Agenda, decisions and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

A personal interest was declared by Cllr Graham Lawman in Agenda Item 4 – Distribution of Maintained Nursery Supplementary Fund 2022/23.

The Chair, Councillor Jason Smithers reported that there were 59 requests to address the meeting. The total number of speakers during the meeting was 43 as set out below:

RESOLVED:

(KEY DECISION)

That the Executive

a)    Approved Option Two as set out in the report - A halfway house between a participation-based model and a 0% Minimum Funding Guarantee for three (Croyland, Highfield, Ronald Tree) of the four nurseries.

b)    Noted that the Schools’ Forum (as statutory consultee) recommended approval of either Options Two or Four as set out in the report

c)    Agreed that Option Two should be used to distribute the maintained nursery supplementary funding for 2022/23.

d)    Requested that the Scrutiny Commission include a review of finance, provision and performance arrangements of maintained nurseries to their Workplan

e)    Commission a financial audit of the 4 Maintained Nurseries Highfield, Croyland, Ronald Tree and Pen Green for the period 2017/18 through to 2021/22; and

f)     Recommended to Council that for 2022/23 only, a one-off grant funding of £650,000 from the Council’s Contingency Budget be awarded to the four maintained nurseries contained in the report, to enable £350,000 to be awarded to Pen Green Nursery and £100,000 to each of the other three maintained nurseries. The funding will be subject to a specific grant agreement and conditions.

Reasons for Recommendations:

a)     The Schools’ Forum for North Northamptonshire agreed at their meeting on 17^th March 2022 to recommend 2 options to the Executive for their decision. These options were discussed in detail at the meeting on 17^th March following a consultation with the 4 maintained nurseries. The recommended options are therefore supported by the statutory consultee.

b)     The options that forum support are:

i)    The move to a half-way house (Option 2) which seeks to address historic discretionary funding arrangements for the 4 maintained nurseries. This option seeks to move towards a participation-based formula for the funding of maintained nurseries. The reason for the intermediate (‘halfway’) position (Option 2) as opposed to a full participation-based approach is because forum recognise that to shift immediately to a purely participation-based approach would place services to children and families in Corby at immediate risk whilst budgets and staffing structures are realigned. It is felt that to achieve a transparent and equitable long-term funding mechanism this first step will move towards the national funding model. This would allow for all settings to plan for a participation-based model of funding.

ii)      The alternative option would see a minimum funding guarantee for Highfield, Croyland and Ronald Tree plus an uplift of 25%. This option (Option 4) was considered as acceptable to School Forum as it seeks to increase funding to 3 of the 4 maintained nurseries whilst minimising the reduction of funding to Pen Green. This model would see a reduction of supplement for Pen Green to be met from their unallocated reserves (2020/21). It would also increase funding to 3 of the settings and where it is not adequate to recover deficits it may achieve stability whilst additional work is undertaken to move to a longer-term, transparent funding model.

c)      Historic funding arrangements have resulted in significant discrepancies in the funding   arrangements for  ...  view the full decision text for item 193.

The Chair, Cllr Jason Smithers invited each of the registered speakers to address the Executive in turn. As stated in Minute Number 192, a total of 43 speakers addressed the meeting in relation to the Distribution of Maintained Nursery Supplementary Fund 2022/23.

A number of the speakers spoke of personal experiences relating to attending, supporting, working for or alongside the maintained nurseries in a variety of roles. A number of key points were raised by speakers whilst making their statements, including:

·         The need for fair and sustainable funding for all maintained nurseries in North Northamptonshire

·         The inequality of the current funding formula

·         The important role played by the nurseries within their communities; offering a foundation for education as well as support, guidance and empowerment for children, staff, parents and guardians

·         The potential impact of any funding cuts on the most vulnerable

·         The future financial savings offered as a result of early intervention work

·         The threat of facility cutbacks and closure due to insufficient funding

·         The Council to lobby central government for additional future funding for the sector

·         The potential for additional funding to allow for the increase in current service provision at certain maintained nurseries, increasing the support available to both children and staff

·         The connection of funding to the “Levelling-Up” agenda

·         The difference in current service provision between Pen Green and the remaining maintained nurseries

·         Financial restraints limiting the opportunity for staff training, building maintenance and purchasing of essential curriculum materials

The Chair thanked all of the speakers for their attendance as well as their passionate and heartfelt statements that would form a vital part of the debate. The Chair also acknowledged that attending and addressing a Council meeting was not an easy thing for all attendees to do, and that the time and effort taken to articulate the level of importance that the maintained nurseries had in people’s lives was appreciated by all members of the Executive.

The Chair then asked Cllr Scott Edwards, Executive Member for Children, Families, Education and Skills to introduce the report that sought Executive consideration of options for the distribution of maintained nursery supplementary funding for 2022/23 and requested a review of funding for ongoing years to be undertaken.

Cllr Edwards echoed the thanks of the Chair in relation to the speakers that had addressed the meeting. Cllr Edwards also thanked the nurseries concerned for allowing The Leader and Cllr Edwards to visit and view for themselves the important work that provided such a valuable foundation for education at the beginning of a child’s life.  

The meeting heard that the report set out the historic method of funding distribution and detailed options for future provision of funds which were provided to the Council by central government as part of the Dedicated Schools Grant. It was noted that this funding was awarded based on the participation levels of children, with the Council set to receive reduced funding for 2022/23.

It was noted that the Council was continuing dialogue with the Department for Education regarding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 193.