Decision details

This report will present options for the future management and delivery of daycare nursery services at the six Children’s Centres where the service is currently provided directly by the Council, together with proposals to procure not-for-profit providers to operate and manage those services to be moved out of direct Council provisions as well as at the Children’s Centres that are to be developed between April 2008 and March 2010 under Phase 3 of the project

Received a report from the Corporate Director of Children’s Services, setting out proposals to outsource childcare services to ensure that the childcare provision is financially viable and sustainable.

Agreed, in order to assist the Council achieve its Community Priorities of ‘Improving Health, Housing and Social Care’ and ‘Better Education and Learning for All’, to:

(i)  The implementation of Option 3 for the future delivery of full day childcare services, which will involve the commissioning of an external provider to run three of the existing Council-run nurseries;

(ii)  A one-off subsidy of £100,000 per nursery (ie up to £300,000 in total to support 3 nurseries) in the first year of operation by the external contractor(s), to be funded from the existing Sure Start grant; and

(iii)  The full funding and Human Resources (HR) implications of Transfer of Undertakings Regulations (TUPE) and potential redeployment of staff be fully addressed and agreed with relevant officers before entering into any formal agreement.