A report for the Committee to consider the School Place Planning Strategy and the roll out of the Additionally Resourced Provision Programme for Reading.

The Committee received a report providing an update on school place planning for children with Special Educations Needs and Disabilities (SEND). 

The report explained that the School Place Planning Strategy 2022-2027 set out how Brighter Futures for Children on behalf of Reading Borough Council delivered sufficient school places in the context of the Council’s statutory duties, ensuring that school place delivery supported the achievement of the best outcomes for Reading children.

The Strategy confirmed that there were more than sufficient primary school places, and with the delivery of the new secondary academy, River Academy from September 2024, sufficient secondary places, for the duration of the Strategy. The Strategy had been updated with the latest capacity and census data and was appended to the report.

In contrast to the sufficiency challenge of previous years, and reflecting the national context of school place demand, the focus was shifting from the need for plans to deliver an increasing number of mainstream school places across phases, to:

·         securing a sustainable school system of sufficient mainstream school places through effective school organisation and;

·         meeting the rising challenge of sufficiency of specialist provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision and the pressures on the Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs Block.

It was noted that Reading was experiencing significant demand and financial pressures regarding school places for children with SEND. Significant progress had been made over the past year in securing more local school places for children with SEND in Additionally Resourced Provision in local mainstream schools. Development of further new provision for children with SEND was necessary, to both deliver sufficiency and to help reduce the financial pressures on the Dedicated Schools Grant. Based on current plans, it was predicted that Reading would be short 234 places for children with SEND who require a non-mainstream setting from September 2024.

The report set out proposals to deliver these places by utilising spare capacity in primary schools in Reading, exploring changing the designation of primary school provision to special provision, and set out time frames for next steps. 

The report also proposed that an ACE Task and Finish Group be established to receive updates on options being considered for the development of a new special school, prior to further update reports to ACE Committee.

Resolved –  

(1) That the continued roll-out of the Additionally Resources Provision programme across Reading be noted;

(2) That an ACE Task and Finish Group be established to receive updates on the options for the development of new special school provision;

(3) That the formation and agreed membership of the Task and Finish Group be delegated to the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Children’s Services, the Lead Councillor for Public Health and Education and the Leader of the Council.