Purpose

There are increasing numbers of children and
young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
who are accessing education at special schools in West Sussex,
mirroring the national trend. All young people attending special
schools have an education health and care plan (EHCP) which
outlines their needs, specifies provision of support and goals and
ensures a child’s requirements are met in a holistic way. The
plan outlines defined education, health and social care
provision.
 
The special school speech and language therapy
(SaLT) service works into West Sussex
Special schools and is a vital part of responding to needs
identified in EHCP’s. The SaLT
service has been provided by Sussex Partnership Community
Foundation NHS Trust (SCFT) through a contract held by NHS Sussex
as part of overarching community health needs. This was arranged
via a section 75 agreement (a form of partnership agreement with
the NHS using pooled funds) which has now ceased resulting in the
County Council needing to put its own contract in place. The
intention is to allocate additional funds to enable the expansion
of the service to include all grant maintained special schools and
to offer provision for Special Support Centres. 
 
Approval is now sought for the County Council
to establish the necessary commissioning arrangements to enable the
continued delivery of a speech and language therapy service for
schools.

Decision

The Cabinet Member
for Children, Young People and Learning has approved: -

(1)The direct award
(under Provider Selection Regime Category C) of a contract to
Sussex Community Foundation NHS Trust (SCFT) to provide Speech and
Language therapy (SaLT) services. The contract will be for an
initial period of 3 years, expected to commence in March 26, with
the opportunity to extend the contract for up to 4 further
years.
 

(2)The delegation of
authority to the Executive Director of Children, Young People and
Learning to extend the contract for up to 4 additional years (2
years +2 years) on conclusion of the initial period, subject to the
satisfactory performance and delivery of the provider.