Purpose

The original Single Member Decision in
September 2024 (E3562), achieved cabinet agreement that Charlton
House, Keynsham, could be re-purposed into a small residential and
day school for young people aged 11-17 with complex special
education needs with a fully approved budget of £6.1 million
from High Needs Capital Allocation. However, following an aborted
tender process and discussions with Ofsted it became clear that a
‘residential school’ for 12 pupils would not best meet
the needs of our most complex children. This would be instead
provided by two, co-located children’s homes. Each offering
residential care for up to four children/young people. The proposal
for a 30-place special school remains the same, with the school and
children’s homes being operated separately.
 
Request for the Cabinet Member to approve the
amended proposal that Charlton House, Keynsham should continue to
be re-purposed into a special school for 30 day-pupils with highly
complex needs, but with a 52-week residential offer for eight
children and young people in total being provided by two,
co-located children’s homes.

Decision

(1) 
To agree that Charlton House, Keynsham should continue to be
re-purposed into a special school for 30 day-pupils with highly
complex needs, but with a 52-week residential offer for eight
children/young people in total being provided by two collocated
children’s homes.
 
(2) 
To agree the increase of the budget by £660k to £6.760m
funded by borrowing.

Reasons for the decision

The Single Member Decision in September 2024 proposed that
Charlton House, Keynsham, could be re-purposed into a small
residential and day school for young people aged 11-17 with complex
special education needs (12 residential and 18
day pupils, 30 in total).
 
£6.1m High Needs Provision Capital Allocation (HNPCA)
Grant funding was approved to carry out the remodelli
ng to accommodate the young people at the new special
school. This proposal was based on opening our own provision and
commissioning a Multi- Academy Trust (MAT) to run it as a day and
residential special school.
 
Following limited engagement from the market, withdrawal of
the single tender submission (due to concerns around the MAT
running a residential school) and acknowledgement that the need is
for 52-week residential provision; it was decided to investigate if
the residential element at Charlton could operate as a separately
run children’s home.
 
A
telephone call and follow up meeting with the lead Ofsted
Regulatory Inspection Managers for the South-West, Paula Lahey and
Polly So confirmed that it would be possible to have a
children’s home in the same building as a school (it is
proposed that this would be located on the top floor of Charlton
House).
 
A
12-bed children’s home would not be deemed suitable by
Ofsted. The proposed accommodation area on the top floor of the
building should be divided into two entirely self-contained homes,
each for 4 CYP with separate entrances and gardens allowing access
independent from the school.
 
The capital project will include works to ensure that
Charlton House and Hawthorn Court have separate access, security
and landscaping to outside areas. It has been agreed with Adult
Social Care that they will retain use of the kitchen in Charlton
House (which will have a secure boundary with the school) so that
meals can continue to be provided to Hawthorne Court and to the new
school.
 
Consultation with our parents and carers has highlighted
the priority of bringing children closer to home and to their
families. Many of the children in the residential homes will
continue to have close contact and relationships with their
families. By providing these homes in the local area,
parents/carers can remain fully involved in all aspects of their
child’s care, for example attending all medical appointments,
meetings in person etc.
 
Charlton House is also a five-minute walk away from the
social care teams based at Keynsham. It is adjacent to a range of
local amenities and activities allowing opportunities for
socialisation and for engagement with
the wider community. All of which will improve the safety and
wellbeing of the children and young people and enhance preparation
for adulthood.
 
The project team for Charlton includes our
Communications Team as there is a positive story to be communicated
around how opening our first children’s homes in B&NES
aligns with our wider strategy for our most vulnerable CYP and
adults, including the Englishcombe Lane project in development by
Adult Social Care.

Alternative options considered

Other options would be to look for an alternative site,
this would:
 
· 
Delay the opening of
the school – implications for the Safety Valve
savings.
 
· 
May have project cost
implications.
 
· 
Mean that that
Charlton House will stand empty.