Archived decisions

Contact: Martin Combs [email protected] 01962 847479

1. Summary

1.1. This report concerns the establishment of a review panel to undertake a review of outdoor/field studies centres.

2. Background

2.1. The Leader of the Council has requested the Culture and Communities Policy Review Committee to undertake a review of study/outdoor centres following the proposal by the executive member for Children's Services to reduce the County Council's core funding for the two residential study centres by £95,000 with the intention of removing the remaining £145,000 core funding support in the following year. At a subsequent Cabinet meeting, following a recommendation from the Policy and Resources PRC to reconsider withdrawal of the funding, the Leader agreed to fund from his grants to voluntary organisations budget in 2007/8 to temporality replace that drawn from the Children's Services budget. In addition, the Children's Services Department has set up arrangements to review the funding of the two residential study centres at Stubbington and Minstead.

2.2. This review would look at the range of study/outdoor centre provision that is currently funded by the County Council with a view to:

· Recommending development of policy which in turn could influence prioritising of funding for outdoor/field studies centres

· Providing a holistic, Hampshire-wide understanding of the range of, and relationship between centres in terms of which centres provide what

· Providing an understanding of how the centres support curriculum in schools and what the demand is for centres

· Providing a better understanding of funding arrangements that may offer potential to rationalise such arrangements, ensure better equity of access, and better understand which centres offer best value and how

3. Recommendation

3.1. That the Culture and Communities PRC appoint a review panel to undertake a review of outdoor/field studies centres.

4. Rationale

4.1. The residential field study centres at Stubbington and Minstead are only a part of the wider provision and funding that the County Council provides for field and outdoor studies centres. Core funding is used to support:

· Children's Services residential field study centres

· Children's Services day field study centre

· Recreation and Heritage outdoor centres

· Independent Charitable trust study centres (funded in part) via Recreation and Heritage

· Unitary City outdoor/study centres in Southampton and Portsmouth (funded in part) via Recreation and Heritage

4.2. A review of this situation should investigate:

· Funding arrangements

· Demand

· Usage and activity levels and trends

· Relationship of activities to, say, curriculum

· Feedback, where available from users

· Income generation potential

· Policy in relation to education and wellbeing

4.3. In order to provide a report and recommendations the review would need to conclude in September to allow it to influence budget considerations for 2007/8.

5. Scope of the Review

5.1. The scope of the Review would be to:

· Understand funding arrangements for all categories of field or outdoor centres funded by the County Council

· Ascertain effective comparative criteria for usage, performance and funding

· Determine current demand/capacity, usage, costs

· Identify policy with regard to provision and funding of centres

· Determine whether there is equitable provision across County

· Determine if and what dependency relationship exists between education/curriculum and provision of field study centres

5.2. The outcome of this review could also be influenced by the work that the Children's Services Department is undertaking in conjunction with members of the Schools' Forum.

5. Indicative Project Plan

7. Conclusion

7.1. The Review should contribute to greater consistency in policy and funding arrangements for environmental study centres and outdoor centres. Greater transparency in understanding how each contributes to curricula themes, greater understanding of demand and `efficiency' issues should give decision makers a better foundation for determining funding priorities.

8. Links to Corporate Strategy

8.1. This Review would contribute to Maximising Wellbeing, particularly of children and young people, and Enhancing our Quality of Place, by focusing the attention of Members on the role of centres in educating children and young people in environmental knowledge.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.