Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 1 December 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 1 December 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 4 March 2026.

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 March 2026.

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. In addition, the report provided an update on the review of the longer-term intentions for the Coombe House School site.

In presenting the report, the Head of Service reported that the focus of the commissioning work was working with the company and the school to oversee the core operation of the contract. Performance against the contract continued to align with the good Ofsted report that had been received and Dorset Council officers continued to meet with the company around the wider operations, which included work related to the green agenda and working towards full capacity of the school. It was noted that 145 of the 152 places were currently filled, which represented a continued upward trajectory.

The Executive Director, Children reported that an options appraisal report was due to be available from the end of March and that a report would be brought to the shareholder committee at the June meeting.

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, the Chair of the Board noted that the school was close to its target capacity and provided further information on discussions taking place with representatives from the local community regarding the provision of community facilities and how leisure facilities could be structured moving forward.

The Managing Director ran through the areas covered by the report and made particular reference to government guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools, the use of reasonable force, work being undertaken with Dorset Transport and grant funding achieved for environmental works. In addition he noted that the school welcomed opportunities to engage and work together with Dorset Council in respect of the recent Government White Paper on school reform.

Councillors reviewed the report and points were noted in the following areas:

·       A discussion was held in respect of the use of mobile phones in school, following guidance published by Government and also Dorset Council, and it was noted that the school would be launching a new approach in April. Communications had been undertaken with young people and their families, and feedback could be provided at a future meeting. Early points raised were around the use of mobile phones during travel to school and the ability for children to be able to contact home during the day if required. Consideration was being given to how the new approach would be managed

·       Support being provided to pupils considering their transition to Post-16 education was raised and it was noted that pupils had the opportunity to make an informed choice about whether to stay at Coombe House or transition to another college

·       The significant impact of ‘Therapeutic Thinking’, the new framework for a relational approach to meeting individual pupil needs, was noted

·       A discussion was held with regard to financial aspects and budget setting for the next financial year and how issues including travel costs and recent world events would impact on the business model. It was recognised that some as these aspects were very recent and therefore had not been factored in currently. The Managing Director provided information on work being undertaken including maximising the use of sustainable energies and ensuring there were contingencies built into budgets. The Chair of the Board noted that the finance committee would be considering all aspects of this area

·       The transport of children to the school was a cost for Dorset Council, but close working continued between the company, school and Dorset Council to find efficiencies in this area

·       It was recognised that there were opportunities arising from the recent Government White Paper, including how the school could provide support to other schools across the region

·       The company continued to work with Wiltshire Council to maximise the environmental  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

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.