Committee Education and Social Services Day MONDAY Sub-Committee EARLY YEARS Date 15 JUNE 1998 Place of Meeting County Hall, Oxford Time 10.00 am A G E N D A Please address any general enquiries on this agenda to Julie Dean, County Hall, Oxford OX1 1ND (Tel: Oxford 815322). Press enquiries should be directed to the Media Manager on Oxford 815266. Members are reminded of the obligation to declare any interest relevant to business to be conducted at this meeting, and of the convention as to withdrawal from the meeting for the relevant item unless the interest is not one which debars the member from speaking thereon (see page G2 of the Council's Manual 1. Election to Chair (Labour Group) 2. Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments 3. Minutes Minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 1998 (EY3). 4. Matters arising from the Minutes 5. Petitions and Public Address OPERATIONAL ITEMS 6. EARLY YEARS UNITS (EYUs) Report by Chief Education Officer (EY6). The report presents initial evaluations of the first four Early Years Units to open in the County: those at Carswell CP School, Abingdon; St John's RC School, Banbury; St Mary's RC School, Bicester and William Fletcher CP School, Yarnton. The report also presents a proposal from the Head and Governors of Bishop Loveday CE School, Bodicote to open an Early Years Unit in September 1998. The Sub-Committee are RECOMMENDED to: (a) consider and receive the evaluation reports on Oxfordshire's first four Early Years Units; and (b) approve the proposal by Bishop Loveday CE School, Bodicote to open an Early Years Unit in September 1998, to be fully funded from national early years grant to admit four-year-olds who are younger than rising five. 7. NURSERY ADMISSIONS POLICY Report by Chief Education Officer (EY7). Since 1997 there has been a single countywide admissions policy for nursery schools and classes. The first year's operation of the new policy has recently been reviewed and the outcome including a revised Draft Policy for Admission to Nursery Schools and Classes is presented in this report. The main issues that have arisen in implementing the new policy so far are as follows: - the operation of the planned place number mechanism for three-year-olds; - the application of the policy to geographically distinct communities within a nursery's designated area; and Page 1 - the effect of the older brother or sister and the distance criteria. However, the change to a countywide admissions policy has been accomplished fairly smoothly in the first year notwithstanding the main issues outlined above and against a background of major changes in national early years policy and funding. The Sub-Committee are RECOMMENDED to: (a) approve the revised nursery admissions policy for 1998/99 as set out in the annex to the report EY7; (b) note that the policy will be reviewed again in Spring 1999. 8. EARLY YEARS DEVELOPMENT PLAN The Chief Education Officer reports as follows:- On 5 February 1998 the Sub-Committee approved the County's Early Years Development Plan for submission to the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). On 26 March 1998, the Under Secretary of State, Estelle Morris MP, announced that she was not yet in a position to approve the County's Plan. This was due to concern about the LEA's approach towards expansion of its own early years provision, and also to concerns about the internal working of the Early Years Development Partnership. The LEA was asked to work with its early years partners to make certain changes to the Plan and to submit a revised version by 15 June 1998 (Minute 18/98 refers). The main change requested by the Secretary of State was the addition to the Plan of an annex setting out an agreed procedure for consultation and decision making with regard to all proposals to establish new Early Years Units (EYUs) in primary schools. This annex, the text of which was agreed by the Early Years Partnership on 1 June, now appears as Annex 1 to the revised Plan. If approved, this annex will be circulated widely to all providers and it will be incorporated within a new EYU Scheme document. In addition, the Plan has been amended to incorporate a number of other minor changes requested by the DfEE, and also to take account of significant developments that have taken place since the previous version was written. The revised version has already been sent to the DfEE provisionally, pending final approval by the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee are RECOMMENDED to: (a) approve the revised version of the Plan and, in particular, the agreed procedures as set out in Annex 1; and (b) ask the officers to notify the Department for Education and Employment of the Sub-Committee's decision. (The revised Development Plan has been circulated to members of the Sub-Committee, Group Leaders and relevant Chief Officers only. It can be seen in the Members' Resource Centre and is available for public inspection). 