Issue - meetings

This is the covering report for the Appreciative Inquiry, which took place over the summer of 2021, concluding with a consultation process with schools about its contents. The final version of the Inquiry is attached along with suggested next steps. If the recommendations are accepted by the Cabinet, this will allow for major changes in the services provided by the Council to schools to go ahead in principle, subject to separate business cases being submitted for authorisation when detailed work on relevant individual recommendations have been carried out.

RESOLVED that Cabinet: -

(a)           agrees in principle with the content and recommendations of the Appreciative Inquiry; and

(b)           agrees to receive future business cases in respect of new capital or revenue spend arising from implementation of the recommendations, on the proviso these are cross-referenced with all other Council strategies for education such as the SEND strategy and the Children’s Services Capital Programme.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Covid Resilience, Public Health and Education

Reason

The Appreciative Inquiry has revealed an ‘inclusion deficit’ in the education of many children and young people with complex needs and challenging behaviour living in BCP. Whilst this is a national issue, local performance needs to improve. Some but by no means all of these children and young people have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Inquiry found that local capability needs to be strengthened to enable many children in these cohorts to be educated in mainstream schools. To do so will require a major transformation programme which can only be agreed at the Cabinet level.

The Portfolio Holder for Covid Resilience, Public Health and Education presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'H' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Cabinet was advised that the report sets out the Appreciative Inquiry, which took place over the summer of 2021 and which concluded with a consultation process with schools about its contents.

Cabinet was informed that the final version of the Inquiry is attached along with suggested next steps.

Cabinet was further informed that if the recommendations are accepted by the Cabinet, this will allow for major changes in the services provided by the Council to schools to go ahead in principle, subject to separate business cases being submitted for authorisation when detailed work on relevant individual recommendations have been carried out.

RESOLVED that Cabinet: -

(a)           agrees in principle with the content and recommendations of the Appreciative Inquiry; and

(b)           agrees to receive future business cases in respect of new capital or revenue spend arising from implementation of the recommendations, on the proviso these are cross-referenced with all other Council strategies for education such as the SEND strategy and the Children’s Services Capital Programme.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Covid Resilience, Public Health and Education