Agenda item

Richard Franklin addressed the Panel and made a statement regarding Newton House.

He said that without the short breaks / respite care at Newton House his son and other service users would have to go into full time residential care which would result in much higher costs.

He stated that trust is a huge factor when handing over a family member into the care of somebody else and that this had initially taken a number months to establish. He said that now, when his son attends Newton House, the team very rarely need to contact us as they know his needs, medical and personal, so well. He added that this therefore allows him and his wife to relax.

He explained that his son enjoys the time away from home and that the staff take great care of him.

He said that the service provided is a total lifeline for us as a family and the thought of it being removed has already caused stress, anxiety and worry.

He informed the Panel that no other providers have been put in place.

He thanked everyone that had offered their support to him and his family since the announcement had been made.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked how much notice he had been given that the service was to cease.

Richard Franklin replied that he had received the letter around two weeks ago which stated that no further placements would be allowed from February 1^st 2025.

The Chair asked if he was aware that the decision had been paused.

Richard Franklin replied that he was aware, but said that the concern remains as to what will happen in February.

The Chair said that Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services has been invited to address the Panel on this issue at their January meeting. She thanked Richard Franklin for attending on behalf of the Panel.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson addressed the Panel on the subject of the Select Advisory Council for Religious Education - Agreed Syllabus Revision. A summary of her statement is set out below.

‘In 2021 at the same stage in negotiations for funding for revision of the syllabus I said, ‘The values, beliefs and visions which should undergird our conduct as Councillors, and in our personal lives, have to be learnt and communicated, and the new RE syllabus is crucial for doing this.’

It may surprise you to learn that the present syllabus, Awareness, Mystery, Value is highly rated and adopted by other authorities, and that a number of our schools have won WIRE awards.

But excellence does not happen by accident. Not only is a good, up to date syllabus needed, with plenty of scope for adventure and creativity, but teachers need support and training, as SACRE hopes to provide.

B&NES SACRE needs to have a new Agreed Syllabus ready to be used by schools in September 2027.

Given the current national RE landscape we will need to rethink and update our current Agreed Syllabus. This will be very different from when the Agreed Syllabus was reviewed in 2020-22, and adopted by Council in September 2022. The new approach might be crudely described as ‘grassroots up’, focussing on ordinary believers’ philosophy, meditation and worship.

The strength of the legislation, going back to the 1944 Education Act, is the requirement that what is taught reflects local communities.

To achieve this change of approach we need to consult widely in the profession and the faith communities, this takes time and costs money.

This process needs to start now and be spread across a number of financial years. Hence the need for funding to be planned carefully and drawn in stages from the LA’s most appropriate (CSSB) funding. 

B&NES SACRE therefore will do what it can to seek what funding is available from other organisations such as educational trusts, and to achieve economies of scale by working together with other SACREs.

The financial year 2025 - 26 will include initial research, teacher surveys and recommendations.

I would request this Panel to recommend to the Cabinet that the SACRE funding (£8,421.05) for constructing a new Agreed Syllabus and related training be accepted.

Kevin Burnett commented that the SACRE Advisor for B&NES has worked on the assumption that the new agreed syllabus has to be in place by September 2027, so we are working in this coming financial year (2025/26) with teachers and people on the ground to try and start the process of gathering views and how the syllabus would work in practice.

He added that they are trying to work with other SACREs in a sort of a regional hub and have got three or four on board already.

The Chair asked the officers present if this request is part of the budget proposals for 2025/26.

The Director for Education & Safeguarding replied that it was not because it is funded out of the Central Services budget of the Dedicated Schools Grant so the request for the funding can go to him in order to make a decision.

Councillor Ruth Malloy asked if £8,421 was being asked for in this financial year, how much would be asked for in year two or three.

Kevin Burnett replied that they were not sure at this stage but were hopeful that any future requests would be much reduced because the other SACREs would buy into the work.

The Chair thanked Councillor Jackson for her statement on behalf of the Panel.