Decision details

To consider the report of the Head of Infrastructure and Capital Projects following a Cabinet Decision on 7th September, 2009 to approve the statutory consultation process, this decision will seek to note the outcomes of the statutory consultation and determine whether or not to approve and proceed with the implementation of proposals to develop and improve Special Educational Needs provision at six Southampton Secondary Schools.

(i)  To note the outcome of statutory consultation as set out in Appendix 1 of this report and the associated documents in the Members’ Rooms.

(ii)  To approve the following statutory  proposals for changes to SEN provision in the city’s secondary schools:

a)  Chamberlayne College for the Arts (Foundation School): To add a 12 place Physical Learning Difficulties Centre for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 from 1^st September 2013.

b)  Upper Shirley High School (Foundation School): To add a 12 place Visual Impairment Learning Centre for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 from 1^st September 2013.

c)  St George Catholic College (Voluntary Aided School): To add a 10 place Learning Difficulties Learning Centre for boys aged 11 to 16 from 1^st September 2013.

d)  Cantell Maths and Computing College (Community School): To change the type of existing SEN provision from providing 20 places for pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties to providing 10 places for pupils with a range of Learning Difficulties from 1^st September 2011. The resultant Learning Centre will provide places for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 years.

To approve the following modified proposals:

e)  Bitterne Park School (Community School): To add a 15 place Autistic Spectrum Disorder Learning Centre for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years from 1^st September 2013 (modified age range). Bitterne Park will have acquired a Sixth Form by September 2013, so the change in age range from 11 – 16 as originally published for the Learning Centre to 11 – 18 reflects this.

f)  The Sholing Technology College (Community School): To add a 10 place Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties Support Learning Centrefor vulnerable pupils for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 from 1^st September 2015 (modified unit name). Previously referred to in the 7 September 2009 Report as a Nurture Learning Centre and in statutory notices as a Learning centre for emotionally vulnerable pupils.

(iii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Children’s Services and Learning, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, to do anything necessary to give effect to the recommendations in this report.

(iv)  To delegate authority to the Solicitor to the Council to take any action necessary to comply with the requirements of the School Standards and frameworks Act 1998 and associated legislation, and compliance with statutory representation procedures, to give effect to the recommendations in this report.

1.  To provide high quality placements for the future changing profile of children and young people with SEN, and promote an inclusive approach to meet their additional learning needs.

2.  To increase flexibility and choice through creating a continuum of provision for SEN from mainstream schools, through Learning Centres to Special Schools.

3.  To maximise the funding opportunities from Building Schools for the Future.

4.  To achieve value for money by reducing spare places and reducing potential increases in the cost of ‘out of city’ placements.

5.  To continue to improve the quality of provision for children and young people with SEN through developing a network of expertise across the City.

1.  The option to create a new 12 place Learning Centre for pupils aged 11 to 16 with Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) at a secondary school in phase one of Building Schools for the Future (Wave 6A) was considered .This option was discarded as small units for children and young people with BESD are difficult to manage within a mainstream school and do not provide a sufficiently broad range of curriculum options for the students. This option was also not supported by the headteachers during initial consultation.

2.  The options for creating a 20 place Learning Centre at St George Catholic College or maintaining the 20 place provision at Cantell were considered but discarded. Issues and views were expressed during the consultation about the level of provision and the number of places. The decision to split the 20 places between the schools aims to raise the levels of expertise in both schools and provide more places for boys. This is in response to the significant gap in attainment between boys and girls and the significant difference in the data showing treble the number of boys with Learning Difficulties, compared with girls, whilst maintaining equality of access for girls. It also reduces the impact of large numbers of young people with SEN in a small secondary school like St George, with the associated impact on published examination results .It maximises the opportunity to access funding to provide a state of the art facility at St George through BSF. It is also a rationale for discarding the option of opening the provision at Woodlands, as suggested by one consultee.

3.  The number of places in Learning Centres will be kept under review on an annual basis to ensure the provision is fit for purpose and meets the needs of Southampton’s young people.