The Children's Services, Education and Skills Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss school transport policy changes, school place planning options, and a performance update from the Strategic Director of Children's Services, Ashley Whittaker. The committee will also review its member development plan.

School Place Planning

The committee is scheduled to discuss options for addressing surplus school places on the Isle of Wight. According to the report pack, the number of children entering reception classes is projected to fall by 14% between 2024 and 2029, leading to a rise in vacant places.

The report pack states that schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, and that each empty seat represents a loss of approximately £4,887 in funding. It notes that one-third of maintained primary schools forecast a cumulative deficit position for the 2025/26 financial year.

The report pack lists a number of options for the committee to consider, including:

• Voluntary school closures
• Voluntary amalgamation of schools
• Closure of existing schools and opening of a new school
• Diocese-led closures of voluntary aided schools
• Mass closures across the island
• Annual school closures
• Reduction of planned admission numbers
• Supporting small schools to remain affordable
• Voluntary aided schools self-closure
• Mutual consent closure with the Department for Education and academies
• Maintained schools becoming academies
• Creation of an all-through school

The committee will consider setting some principles around the vision for the Island's education system. These may include the size of schools, the impact of rural areas, and how school closures would be defined. The report pack also mentions that establishing defined school place planning areas is essential for strategic oversight of pupil demand and school capacity.

The report pack includes a summary of feedback from previous workshops on addressing surplus places. Some attendees felt that previous consultations lacked transparency, did not involve all stakeholders, and used unclear criteria.

School Transport Policy

The committee is scheduled to discuss proposed changes to the Isle of Wight Council's School Transport Policy and Post 16 Transport Statement. According to the report pack, the proposed changes would enable the council to provide more flexible transport arrangements, respond to changing needs and market pressures, and increase charges for non-statutory services.

The report pack states that expenditure on school transport was just over £5 million for the 2024/25 financial year and is forecast to be just over £5.2 million for the 2025/26 financial year.

The proposed changes to the School Transport Policy include:

• Clarifying the council's right to withdraw travel assistance where walking routes have become safer.
• Clarifying the timescale for reviewing eligibility and implementing transport arrangements.
• Clarifying the method used to measure distance.
• Stating that additional mileage or costs incurred through emergency road closures will not be funded.
• Explaining alternative modes of transport, such as personal transport budgets and parental mileage allowance.
• Defining the designated home address for children with more than one address.
• Clarifying the definition of 'nearest suitable school'.
• Stating that travel assistance for journeys to and from work experience placements will not be provided.
• Clarifying that travel assistance will not be provided where a family is deemed to have made themselves intentionally homeless.
• Increasing charges for spare capacity seats from £582.54 to £602.50 per academic year.
• Adding a link to the School Transport FAQs website.
• Adding an appendix on the protocol for misbehaviour on school transport.
• Reserving the right to amend and republish the transport policy statement at any point.

The only proposed change to the Post 16 SEN Transport Statement is an increase in cost from £582.54 to £602.50 per academic year.

The committee is being asked to approve proceeding with a public consultation on the proposed changes.

Performance Update

The committee is scheduled to receive a performance update from Ashley Whittaker, Strategic Director of Children's Services. The report pack states that the work of the Children's Services Directorate is broken down into two categories: providing safe and stable services every day, and embedding changes following the end of the partnership with Hampshire County Council¹ (HCC). The report pack notes that needs among children, young people and families remain high, leading to high workloads for teams in the directorate. It also notes that the number of Isle of Wight Education Health and Care Plans² (EHC) has increased by about 240 since January 2024. The report pack states that children's early help and social care initial contacts were lower in Q1 2025/26 than Q4 2024/25, which is linked to changes made to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub³ (MASH) arrangements. The report pack also notes that the council continues to care for about 260 children, which is a higher rate than the national average.

The report pack forecasts that general fund expenditure on children's services for the 2025/26 financial year will be £42.9 million, representing an overspend of £1.9 million against the agreed annual budget. It also forecasts an overspend of £5.2 million for the Dedicated Schools Grant⁴ (DSG) for the 2025/26 financial year. The report pack lists the directorate's priorities, which include:

• Placing the voices of children, young people and parents and carers at the core of everything.
• Developing and working in strong partnerships with other teams and organisations.
• Focusing on early identification and intervention.
• Maximising the independence of children and young people.
• Improving and transforming Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.
• Ensuring appropriate homes are available for children.
• Focusing on contextual safeguarding⁵.
• Addressing the number of children not attending school full time.

Committee Member Development Plan

The committee is scheduled to review the training and development activities provided or undertaken since the last meeting, as outlined in the Councillor Development Policy 2021-2026. The report pack lists essential learning for all councillors, including information security, data protection, health and safety, equality and diversity, safeguarding, and understanding local government procurement. It also lists specific learning for members of this committee, such as children's services improvement.