Decision details

To lower the age range of Scarborough Pupil Referral Unit from 11-16 to 5-16 from 31 August 2021.

Local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable full-time education for permanently excluded pupils, and for other pupils who – because of illness or other reasons – would not receive suitable education without such provision. Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) are a type of alternative provision which, in North Yorkshire, are commissioned to educate pupils who are unable to access mainstream schooling due to exclusion.
On 15 December 2020 the Executive Member for Education and Skills approved a public consultation on the proposal to lower the age range of Scarborough Pupil Referral Unit from 11-16 to 4-16 from 31 August 2021. A consultation was carried out between 12 January and 23 February 2021 and this included a virtual public consultation meeting on 18 January carried out by the Children and Young People’s Service. Nine responses were received to the consultation, all in support of the proposal.
In order to ensure fairness and consistency the Local Authority has consulted upon the proposal regardless of not being required by statute to do so. The original proposal consulted upon lowered the age to 4-16 however, it has been clarified that the duty on Local Authorities within Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to make suitable alternative education for children who cannot attend school because of illness, exclusion or for any other reason, only applies for compulsory school age, that is the term after the child’s 5th birthday. It is not the intention for Early Years Foundation Stage children to be included within this provision at the PRU and the age range in the proposed recommendation has therefore been amended from 4-16 to 5-16.

Lowering the age range to 4-16.