9. SPOTLIGHT ON EARLY YEARS: SECTION 19 : REVIEW OF EARLY YEARS 1998 Report by Director of Social Services, Chief Education Officer and Assistant Chief Executive (PPRU) (EY9). Section 19 of the Children Act 1989 requires local authorities and local education authorities jointly to review all day care and supervised activities for children under 8 years, taking account in doing so, of nursery and primary education facilities. This review must be undertaken every three years. Page 2 Such reviews have been undertaken twice in Oxfordshire and have been published as 'Spotlight on Early Years' in 1993 and 1996. A further review is now necessary. This report outlines proposals for how it should be produced, in the light of the markedly changed environment of early years, not least with the requirement to have in place, as Oxfordshire has, Early Years Development Plans. The requirement to produce such plans, as well as the Children's Services Plan, which of necessity also includes a chapter on early years suggests that this year a more modest exercise than hitherto is appropriate. How this is to be achieved is briefly outlined. It is likely, however, that with the Department for Education and Employment assuming the functions in relation to early years previously undertaken by the Department of Health, for whom Section 19 Reviews had to be produced, that this will be the last exercise of this nature to be carried out. The Sub-Committee are RECOMMENDED to: (a) approve the process as described in the report EY9 for the production of the third 'Spotlight on Early Years'; and (b) instruct officers to produce a first draft for consideration at the October 1998 meeting of the Sub-Committee. 10. THE REGULATION OF EARLY EDUCATION AND DAYCARE (GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION PAPER) Report by Director of Social Services and Chief Education Officer (EY10). The Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Health have jointly issued a consultation document on the Regulation of Early Education and Day Care. It addresses options that flow from what it describes as a re-examination of "the scope of regulation and inspection" and the intention is to "create a new, more uniform regulatory regime which better reflects the needs of an integrated approach to care and education, and can respond to the inevitable challenges demanded by the growth in early years places". Responses are required by the end of July. To date a brief report focusing on children at regulatory aspects of the consultation exercise has been submitted to the 2 June 1998 Social Services Committee. The document was discussed at the Early Years Development Partnership on 1 June 1998 (officers will be able to provide oral feedback) and at the Social Services Inspection Advisory Panel at their meeting on 27 April 1998. The Social Services Committee resolved to authorise the Chief Inspector and the Director of Social Services to prepare a county response to the consultation document, following consultation with the Group Spokespersons of Social Services Committee, with this Sub-Committee, with the Social Services Inspection Advisory Panel and other appropriate consultees. They also requested that a copy of the final response be sent to all members of the relevant Committees. This report briefly explains the context and scope of this review and includes at Annex 2, the 39 questions upon which the Government is seeking responses. It then suggests a process for responding to the consultation. The Sub-Committee are RECOMMENDED to: (a) address and comment upon key questions they identify within the consultation document; and (b) authorise the Director of Social Services and the Chief Education Officer, following consultation with the Sub-Committee's Group Spokespersons, to prepare the response of this Sub-Committee to the proposals, taking account of the consultations outlined, for incorporation into the final response of the County Council. 11. THE DEVELOPMENT OF DAYCARE FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS IN EDUCATIONAL Page 3 SETTINGS Report by Assistant Chief Executive (PPRU), Director of Social Services and Chief Education Officer (EY11). On 5 February 1998 this Sub-Committee received a `Position Statement' report in relation to a bid that was being submitted to the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) to develop daycare for three and four year olds in educational settings. The bid was successful, although at a reduced level to that applied for, and a grant of £56,000 has been allocated to Oxfordshire (a copy of the bid has been placed in the Members' Resource Centre). This report outlines the proposals for implementing the grant (grant funds must be spent by 31 March 1999). The Sub Committee are RECOMMENDED to: (a) note the contents of the report, in particular the issues outlined in paragraph 8; (b) ask the officers to submit regular reports on the implementation of the DFEE grant and on the issues raised by developing wrap-around schemes in LEA nursery schools and classes and on LEA school sites; and (c) authorise the Chief Education Officer and the Director of Social Services to submit a joint response to the Green Paper 'Meeting the Childcare Challenge' following consultation with the Sub-Committee's Group Spokespersons.