Contact: Eric Smith, Education Officer SEN; 01962 846245; [email protected]

Chris Holt, Education Officer (Primary); 01962 845673; [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 Consultations have taken place on the existing pattern of specialist SEN provision within the New Forest area (Area 6). This paper reports on the outcomes of this consultation.

1.2 The pattern of current SEN provision and of placements of children with special educational needs in specialist provisions are outlined. The views of respondents on what these provisions do well and where there is scope for improvement and development to meet current and future needs are summarised. Key development issues are identified.

1.3 The report notes the County Council's policy framework supporting the maintenance and development of its SEN provision, and recommends specific areas for further review and development; these constitute a strategy for SEN provision in the New Forest.

1.4 The Executive Member is asked to note the report and to approve the recommendations as the strategy within which officers will work with headteachers, governing bodies, parents and other stakeholders to improve and extend the range of SEN provision for children in the area.

1.5 This report supports the aims of the County Council, in particular: developing the quality of life in Hampshire; promoting involvement, participation and partnership to achieve the development of strong communities; and providing high quality services to the public through well trained, managed and motivated staff. The recommendations in this report also support the five outcomes for children required by the Children Act 2004, viz. to be healthy; to stay safe; to enjoy and achieve; to make a positive contribution; and to achieve economic well-being. The strategy recommended in this report will be developed in the light of the wider development of children's services in the County.

2 Background

2.1 Following a review of mainstream primary and special school provision in the east New Forest area it was intended that the whole review would be the subject of a report to the Education Policy Review Committee in 2004. However, in an attempt to lessen the period of uncertainty for schools, and in recognition of the complexity of the review, it was decided that the outcome of the consultations would be reported in stages.

2.2 In the first and second stages, the report back on consultations focused on mainstream primary school provision in the east New Forest area. Subsequently it was decided that three pairs of infant and junior schools (Holbury, Langdown and Blackfield) would become primary schools, and that surplus accommodation at a fourth pair of infant and junior schools (Calmore) would be utilised to house additional provision for early years, specialist resourced provision for language impaired primary age children, and to provide accommodation for the School Library Service.

2.3 This third stage reports on the outcomes of consultations with regard to the existing pattern of specialist SEN provision within the whole of the New Forest area, including three special schools, mainstream schools with resourced provision, early years and post-16 provision.

3 Policy Framework

3.1 In April 2005, the County Council published three policies which are key elements in the County Council's policy framework for supporting the needs of all children and young people: Inclusion, Special Educational Needs (SEN), and Behaviour Support policies.

3.2 Inclusion is described as the process of removing barriers to participation and learning so that everyone benefits fully from educational opportunities. The County Council's Inclusion Policy states that: "Inclusion

· is a process not a state

· is characterised by a culture that not only respects but also welcomes diversity

· involves active partnership between parents and carers, education practitioners and specialist service staff.

The aim is to provide effective education for all children within Hampshire schools."

3.3 The Inclusion Policy states the County Council's aim of building the capacity of mainstream schools to provide effectively for the needs of all pupils. There is an expectation that the proportion of children educated in special schools may fall over time, as mainstream schools grow in their capacity to meet the wider range of needs. It is recognised, however, that mainstream education will not be right for every child. The County Council therefore needs to plan for effective and sustainable special school provision.

3.4 A key aim of the County Council is that the quality of provision for children with special educational needs is maintained and improved wherever it is delivered. The SEN Policy notes that schools and support services provide collectively for the needs of all children in the community. In order to support this principle, the SEN Policy includes the following objectives:

· ensuring that the range of maintained schools (mainstream, resourced provision in mainstream schools and special schools) across the County has the necessary skills, capacity and confidence to provide for the full range of children with SEN.

· ensuring that special schools and resourced provision in mainstream schools continue to develop quality education for children with the most severe and complex needs and a more flexible role in making provision and providing support services to children and staff in other settings.

· taking opportunities to improve and develop provision for children with SEN, wherever a school re-organisation or new school is planned.

3.5 The Behaviour Support Policy outlines how the County Council will meet its responsibilities for promoting the behaviour, emotional and social development (BESD) of all children and young people. It provides a framework within which schools and other services can develop their own strategies. The County Council works to build capacity in schools and build its own capacity in supporting the BESD of every child and young person, and provides direct services to children and young people and to their families.

4 Strategy for developing the role of special schools in Hampshire

4.1 A draft strategy for developing the role of special schools in Hampshire was published for consultation in May 2005. The strategy sets out proposals for special schools to develop and support the effective implementation of the Inclusion, Special Educational Needs and Behaviour Support policies. The strategy takes account of the national Report of the Special Schools Working Group (DfES 2003) and Government's Strategy for SEN, "Removing Barriers to Achievement" (DfES 2004). The latter document identified three strands in securing the aim of removing barriers to learning: widening opportunities in mainstream education; transforming special schools; and developing local communities of schools for local children.

