Issue - meetings
Submission of a Free School Bid for Children with Complex SEND
Meeting: 23/10/2018 - Cabinet (Item 5)
5 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Free School Bid 
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Additional documents:
Minutes:
Background:
This report provided details of an opportunity, under Central Government’s Special Free School Initiative, for the Council to bid for a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Free School. The report outlined that this was an opportunity for the Council to increase provision to meet demand within Medway, therefore reducing the need to place children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities out of area.
The deadline for submission of a bid was 15 October 2018. The report advised that the Department for Education would then consider the responses and in early 2019 determine which submissions had been successful. It was noted that if the Council was successful in its bid, it was unlikely that a new Special Free School would be operational until 2022.
An addendum report, tabled at the meeting, provided details of the expected increase in demand for complex Severe Learning Disability (SLD) and Profound and Multiple Learning (PMLD) places in 2019-20, which had not been included in the main report.
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Decision number: |
Decision: |
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123/2018 |
The Cabinet noted the report and supported the bid for a new SEND Free School. |
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124/2018 |
The Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of People – Children and Adults Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), to work with the Department for Education, who will hold responsibility for assessing applications from proposer groups, if the Local Authority is successful in its bid. |
Reasons:
Having a new SEND Free School for children with complex needs will help the Council to meet known and future demand, to reduce the high cost of out of area placements and ensure that wherever possible children are educated close to their homes, families and communities.