Issue - meetings

Report of the Corporate Director for People

Nick Lee, Director of Educational Services, presented the report which sought consultation from the Forum to provide additional funding to the Raleigh Education Trust to increase their onsite provision at Denewood Academy from 42 places to 50 places on a temporary basis. The following information was highlighted:

(a)  there is a ten-year high rate of exclusions within the LA, with total of 123 exclusions this year, 112 last year and 93 the year before;

(b)  18 of these exclusions were primary compared to 11 last year. Denewood Academy is the only Key Stage 2 facility within the LA for permanently excluded children; 

(c)  the cost for funding these places will be £179,500 per year for two years. This is cheaper than costs for external Alternative Providers (AP) as eight places externally would cost £212,000 per year;

(d)  the funding will also allow Denewood Academy to recruit additional staff to bring stability in the face of rise of exclusions;

(e)  through attending Denewood Academy, the children will have a greater chance of re-integration into mainstream education; 

(f)  two years’ funding is being requested due to the Council embarking on an Alternative Provision Commissions Review and they are awaiting the result of an AP Free School bid, which will create additional capacity within the primary sector;

(g)  Multi-Agency Panels, Multi-Service Panels, and Children at Risk Panels have been trialled in secondary schools to identify young people at risk of exclusion and provide intervention. The Council are looking to roll this out into the wider education sector;

(h)  the Council have introduced an after-school club pilot scheme called Include in higher excluding academies in order to engage with young people at risk of exclusion through a constructive approach to support them in their learning and behaviour. The actions feed into the wider Inclusion and SEND strategies;

(i)  Models around support for pupils at risk of exclusion were based on pre-COVID-19 models;

During the discussion and in response to questions from the Forum, the following points were raised:

(j)  the capacity is full around finding places for excluded pupils. The review of alternative providers will aim to identify what capacity there is for taking on excluded pupils;

(k)  Denewood Academy is the only AP which can provide immediate places to help meet the Council’s legal obligations for providing places for excluded pupils; 

(l)  data around additional capacity from APs will help form a larger picture about where there is additional capacity for excluded pupils to be placed;

(m)provision for excluded pupils requires more staff, hence the need for more spending per pupil than in mainstream schools and academies;

(n)  the Council is always reviewing how it best utilises its funds to provide inclusion and intervention support in schools, academies and APs. Part of this involves looking at best practice in other local authorities such as Bristol and Enfield;

(o)  factors such as the cost of living crisis, the social and economic impacts of Post-COVID and an increase in the population of school-age children  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33