Agenda item

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Early Years, Education and Employment

The Board considered the report of the Portfolio Holder for Early Years, Education and Employment seeking approval for projects to extend Nethergate Academy in Clifton. Expansion of this academy will support the delivery of the City Council’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities strategy by creating an additional 48 school places for September 2020.

Officers confirmed to the Board that the issue of parking is being addressed. Consideration is being given to a number of options including extension of onsite parking and / or introduction of traffic regulations.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Approve the extension of Nethergate Academy by 48 places subject to consultation being successfully concluded and the necessary approvals in place;

(2)  Amend the capital programme to reflect the capital funding envelope of £2,137,328 of funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFS) phased over three years, noting that £250,000 has already been allocated towards this project previously;

(3)  Approve the remaining SEND allocation received by the ESFA and an additional £275,000 from other funding sources, towards the cost of construction of the ASD unit at Nethergate Academy;

(4)  Approve the use and procurement of consultants for mechanical and electrical services as this cannot be resourced in house;

(5)  Approve the procurement of the contractor in compliance with the Councils financial regulations and procurement policies;

(6)  Delegate authority to the Director of Legal and Governance to enter into contracts for the services and works;

(7)  Approve funding of any direct costs and fees associated with Planning Building Control, Design Services and reimburse any project related costs incurred by the school; and

(8)  Delegate authority to the Director of Major Projects to approve payment of any costs incurred by the school and to authorise reimbursement.

Reasons for recommendations

This report sets out the approval necessary to deliver a 48 place Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) unit at Nethergate school.

Following extensive consultation, Nottingham City Council (NCC) published a SEND strategy that sets out the principles of the SEND strategy across the city of Nottingham for the next five years.  The development of this strategy involved looking at the type and number of places required and reviewing options for increasing provision at SEND schools in order to meet the growing demand for places and identifying priority areas.  The first priority identified in this strategy is the expansion of ASD provision at Nethergate by 48 places.

A previous report in February 2019 (DDM 3304) allowed for this work to commence, including early works to allow the school to provide urgently required places by Easter 2019 and to look at the options and costs for delivering a separate 48 place ASD unit. 

Other options considered

The first alternative option considered was to do nothing. This option was rejected as the shortfall in provision for pupils with ASD across the City needs to be addressed in order to mitigate an increase in the revenue costs for sourcing specialist provision for other providers that is not suitable in the long term.

The second alternative option was to procure the works through an available framework. This option was rejected, as the scheme is ideal to test the open market to ensure value for money.