Issue - meetings

STOCKTON-ON-TEES BOROUGH COUNCIL

CABINET DECISION

PROFORMA

Cabinet Meeting ........................................................................ 16 January 2025

Consideration was given to a report on Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) in mainstream schools and the outcome of Enhanced Mainstream Schools (EMS) consultation.

In September 2024, a report was considered by Cabinet, for information only, on the consultation relating to increasing capacity in mainstream schools within Stockton-on-Tees, by transferring current Enhanced Mainstream Schools to Additionally Resourced Provision and SEN Units.

The Council had successfully submitted a revised Delivering Better Value (DBV) plan to DfE on 19 February 2024. This plan was formally agreed by Government and required the Council to fully mitigate the aggregated Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit by 2027/28, because if left unmitigated the number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) was forecast to reach 2,564 by January 2027 (2,280 at time of submission) which would result in an unmitigated aggregated deficit of £34.8m by the end of 2027/28 compared with a current (end of 2023/2024) deficit of £3.8m.

The plan to reduce the deficit and provide long-term stability was based on eight mitigations, the most significant of which (in terms of deficit reduction and long-term sustainability) was to increase capacity in local mainstream primary and secondary schools thereby reducing the need for significantly more expensive independent special school and out of area special school placements.

There was a need to improve outcomes for children with special educational needs across the Borough and respond to the increasing demand for specialist support at the earliest opportunity. This fits with the Council’s vision of providing earlier intervention to reduce demand for expensive placements which were often out of Borough and aligned with the overarching strategy of SEND locally and the priority areas in the Delivering Better Value Action Plan.

The Council had a statutory duty to ensure there was sufficient and suitable educational provision to meet the need of all its children and young people. Stockton-on-Tees had a significant shortfall in provision relating to pupils with Special Educational Needs. There was a need for a Cabinet decision to commit funding to increase the number of placements for children with SEND in the Borough.

The proposal to introduce a model of Additional Resourced Provisions and SEND Units would align with the Department for Education Guidance and allow for clear registration of the provision with benefits to schools and families. It would allow parents to request these schools in line with the duties in the Children and Families Act 2014 and would give parents additional choice of school placements, as opposed to current options of mainstream or special schools.

As a result of the pressure on places, more children were being allocated specialist places within the private sector, including the use of independent and alternative provision to support children not able to access a local special school place. This resulted in lengthy journeys for vulnerable children and pressure on families, whose children were educated away from their local communities. As well as having a significant impact on children’s experiences, this was a costly solution; fees charged by the private sector were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84