4.2 The County Council's draft strategy intends Hampshire's special schools to be an integral part of the local community of schools, working in partnership with mainstream schools, other children's services and voluntary organisations. Within the framework for developing the role of special schools, it is intended that schools will:

· provide services to mainstream and other special schools, working in partnership with other support services

· establish co-operative working systems with other special schools to make effective and coherent provision and services in the local area

· work with other support services, to assist them to better meet the needs of children and their families within the local community. This will ensure that children's needs are met as close to home as possible, thereby reducing the reliance on out-county placements.

4.3 The draft strategy recommends that school re-organisations involving specialist provision must:

· relate to current and emerging patterns of local need

· have the inbuilt flexibility to respond to future changes

· maximise opportunities for the realisation of key County Council policies

· consult with families, special schools, resourced provision, mainstream schools and other interested groups and agencies to identify the strengths, weaknesses, gaps and deficiencies within existing provision

· fully engage and involve those most affected by the change - the children, families and staff - and recognise that their commitment is vital to success

· ensure change is led by the principle of quality of provision rather than a focus on organisation, accommodation and structures

· identify and take opportunities to be innovative and ambitious on behalf of children.

New Forest Area (Area 6)

5 Current specialist provision

5.1 Specialist provision in this area includes three special schools and seven mainstream schools with resourced provision (including the resourced provision at the Calmore schools which will not open before September 2006). The specialist provisions are listed at Appendix 1 which also shows their age range and category of need. A map of the area showing the location of specialist provision is at Appendix 2. Three mainstream infant schools have Early Learning Groups offering pre-school provision for children with language delay or impairment.

5.2 The number on roll (NOR) of these schools is set out in Appendix 3. Currently (September 2005) 228 pupils attend the three special schools and 47 pupils attend the five mainstream schools' resourced provision. The figures in Appendix 2 show that 69 pupils attending the special schools do not live within Area 6, including 22 living in other LEA (OLEA) areas. Only three pupils in the resourced schools do not live within the area. All children (aged four years and above) attending special schools and most attending resourced provision in mainstream schools have been the subject of a statutory assessment and have a statement of special educational needs.

5.3 Appendix 4 shows that 64 pupils who are resident in Area 6 attend special schools outside of the area. It is the policy of the County Council's SEN Service, consistent with the Transport Policy, to place children who require a specialist SEN placement in the nearest appropriate and available maintained school; for some children this may be a school in a neighbouring LEA. One third of the Area 6 children attending OLEA schools have severe learning difficulties. For some children living in the west of Area 6, special schools in Bournemouth (e.g. Linwood School), Dorset (e.g. Beaucroft School) and Wiltshire (e.g. Exeter House School) may be closer than the equivalent provision in Hampshire. Similarly, 22 children from neighbouring LEAs have been placed in the three Area 6 special schools; these children all have learning difficulties, many with associated language or communication difficulties. As indicated in Appendix 4, an identical number (22) of pupils resident in Area 6 and with similar needs attend special schools maintained by neighbouring LEAs. Resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in Christchurch may be more accessible for children in the New Forest than the nearest equivalent in Hampshire (currently Chandlers Ford). Twelve children from Area 6 attend Cedar School, Southampton, which caters for primary and secondary age pupils with severe physical disabilities. There is no equivalent special school in the south of Hampshire.

5.4 Appendix 4 also shows the number, age groups and special educational needs of children with statements of SEN resident in Area 6 but placed in non-maintained or independent (`out-county') special schools. Twenty-six children have been placed in out-county schools; most have severe learning difficulties and/or autism, including five children with profound and multiple learning difficulties attending Rosewood School in Southampton. (These figures exclude children with SEN statements placed privately and funded by parents in independent schools.)

5.5 Changes over recent years in the number of children accessing specialist provision are shown in Appendix 5. Whilst there have been variations from year to year, the figures do not show a significant change in the population of the special schools over the last ten years. The figures were affected by local government re-organisation (1997) following which the number of referrals to these schools from Southampton has reduced. There has been a decline in the NOR at Salterns School which may also be accounted for, in part, by the establishment of resourced provision for pupils with severe learning difficulty (SLD) in Ashley Infant and Tiptoe Primary schools in the 1990s. The pattern of numbers for Area 6 specialist provision is consistent with the rest of the County, over this period of time.

6 Special Schools

6.1 Forest Edge, Oak Lodge and Salterns schools are all judged by the County Council to be effective schools offering good quality education for their pupils. The most recent OFSTED inspections for each of the three schools support the County Council's judgement.

6.2 In common with other special schools throughout the country, Salterns, Oak Lodge and Forest Edge schools show varying degrees of deficiency in terms of floor area, specially accommodation and site area when compared with the DfES draft Building Bulletin 77 which provides advice to local education authorities on designing for pupils with SEN and disabilities in schools.

7 Consultation

7.1 A range of professionals and agencies were invited to comment on the existing pattern of specialist provision in Area 6. Consultees included the three special schools, mainstream schools with resourced provision, primary and secondary school headteachers, early years providers, colleges of further education (FE), Connexions Service, representatives of Health and Social Services and of voluntary organisations working with young people in the area, educational psychologists and EOTAS Service.

