Minutes - Rossmore Community Use Management Committee - 10 March 2010

BOROUGH OF POOLE

ROSSMORE COMMUNITY USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

10 MARCH 2010

The Meeting commenced at 16:05 and concluded at 17:30.

Present:

Councillor Miss Wilson (Chairman) Councillor Wilson (Vice Chairman) (from Agenda Item 4 at 4:35pm) Councillor Mrs Lavender

User Group Representative

Michael Gregory – Silver Swimmers

Also in Attendance

Sean Gabriel – General Manager of Rossmore Leisure Centre Debbie Priest – PE and Arts Advisor, Children and Young People’s Strategy, Quality and Improvement Sally Apps – Head Teacher, Rossmore Community College Richard Poole – Director of Sport, Rossmore Community College Louise Saill, Democratic Support Officer, Legal and Democratic Services Levi Tuck – Student at Rossmore Community College

Members of public present: 0

The Chairman welcomed and introduced Levi Tuck, a Student at Rossmore Community College, who was interested in serving as the Committee’s Student Representative.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

None received.

2. MINUTES

RESOLVED that the Minutes of Meetings held on 22nd June 2009, 16th September 2009, 11th November 2009, 20th January 2010; having been previously circulated, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman subject to the following amendment in respect of the Minutes of 20th January 2010:

delete “the local netball teams” and insert “Linda Dyer Southwest Regional Netball Officer”.

1 Actions Arising

The following action points were discussed:

 The Clerk informed the Committee that the Recreation Manager would update the Committee on his action points at the next Meeting.  The Leisure Centre Manager informed the Committee that he had not received any feedback regarding the possibility of work experience students. The issue had been raised at SLM Board level and it was anticipated that the Recreation Manager would give an update at the next Committee.  The Committee thanked the Clerk for sending out the Silver Swimmer flyers to Members, as requested at the previous Meeting.  Levi Tuck was acknowledged as a potential Student Representative on the Committee.

3. USER REPRESENTATIVE ITEM

No items were raised.

4. GOVERNING BODY/HEAD TEACHER’S ITEMS

The Headteacher of Rossmore Community College provided an update on the Academy. She informed the Committee that the job matching process was still ongoing and that it was causing some anxiety amongst staff members. The process was supposed to have been completed by the Christmas holidays but the timescale for completion had been postponed until the Easter holidays. The Chairman asked the Headteacher if she knew what had delayed the process. The Headteacher informed the Committee that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) process was a very complex legal matter and that if a staff member appealed against any part of the process involving them, this could delay the TUPE process across the board. It was noted that the new structure of staff for the Academy was very different to the current structure and that this was making the job matching process even more protracted. The Headteacher informed the Committee that some members of staff, both teachers and support staff, were looking elsewhere for jobs due to the uncertainty of whether there would still be a job for them when the matching process was complete. The last cut off date for handing in notices to leave at the end of the summer term was 31st May 2010; the Headteacher informed the Committee that she would know the extent of leavers after this time.

The Staff and Student Parliament had had separate ‘Question and Answer’ meetings with the Academy regarding the changes due to be implemented. These took place at the beginning of the week and feedback from the meetings was going to be disseminated to the rest of the School on Friday. Topics which were raised by the Student Parliament were lesson

2 structures, uniforms and the rumour of free breakfasts available to all staff and students.

The uniform package would be free to all students, apart from Year 8 who will have to pay £60. The uniform package would consist of a suit, PE kit and ties for the boys. Any jumpers, white shirts and blouses needed to be paid for by families. The pupils had seen the PE kit, which was black, but had not seen the grey suits. The pupils’ main reaction to the suits was that their thoughts had not been taken into account? The Sponsor’s answer to this was that half the pupils wanted blazers and half wanted sweatshirts, so they decided to go with something completely different, suits. The logo colours were a burnt orange and a yellow orange. The Headteacher informed the Committee that Year 11 pupils had been kept out of any consultation about the Academy as they needed to concentrate on their impending GCSEs and unless they were planning to attend the 6th Form, the change to an Academy would not affect them.

The Headteacher informed the Committee that the Academy would receive approximately £150,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and this money would be used to give the school a facelift over the summer holidays. It was believed that most of this money would be used for signage although there were also plans to paint the buildings, eating areas and possibly update some of the toilets.

The PE and Arts Advisor informed the Committee that following a meeting with the new Principal Designate, Cheryl Heron, it had been decided that the School Sports Partnership would still be based at St Aldhelm’s Academy. The PE and Arts Advisor raised her initial concerns about leaving the funding for the Partnership with the School, but that the Principal Designate had quashed any concerns and was really keen for the School Sports Partnership, which mainly focused on Primary Schools, to remain there. The Committee was informed that beyond 2011 this initiative might not receive Government funding, should there be a change in Government, and the Principal Designate was fully aware of this possibility. A Management Group was being created, to deal with the Initiative. The PE and Arts Advisor stated that she had offered to Chair this Group and that she would keep up to date on the progress and report back to the Committee.

The Joint Use Agreement between St Aldhelm’s Academy and Everyone Active Rossmore was then discussed. It was believed that it was currently being considered by Legal Services. The Headteacher informed the Committee that the Agreement had been drafted by the new Principal Designate and then given to the Borough of Poole’s Recreation Manager. The Leisure Centre Manager expressed his frustration at the lack of consultation with the people who would actually be implementing the Agreement. He was concerned that because no consultation had taken place, the Agreement could end up being unworkable and cause more problems in the long term. Possible issues which he identified, which would need to be included, were maintenance of the sports facilities and indemnifying the Leisure Centre against possible vandalism caused by

3 students. The PE and Arts Advisor expressed her concern about the Service Level Agreement (SLA) and added that the Primary School swimming lessons might be impacted by the Agreement between the School and Leisure Centre.

