Purpose

To seek Cabinet approval to establish a new
200 place Special School for Children and Young People aged 4-16
with complex learning difficulties, together with approval for
commissioning, funding and construction of the new school.
 

Decision

Cllr Stephen Davies, on behalf of Cllr Philip
Robinson sought Cabinet approval for the establishment a new 200 place Special School for Children and
Young People aged 4-16 with complex learning difficulties, together
with approval for commissioning, funding and construction of the
new school.
 
Having considered all of the information,
Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:
 
 

1.              
Approve the establishment of a new 200 place special
school for children aged 4-16 with complex learning difficulties
and delegates authority to the Executive Director of
Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Education and Bus Transport, to:
 
1.1 conduct a free school
presumption competition process in accordance with section 6A of
the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Department for
Education’s “The Free school presumption”
Departmental advice for local authorities and new school
proposers
 
1.2 recommend to the Secretary of
State, following conclusion of that competition process, the
Council’s findings from its assessment of prospective
sponsors in order to enable her to decide upon the most suitable
Academy Trust proposer to take forward the new free
school.
 
2.         Approve
the allocation of Council land to the west of Alstone Croft in
Cheltenham for the purposes of establishing and constructing the
new school.
 
3.         Approve
the allocation of £20 million to the approved Children &
Families Capital Programme for the new Special School, funded by
£5.3 million from unallocated High Needs Provision Capital
Grant, £9.5 million from unallocated Basic Need Capital
Grant, £5.0 million from unallocated Basic Need top up
(existing borrowing) and £0.2 million from the unallocated
Carbon Reduction in Education Properties capital budget (existing
borrowing).
 
4.         Delegate
authority to the Assistant Director of Asset Management and
Property Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for
Education and Bus Transport and the Cabinet Member for Finance and
Property, to conduct a mini-competition process under the
Contractor Partnering Framework Agreement: Major Construction Works
2019 for the purpose of awarding a single contract in relation
to:
 
4.1 consultancy support in
relation to planning submission and planning approval
and
 
4.2 design, build and complete
the handover of the new school
 
5. Delegate authority to the
Executive Director of Children’s Services, . in consultation
with the Assistant Director of Asset Management and Property
Services, to undertake all ancillary matters to enable the
establishment of the new special school.