Purpose

That Cabinet take a decision regarding the future commissioning arrangements for statutory school improvement services

Decision

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet agrees that the preferred option for delivery of statutory school improvement services from January 2027 is the award of a new contract to a Teckal-compliant SAfE organisation, subject to SAfE achieving Teckal compliance by 31 July 2026.
2. That Cabinet agrees that, subject to SAfE achieving Teckal compliance by 31 July 2026, the current contract with SAfE is extended for up to 4 months to enable implementation of the new compliant delivery structure and mobilisation of the new contract arrangements.
3. That Cabinet agrees that, should SAfE not achieve Teckal compliance by 31 July 2026, statutory school improvement services will be transferred in-house from September 2026.
4. That Cabinet delegates authority to the Executive Director of Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, to review and approve the updated SAfE Business Plan and determine whether it sufficiently demonstrates the ability to achieve Teckal compliance.
5. That Cabinet delegates authority to the Executive Director of Children, Families and Lifelong Learning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, to agree the delivery model and negotiate and implement all necessary and consequential agreements with SAfE or alternatively consult on the TUPE transfer of staff to deliver the services in house and cease the Council’s membership of SAfE.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

The preferred option is to enter into a new contract with a Teckal-compliant SAfE organisation because this provides the least disruptive and most operationally stable approach during the period of Local Government Reorganisation.

A new contract with SAfE would maintain continuity of service delivery and established school relationships; minimise transition risk and operational disruption; avoid immediate TUPE and mobilisation pressures; provide flexibility for the future East and West Surrey councils to determine longer-term delivery arrangements; and enable a simpler and more proportionate contract focused on statutory responsibilities only.

Although the in-house option could offer greater long-term financial savings and stronger direct integration with Council services, it would involve greater short-term disruption and implementation risk during the LGR transition period.

The in-house option is therefore recommended as the contingency arrangement should SAfE not achieve Teckal compliance within the required timeframe.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee)