A major 50% expansion of SEND provision at an Isle of Wight school could be voted through this week.
County Hall’s children’s services, education and skills committee will consider whether to increase places at the Lionheart School from 120 to 180, with additional provision being for children with complex high anxiety mental health.
The proposed expansion would take effect from September this year at the former Cowes Primary Schoaol site.
Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 means local authorities must arrange suitable education for school age children who cannot attend school due to illness, exclusion or other reasons, according to a committee report.
The report says:
“The figures show a rise in the need for Section 19 places with referrals accelerating rapidly particularly in the spring and summer months, indicating that future trends will likely continue upward.
“This growth highlights the need for proactive capacity planning and resource allocation to manage the increasing demand effectively. Hence, the proposal to increase places at Lionheart School responds to this increase in demand for provision.
“Capital funding utilised for this project will come from the High Needs Capital Funding allocation provided to the council from the Department for Education. Revenue funding will be provided through the High Needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant.”
Article continues below this advertisement
A £1,225,379 figure is given for the additional cost of the 60 places, amounting to £20,423 per child.
Failing to provide the extra provision will continue to affect pupils’ outcomes and without satisfactory support, children with complex high anxiety mental health needs could have difficulties accessing the curriculum, resulting in gaps in learning and development, the report warns.
Consultation on the expansion took place between 21st November and 19th December, with 2 comments received.
One questioned whether the former Cowes Primary School site was the most suitable location and if cost implications for transport had been considered.
In response, the report says the former school’s use would be an efficient use of the council’s physical resources. It adds that transport provision had been taken into account and will depend on the individual circumstances of those attending the school.
Another comment mentioned holding a meeting with residents to discuss the plans which did not take place during the consultation. The report says there were other options for residents to discuss the proposal with council officers.
Cowes Town Council has signalled its support in principle for the work of the Lionheart School and the place expansion.
The children’s services, education and skills committee will meet at County Hall at 17:00 tomorrow (Thursday).
no, no, no, stop pandering, all this “send” stuff is ridiculous, if they can’t cope travelling to school on a normal bus, attend a normal class, how the hell will they cope when they leave school. Stop wasting tax payers money on this.
No wonder IW Council are pleading poverty, they
are spending our hard earned wrecklessly.
But at least they’re teaching kids to spell, eh?