Minutes of Hart Local Children’s Partnership Meeting held on Thursday 8th December 2011 at
3.00pm
Present:
Lynn Martin, June Bing, Cathy Smith, Jenny Radley, Carl Westby, Sheila Hornby, Matthew Irving, Jean
Humphrey, Liv Stokkan, Karen Evans, Mark Jackman, Sue Rafter, Alison Woolley, Ashley Pugh and
John Stacey
1. Welcome
Those present were welcomed by the Chair and thanked for attending the meeting. The Chair
thanked Sally Woods for acting as Chair at the last meeting in her absence.
2. Apologies
Apologies were received from: Cara Parker, Julia Powell, Karen Nye, Lee Culhane, Christine
Slaymaker, Trish Le Flufy, Sally Woods, Cheryl Edwards, Andrew Whitfield and Rachel
Johnson.
3. Approve minutes of meeting dated 20.10.11
The minutes of the meeting dated 20.10.11 were agreed by those present.
4. Action points from previous meeting
Members of Hart LCP to email Chair with comments on minutes of Children’s Trust Board – no
comments were received.
Councillor Radley to put forward a paper re councillors to sit on the LCP as members – Please
see report from Councillor Radley: Following the agenda item at the last meeting on the 20th
October it was agreed that it would be logical for up to 3 parish or town councils to have the
opportunity for representation on the Hart LCP, primarily to offer support towards youth service
provision but also to provide a wider insight for each of the local areas of the district.
The proposal was that one parish or town council from each of the 3 main school cluster areas
would be given this opportunity: Yateley, Odiham and Fleet. Yateley Town Council have
already made this approach which actually prompted this whole discussion.
It made sense to discuss this suggestion with the Chairman of the Hart Association of Parish
and Town Councils, as they hold quarterly meetings for representatives of every parish and
town council in Hart District, and he agreed to make this opportunity known to them at their
meeting last October. He asked that the parish and town councils consider this proposal and
to return to their next meeting in mid January with any applications, which he will forward to the
LCP. It may be that only one council will come forward at this time or maybe there will be
three, it will be interesting to see what support there is.
If there are more applicants than places we may need to decide how to select one for each of
the school cluster areas in a fair and open way.
I have contacted the Chairman of the HDAPTC to see if he has had any feedback and will
forward that on to the clerk. I hope this is acceptable to the Partnership.
Pen portraits – ongoing
Stakeholder event and questionnaire to be submitted to Hart schools re mapping exercise – A
document had been submitted to members of the LCP regarding questions to be included in a
survey to ascertain specialist support services in Hart and Rushmoor. Feedback had been
received from two members of the LCP. Those present were invited to give further feedback
and to email comments to Liv Stokkan who would re draft the survey and distribute to pilot
schools. Both Yateley School and Hook Junior School agreed to act as pilot schools for the
survey.
Thanks were given to Liv Stokkan for her work in drafting the questionnaire. She commented
that the survey would run for approximately 2 weeks when submitted to schools and would be
sent out by the LCP Chair.
Q: What was the main purpose of the questionnaire?
A: The results of the survey would help with a mapping exercise to see a way forward with the
Hart LCP action plan.
Members to email Sally Woods with comments regarding drat grant applications Lot 5A and
Lot 5B – Confirmation was given that the CSI grant application had been submitted.
LCP Election of Chair – please see item 9
LCP Co-ordinator role – The Chair informed those present that Liv Stokkan was the successful
candidate and congratulated her on her success. The co-ordinator role within the Hart LCP will
commence on January 1st 2012 and will be a key role in driving the LCP forward.
5. YSS Update – Commissioning
Those present were informed that the bids for the CSI grant and the YSS grant had now
closed. A panel will meet on January 19th to consider the bids. June Bing introduced herself
and told those present that as from November 1st her role was that of ‘Community
Development Facilitator for Hart and Rushmoor’. Her role was to support the voluntary sector
in the new tendering process and to advise the LCP in the decision making. She would be
working with young people to ensure quality assurance once the work commences. She
informed those present that she would be working within the community to see that provision
for young people was in place and to see what could be offered by groups not in the tendering
system to offer services. Hampshire County Council are offering free training to these groups
of people. The CSI Grant assessment will consist of Lynn Martin, John Stacey, Sally Woods
and Jean Humphrey. Sally Woods will finalise.
Q: Will those successful in the tendering process follow HCC safeguarding guidelines and
policies?
A: Yes – safeguarding is part of the procurement process. When making applications for
tenders applicants had to attach copies of their safeguarding policies.
6. LCP Way Forward (Item 7 and 10 included)
The Chair circulated a document dated 2.12.11 titled’ Capacity funding for Local Children’s
Partnerships’. The Chair explained to those present that the document had been jointly
constructed but represented in a letter written by one LCP Chair who had written the document
to see if there was commitment from County to support the running costs of LCP’s. In the
previous financial year a budget of £10,000 had been allocated to cover administrative costs
and co-ordination time; however no funding was currently available to support the running
costs of the LCP and the costs are being absorbed by Hook Junior School. The document was
presented to John Coughlan to submit to the Children’s Trust Board. To date no reply had
been received. It was hoped that the document would generate a commitment to LCP’s from
HCC and recognition of the significant amount of time, work and preparation made by the
chairs to the LCP. In order for the LCP to be viable funding for the infrastructure has to be
available.
