of the Annual Performance Report, which captured the school’s successes over the past 12 months, and it was agreed to move forward to the agenda item.

To consider the Annual Performance Report 2025.

The Chair of the Board presented the Coombe House Annual Performance Report 2025. In addition, a number of members of the board attended the meeting to answer questions as required.

Councillors reviewed the annual performance report and discussion was held in the following areas:

·       The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills highlighted a number of positive areas within the report which included input from the children and the emphasis on the holistic approach, with children being equipped with skills to move through life

·       In response to a question, the Managing Director provided more detail on the key stage 4 options offered at the school and it was noted that the number of courses and options offered had been widened. In order to provide the right amount of challenge, there was a careful balance made when deciding which exams children should be entered for and this included social, emotional and health considerations

·       IT and STEM skills were a growing area of the economy and this was being built into courses being made available. Links could be made with work being undertaken at the Dorset Innovation Park

·       The school was keen to support education at a wider level and already worked with the heads of other schools in the North Dorset area and was considering how this could be developed further. This could include providing outreach and sharing training and shadowing opportunities. It was noted that plans could be made in alignment with the council as part of a wider strategy and the school were open to options as to how to progress this

·       The school was registered to provide education for ages 5 up to 19, although was not operating at full range currently. This was being considered, including opportunities for sixth form provision

·       Further information on how attainment was measured, was provided and it was noted that this was being constantly developed

·       The Managing Director highlighted that the school had done more this year and had the capacity to do more and was keen to grow beyond the current capacity and offer more support to other schools

·       The report would also be included on the agenda for Cabinet in January 2026.

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.