Agenda item

(To receive a report from Matthew Clayton, Admissions and Education Provision Manager, which invites the Committee to consider and comment on the proposal for future boarding provision at The St Francis Special School, Lincoln, (Final Decision), prior to a decision be taken by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services between the 8 and 12 March 2021)

The Chairman advised the Committee that this item was for pre-decision scrutiny prior to a decision being taken by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services between 8 and 12 March 2021.

The Chairman invited Matthew Clayton, Admissions and Education Provision Manager, to present the report.  The Committee noted that Sheridan Dodsworth, Head of SEND was also in attendance.  A welcome was also extended to Janette Davey (Head Teacher) and Fran Crowther (Educational Consultant) from St Francis Special School, who were in attendance to answer any questions from the school's perspective.

Attached at Appendix 1 to the report was a copy of the Executive Councillor report for the Committee's consideration.

The Committee was advised that the proposal was to discontinue the boarding provision at the St Francis Special School with effect from 1 September 2021.  It was felt that this was the best available option to enable the Local Authority (LA) to fulfil its duty and to support equity in provision across the special school estate.

It was reported that St Francis catered for pupils aged 2 to 19 with a wide range of special educational needs.  The school currently had a residential facility, which had been temporarily closed since March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  When the facility was open, it had capacity for up to eight St Francis pupils, who accessed the facility for over-night stays as part of the school's educational offer to support the development of skills for independence.  The Committee noted that this was now part of the curriculum for all special schools, including those with boarding provision.  Clarification was given that the residential element was not a short breaks offer through a social care assessment, so other schools were unable to access the offer when it was open. It was highlighted that it was not known when it would be safe for the residential unit to re-open due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. 

As no timescale could be determined and staff were being temporarily redeployed into other positions on an informal basis, it was not considered reasonable to keep the boarding provision open and staffed in the long-term with no pupils.  It was reported that alternative options were available in the longer term, which were more in keeping with the objectives of the SEND Building Communities of Specialist Provision Strategy to support equity across the SEND provision in Lincolnshire.

The Committee was advised that the governing body of St Francis Special School had written in September 2020 to the LA to request to close the boarding provision to allow broader work to take place to consider how the accommodation could continue to be used to the best effect.

The Committee noted that the Local Authority was co-ordinating the process following statutory guidelines published in the Department for Education (DfE) guide "Making significant changes ('prescribed alterations') to maintained schools.  Statutory guidance for proposers and decision-makers" (October 2018) in accordance with the terms of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, as updated by the Education Act 2011.

On 30 September 2020 a five week period of consultation had commenced which closed on 4 November 2020.  A summary of written responses received were attached in Appendix A to the Executive Councillor report.

Following the consultation period, a decision had been taken on 1 December 2020 to publish a Statutory Notice on 17 December 2020.  This initiated a four week Representation Period up to 14 January 2021 when further written objections and comments could be submitted.  It was highlighted that the process was now entering the final stage when the LA, as decision maker, must take the final decision regarding the proposal within 2 months from the end of the Representation Period (by 14 March 2021).

Members of the Committee asked a number of questions, when the following points were confirmed:

·       The request to close the boarding provision had come from the Governing Body of the school and was supported by the Head Teacher;

·       The boarding provision was part of the school's educational offer to develop skills for independence and was not intended to be for respite care purposes.  There would be no reduction in respite care provision accessed through social care assessments available to families as a result of the closure of the boarding provision;

·      Respite care was an assessed need identified through a social care assessment which would be written in a child's Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan; the overnight provision offered at St Francis Special School was not part of the EHC Plan;

·       There was no waiting list for respite care.  Strut House was accessed by a number of the children at the school for respite care and this would continue;

·       A child's needs were identified through their education, health and care plan and the boarding provision was not included in the plans;

·       Developing skills for independent living was now part of the curriculum across all special schools and incorporated into day to day teaching;

·       The funding allocated for the boarding provision was £582,568 for 2020/21, with a cost per place of £72,821.  This was a significant spend on a small number of children, which children in other parts of the county did not have access to;

·       The closure of the boarding provision would ensure there was an equitable offer of provision across all special schools in Lincolnshire which was one of the aims of the Building Communities of Specialist Provision Strategy;

·       It was appreciated that this was very emotive for staff who had invested a lot of time in the boarding provision and were passionate about supporting the children at the school.  It was hoped that the staff could be redeployed elsewhere in the school or across the Local Authority;

·       It was recognised that this would be a loss to parents and children who valued the social experience offered by the boarding provision;

·       Boarding provision had been offered in six week blocks.  The boarding provision was available for four nights a week, and two nights a week were offered to children on rotation;

·       The need for the boarding provision was no longer as crucial as it used to be due to a shift in the dynamic of the type of needs of the cohort and number of children, and the change in the curriculum; and

·       The registration of Wickenby House as a children's home in June 2020 was a temporary arrangement during the Covid-19 pandemic. Only one child had been placed at Wickenby House so far during the pandemic.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee agreed to support the proposal to the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services as set on page 24 of the report.

2.    That the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee agreed that the comments listed above be forwarded on to the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services in relation to this item.

The Committee took a ten minute break from 11.33am.

At 11.43am, a roll call was taken to confirm members' attendance at the meeting.