7.2 A questionnaire was provided to help collate views (see Appendix 6). This format invited consultees to comment on each of the types of provision, identifying what the provision does well, what might be improved, and how it should develop. Comments were invited on all aspects of the provision, such as:

· categories of need and age groups covered

· staff knowledge, skills and experience

· curriculum opportunities

· accommodation and facilities

· links with other services and agencies

· links with other schools/providers

· working with parents

· after-hours support and provision.

7.3 Respondents included the staff and governing bodies of the three special schools and representatives of all other types of provision in the area and are summarised below.

8 What is done well?

Special schools

8.1 There is an overwhelming view that the special schools cater well for pupils with the more severe and complex needs. There is a strong emphasis on meeting the individual needs of pupils, developing self-esteem and confidence, as well as addressing learning needs through a well differentiated curriculum. A strength of the schools is their provision for pupils with language and communication difficulties. The schools are considered to be well resourced and staff are well trained in meeting additional language and social communication needs (such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ). Salterns School, in particular, has a high level of staff expertise in meeting the needs of the most challenging pupils. The schools have a strong commitment to developing and maintaining the high skills of staff, both in aspects of SEN and in curriculum areas. The schools offer caring and supporting environments which are nurturing and secure for their pupils. Older pupils are able to follow accredited courses and are prepared to access mainstream settings, including local colleges.

8.2 There are strong links with other professionals and other agencies. Oak Lodge School directly employs some speech and language therapy and some clinical psychology time in addition to allocations of time from the local health services. There are close links and excellent working relationships with parents who are involved in target setting and to whom support is also provided, often in collaboration with other agencies. After school clubs and off-site/ residential trips are available. All the schools have links with mainstream schools, through outreach services and links with neighbouring schools. (Oak Lodge School shares a campus with Applemore College.)

8.3 Special schools are noted to have excellent links and relationships with parents. In addition to their communication with parents about their child's education programme and progress, the schools provide advice and support to parents - individually and corporately - in understanding and providing for their child's SEN. Salterns School receives additional funding (Joint Exceptional Needs Initiative (JENI) and School Home Inclusion Project (SHIP) ) to work with parents to achieve consistency of provision between home and school and to help parents in the management of their child at home. This work has proved very effective and beneficial, contributing to the aim of enabling children and young people with SEN to remain at home and to attend a local school.

Mainstream schools with resourced provision

8.4 Resourced provision is noted as an excellent way to provide appropriate specialist support in mainstream schools, enabling pupils with SEN to attend a school in their local community and be included in mainstream classes. Staff have a good knowledge base and increase their experience. The pupils' curriculum is embedded in the mainstream school's curriculum, and children have mainstream role models which help with the development of their social skills. Some respondents also commented on the benefit to children without SEN to have peers who experience greater barriers to learning and participation within their school.

8.5 Links with other agencies are generally noted as good, as are working relationships with parents. Children may have access to a range of after-school activities but participation by individual pupils may be dependent on the availability of home-school transport.

Mainstream schools

8.6 It was the view that mainstream schools are successful in enabling children of all ages and with different needs to access mainstream education. Generally their success is considered to be mainly with children with moderate and less severe learning difficulties and those with physical and sensory impairments. Staff's expertise is usually general, not specific, although staff are trained in a range of areas of need, and there are skilled learning support assistants (LSA). It was noted that training of staff in the development of emotional literacy is important and currently well resourced. Children enjoy a breadth of curriculum opportunities, together with social and emotional benefits and access to work-related and vocational activities. Some respondents referred positively to links with other agencies and to good links with parents.

Early Years Provision

8.7 Valued support to pre-school children and their parents is provided by early years providers, especially those with specialist skills, such as Portage, Salterns School, Early Learning Groups, resourced provision and Opportunity Groups. These provisions help to develop children's independence, language and social skills. Salterns School offers highly trained staff in meeting health, physical and communication needs of SLD children. Staff in specialist settings are skilled and enjoy a high adult : child ratio. Good links exist between specialist settings and other agencies, especially therapy services. Links with families are a particular strength and characteristic of early years provision. Area SEN Co-ordinators (SENCos) facilitate links between early years providers. Non-specialist settings try hard to accommodate a wide range of needs and their effectiveness depends on facilities and staff competences.

Post-16 provision

8.8 Post-16 SEN provision is available in Area 6 in Salterns School and in the two FE colleges. Students from this area may also access colleges in neighbouring areas and authorities (e.g. Southampton). The colleges offer specialist courses for students across the range of learning difficulties and for those with ASD and BESD needs. They successfully support students with moderate needs on mainstream courses. The colleges reported good access for students with physical disabilities and provision of counselling and welfare services. Colleges provide students with a mainstream environment, offering accredited courses within the national skills profiles, study skills support, and work placements. Through their links with local secondary schools, the colleges are seeking to widen participation in further education. Salterns School provides a curriculum focused on self-help and life skills. Students have access to a variety of accredited courses, work experience placements, links with local colleges and good transition planning. The school's post-16 provision is valuable for students not ready to transfer to college at age 16; several students are enabled to transfer to college from the school's post-16 course.

