Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services

Recommendations:-

1.           That the proposal to develop a SEMH Educational provision and re-build Newman Upper School, as required to deliver both Rotherham SEND Sufficiency and Social Emotional Mental Health Strategies, is approved.

2.           That Cabinet approves the acquisition of Dinnington College Block A, B, C and D within the outlined red line boundary as detailed in the report at or below the value within the exempt Appendix.

3.           That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport negotiates the terms of the acquisition and that the Assistant Director of Legal Services completes the necessary documentation.

4.           That Cabinet gives approval to enter into a free school presumption process in relation to SEMH educational provision.

Consideration was given to the report which outlined proposals to address current and future Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) sufficiency issues that have been highlighted by SEND data and identified in the Rotherham SEND Sufficiency and Social Emotional Mental Health Strategies.

Rotherham currently had two key issues in relation to sufficiency of education for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities that needed to be addressed:-

1. There was a lack of designated Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) educational provision.

2.  Newman Special School building needed extensive work in order to bring it to the required standard to effectively deliver education for children and young people with disabilities. 

A strategic options appraisal outlined f4different approaches to respond to the issues identified and deliver the required outcomes for Rotherham’s children and young people.

The opportunity presented was, therefore, to support children and young people with SEND to achieve improved outcomes through the development of new, modern, and well-designed provision on the Dinnington site which have sufficient space and resources to meet the needs of the children who would attended there. 

The buildings would provide the opportunity to open a new special school that was dedicated to educating children and young people with Social Emotional and Mental Health needs, and providing safe, modern and well-planned new buildings for children and young people who attended Newman Special School.  The upper school at Newman would move to the Dinnington site, providing the space required to carry out the required capital works on the main school site. 

Rotherham had a lack of dedicated educational provision for children with SEMH and, at present, children in Rotherham with SEMH needs either attended Rotherham PRU provision at Aspire or Rowan.  These provisions could meet need, but had physical limitations in terms of building capacity, (both Aspire and Rowan lacked suitable accommodation). Children who did not attend Aspire or Rowan were sent out of area to high cost provision.

In addition, Newman School, Rotherham’s oldest special school, was sited in a Listed Building which was no longer of the required standard to effectively deliver education for children and young people with disabilities and required some investment.

The recommended option was to purchase Dinnington College which incorporated Blocks A, C, B and D:-

Block A would be adapted to provide a primary and secondary designated SEMH educational provision for up to 125 children and young people, under the DfE Academy/Free school presumption process;

Blocks C and D would be adapted to provide upper school provision for around 40 young people from Newman School.

Block B would be demolished and adapted to provide (along with other outdoor space) the required soft and hard play area for the two educational provisions.

Any new school proposal must be developed under the DfE free school presumption process, which the Local Authority had recent previous experience of.

Cabinet Members welcomed this report and congratulated all those involved, which could only have a positive outcome for the young people of Rotherham. 

This report had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board as part of the pre-scrutiny process who were in support of the recommendations, subject to the Improving Lives Select Commission continuing to monitor the implementation of the SEND Sufficiency Strategy.

Resolved:-  (1)   That the proposal to develop a SEMH Educational provision and re-build Newman Upper School, as required to deliver both Rotherham SEND Sufficiency and Social Emotional Mental Health Strategies, be approved.

(2)  That the acquisition of Dinnington College Blocks A, B, C and D within the outlined red line boundary as detailed in the report at or below the value within the exempt Appendix be approved.

(3) That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport negotiates the terms of the acquisition and that the Assistant Director of Legal Services completes the necessary documentation.

(4)  That the entering into a free school presumption process in relation to SEMH educational provision be approved.