Skip to main content

Council minutes, agendas and reports

Decision details

*Re-published: call-in no longer applies* Proposals to Add, Amend & Remove Provision for Special Educational Needs by Providing Targeted Mainstream Provisions in Nine Mainstream Schools from September 2020

Decision Maker: Chief Executive Officer

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

After consideration of a report of the Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Service regarding the proposals to change provision for Special Educational Needs by providing targeted mainstream provisions in nine mainstream schools from September 2020, and after consultation with Executive Members, the Chief Executive Officer agreed:

a) That public consultation take place on school organisation proposals to:
(i) Add provision for Special Educational Needs by providing Special Resourced provision in the form of Targeted Provisions at Mainstream Schools (as listed in Appendix 5 of the report).
(ii) Remove provision for Special Educational Needs at former Enhanced Mainstream Schools (as listed in Appendix 5 of the report).
(iii) Note the removal and establishment of Special provisions which the Local Authority will support at the relevant Academies within North Yorkshire (as listed in Appendix 5 of the report).

b) That decision making authority be delegated to the Executive Member for Education & Skills and the Executive Member for Children’s Services in regards to interim day 6 arrangements.

Reasons for the decision:

*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in committee management system that we use.*

Decision taken by Richard Flinton, Chief Executive Officer, under his emergency delegated powers and in consultation with Executive Members.

In September 2018, the Council had launched its SEND Strategy. This detailed how SEND provision would be transformed over a 5-year period to help ensure that children and young people with SEND can be educated locally in North Yorkshire. The strategy outlined the rationale for the proposed changes to the model of enhanced mainstream schools, which will start to be implemented from September 2020.

It has been proposed that 31 targeted mainstream provisions would be in place once the programme has been fully established. With nine schools taking part in the first wave of implementation. Formal consultation with schools and key stakeholders was undertaken from 6 February 2020 to 15 March 2020. Overall there was disagreement expressed by respondents to three of the four questions. Analysis of the responses indicated that the disagreement was not with the model itself but related to concerns that at present there are not enough places or provisions. This will be addressed with the roll out of the model to achieve 31 provisions and 48 places.

There was nothing in responses to the consultation that would lead to a change in the approach that had been proposed. The proposed approach would create new school places and ensure that support was in place and would also enable children to be placed locally, near to where they live. This would be better for children and their families and also help to save money.

Publication date: 28/04/2021

Date of decision: 31/03/2020