9 Scope for development and improvement : response to consultation

Special Schools

9.1 All special schools noted the benefit and scope to improve links with mainstream schools. Suggestions included: co-location, sharing a site with a similar phase mainstream school; closer joint working with schools with resourced provision; staff appointed to both a special and a mainstream school to extend inclusion and learning opportunities; shared staff training and shared events; sharing good practice between special and mainstream staff, and developing joint curriculum packages; better opportunities for pupils to have mainstream models, especially of behaviour.

9.2 The schools noted the need to up-grade accommodation and facilities to enhance curriculum opportunities and spaces for multi-professional working. The schools would like more and better specialist curriculum facilities (e.g. music, food technology), and improved disabled access; accommodation and facilities should better match the changing pupil profiles of these schools. Salterns School, in particular, identified shortfalls in space, e.g. for therapy activities, external facilities, enlarged hydrotherapy pool, staff facilities, storage of equipment, accommodation and facilities appropriate for pupils with severe challenging behaviour.

9.3 All special schools would benefit from increased support from external services, especially the therapy services, and (for Salterns School) a school nurse. A lack of specialist provision in the area for pupils with BESD needs and for specialist early years provision was noted.

9.4 Salterns School identified the limited access to post-16 colleges for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), ASD and severe challenging behaviour (SCB). The schools with secondary age pupils also highlighted the lack of local facilities to provide families with opportunities for programmed residential care (e.g. respite). This would enable more pupils to remain within their families and to access their education and other support locally, rather than requiring longer-term residential placements.

Resourced mainstream provision

9.5 There is not currently resourced provision in Area 6 for the whole range of SEN. Responses noted, in particular, the lack of provision for BESD, ASD, speech and language, and severe PD (in the primary phase). Some concern was expressed about the professional isolation of staff working in a small (e.g. one class) resourced provision in a mainstream school. The extent of inclusion of pupils depends, it was noted, on the support and acceptance of other staff: this is therefore an issue for the leadership of resourced schools. More flexible use of resourced provision was suggested, especially where there are vacancies, allowing short term placements. Concerns were expressed about the limited provision of therapy services.

Mainstream schools

9.6 The main concerns in respect of SEN provision appear to relate to pupils presenting significant behaviour, emotional and social difficulties, and those with severe social communication needs. The need to improve staff skills and expertise was noted. Particular mention was made of developing ICT skills. Provision depends on effective SENCos. School leadership and communication between headteacher and staff were also seen as a key issue. Schools would welcome more outreach support from special schools, especially in meeting the needs of pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties, and increased opportunities for networking and sharing good practice. Therapy services are limited. A concern was expressed that where differentiated provision is made by `setting' pupils, this may fail to meet the needs of able pupils with additional needs (e.g. physical, sensory). Inaccessibility of accommodation limits inclusion in some schools.

Early Years

9.7 Concern was expressed that the Portage Service has a waiting list and cannot provide sufficient outreach support to pre-schools. It was suggested that better use could be made of the Early Learning Groups (ELG), including the improvement of some accommodation and extending their hours and range of SEN. More provision and training of staff in early years settings for ASD would be welcomed. There was a request for more inclusive early years provision for children with SEN; all children should have the opportunity to be in a mainstream setting. A concern was expressed about working with the Health Service and about the level of speech and language therapy. Staff in (non-specialist) pre-schools may have limited expertise and knowledge and would therefore benefit from improved and increased training, and more support in planning a differentiated curriculum. Pre-school providers would welcome more outreach support from specialists and better links with outside agencies. Accommodation and facilities in pre-schools may be limited and inappropriate.

Post-16

9.8 Colleges are large and may feel threatening to students with SEN. It was suggested that pastoral care of students, support in social/unstructured time and links with parents could be improved. Accommodation and facilities for disabled pupils (and staff) are limited. Opportunities should be improved to enable students with SEN to join (and be supported on) mainstream courses; this comment related in particular to students with ASD. Local colleges wish to be inclusive and to help reduce the number of students needing to attend specialist colleges and therefore moving away from local, social networks. Support from health services (e.g. nursing and therapies) could be improved.

10 The way forward

10.1 A number of key issues emerge from the comments received during the consultation and from the profile of provision in Area 6, together with current patterns of placement of children and young people with SEN. The consultation was wide-ranging and open-ended, and therefore the comments received include some which may reflect individual's preferences or circumstances. The following issues have been identified within, or have been supported by, the consultation.

Special schools

10.2 Appendix 5 shows that the number of pupils from Area 6 placed in special schools has remained fairly constant in recent years. The consultation indicated that the three special schools in Area 6 are highly valued and have developed their expertise to enable them to successfully educate many pupils with very complex and challenging needs. The schools endeavour to extend the expertise of their staff both to cater for the complexity of pupils' special needs and to develop curriculum knowledge to ensure that all pupils enjoy appropriate learning opportunities. All the schools are providing some support to their wider community of schools, through their own resources and/or with additional County Council funding (e.g. for outreach provision).

