Lead Member – Councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Portfolio Holder for Children & Education

Lead Officer – David Shaw

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Approved the implementation of option 2 (restructure/relaunch and relocation of the Service).

2.     Delegated the detailed implementation of the agreed actions to the Assistant Director for Education and Achievement, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education. This should include the exploration of appropriate grant funding opportunities that would allow for additional development of the artefact offer with a view to further enhancing the cultural experiences of children and young people in Shropshire. This may include establishing a charitable arm of the Service.

3.     Noted that school buy-in will be closely monitored by the Assistant Director for Education and Achievement to inform whether school buy-in is sufficient to enable the Service to be cost-neutral from 25/26 onwards. If it is determined that further action is required to enable the Service to be cost-neutral from 25/26, this may include exploring implementation of option 3, or if necessary, option 1. Should option 1 need to be considered, a report to Cabinet will be drafted setting out the position before any decision is made.

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Education introduced the report which considered the future of the Schools Library Service, responding to the outcome of the schools and public consultations.

Members noted that the School Library Service operated as a traded service which schools can buy into. 65% of schools in Shropshire had bought into the service which allows them to borrow books and artefacts and receive training for staff and pupil librarians. It was acknowledged that the service had been operating at a loss for the last two financial years.

Members were asked to consider the following four options:

1.      Close the service.

2.      Reset, relaunch, and relocate the service.

3.      Resize and reduce the service.

4.      Outsource the service.

The Portfolio Holder made a recommendation to approve the second option: reset, relaunch, and relocate the service.

In response to a query regarding the possibility of bringing some of the 35% into the service that are currently using other providers, it was confirmed that the team are optimistic about bringing more schools into the service through tailored changes and ongoing communication. Through individual conversations with Headteachers and staff, they have identified what schools need and want.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Approved the implementation of option 2 (restructure/relaunch and relocation of the Service).

2.     Delegated the detailed implementation of the agreed actions to the Assistant Director for Education and Achievement, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children and Education. This should include the exploration of appropriate grant funding opportunities that would allow for additional development of the artefact offer with a view to further enhancing the cultural experiences of children and young people in Shropshire. This may include establishing a charitable arm of the Service.

3.     Noted that school buy-in will be closely monitored by the Assistant Director for Education and Achievement to inform whether school buy-in is sufficient to enable the Service to be cost-neutral from 25/26 onwards. If it is determined that further action is required to enable the Service to be cost-neutral from 25/26, this may include exploring implementation of option 3, or if necessary, option 1. Should option 1 need to be considered, a report to Cabinet will be drafted setting out the position before any decision is made.