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Local authority commissioned special free schools A template for local authorities to use when seeking proposals to establish a special free school July 2017 1

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Page 1: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Local authority commissioned special free schools A template for local authorities to use when seeking proposals to establish a special free school

July 2017

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Page 2: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Overview

Local authorities play a key role in placing pupils with statements or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, so it is important that they help shape the range of provision in their area. Previously, proposals to establish special free schools have only been taken forward in consultation with local authorities. The Department for Education (DfE) has recently provided a further opportunity for local authorities themselves to identify where a new special free school would benefit their area, inform their Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC), and seek proposals for the new school they want. This opportunity is intended to identify and meet untapped demand for special free schools as a supplement to LA’s existing resources. If a strong proposal is received that both the local authority and the Secretary of State wish to take forward, the DfE will provide capital funding and start-up grants subject to value for money assessments.

Information for proposer groups

Proposed timeline

Estimated Timeline

Event Date

Marketing re launch event Early September 2017

Free school competition launch

Publication of specification and invitation to sponsor the new special free school

27 September 2017

Public meeting with potential sponsors Mid October 2017

Closing date for any potential sponsors to submit their

application to run the free school

Mid November 2017

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Page 3: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Croydon to evaluate submitted applications

Determine preferred sponsor/s

End November 2017

Croydon interview shortlisted sponsor/s Early December 2017

DfE and Croydon determine preferred sponsor Mid December 2017

Croydon to submit applications along with its evaluation to the RSC

RSC considers LA submission / make recommendation to the SoS for final decision

Early January 2018

SoS confirms sponsor for new free school Mid-January 2018

Contact details and further information

If you would like any further information or would like to discuss your application, please contact:

Alison FarmerHead of the 0-25 SEND Service (Croydon Council)Email: [email protected]: 0778 577 4063

Jennifer WadeHead of School Place Planning, Admissions and Learning AccessEmail:[email protected]: 0208 604 7156

Dominic HerringtonRSC’s office: (South East and South London)Email: [email protected]

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Page 4: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Events

Event: Free Special School Competition LaunchDate: 27th September 2017Time: 10.00– 16.00Location: Bernard Weatherill House, Fell Rd, Croydon CR0 1EA

Section 1 - THE SCHOOL

This section lists key details of the school proposed. Your application must be for a school that has these key characteristics.

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Page 5: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

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Which local authorities are committed to commissioning places?

Croydon Council’s vision is for young people with SEN to be educated in or near their local community.

Croydon has the highest child population of any London borough. Population growth has contributed to an increase in the number of EHC Plans maintained for children with special educational needs. There were approximately 1,800 statements of SEN in 2010, a number which increased to 2,500 (including EHC Plans) in 2017.

Croydon now has an insufficient number of state-funded special school places. Gap analysis based on forecast population growth and current placements has demonstrated a need for the places in the new free special school to be commissioned for Croydon residents.

How many places have been commissioned and by which local authority?

Croydon Council intends commissioning places based on a three-to-four year phased opening, with all places to be filled by 2023 (assuming opening September 2020 -please see the table).

Type of SEN Autism and learning difficulty

Per-place funding you expect to be paid

£10k per place plus top-up based on the following banding model.

Croydon Council has a banded model of funding of top-up payments for special schools. The bands of funding reflect children’s varying levels of need and related educational provision.

The top-up funding bands are set out below:

Additional Needs (AN) Banding - £3,584 per pupil

Exceptional Needs (E1) Banding 1 - £8,364 per pupil

Exceptional Needs (E2) Banding 2 - £13,145 per pupil

Exceptional Needs (E3) Banding 3 - £22,705 per pupil

Exceptional Needs (E4) Banding 4 - £32,265 per pupil

Subject to changes and as agreed by schools forum.

The value of top-up for pupils attending the new free special school is anticipated to be within Bands 2-3 with some placements at the highest top-up band.

Croydon Council’s special school head teachers work in partnership with local authority officers to undertake a shared annual or biennial moderation process to support consistency in the allocation of resources and, specifically, top-up Bands. This approach enables changes in top-up (increase or decrease) to be moderated against provision in other local special schools.

The free school provider will be expected to support

Page 6: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

The table below details the number of places that the local authority proposes for each year group at the point of opening until the school is full.

 

Students in first year of opening

2020

2021 2022 2023

Nursery provision

12 12 12 10

Reception 12 10 10 10Year 1 10 12 12 10Year 2 10 12 12Year 3 10 12Year 4 10Year 5 10Year 6 10Year 7 10 10 10 10Year 8 8 10 10 10Year 9 8 10 10Year 10 12 8 10Year 11 12 8Year 12 8 10 10 8Year 13 8 8 10 10Totals 80 102 114 150

Section 2 - THE PROPOSED LOCATION AND SITE

This section describes the provisional site.

Address and postcode

Pavilion, Rowdown Field, Lodge Lane New Addington CR0 0QA

Size of site

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Page 7: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Approximately 85,500m

Current use including planning designation (if known)

Current use as a pavilion/offices and playing fields within metropolitan green belt. The use is likely to be D2 and therefore a change to D1 for state funded education establishment would be permitted

Estimated date the site would be available for works to commence

From January 2018

Tenure upon which the site will be made available (if agreed)

The freehold is owned by Croydon Council, if the occupier is to be an Academy the Council would issue a standard 125 year lease.