10.3 Salterns and Oak Lodge schools, in particular, operate within constrained sites and, as outlined in Section 6 above, all three special schools rely on accommodation that is not fully in line with current DfES advice (as set out in draft Building Bulletin 77).

10.4 Salterns School caters for students aged 2 - 19. It therefore has to provide education through both the Foundation Stage and all four Key Stages of the national curriculum, plus post-16. Pupils' needs include profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and severe challenging behaviour. The school would find it increasingly demanding to cater successfully across these wide age and ability ranges if the number on roll were to decline, with a consequently reducing budget. The age profile of the school, having higher numbers in the older year groups, suggests that the number on roll may reduce over the next few years.

10.5 Rosewood School is a non-maintained school managed by The Rose Road Association in Southampton. The school has recently moved into new purpose built premises in Southampton, close to the Hampshire border. The school caters for up to 30 pupils (aged 2 - 19) with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Currently eight Hampshire pupils attend the school and, given its new facilities and location, the school is seen by some parents as a preferred placement for a PMLD child. Although the numbers of pupils here are small, the school's proximity has to be taken into account in forecasting the demand for special school places in Area 6 (and other parts of Hampshire neighbouring Southampton).

10.6 All the special schools wish to develop and extend their links with mainstream colleagues. These developments are encompassed within the strategy for the future role of special schools. A more secure funding framework is required to support this work (county-wide). Proposals are being worked on within the programme to develop and implement the strategy.

10.7 Special schools are noted (para. 8.3) to have excellent links and relationships with parents. This work therefore needs to be maintained, and extended where appropriate. The special schools have also advocated for the establishment of a residential, respite provision within the area, to extend this support to families. Some pupils are currently placed in residential provision, outside of the area, because local services are unable to give sufficient support to the family to enable them to successfully manage their child's needs in the home. It is suggested that the need for additional capacity for residential programmed care, accessible to Area 6, is explored with social care and health agencies.

Social Communication Difficulties

10.8 Several respondents commented on the need to improve and extend provision

for children with severe and complex social communication difficulties, including children with ASD. Currently support is provided to children and young people with these needs in a range of settings: special schools, resourced provision - for pupils with learning difficulties and in the dedicated provision for social communication needs in Romsey School (accessible from Area 6) - and mainstream schools and pre-schools. Support to staff is available through training (such as Providing Approaches to Autism for Teachers in Hampshire Schools (PAATHS), The Hampshire Outline for Meeting the needs of under fives on the Autistic Spectrum (THOMAS) and Early Bird), through outreach services from the special schools, and through advice from other professionals such as educational psychologists, SEN inspectors and health service professionals.

10.9 Discussions are currently taking place with the headteacher of Ashley Infant School with a view to extending the County's THOMAS Outreach Project (TOP) to Area 6, based at this school. This project provides support for pre-school children with ASD, and to staff working with them, and facilitates successful transfer into infant/primary school. TOP is operating successfully in other parts of the County.

10.10 The County has two secondary schools resourced for pupils with social communication difficulties; Robert Mays School in Odiham and The Romsey School. The need for and opportunity to establish a third provision in the south east of the County is under investigation. Whilst Romsey School is accessible on a daily travel basis to Area 6, the need for further expansion of this type of provision will be kept under review by the Children's Services Department.

Speech, Language and Communication Needs

10.11 Specialist provision for primary age pupils with severe speech, language and communication needs is planned through the designation of the resourced provision at Calmore Infant and Junior schools. Although their designation became effective in September 2005, building works are continuing at the Infant School and discussions still taking place with the local NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCT) regarding the funding and allocation of additional speech and language therapy (SaLT) support. The opportunity is being taken by officers to review the pattern of SaLT provision in the area with the PCTs. Concerns were expressed in the consultation at the level of the SaLT Service and the limited provision for SLCN children. It is intended that proposals will emerge from the current discussions, designed to improve the overall provision for pupils with significant language and communication needs alongside the opening of the Calmore schools' resourced provision.

Learning Difficulties

10.12 In addition to the three special schools, Area 6 has three mainstream schools offering resourced provision for pupils with learning difficulties: Ashley Infant and Tiptoe Primary schools with provision for pupils with severe learning difficulties and Ashley Junior School with provision for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. All these schools are situated in the west of the area; there is no equivalent provision in the east of the area.

10.13 As noted in para. 8.3 above, respondents believe that resourced provision is an effective means of providing specialist support within a mainstream school. Opportunities could be sought to develop specialist provision for pupils with significant learning difficulties within mainstream schools in the east of Area 6. Whilst this could be developed within the existing model of resourced provision (managed by the mainstream school) it may also be beneficial to explore the model of an "off-site class" within a mainstream school, which operates as an extension of a special school. This may help to address some of the concerns about the professional isolation of staff, particularly teachers, working within a "one-teacher" provision, and the concomitant recruitment and retention difficulties.

