The Full Council of the Isles of Scilly was scheduled to discuss a business case for a proposed Belonging and Inclusion Hub at Carn Gwaval, and the outcome of a recent Ofsted monitoring visit. The meeting was set to take place on 18 November 2025. The council was also expected to consider recommendations related to children's services.

Belonging and Inclusion Hub

The council was scheduled to consider a business case for the development of a Belonging and Inclusion Hub at Carn Gwaval. The report pack included a recommendation that members approve the business case for the hub, including the extension and partial redesign of the existing Carn Gwaval complex. It was also recommended that a planning application be prepared and submitted to the Local Planning Authority, following appropriate due diligence.

The report stated that the hub is designed to offer inclusive support for all children, young people, and families, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It would also facilitate and coordinate alternative provision for children not currently accessing school, in accordance with Section 19 of the Education Act 1996¹. The hub would additionally provide a youth club to support social connection and wellbeing, and create spaces for on-island education facilitation, including for post-16 learners.

The report pack noted that the capital funding for the project is being provided by the Department for Education (DfE) via its High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) provision, with £2 million already confirmed and received by the council. The project aimed to start works on site in May 2026, with completion in August 2026, requiring a planning application to be submitted by December 2025 at the latest.

The business case in Appendix A Belonging Inclusion Hub Business Case September 2025 set out five cases:

• Strategic case: the reasons why the facility is needed and the case for change.
• Economic case: the options that have been considered and why this site is the preferred option.
• Commercial case: how the council will be compliant with Public Procurement Regulations, as well as what and who the council will be contracting for.
• Financial case: the estimated capital costs and ongoing running costs (revenue), together with how the project will be funded.
• Management Case: the proposed project governance alongside clear roles and responsibilities, including risk management.

The report pack stated that the strategic case highlights the drivers for change, including the council's statutory duty and commitment to providing excellent services to children, young people and families. The strategic context and drivers for change include:

• The absence of a base for alternative education provision on the Isles of Scilly.
• The need to ensure the council can discharge its statutory duties under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996.
• The need to support the implementation of outcomes specified in children's Education, Health and Care Plans, in accordance with the Children and Families Act 2014² and the SEND Code of Practice (2015).
• The need to meet the council's duty under Section 4 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006³ to promote the welfare and safeguarding of children.
• The fact that the Isles of Scilly has a single school (Five Islands School), which provides education up to the age of 16, with post-16 education accessed on the mainland.
• The absence of specialist mental health provision on the islands.
• The findings of an Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) Children's Services Ofsted judgement report dated July 2023, which assessed services as inadequate, and subsequent Ofsted monitoring visits.
• Upcoming Children Services Care reforms, which are a national requirement and will require the IoS family hub services to be strengthened.

The proposed building also seeks to address five key investment objectives:

• To create an integrated Belonging and Inclusion Service model.
• To build a statutory complaint multi-purpose space that is off the school site which provides education for excluded children.
• To build a multi-purpose space to provide alternative provision to enable greater provision of 16 plus study space and remote /virtual learning options on island to reduce the need to travel to the mainland for agreed aspects of the programme of study or if weather conditions impede travel.
• To provide a 'youth hub' drop in space for young persons.

The economic case explored the options available for the provision of the Hub, with consideration given to five possible locations. Carn Gwaval was the preferred option as it met all the required considerations, including being within council control, located adjacent to complementary facilities, and utilising existing buildings to reduce costs.

The preferred option had an estimated build cost of approximately £1.96 million, within the available budget. The proposed development works are to be 100% funded from the grants available from the Department for Education.

The report pack stated that the plans allow proof of concept, enabling estimated costings to be calculated to inform the business case, and also future proof the wider site, ensuring that sufficient space is available for a swimming pool within the Carn Gwaval complex, when and if funding becomes available.

If the council approved the recommendations, the next steps would be to secure Department for Education approval in parallel with the development of the planning application.

Ofsted Monitoring Visit

The council was also scheduled to note the findings of a monitoring visit by Ofsted inspectors that took place on 8 and 9 October 2025. The visit was the fourth since the authority was judged inadequate in July 2023.

The areas considered by inspectors included:

• The effectiveness with which information shared with the local authority about children in need, or children in need of protection, is recorded, assessed and responded to.
• The quality of social work practice to assess, support and protect children.
• The quality of strategy discussions and subsequent child protection enquiries.
• The effectiveness of multi-agency working, including child protection strategy discussions, in identifying risk and providing support and protection to children.
• Management and leadership oversight of the service at both a practice and a strategic level.
• The accuracy of children's records, including how well they capture children's wishes and feelings and record their histories in up-to-date chronologies, to allow full consideration of the child's journey.
• How consistently and effectively the services that children receive meet statutory requirements.

The report pack stated that the headline findings pointed to a continued improving picture across critical areas of children's services delivery. Of particular importance were the findings that children get the help when they need it and children on the Isles of Scilly now receive an appropriate response when there are concerns that they are at risk . The letter acknowledged that despite changes in the workforce and within the full Council, a focus remains on making sure that children and families who need help and support are a key priority .

The letter highlighted the need to strengthen further the oversight and support of arrangements for children who live off the mainland to access post 16 education, but acknowledged the importance of the work of the transitions worker on the mainland and recognised this as a positive move to achieve greater coherence in that support.

The report pack stated that the letter had been submitted to the Department for Education as part of the regulatory oversight of the council's services. A further monitoring visit was expected in the New Year prior to a full reinspection under the ILACS framework.