Decision details

Having complied with the requirements of paragraph 16 (Urgency) of the Access to Information Procedure Rules, it is recommended:

(i)  To commence 6 weeks of pre-statutory consultation in June 2012 to increase the Number on Roll at Springwell school by 8 (one class group) from November 2012 to accommodate the additional children whose needs have been assessed and who would be appropriately placed at Springwell School.

(ii)  To delegate authority to the Director of Children’s Services and Learning, following consultation with the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services, to determine the final format and content of consultation in accordance with statutory and other legal requirements.

This reported is submitted for consideration as urgent under Paragraph 16 of the Council’s Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4 of the City Council’s Constitution, agreement having been sought from the Mayor. The matter requires an urgent decision as there are a number of children whose assessed needs cannot be met within the existing provision in the city for the next academic year.  Children’s Services and Learning therefore need to consult urgently on the potential options on where to place these children.  The proposal for Springwell school to admit 8 additional pupils from November 2012 requires Statutory School Organisation processes to be followed and in order to adhere to the guidance it is preferable that the majority of the consultation takes place outside of school holidays.  A delay in bringing this issue to Cabinet, would mean that majority of consultation would have to take place during the school holidays, otherwise a final decision on the implementation of the proposals could not be made before children require the additional places.  This could result in the Council being unable to meet the needs of children that have already been assessed and if additional places are not made available, parents/children would likely be placed at Springwell via a tribunal decision.  The tribunal process would be both timely and expensive.  The proposal being put forward would mitigate these risks. 

As a result of the above, this requires an urgent decision that cannot wait 5 clear days.

As the number of children in the City rise, it is highly likely that the number of children/young people with SEN statements will rise in line with this.  As such, the number of SEN places available needs to increase in order to accommodate these children. 

The expansion of Springwell needs to be consulted upon as soon as possible in order to bring forward a decision that accommodates children that need a place from November 2012.  It is proposed, subject to the outcome of consultation,  that the school would expand by 8 pupils per year group.

Not increasing SEN specialist placements available.  This is likely to result in children and young people with statements not being able to be placed in the most appropriate provision to meet their needs. This is likely to have a negative impact on outcomes for those children and young people and lead to an increase in SEN tribunals if parents are unhappy with the provision that is available.

Springwell is the only school in the city that can cater for the specific needs of the additional pupils that have been assessed.  No other school in the city has the expertise, in terms of both staff and facilities, to accommodate the assessed needs of these children and as such, no other schools were considered for this expansion proposal.