Q: Are LCP’s operating in all areas of Hampshire?
A: Yes
Q: Are other counties forming LCP’s?
A: Yes but exact numbers of participants are not known.
The Chair informed those present that the Children’s and Young Persons Plan had been re
drafted to cover 2012-2015 and this was linked with the wellbeing strategy and children’s
poverty strategy. The current LCP draft plan was a prescribed model and the deadlines were
tight and prescriptive. The chair explained that the LCP was now in a position to shape and
frame the action plan and draft actions specific for the needs of the Hart area. It was agreed
that the action plan could be reviewed and re-drafted and the number of targets set be limited
for maximum impact with key areas for focus.
The Chair informed those present that the dashboard data is currently not tailored to local
needs and would need adapting to reflect the trends in the Hart area. County will produce a
Hart data book to be available in January 2012.
The Chair requested that a working party be set up to pull the targets together and make
suggestions to the LCP.
An offer was given that all children in the Hart area be surveyed to find their views of services
offered and their concerns which would allow for robust data for Hart and could involve children
from children’s centres to Year 11. Visits to schools could also be made to ‘sample’ views and
gather evidence.
Action: JS, LM, LS and KE to form working party to work review draft plan and actions.
Action LS and JB to create a survey for children to gauge views.
7. Please see item 6
8. County Youth Conference
The recently held County Youth Conference was a great success. LCP’s were asked to
nominate children to attend. 11 children from Hook Junior School attended and engaged with a
range of external agencies including members of the Police Force, NHS and Parliament. The
theme for the day was anti-social behaviour and alcohol abuse the children were encouraged
to ask questions to the representatives. This was a great opportunity for the children that
attended and the Chair encouraged other schools to take part next year. A suggestion was
made that it would be beneficial for the LCP’s to run a similar event locally in the future.
9. Election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Clerk
The Chair informed those present that she would be stepping down in the role of Chairperson
for the Hart LCP. She told those present that she was happy to remain as part of the LCP
outside of the chairperson role and had found the role both enjoyable and challenging. She
commented that the Hart LCP could move forward with the co-ordinator in post and was
delighted that so many people were engaged within the Hart LCP.
The clerk had not received any nominations and the Chair asked for members to show their
interest in becoming Chair. No nominations were forthcoming.
A discussion took place amongst the members of the LCP who agreed that the workload for
the Chairperson was great and required a large committment. Many members felt that their
departments and agencies were still in the restructuring process and it was difficult to commit.
A suggestion was made that it would be prudent to await a response to the ‘Capacity Funding’
document and revisit the election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Clerk at the next LCP meeting.
Thanks were given to Carl Westby for offering preferential rates to the LCP for conference
room hire and refreshments.
10. Please see item 6
11. Future Meeting Dates
Dates for the Hart LCP meetings to take place have been set as follows:
2 February 2012
8 March 2012
10 May 2012
5 July 2012
All meetings will take place at 3.00pm at the Hart Leisure Centre, Hitches Lane Fleet GU51
5HS
12. Any Other Business
Jean Humphrey – Youth Offending Team
Those present were informed of a project for young people that has been successful in
improving their outcomes. Funding has been given for three years to provide theatre/dance
provision for young people not attending school or that have left school as NEETS. The
course runs for five days a week for ten weeks and transport to the venue is provided.
Referrals for the project are invited with the next program commencing on 16th January and
subsequent programs commencing on 7th May and 24th September. If you would like more
information regarding his project please contact either Jean.Humprey@hants.gov.uk or
Lorna.Digweed@hants.gov.uk
Ashley Pugh – Practice Teacher and Health Visitor
Ashley Pugh told those present that her role had changed as restructuring had taken place
within her organisation. Her new title is now ‘Practice teacher and health visitor’. She
informed those present that four new health visitors would be in training within Hart from
January 2012.
John Stacey –District Manager (Children and Families)
John Stacey gave thanks to Lynn Martin for her hard work and commitment to the Hart LCP as
Chairperson.
Councillor Radley – County Councillor
Councillor Radley gave the following updates:
Up-date on Hart Local Development Framework (LDF) process
The deadline for the Hart Local Development Framework (LDF) consultation on the Preferred
Approach to the Core Strategy was in October. The initial feedback suggests that there are no
show-stoppers, so the plan for future development in the district looks to continue as it
proposed. It is to be refined and is expected to be put to an appointed Planning Inspector for
Examination in Public towards the end of next year.
There is, however, some considerable concern that recent changes to government directives
may alter the proposed quota for development in the district, which is currently 220 dwellings
per year until 2028, but if there is a significant increase in housing allocation then this plan
would need to be reviewed. It is expected that further information should be available by March
2012.
If this happens then Councillor Radley suggested that the issues regarding adequate provision
of infra-structure would need some very careful thought and school provision is probably one
very important aspect for this district, but so to for any other child support facilities.
I would be happy to make sure the Partnership are informed of any change with the LDF
process and if there are changes I would recommend that one of the Planning Policy Team
from HDC should be invited to make a presentation to the partnership at a future meeting.
Councillor Radley informed those present that primary schools could access a free grit bin and
shovel. Please follow link below
Grit bins and shovels for primary schools
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/communications/mediacentre/mediareleases.htm?newsid=506943
The Chair thanked all those present and wished all a Merry Christmas.