Agenda item

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

Recommendations:

1.    That Cabinet note the report and the review undertaken for the existing Council asset Herringthorpe Youth Centre and Library.

2.    That Cabinet approve the decision for the Asset to be transferred to Ethos Multi-Academy Trust to provide additional teaching space for Elements Academy following the review.

3.    That Cabinet note the total SEMH education places provided by the provision at Herringthorpe would be 30, creating additional SEMH places is a key feature of the latest round of SEND Sufficiency which was introduced to Cabinet in March 2024.

Consideration was given to the report which provided an update on Children and Young People Services Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Sufficiency planning, in particular the growth of Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) provision linked to Elements Academy. In March 2024, Cabinet had been informed of the progress towards creating 100 additional resource education places as part of phase 4 of SEND Sufficiency linked to the Safety Valve Agreement and introduced the requirement for further SEMH growth as part of phase 5 of SEND Sufficiency.

The report set out proposals for Herringthorpe Youth Centre and Library to transfer to Ethos Multi-Academy Trust under a lease arrangement to provide additional teaching space for Elements Academy. This would create 30 additional SEMH education places in line with the key activities and outcomes as part of phase 5 of SEND Sufficiency. This was in addition to the 100 resource places created during phase 4.

Section 1 of the report detailed the need for special school places in Rotherham. 20.4% of pupils in the borough had either a statutory plan for SEND, known as an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) or where receiving SEND support. This compared with an average of 17.1% across all English Authorities.

Herringthorpe Youth Centre had been deemed surplus to Council requirements following a review by the Council’s Asset Management Board. Elements Academy had been identified as the appropriate partner to use the site. They intended to use the site to develop a provision for Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils who required additional intensive support in a smaller setting. At full capacity this would be for 30 pupils. The staffing ratios would be managed by the school but typically, there would be smaller class sizes of up to 8 pupils, but this was flexible depending on need.

As part of due diligence, condition reports had been completed by both RMBC and Ethos. This had concluded that an immediate allocation of £179,000 was required to bring the site up to a suitable condition for teaching and learning. In support of this and to ensure the building could be used in Academic year 24/25, Ethos had submitted an Accessibility Capital Application in line with the terms and conditions of the grant funding available to special schools as part of the Safety Valve Capital Allocation. Included within the condition reports were additional recommended works; these would be met through contributions from the Academy or capital programmes made available specifically for Academies by the Department for Education.

Resolved:

1. That Cabinet note the report and the review undertaken for the existing Council asset Herringthorpe Youth Centre and Library.
   
   
2. That Cabinet approve the decision for the Asset to be transferred to Ethos Multi-Academy Trust to provide additional teaching space for Elements Academy following the review.
   
   

3.    That Cabinet note the total SEMH education places provided by the provision at Herringthorpe would be 30, creating additional SEMH places is a key feature of the latest round of SEND Sufficiency which was introduced to Cabinet in March 2024.