Councillor Wilson joined the Committee at 4:35 and apologised for his lateness.

The PE and Arts Advisor informed the Committee that she would speak to the Recreation Manager about the concerns surrounding the Joint Use Agreement and that the Leisure Centre Manager should do so too. The Leisure Centre Manager went on to inform the Committee that currently the working relationship between Rossmore Community College and Everyone Active Rossmore was very strong with good levels of communication but that there was no guarantee this would continue with St Aldhelm’s Academy, especially if there was a change in PE staff.

Councillor Wilson informed the Committee that he and Councillor Clements were attending the Stakeholder Reference Group Meetings and that he would raise this topic in that forum.

Funding provided to the School

Funding was provided to the School and then given to the Leisure Centre. The amount was believed to be approximately £60,000. The Leisure Centre Manager said that this would be the ideal opportunity to revisit this figure to see if it could be increased to a more realistic figure in line with usage. The Chairman informed the Committee that this would not make a difference as the Local Authority provided the School with the money to give to the Leisure Centre and that the School made no contribution to that amount. Councillor Wilson commented that he did not believe that this money went through the school anymore and that he believed it was channelled directly from the Local Authority to the Leisure Centre. It was noted that clarification needed to be sought on this subject because if it did still go through the School, this would need to be reviewed before St Aldhelm’s Academy was opened.

Agreed that:

 The PE and Arts Advisor and Leisure Centre Manager discuss the Joint Use Agreement with the Recreation Manager and report back to the Committee; and  Clarification be sought regarding funding being channelled through Rossmore Community College.

4 5. COUNCILLOR ITEMS

None received.

6. TRANSITION

Dealt with under Agenda Item 4. Councillor Wilson was updated on the topics discussed as he was not present during that item.

Councillor Wilson asked if the TUPE process was being scrutinised by a Borough of Poole Officer and it was confirmed that Tracey Comper, HR Manager, from Human Resources had been offering guidance and support to the staff of the School. It was confirmed that the contact from the Sponsors dealing with the TUPE process was Mike Butler.

The Headteacher informed the Committee that there was an Academy Board Meeting which dealt with closing down the School and opening the Academy and confirmed that the Borough of Poole HR Manager attended this meeting to offer advice.

Councillor Wilson informed the Committee that he would speak to Clive Smith, Head of Leisure Services, regarding the Joint Use Agreement.

Agreed that Councillor Wilson will speak to Clive Smith regarding the Joint Use Agreement and lack of consultation.

The Chairman left the Committee at 5pm. Councillor Wilson, Vice Chairman in the Chair.

7. ROSSMORE LEISURE CENTRE MANAGER’S REPORT

The Leisure Centre Manager presented a report to the Committee.

The following points were summarised:

 The OLGA Trampolining and Gymnastics Club had 930 active members.  Stroke rehabilitation classes in partnership with Nuffield Hospital had commenced.  The Centre currently had 610 direct debit members and 189 annual members.  The Centre experienced its highest ever attendance in one week for group exercise with 883 attendances.  There were currently 958 pupils enrolled in the Swimming Lesson Scheme.  The Centre continued to work with the Poole East Schools Partnership

5  New Additional Needs Classes had commenced on Friday which were proving very successful.  The new Family Sessions were going well with approximately four families regularly taking up the offer on any one day.  The Centre’s new Olympic inflatable was a success during the half term.  Last month attendance at the Centre registered at some 39000 which continued a trend of increase by 15% a year.

The following topics were discussed surrounding the Report and Everyone Active Rossmore:

 The Leisure Centre Manager informed the Committee that OLGA was currently operating through Ferndown Leisure Centre and that they were currently approaching the Queen Elizabeth’s Leisure Centre in Wimborne to see if they were interested in participating.  The PE and Arts Advisor commented that it would be helpful if the schools and pupils enrolled on the Swimming Lesson Scheme were separated out to give a clearer picture on numbers.  The PE and Arts Advisor informed the Committee that there was some money available to help children aged 10 and 11 learn to swim. It was noted that it was a Government initiative that by the time pupils finish Primary School they should be able to swim at least 25 metres, unfortunately some children were slipping through the net. In some Primary Schools up to 25 children could leave school not being able to swim. The Leisure Centre Manager said that he would contact the person responsible for organising the Swimming Lesson Scheme to discuss this further.  It was noted that the new IT system would provide a more accurate report on access to the Leisure Centre, particularly for block bookings.  There were plans to paint the Sports Hall over Easter.

AGREED that the contents of the Report be noted

8. URGENT BUSINESS

None received.

9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Councillor Wilson thanked Levi Tuck for attending the meeting and stressed how important it was for the Committee to receive any comments/inspirations from the pupils. The Leisure Centre Manager stated that he would also be interested in feedback for Everyone Active Rossmore as female teenagers were the hardest audience to target. The PE and Arts Advisor commented that the Student Representative at the Ashdown

6 Community Use Management Committee fed back to the Committee on activities wanted, costs, what the pupils enjoyed and what they didn’t.

The Silver Swimmer Representative asked if there would be any additional parking at the Rossmore campus? The Leisure Centre Manager said that parking was an issue, particularly at weekends but, as far as he knew, there were no plans for additional parking.

The Chairman asked if the Leisure Centre had been approached regarding hosting teams for the Olympics? The Leisure Centre Manager confirmed that there had been some meetings in September 2009 but they were mainly about security implications. No further action was planned until September of this year but he would keep the Committee updated.

CHAIRMAN