Behaviour, Emotional & Social Difficulties

10.14 Respondents identified provision for children and young people with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) as an area for development. The Forest Education Centre, comprising the Forest Centre for KS3 and KS4 pupils at Dibden Purlieu and the Clifford Centre, the base for the Behaviour Support Team working with KS1, KS2 and some KS3 pupils, is managed by the Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) Service. The Centres cater for pupils whose attendance at school has broken down, or is at risk of doing so, as a result of exclusion. The Clifford Centre, catering for the younger pupils (KS1, 2 & 3), works hard to prevent permanent exclusions by offering part-time attendance, jointly with the pupil's local school, and through outreach support. Similar secondary phase support is operated in conjunction with the Forest Centre.

10.15 There is no special school or mainstream resourced provision for either primary or secondary age pupils with BESD in Area 6. Secondary age pupils requiring specialist provision are required to travel to Lakeside School, Chandlers Ford, or (when places are available) to equivalent schools in Southampton or Bournemouth. Cherbourg Primary School in Eastleigh has resourced provision for BESD. The consultation has highlighted the lack of BESD specialist provision in Area 6, which will need to be addressed by the County Council.

10.16 During 2004/2005, Ringwood School successfully bid for funding from the DfES' Innovations Unit for a project in which the school, working with other local primary phase schools and with the Clifford Centre, enables children with BESD to receive appropriate support and interventions whilst remaining in mainstream school in their home community, helping them to experience more positive engagement in learning and increased motivation to attend and learn. The County Council is providing funding during 2005/2006 to enable the school to continue this project. The outcomes and benefits have yet to be reviewed and evaluated; however, schools within this cluster are keen to develop this provision for BESD pupils in the west of the area. This will require additional resources.

10.17 As noted above (para. 8.5), the programme run in Area 6 to develop the skills of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA) has been highly valued. There is expanding sessional provision at the Forest Centre, but concerns remain about emotionally vulnerable children who find it hard to cope with school, especially large secondary schools. More support to schools and opportunities for staff to develop and improve their skills in working with these pupils would be welcomed.

Early Years

10.18 There are currently no maintained specialist or inclusive early years settings in Area 6, which cater for all areas of SEN. Ashley Infant School's resourced provision can accommodate pupils aged 3+ with severe learning difficulties. The three ELGs cater for children with language delays or disorders. None of these ELGs can currently offer children five sessions per week; at least one respondent school indicated that better use could be made of the ELG accommodation, to offer more sessions and to extend the range of SEN, if funding were available. Amongst community pre-schools, Opportunity Groups typically cater for a wider range of SEN, although none offers children five sessions per week and none operates in an inclusive setting. There is one Opportunity Group located in the west of the area at Ashley. (An Opportunity Group is a community (i.e. not maintained by the County Council) pre-school catering for children aged 0 - 4 with special needs.)

10.19 As part of the government's Sure Start programme, the County is to develop approximately fifty Children's Centres in the next few years. These will serve areas of greatest social deprivation, and it is possible that some new Children's Centres will be developed in Area 6. This may provide an opportunity to incorporate the existing ELGs' expertise and facilities as part of the SEN provision with the Centres, and to support the development of more comprehensive SEN provision, wherever possible within inclusive early years settings. The role of ELGs should be discussed with other agencies, especially the PCTs which provide dedicated SaLT time.

10.20 As noted above (para. 10.9), the extension of TOP into Area 6 is currently being planned. The consultation highlighted the scope to further develop provision, especially in the early years, for children with ASD and their families. This should be facilitated by the development of a centre from which TOP is organised and supported, alongside other education services (e.g. EPs; outreach teachers), child and adolescent mental health services and social care services within the area.

Post-16

10.21 The local colleges noted that some students with SEN in Area 6 are placed (by the County Council or by LSC) in specialist provision, most of which is located outside of the area and therefore require the students to be resident. The colleges wish to continue to develop their facilities and skills to reduce the number of students who require residential placement because appropriate facilities, resources or expertise are not available locally.

10.22 Successful provision for, and placement of, post-16 students also depend on good transition planning, involving both the Connexions Service and Social Services transition social workers as key participants. Transition planning arrangements across the County have recently been reviewed and revised arrangements implemented. The effectiveness of these revised arrangements will be kept under review.

11 Recommendations arising from the consultation

11.1 The review of specialist SEN provision is welcomed as contributing to a greater acknowledgement of the provision and services that are valued in the New Forest area, and of the scope for future development.

11.2 Future plans for the development of provision within the area should take account of this report and be based on the key policy documents and the County Council's strategy for the future role of special schools (as noted in Sections 3 and 4 above), in the context of the wider aims of the County Council, the Children Act's intended outcomes for all children and the wider development of children's services.

11.3 Work should continue with the three special schools to develop and extend their partnerships with mainstream schools, to enable them to extend the use of their staff's skills and experience to build the capacity of mainstream schools to better meet the needs of children across the full range of SEN, and to provide pupils attending special schools with opportunities for increasing links with mainstream peers. The County's plans to implement its strategy for the future role of special schools should explore and establish funding and management mechanisms that may make these partnership arrangements more secure and better co-ordinated.

