Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2024.

The Chair noted that Councillor Gill Taylor’s name had been spelt incorrectly in the minute relating to the election of a chair for the meeting.

Subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2024 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 lindsey.watson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on 4 December 2024.

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 lindsey.watson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk  by 8.30am on 4 December 2024.

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 Strategic Commissioner Education.

The Shareholder Committee received a report of the Strategic Commissioner Education, which provided an overview of the position in relation to delivery by the Dorset Centre of Excellence against the Commissioning agreement.

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

·       Preparations for the next business plan were underway and this would be presented to the meeting in March 2025. This would be included on the committee’s forward plan

·       An overview of community engagement activities was provided and the importance of the facility being part of the local community was recognised

·       Capital budget issues were considered and it was noted that commissioning needs were being reviewed to ensure service requirements were being met. Further information would be available when the business case was considered

·       The Strategic Commissioner Education reported that a new classroom facility had been opened on site which had been well received.

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.

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

·       Further information was provided on income and expenditure in relation to the swimming pool on site. The benefits to the children in the school were recognised

·       There was a focus on making special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision work for all, with the scale of the challenge having been noted in recent national publications, with radical change recognised to make sure all children were able to thrive. This included making mainstream school more accessible to all children

·       New requirements regarding the application of VAT to independent schools, as included in the recent government budget, would not impact the school, as VAT would be charged to Dorset Council who were then able to claim it back

·       Impact on the High Needs Block was being considered by government

·       Positive feedback from parents and carers was noted and showed an outcome of work undertaken.

The report was NOTED.

To consider the Annual Performance Report 2024.

The Managing Director (Dorset Centre of Excellence) presented the Coombe House Annual Performance Report 2024. In addition, Board Member, L Mellor (Dorset Centre of Excellence) provided an overview of performance and activities as set out in the report.

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

·       An overview of the broad plans to engage the young people in programmes of employability post-16 and earlier and to look at routes to employment. The school and Dorset Council officers were working in collaboration to ensure the pupils had access to the same opportunities as all other young people. This would include bringing in people to talk to the young people and learning in the community

·       The section on green credentials was welcomed

·       The achievement of value for money was important and to demonstrate that this was a sustainable and effective model for other local authorities to follow. It was noted that there was wider awareness of the offer and activities in Dorset

·       Recruitment and retention were raised, and it was noted that there were no concerns in this area

·       Clarification was being sought with the Valuation Office around the business rates liability and a challenge as to whether the organisation should be exempt as a special educational needs school

·       There was recognition of what had been achieved at the school in just two and a half years and congratulations and thanks to all involved were given.

The report was COMMENDED.

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.