Purpose

See attached ODR for details

Decision

To agree a further 3 years of block purchase with Keys Group, Northbridge Enterprise College (NBEC) to discharge our statutory duties under section 19 of the Education Act in relation to
permanent exclusion. This provision will pick up twice permanently excluded children who have no legal right to return to mainstream setting for 2 years. In addition, they will pick up high risk permanent exclusion cases for years 8-11 in exceptional circumstances. To offer high level support as well as ongoing assessment to ensure engagement for our most complex children in the borough, to increase opportunity and life chances linked to outcomes at year 11. This block purchase will include dual registration where appropriate to support individual needs and will deliver multi agency specialist support to improve outcomes for young people and families. This is proven model that has engaged those hard to reach pupils that other provision have no succeed with. The bespoke element of this provision allows for high level risk management.

Alternative options considered

Consideration of sourcing an alternative provider identifies limitations in the ability to ensure a September 2026 delivery timeline in addition to sourcing a provider which has the appropriate capacity, infrastructure, and specialist expertise required to deliver provision across Key Stages 3–4 at scale. Many do not offer a fully integrated model that combines high level support for the boroughs most complex behaviour pupils, nor the flexibility to accommodate cross-key stage placements. In addition, alternative providers may not be able to offer on roll provision through these key stages, they may lack established partnership arrangements within the Local Authority and Inclusion Panel, reducing their ability to deliver a coordinated and responsive service. These constraints, alongside reduced staffing capacity, safeguarding infrastructure increases the risk of delays in placement and an inability to meet required timeframes. Furthermore, fragmented delivery models and the need to commission across multiple providers are likely to result in significantly higher costs and reduced overall efficiency. The Local Authority currently has over 35 pupils placed in NBEC that will need to continue in their current placement in September 2026. The Current block purchase if for 50 spaces and this will need to be increased by at least 10 spaces.