11.4 Officers should draw up proposals for the organisation of special schools for pupils with learning difficulties (MLD and SLD) within the area, which will provide a secure future for schools in this sector, developing in line with the County's strategy. Schools should be supported to develop the facilities and skills which remove the need for pupils to be placed in independent or non-maintained provision, except where residential provision is jointly arranged and agreed in order to meet the wider needs of the pupil and his/her family. Although there can be no certainty of significant capital funds being available to the County Council in the near future, options for the development of the special schools should take account of the recommended facilities in draft Building Bulletin 77. If the prospect of new premises were available, high priority should be given to close co-location with equivalent phase mainstream school(s), to support effective special/ mainstream partnerships for pupils and staff.

11.5 The pattern of resourced provision should be reviewed, in conjunction with the options considered in para. 11.4, to increase opportunities for those pupils with significant learning difficulties across the whole area who may benefit from education in a mainstream school to have appropriate provision available within reasonable travelling distance of their home. Headteachers of mainstream schools should be encouraged to consider how their school may participate in any plans to extend or develop resourced provision, perhaps as part of their overall plan to extend the school's role in contributing to provision and services to its wider community. Within the County Council's plans to support the extension of schools' services and facilities to their local community, consideration should also be given to addressing the concern noted above (para. 8.4) that participation by individual pupils in extra curricular activities may be dependent on the availability of home-school transport.

11.6 A development plan should be prepared for BESD provision, addressing the long-term future of the FEC site and establishing more local resourced provision for primary age pupils. The interest and initiative of Ringwood Junior School and its cluster of schools is welcomed and further consideration should be given to the part that it may continue to play in the overall pattern of BESD provision in Area 6.

11.7 The need for further resourced provision capacity accessible to Area 6, for pupils with significant social communication difficulties (including ASD), should be reviewed and should contribute to the County Council's review and development proposals for this area of SEN.

11.8 Discussions with PCTs and other stakeholders in the provision for pupils with significant speech, language and communication difficulties should be pursued to establish enhanced and effective provision for these pupils, incorporating the Calmore schools' resourced provision and achieving an efficient use of scarce SaLT time.

11.9 The SEN Service should work with the Early Education & Childcare Unit (EECU) on the programme for the development of Children's Centres in Area 6 and the opportunity taken (wherever possible) to extend specialist early years SEN provision within inclusive settings and, in consultation with other partners, to incorporate the existing ELGs within broader based, specialist SEN resources.

11.10 The shortfalls and areas for development in post-16 provision should be explored further with the colleges, Connexions Service, LSC and other stakeholders to assist them in the development of facilities and services which enable more students to have their needs met in local colleges, in inclusive environments.

11.11 The cost benefit should be explored of developing a residential facility accessible to Area 6 to provide enhanced programmed care opportunities for the children and young people with the most severe and complex learning and physical needs. This should be explored with key stakeholders.

11.12 The consultation has not identified a need for mainstream schools in Area 6 to be designated for further resourced provision for physical or sensory needs. Maintained schools in Area 6 will continue to be part of the County Council's overall Accessibility Strategy within which schools are encouraged to recognise and meet their commitments under the Disability Discrimination Act. All schools should have drawn up and keep under review their Accessibility Plan within which they develop their facilities and staff skills to improve access to pupils with disabilities. The County Council will continue to use its School Access Initiative (SAI) funds to support its strategic programme for improving the accessibility of mainstream schools.

12 Legal implications

12.1 The Education Act 1996 requires (Section 315 (1) ) local education authorities to keep under review the arrangements made by them for special educational provision.

13 Financial implications

13.1 There are no financial implications in the recommendations of this report. However, there will be revenue and capital implications if one or more of the recommendations results in changes to the current pattern of educational provision.

13.2 From a revenue perspective, the implications will depend on the exact nature of any changes. In general, savings will often result when the distances which pupils with SEN have to travel to access provision are reduced, or when the County Council makes in-house provision which negates the need to place pupils in independent special schools. Extra revenue costs will often arise when buildings are extended, where empty places are created, or where new provision in one area cause a rapid reduction in the funding to other existing Hampshire special schools or resourced provision.

13.3 There is no provision in the current or future years' capital programmes for the funding of building work which might arise from the Review. The resources required are likely to include capital receipts from the sale of any surplus sites, but these may be expected to meet only a proportion of the costs. Although some funding could be available from the block allocations through New Deal for Schools, it is likely that a bid for resources will need to be made to the DfES through the Targeted Capital Fund, which allows for allocations of up to £12m. These bids are competitive among local authorities and the next year for which an allocation will be made is 2008/2009, with bids submitted in 2007.

