Purpose

Proposed decision

 
(i).       
Release £200,000 of capital funding
from the Children’s, Young People and Education Capital
Budget to enable works to be completed to open the SRP;

 (ii).       
Authorise the Director of Education on
behalf of the County Council to enter into capital and revenue
funding agreements with the Turner Schools Trust; and

(iii).       
Authorise the Director of Education to be the
nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements
and to enter into variations as
envisaged under the contracts.
 
Background
 
The number of children and young people resident in
Kent with an Education Health & Care Plan (EHCP) was 18,930 as
at January 2023.  This was a 6.8%
increase on the previous year.  4.2% of
0-25 year olds resident in Kent have an
EHCP, compared to 3.1% nationally.  This
demand continues to place pressure on the specialist provision
available within the County. 39.7% of EHCP learners in Kent (2023)
are educated in special schools, compared to 34.8%
nationally.  The position is
unsustainable.
 
Kent is now part of the Department for
Education’s (DfE) Safety Valve programme. This programme
supports local authorities to reform their high needs systems and
SEND services for children and young people while ensuring services
are sustainable. A significant element of this is to reduce demand
for special school places by improving the ability of mainstream
schools to support children and young people with SEND. To that
end, KCC has developed its first SEND Sufficiency Plan.  This forecasts a further increase in the number of
children and young people with EHCPs linked to their
ASC.  One gap in our provision is in
Folkestone where there is a primary phase specialist resourced
provision for children with autistic spectrum condition (ASC), but
no pathway into secondary school.  This
leads to a demand for special school places, rather than
maintaining support in a mainstream setting.  Accordingly, the Plan recommends commissioning a
30 place secondary SRP at Folkestone
Academy from September 2024. 
 
What is planned
 
The proposal is to
commission a 30 place SRP for secondary aged pupils
with ASC at Folkestone Academy.  This
can be operational from September 2024. 
6 places will be offered in the first year, incrementally rising to
30 across the five statutory age groups.
 
The proposal will support Priority
1 of Framing Kent’s Future 20222-26:
           

·        
the commitment to maintain KCC’s
strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible,
high quality education provision for all families;
and

·        
to make significant improvements in
educational attainment, particularly for deprived communities in
coastal areas so that they improve faster than the rest of Kent to
reduce the gaps.
 
The proposal will support Supporting Kent’s
Future Objective 2:
 

·        
The proposal is included within the SEND
Sufficiency Strategy which is ensuring the right mix of placements
are available. 

·        
Having SEND provision closer to where it
is needed will reduce the distances families are required to travel
to secure an appropriate specialist place and a consequential
reduction in SEND transport costs.

·        
The capital costs of the project are far
lower than expanding existing specialist provision. 

·        
The revenue costs per place are lower for
an SRP than the average per place paid to special
schools.
 
KCC, as the Local Authority (LA), has a statutory
duty to ensure sufficient school places are available.  
The County Council’s Commissioning Plan for Education
Provision in Kent 2024-28 is a five-year rolling plan which is
updated annually.  It sets out KCC’s future plans as Strategic Commissioner of Education
Provision across all types and phases of education in
Kent.  A copy of the plan can be viewed
from this link:
 

democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s121946/Commissioning Plan for
Education Provision in Kent 2024-28.pdf
 

Decision

As Leader of Kent County Council, I agree
to:
 
(i).      Release £200,000 of
capital funding from the Children’s, Young People and
Education Capital Budget to enable works to be completed to open
the SRP;
(ii).      Authorise the Director of
Education on behalf of the County Council to enter into capital and
revenue funding agreements with the Turner Schools Trust; and
(iii).     Authorise the Director of
Education to be the nominated Authority Representative within the
relevant agreements and to enter into variations as envisaged under
the contracts.