Agenda item

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There will be an update on the Community Meeting Budget. Please find summaries of applications received for consideration below.

The following budget applications have been received:

Application 1

Applicant:Woodgate Residents Association

Amount: £3,000

Proposal: Music Development Programme

Summary:

The Music Development Programme which is held at the Woodgate Resource Centre, teaches children to play the guitar, keyboards, violin, recorders and singing.  The programme has been running for over five years starting with just guitars and keyboards. Two to three years ago a grant was received from Youth Music to increase the number of classes both in guitar and keyboards but also introducing violin, recorders and singing. At the moment there are about eighty children taking part in the programme.

The Youth Music funding ran out on 31^st March 2011. We are therefore looking for various funding opportunities to continue and expand the programme including an additional lesson each term and “master classes” during the school holidays. We have succeeded in getting some grants (about £15,000) and are in the process of applying for grants from trusts and lottery based funding organisations to continue funding to at least 31^st March 2013. We also charge the children for the music lessons, currently £25 for an eleven week term.  A grant from the ward fund will help us to leaver in money from other sources.

We will be able to judge the success of the programme by the numbers attending and the improvement in the skills of the children participating.

Application 2

Applicant:Groby Road Allotment Society

Amount: £1,400

Proposal: Environmental / Wildlife Pond Project

Summary:

·         To create an environmentally friendly pond on the embankment of Groby Road Allotment Society overlooking 60+ plots.

·         To encourage frogs and other wildlife and plants to flourish in the pond.

·         The pond will be in a communal area where seating will be installed for use of plot holders and children and grandchildren.

·         Local schools will be invited to visit, observe and learn from their nautal habitat.

·         Most plot holders live in the Fosse ward and each year’s open day encourages more local people to visit and participation from all over the county.

·         The Committee is contributing £150 for hire of mini JCB towards the project.

Application 3

Applicant: King Richard III Infant and Nursery School

Amount: £500

Proposal: Outdoor Pursuits Residential at Beaumont Hall

Summary:

The aim is to provide all our Year 2 children with the opportunity of going on an exciting and adventurous residential trip to Beaumanor Hall in Woodhouse Leicestershire. The challenge is to make it inclusive and affordable whilst still offering a variety of adventurous activities not available in school including a night away from home. (Treasure Hunt, canoeing (Quorn Hall), rock wall (on site), camp fire activities and outdoor adventures in the grounds and woods – the objective in line with Healthy School and with Every child Matters strands is aimed at developing independence, healthy lifestyles, outdoor learning and fun.

This is a new venture for the school born out of the fantastic experience of sending 12 of our then Year 2 children on a 6 week Outdoor Pursuits Course last school year.  It proved to be such a wonderful experience for the children who were exposed to different challenges and opportunities for success and who managed to surprise even themselves by how much they achieved. Everyone noticed the huge difference it made to them in terms of building their independence, self-confidence and in taking a pride in their efforts.

The staff involved wanted all of this year’s cohort of 60 to benefit from an adventure and to make it affordable and productive by cutting down the time it takes to go back and forth to the Outdoor Pursuits Centre by being residential where the activities are on site and there is the added bonus of sleeping in a cabin in the wilds of the countryside.

The first stage was to hold a meeting for parents to see what their reaction was to the idea.  All of the feedback was favourable with about half of the parents attending the presentation and some attending the advertised open day at Beaumanor Hall to see the potential for themselves. (We plan to organise a day out there for parents and children in the Spring Term).

Getting the parents and community involved is important to us and so we have established a Parent/Carer Notice Board where updates and news of how the fundraising is progressing are displayed and where we can demonstrate our commitment to parental and community involvement.

We gave out more information at the October parents evenings and we will continue to develop our links with the Outdoor Pursuits Centre. The Children are fully involved with the planned project and have been coming up with ideas for fundraising with a monthly cake sale already in place. They are also helping to run the KRIII Bank where they can bring money to be paid into their account to help spread the cost over the year. The residential incorporates one night in the cabins, an evening meal in the Hall, breakfast in the cabin and two days of packed lunches provided as well as a full programme of exciting activities.

Half of the cohort (30 children and 6 staff who will remain for the 3 days) will travel by coach to Beaumanor Hall on Wednesday 2^nd May 2012 where they will have lunch and a full afternoon and evening of activities. The evening meal will be eaten in the Hall. The other half of the cohort (30 children and 3 staff will travel by coach to Beaumanor Hall on Thursday 3^rd May 2012. For lunchtime and the early afternoon all of the cohort will be together then cohort 1 will return to school with 3 staff while cohort 2 begin their adventure.  They will return to school with the 6 staff on Friday afternoon.

For this to be a real success we want to make sure that all of our children take up this opportunity and all are properly equipped with sleeping bags/pillowcase/waterproofs/torch/towels/toiletries/waterbottle/suntan lotion/track suit/trainers etc and KRIII needs to be prepared to provide these without there being any stigma involved which is why we are budgeting for £20 per head with which we will buy something for all 60 children maybe a tracksuit and trainers as we did for the Outdoor Pursuits Group.

This type of adventure ticks so many boxes promoting – learning in different ways in a different environment. – providing experiences they will never forget – cooperation – living together – independence – social skills – healthy lifestyles – active fun – emotional well being – emancipating – freedom – giving opportunity to do things they might never do – self esteem and self confidence – achieving – finding success in the most unlikely of places etc.

James Schadla-Hall, Members Support Officer presented the Community Meeting Budget and stated that the current balance remaining was £8,862.

The following applications were submitted for consideration: -

1)    Woodgate Residents Association                                 £3,000

Application received for funding to continue and expand the current Music Development Programme at Woodgate Resource Centre, involving some 80 children. It was reported that the previous funding ran out on 31^st March 2011.

Members were minded to support the project but stated that, due to the funding remaining in the 2011/12 Budget £1,500 could be funded from the 2011/12 Budget and the Community Meeting would look favourably to supportanother bid from this organisation from the 2012/13 Budget, this was Agreed.

2)    Groby Road Allotment Society                                       £1,400

Application received to create an environmentally friendly pond on the communal area of the embankment of Groby Road Allotments, facing the allotment plots.

Members were minded to support the application in full. It was Agreed that the application for £1,400 be supported.

3)    King Richard III Infant and Nursery School                £500

Application received to part fund, with Westcotes Community Meeting, the difference in the cost per head and the parental contribution to enable Year 2 children to go on a residential trip to Beaumanor Hall, Woodhouse, Leicestershire. A number of adventurous activities would be available to the children that were not possible at the school.

Members were minded to support the application in full. It was Agreed that the application for £500 be supported.

It was reported that the balance of the Budget remaining after funding the above new applications was £5,462.