14 Personnel implications

14.1 None

15 Impact assessment

15.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

16 Crime prevention issues

16.1 None

17 Recommendation

The Executive Member is asked to note the report and to approve the recommendations arising from the consultation as the strategy within which officers will work with headteachers, governing bodies, parents and other stakeholders to improve and extend the range of SEN provision for the children in the New Forest area.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None

Appendix 1

Review of SEN provision : Area 6

Area 6 : Special SEN Provision

Note:

- Calmore Infant and Junior schools have been designated to provide resourced provision, to open in September 2006 at the earliest.

- Totton Opportunity Group, accommodated in Calmore Infant School, closed in August 2005.

Glossary:

ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder

ELG: Early Learning Group

MLD: Moderate Learning Difficulties

PD: Physical Disabilities

SLCN: Speech, Language and Communication Needs

SLD: Severe Learning Difficulties

SpLD: Specific Learning Difficulties

Appendix 2

Review of SEN provision : Area 6

(Map of area)

Appendix 3

Review of SEN provision : Area 6

Area 6 Special Schools and Resourced Provisions

Number on Roll (NOR) : September 2005

Notes:

(1) 5 Forest Edge OLEA - 3 Southampton, 1 Dorset, 1 Wiltshire

(2) 7 Oak Lodge OLEA - 6 Southampton, 1 Wiltshire

(3) 10 Salterns OLEA - 9 Southampton, 1 Wiltshire

(4) Excluding Romsey School resourced provision.

Appendix 4

Review of SEN provision : Area 6

Numbers of children resident in Area 6 attending OLEA and OC schools, by category of need

Appendix 5

Review of SEN provision : Area 6

Area 6 Special Schools

Number on Roll : 1995 - 2005

Note:

- p/t = part-time

- pre-school age children count as 0.5

Appendix 6

Review of SEN provision : Area 6

April 2005

Dear Colleague

Area 6 (New Forest and Totton/Waterside) : Review of specialist provision for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

We are carrying out a review of specialist provision for children and young people with SEN in the New Forest area. This review was authorised by the Executive Member for Education when he agreed that consultations should take place on primary school provision in Totton and the Waterside in 2003.

The aim of this review is to enable the County Council to establish a strategy for the development and improvement of SEN provision, and particularly specialist provision and services, in Area 6.

We are inviting the views of a wide range of colleagues representing schools and services which provide for children and young people with SEN. This consultation will enable us to gather views on strengths, shortfalls and areas for development within existing specialist provision for children and young people with SEN. This will help us to develop a strategy for the area identifying the future pattern of provision and areas and priorities for development.

A framework for the consultation is available. This has been produced to help contributors to focus your discussion and enable us to collate views and comments.

A review of SEN provision at this time must take account of a number of policies and initiatives, both national and local. These include:

National:

- Every Child Matters & The Children Act 2004. (www.everychildmatters.gov.uk) (www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/childrenactreport)

- National Service Framework for Children, Young People & Maternity Services (Department of Health, 2004). (www.dh.gov.uk/policyandguidance)

- Removing Barriers to Achievement: The Government's Strategy for SEN (DfES, 2004). (www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/senstrategy)

- Report of the Special Schools Working Group (DfES 2003). (www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/schools/specialschoolswg/)

Hampshire:

- Inclusion & SEN policies (Hampshire County Council, 2005).

- Behaviour Strategy (Hampshire County Council, 2005)

- Draft strategy for developing the role of special schools in Hampshire (Hampshire County Council, to be open for consultation during 2005).

- Reviews of special school provision for pupils with learning difficulties in Winchester & Eastleigh and in East Hampshire over recent years.

I hope that you will feel able to contribute your views through the appropriate consultation group for your school, centre or service. You are also welcome to forward comments directly to me. I am aiming to complete the consultation stage by the end of May 2005; comments should therefore be submitted by then in order to inform the strategy for the area which will be drawn up during the summer.

Yours sincerely

Eric Smith

Education Officer SEN

Review of specialist SEN provision in Area 6

Consultation Form

You are invited to contibute your views as part of a review of provision for children with special educational needs in Area 6 (New Forest and Totton/Waterside). The following questions are intended to help contributors consider similar aspects of current and potential provision in different settings, and to help us to collate your views. Please answer as many questions as possible, to the best of your knowledge.

This review is undertaken within the context of Hampshire County Council's policies for Inclusion and SEN, Behaviour Strategy and draft strategy for developing the role of special schools.

Special Schools

Mainstream schools with resourced provision

Mainstream schools

(N.B. this part of the review is not intended to address issues related to individual schools, but to the mainstream sector as a whole)

Early Years Provision

Specialist provision is available in Ashley Infants School and in three Early Learning Groups, as well as in multi-agency Opportunity Groups and through the Portage Service. Many children with SEN attend local pre-schools.

In respect of specialist pre-school provision:

In respect of mainstream pre-school provision

Post-16

Any other comments you wish to add:

Signed: ............................................................ Name: ...........................................................................

Representing (school, service, etc.): ..................................................................................................................

EricSmith\I:\CountyEducation\Inclusion\InclusionPAs\AnnJackson\Area6ReviewofSENProvision\ConsultationForm02285.doc