Minutes:
Texas School Shooting
(1) The Chairman asked Members to join her in remembering the families and friends of the victims and all those affected by the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas, and said it was a terrible heart-wrenching crime.
Ukraine
(2) The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, expressed her sympathy and concern for the continued war against the Ukraine, the horrific devastation that had been caused, and the escalating humanitarian crisis that had been created and which had affected millions. She said the Council remained focussed on supporting the Ukraine and was actively working with partners to provide immediate assistance to any Ukrainian nationals arriving in Kent and would endeavour to ensure they received the warmest welcome to the county.
Matt Dunkley Retirement
(3) The Chairman paid tribute to Matt Dunkley, Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, who was retiring from the Council in May 2022. Mr Dunkley joined KCC as the Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education on 27th November 2017. Mr Dunkley was a past President of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) and was the Director of Children's Services at East Sussex County Council for 8 years. He lived and worked in the USA and Australia and was Interim DCS with Norfolk County Council for 9 months, where he led the service out of Ofsted intervention, before joining Kent.
(4) The Chairman said Mr Dunkley, during his time with KCC, had led a major restructure of children’s services, realigning Early Help and Children’s Social Work into one service, and bringing the Disabled Children & Young People’s Service from Adults into Children’s services, ensuring vulnerable children and families received consistent and seamless support regardless of their needs. Mr Dunkley led the directorate through the pandemic, during which time frontline staff continued to regularly visit vulnerable children and families and in the final month before his retirement he had overseen an Ofsted inspection of children’s services.
(5) The Chairman asked Members to join her in thanking Mr Dunkley for his service to the County and the Council and wished him all the very best for the future.
Andy Tait Retirement
(6) The Chairman paid tribute to Andy Tait, Democratic Services Officer, who after many years’ service at KCC, was retiring in June 2022. She said Mr Tait had been a stalwart member of Democratic Services for nearly four decades and started work at the Council on 1 April 1985.
(7) Throughout his service, Mr Tait had brought the highest standards of good governance and fairness in supporting meetings, working to support all Members of the Council to fulfil their democratically elected roles.
(8) The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, thanked Mr Tait for his service to KCC and wished him well in his retirement.
Virtual School Kent Award
(9) The Chairman was delighted to announce that Virtual School Kent had become the first virtual school to be awarded the National Nurturing Virtual School Programme Award. The NurtureUK award followed the school’s completion of the National Nurturing Schools Programme and recognised the high-quality whole school nurturing approach demonstrated by the school.
(10) The Chairman said the award was an endorsement of the extensive work Virtual School Kent had done to ensure that the six principals of Nurture were embedded throughout its everyday practice and in how young people, partners and staff were supported.
(11) The Chairman asked Members to join her in congratulating all those involved in Virtual School Kent on this fantastic achievement.
Opening of Allington Household Waste Recycling Centre
(12) The Chairman attended, at the beginning of May, the opening of the new Household Waste Recycling Centre at Allington, with the Cabinet Member for Environment, Miss Susan Carey. The new centre was a large and very modern site with space for over 70 cars, providing a much-needed local resource for residents of Kent.
(13) The Chairman was delighted to inform Members that the Household Waste Recycling Centre had won a national award, coming first in the category of ‘Best Use of Design and Technology in a Waste Management Facility’ at the Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management.
(14) The Chairman asked Members to join her in congratulating the KCC Waste Management Team and the Council’s FCC partners on their success.
Kent Day
(15) The Chairman was pleased to announce that today, 26 May 2022, was Kent Day, a day to celebrate the beauty and history of the county and 26 May was chosen as it was the Feast Day of St. Augustine, who settled in the Kingdom of Kent in 597AD and who founded Canterbury Cathedral and became the first Archbishop.
(16) The Chairman asked Members to join her in celebrating the county of Kent on this very special day.
70 Hours for 70 Years
(17) The Chairman was pleased to announce that the Vice-Chairman and her had completed their volunteering for the initiative to mark the jubilee by volunteering in the community. The Chairman was pleased to say that Members had delivered just over 60 hours of volunteering during May and thanked everyone who had contributed volunteering hours to date.
Chairman’s Charities
(18) The Chairman was pleased to inform Members that having continued to support Mrs Allen’s charity for the 2021/22 Chairman’s year, over £2,000 had been raised for Kent Foster Care Association.
(19) The Chairman announced that she had chosen to support two charities during her year as Chairman and they were Kent Association for the Blind and Oasis Domestic Abuse Service.
(20) The Chairman invited Eithne Rynne from Kent Association for the Blind and Deborah Cartwright from Oasis Domestic Abuse Service to introduce the charities and the work that they did.