Agenda and minutes

A number of members of the public wished to make a statement to the Committee regarding the Home to School Transport item.

Firstly, Alex Scott, Director of Schools from the Diocese Shrewsbury made the point that the proposed changes would cause serious disruption to local children and that there would be considerable consequential impacts on the environment and on educational attainment.

Heidi Reid, a Bollington parent of an SEN child made the assertion that there were already significant barriers to education for children and young people with SEN and that the proposed changes would only add to this. Indeed, it was argued that whilst employment figures for adults with SEN were already very poor, restricting access to educational opportunities would continue to exacerbate this further.

The Committee considered a report from Fintan Bradley which provided an update on the progress and emerging issues following the consultation as part of the Home to School Transport Review. It was made clear that this was only an update paper as full feedback from the consultation was still being collated and analysed for further consideration at a later date.

In presenting the report, Fintan Bradley began by setting the context of the review, explaining that there had been the need to review the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy due to the tight financial framework that Cheshire East and other authorities had to operate within. After reporting on the legal and financial ramifications of the proposed changes, Fintan Bradley moved on to provide a brief review of the consultation process and the initial findings emerging from this. It was explained that there had been a number of issues that had arisen from the consultation and that the service had grouped these into 28 themes which they had then provided an initial response to. These were outlined in appendix 3 of the report.

Following the introduction to the report, the Chairman invited a number of visiting Councillor to voice their views on the issue.

Speaking first, Councillor Corcoran explained that he was a parent whose child used the school bus to go from Sandbach to Alsager. Without this service, he described how he would have to take his child himself, losing up to 7 ½  hours of work time. Moving on to make a number of more general points, Councillor Corcoran asserted that firstly the proposals were unfair. Parents, it was suggested, would be retrospectively charged for their choice of educational setting under the proposed changes. Additionally, the point was made that changing schools would be detrimental on the educational outcomes for Cheshire East children and that it would also be disruptive to families to have siblings in different schools.

Secondly, it was argued that the proposed changes would have a negative impact on the environment. The point was made that Cheshire East should be encouraging the use of public transport rather than taking it away. Thirdly, it was purported that the proposed changes would be disproportionately harsh on poorer parents, further exacerbating the poverty trap that many families found themselves in. Lastly, it was asserted that the proposed changes would erode the number of faith schools in Cheshire East.

Speaking second, Councillor Keegan made a number of points regarding the presentation of figures in the first two tables of the report. He queried why the gross expenditure for denominational travel based on the approximate number of pupils affected in Table 1 differed from the denominational cost saving figures stated in Table 2. On the whole, Councillor Keegan asserted that the report did not demonstrate enough information about what the potential savings would be and that there was not enough detail about the potential consequences of the savings. It was suggested that this would need to be rectified before the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

Consideration was given to the work programme. It was agreed that an item regarding the future of respite care should be brought to a future Committee. It was also noted than an item regarding value for money for out of Borough educational settings should be considered by a future Committee.

It was queried whether it would be appropriate for the Committee to receive a report on the level of educational attainment across Cheshire East. It was confirmed that Members would be welcome to review the 2009-2010 data but it would be perhaps more germane to consider the 2010-11 data when it would be fully available in September 2011.

In terms of Task and Finish groups, it was agreed that the Committee should look to commission a review to look into the 16+ service at Cheshire East. Additionally it was agreed that discussions should take place with the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee regarding the setting up of a Task and Finish group to look at health and cared for children.

RESOLVED –

a)    That the work programme be noted and amended to include items on the future of respite care and on the value for money of out of Borough educational settings.

b)    Than an item on educational attainment be added to the work programme for the meeting scheduled 20 September 2011.

c)    That at a future meeting the Committee discuss the Membership and terms of reference of a Task and Finish Review of the 16+ Service.

d)    That discussions be held with the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee regarding the joint commissioning of a Task and Finish Review of health and cared for children.