Building specifications and high-level design plans

These are not yet confirmed.

Section 3 – RATIONALE AND CONTEXT FOR THE SCHOOL

Background

The Council has established an All Age Disability Service to support life-long planning with the vision that Croydon residents with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) have a life and not a plan. The council is committed to adopting an approach to working with families that has a focus on the strengths of young people and engages community-based assets to enhance lives. We want every child to have opportunities to play an active role in their local community. The new free special school provider will be an important contributor to this vision.

Croydon Council works with education, health and care partners to support children and young people make the most of the opportunities that life in Croydon has to offer. The provision of state-funded local education judged Good or Outstanding by Ofsted is the bedrock of our local offer for children with SEND. There is a strong ethos of collaboration between schools and with the council. It is important to us that the provider of the new free special school shares this commitment.

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Page 8: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

A key goal is to monitor, track and improve outcomes for young people. We know that more young people with SEND need to achieve sustained employment in the borough. The new free special school provider will be expected to play an active role in enabling the borough to achieve this goal.

The Free Special School

Specialist education provision in the Borough has developed pragmatically over time with the aim of providing good education for children within the parameters of the efficient use of public resources. Croydon has committed to developing a continuum of specialist education and as such has a number of special schools and Enhanced Learning Provision (ELPS) or resource bases in mainstream schools. The provider of the new free special school will be joining a well-established group of maintained schools and academies.

A key goal over the next few years is to establish models of teaching and learning across specialist providers that are evidence-based in Croydon and enable consistent progress for children with SEN. There is an expectation that special schools extend their reach and provide opportunities for school staff in mainstream schools to gain knowledge and skills in teaching and learning for children with SEN.

The free special school will provide specialist education for children with autism which addresses the social communication, cognitive, sensory and social, emotional behavioural needs of these young people. Croydon Council has an expectation of a communication and behaviour-based model of curriculum delivery. The free special school will be responsible for recruiting suitably teachers and other staff who are suitably qualified and experienced to deliver the borough’s vision.

AdmissionsThe LA will work in partnership with the free special school to determine the admission of pupils in accordance with admission criteria which have been agreed for the new free school and all Croydon’s special schools, more broadly. Most pupils will be placed following a statutory EHC needs assessment of their educational needs and specification of specialist education to meet needs as described in section I of the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The consultation process will be followed as set out in the Children & Families Act 2014 legislation and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. There will be a planned approach to allocating places according to the child’s need, capacity of the free special school to provide suitable education and with due regard to parental preference.

The free special school provider will be invited to join specialist placement panel(s) co-ordinated by the Local Authority. Placements will be advised by the designated LA officer.

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Page 9: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Section 4 – VIABILITY OF THE NEW SPECIAL SCHOOL

Croydon has the largest population of young people in London with 21.9% (81,637) of the population aged 0-15 years.

Croydon has approximately 2,400 pupils with an EHC Plan or Statement of SEN (January 2017). This number is increasing year on year with an overall increase of more than 200 over the last two years.

Approximately 3% of the school population in Croydon has a statement of SEN or an EHC Plan, compared with 2.7% nationally.

11.7% of pupils in Croydon receive SEN Support compared to 10.9% in outer London

12.9% of pupils in maintained primary schools have a statement of SEN, an EHC Plan or receive SEN Support compared to 13% in outer London and 13.4% in England.

13.4% of pupils in maintained secondary schools have a statement of SEN, an EHC Plan or receive SEN Support compared to 12.3% in outer London or 12.7% in England.

DfE January School Census SFR29-2016

The growth in the school population and the increase in the number of EHC plans has resulted in the increased demand for specialist provision in Croydon. The demand for SEND places is greater than the supply, resulting in a significant number of pupils with EHC plans having to take up independent special school placements and out-of-borough placement in mainstream schools.

Primary Maintained Schools Secondary Maintained schools6.9% have ASD as primary need 9.6% have ASD as primary need2.2% have a physical disability 3.1 % have a physical disability1.7% have a hearing impairment 1.8% have a hearing impairment0.8% have a visual impairment 1%  have a visual impairment35.9% have a speech, language or communication difficulty

13.7% have a speech, language or communication difficulty

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Page 10: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Section 5 – PUPIL DATA - TRENDS IN SPECIALIST PROVISION FOR ALL CHILDREN WITH EHC PLANS

 No. of

Settings

Please indicate the no. of pupils with an EHC plan living in your LA who are placed within these

settings

20122016 (as at Sep 2016)

2020

Resourced provision and units inside LA

 254  NA  254  275

Resourced provision and units outside LA

 20    20 10 

Special schools (either maintained or academies) inside LA

835     796  990

Special schools (either maintained or academies) outside LA

     

Independent / non-maintained special schools inside LA

40    40   20

Independent / non-maintained special schools outside LA

 131    131  45

Mainstream schools inside LA 1000     1000  1000

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Page 11: Spec template - London Borough of Croydon · Web viewYes – the above figures include EY. Croydon Council is developing pathways for autism, working across health, education and

Mainstream schools outside LA 200     200  200

General FE colleges (if relevant) inside LA

40    40  65

General FE colleges (if relevant) outside LA

 63   63   45

Specialist FE providers (if relevant) inside LA

Specialist FE providers (if relevant) outside LA 89 79 10

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