Purpose

Proposed decision
–
To agree the Commissioning Plan
for Education Provision in Kent 2026-30 and agree to note the
annual review of the SEND Sufficiency Plan.
 
Reason for Decision and Background
 
Kent County Council
(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 2026-30 (KCP) is
a five-year rolling plan which is updated annually. It sets out our
future plans as Strategic Commissioner of Education Provision
across all types and phases of education in Kent.
 
The Plan sets out how
we will carry out our responsibility for ensuring there
are
sufficient high quality places, in the right locations for all
learners, while at the same time fulfilling our other
responsibilities to raise education standards and promote parental
preference.  The Plan details the
expected future need for education provision, thereby enabling
parents and education providers to put forward proposals as to how
these needs might best be met.
 
This Plan reflects the
dynamic and ongoing process of ensuring there are sufficient places
for Kent children in schools, and other provisions.  It is subject to regular discussion and
consultation with schools, district/borough councils, KCC Elected
Members, the diocesan authorities, and relevant others.  The content of this Plan reflects those
discussions and consultations.
 
Options

 
The KCP
sets out the principles by which we determine proposals, and it
forecasts the need for future provision. It also sets out in more
detail plans to meet the commissioning needs which arise in each
district and borough in Kent during the next five years.
 
The KCP provides an overarching framework for
determining when and where education may be needed in the
future.  It sets out the forecast number
of children and young people in Kent and breaks this down to
smaller geographical areas (districts and planning groups) to show
where there may be a need for more or fewer places.  It sets out the principles which will be used to
consider and evaluate individual proposals which might come forward
(be commissioned) to address any identified shortage or surplus of
places in a locality. 
 
Each individual scheme that is brought forward will
have a rigorous feasibility stage that is completed prior to the
scheme formally being commissioned, through the appropriate
democratic pathway.  An integral part of
this process is to identify the most suitable option to provide the
additional places.  Consideration is
given to:

·            
where the additional places would be best
located from an education point of view

·            
the physical capacity of the existing
school sites and the practically of delivery (including
geographical and Highways constraints).

·            
providing the best value for money for
the proposed scheme. 
 
The options
considered will then be detailed  in the
Options section of the individual committee papers associated with
each decision.
 
Local
authorities in England are not legally required to publish a
strategic school place planning document as a standalone statutory
obligation. However, they do have a statutory duty under Section 14
of the Education Act 1996 to ensure that there are sufficient
school places available for children of compulsory school age in
their area.
 
While
publication is not mandated by law, the Department for Education
(DfE) strongly encourages local authorities to produce and share
strategic school place planning documents. These are expected to
include medium-term forecasts, rationale for expansions or
contractions, and underpinning data. This is part of a broader
framework for collaborative and transparent planning with academy
trusts, dioceses, and the DfE’s Regions Group; the Kent
Commissioning Plan achieves these aims and the option of not
producing a strategic plan would not, it has therefore been
rejected.
 
How the proposed
decision supports the Council’s strategic
statement
 
The KCP
supports improved efficiency and timeliness in SEND services with
plans to expand Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs) and increase
mainstream inclusion capacity.
 
Section
7 of the KCP: Commissioning Statutory School Provision by
Districts, details district-level responses to housing growth and
demographic pressures, seeking to ensure housing growth is
sustainable.
 
The KCP
supports value for money through Section 5: Capital Funding, which
outlines the use of developer contributions, Basic Need funding,
and cautious capital investment strategies. The plan also promotes
in-house provision where financially viable and reducing reliance
on independent placements.
 
 
Legal
Implications
 
Each project identified in the
KCP will be subject to a separate consultation and decision-making
process.  The legal implications of each
proposal will be identified at that time. The general and relevant
legal obligations includes ensuring there are
“sufficient” school places (Education Act 1996), as far
as possible, complying with the preferences expressed by parents
(School Standards and Framework Act 1998), increasing opportunities
for parental choice (Education and Inspections Act 2006, provide
fair access to educational opportunity) (Education and Inspections
Act 2006, keep its SEND provision under review and consider if it
is sufficient to meet the needs of children and young people in its
area (Children and Families Act 2014).
 
Pursuant to the Equality Act
2010, the Council must, in the exercise of its functions have due
regard to the need to: ‘eliminate unlawful discrimination,
harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the
Act; advance equality of opportunity between people who share a
protected characteristic and those who do not; foster good
relations between people who share a protected characteristic and
those who do not”. 
 

Decision

As Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, I
agree to:
 
the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision
in Kent 2026-30 and agree to note the annual review of the SEND
Sufficiency Plan.