Purpose

To seek approval for the proposed use and
realignment of the available Education Capital grant funding to
commission a feasibility study.

Decision

That the Cabinet Member for Children &
Young People approves the re-alignment of
the Safety Valve related capital projects and
financing to allocate £120k for a
Feasibility Study to be undertaken for the
Forest View School at Bucklers Park from
the overall funding available, for the reasons
set out in this report.

Reasons for the decision

i.      
The Council initially secured approval for a new special school for
pupils with autism from the Department for Education in March 2023.
Progress has been made since then to
appoint an Academy Trust to operate the school, which has been
named Forest View. However, repeated uncertainty from the DfE over
the past two years regarding the school’s funding and
construction mean that its future remains uncertain.
 

ii.    
The proposed commissioning of a Feasibility Study by the Council at
this point through AtkinsRealis will
help prevent further delays should the scheme receive final
approval to be constructed either by the DfE or the Council. There
is currently funding available from the capital funds set aside to
construct new SEND facilities in the Borough which can fund the
study, that will provide details on the scope of works and likely
costs. If the project does not proceed, the costs incurred
(£120k) will need to be charged to the general fund as
abortive (revenue) costs. If the project is undertaken by the DfE,
it is believed that around £80k of the costs (being the
typical rate paid by DfE for such studies) could be reimbursed.
Should funding be secured for the scheme to be delivered by BFC,
the costs will be charged to the capital budget. The feasibility
study will include 2 options for the proposed school and will take
up to 4 months to develop and be issued to the Council.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing and wait for a DfE announcement. At
this time there is no indication when that could be.