Contact: John Clarke, Deputy Director of Children's Services (01962) 846464 ([email protected])

Robin Thomas, Assistant County Education Officer, Children and Families Branch
(01962 846426) [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This paper provides a brief history and details of the development to date of Basingstoke School Plus (BS+).

1.2 It also identifies a number of issues to be further investigated (Appendix A) regarding the future provision for young people with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), both in Basingstoke and across the county. This is in line with the County's Change for Children programme and the emphasis that is being placed on early intervention and the holistic/staged approach being developed for young people and their families.

1.3 The paper supports the following Aims of the Corporate Strategy in terms of:

_ Aim One - maximising life opportunities

_ Aim Three - achieving economic prosperity

_ Aim Four - building strong and safe communities

_ Aim Five - improving services.

Aims One and Four are the most significant motivators. It is anticipated that the further development of provision at BS+ will have a major impact on the lives of the young people attending as well as on their families and the wider community.

1.4 This development would also support all five outcomes of the Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004 in terms of:

_ Be healthy : providing on-site facilities that will improve the mental and physical health of young people in Basingstoke and the surrounding area;

_ Stay Safe : ensuring an appropriate safe, yet challenging environment, which can be developed and utilised across a far wider cohort of the community than just those young people who attend BS+ on a daily basis;

_ Enjoy and achieve : enabling young people who attend, as well as many others, from across the area to learn how to learn, to gain satisfaction from achieving and to prepare for a more meaningful future;

_ Make a positive contribution : re-focusing some of the County's most disaffected and damaged young people, as well as preventing others from becoming disaffected;

_ Achieve economic well-being : building a skills base for the future through targeted vocational learning, increasing the likelihood of practical qualifications for post 16 progression.

2 Context

2.1 BS+ was established in September 2004, through the amalgamation of Hawthorns BESD School and the Ashwood Education Centre, the latter at that time being one of seven Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) across Hampshire.

2.2 Hawthorns BESD School had previously been placed in special measures by Ofsted. Despite considerable effort and additional resource being expended over an extended period of time, e.g. keeping funded places open, additional inspector advisory support, plus circa £150K financial deficit on closure, there had been little tangible improvement. Due to this vulnerability of provision at Hawthorns, an unusually high number of young people with BESD statements from across the county had already been placed on a temporary basis at the Ashwood Education Centre.

2.3 On amalgamation, the previous split of pupils was changed, locating KS3 in the former Hawthorns building, with KS4 located on the Ashwood site. Neither building is entirely satisfactory for its purpose, with the Ashwood building being particularly inadequate. A recent proposal envisages the relocation of the KS4 provision to an industrial/commercial unit, which would provide both traditional education spaces and facilities for a vocational skills based educational approach for the young people concerned. It is proposed that during (and immediately after normal school hours) this specialist provision could be widely used by all eight secondary schools in Basingstoke (in addition to BS+ pupils) and that (subject to the appropriate planning permission) during evenings, week-ends and school holidays, the local community could also make use of the facilities available.

2.4 Some young people with less behavioural and more emotional needs, eg, younger children, those with long standing medical needs and schoolgirl mothers will continue to have their needs met separately in alternative provision.

2.5 The developments at BS+ (legally by designation still a PRU) need to be considered in the light of the existing provision and future strategy for other PRUs/Education Centres across the county. In the first instance, agreement in principle is required to enable the development of a business case for the expenditure of a significant amount of capital funding (£3+ million) to support and develop the project at BS+.

2.6 Initial discussions have taken place with possible partners in this enterprise, including colleagues from Basingstoke secondary schools, Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT), Queen Mary's College Basingstoke, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Hampshire's Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHs) Trust and the Strategic Health Authority. Clearly, considerable further discussions would need to take place, not only with colleagues from these organisations, but also with colleagues from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

3 Vision

3.1 For the past eighteen months, since the setting up of BS+ was first envisaged, considerable discussion and planning has taken place with Basingstoke mainstream secondary head teachers.

3.2 Historically, Basingstoke has been an area of high exclusion. Head teachers and officers have a shared view that early intervention and prevention, for some of the county's most challenging young people, must provide a better way forward. This vision would involve young people's needs being met at a far earlier stage, with "wrap-around care" from all the agencies involved, reducing the need to exclude children and/or provide alternative segregated provision.

3.3 At present, pupils attending BS+ are almost always placed directly on roll. Future plans involve developing procedures whereby at least some young people remain on the roll of their mainstream school, but receive a tailor-made package of provision involving a number of different providers. These plans will be furthered if BS+, along with the eight local mainstream secondary schools in Basingstoke, were to become a federation, working together to provide a continuum of provision across the area. It is anticipated that all eight schools would become partners within the federation that is BS+. Further research and discussion will need to take place with the DfES and other authorities who have already put similar strategies in place, to identify appropriate financial mechanisms to limit budget pressures.

4 Management arrangements

4.1 Prior to the closure of Hawthorns BESD School a Task Group of senior LEA officers was established to support the existing provision and to guide the school in terms of management, staffing, curriculum and standards, etc. A paper was brought to Education Policy Review Committee in March 2004 identifying the proposed developments.

4.2 At the beginning of September 2004, the group of officers identified above formed the nucleus of the transitional Management Committee, set up to establish and develop the newly amalgamated provision known as BS+. This committee was chaired by the Strategic School Improvement Manager for the North East who also acted as direct line manager to the head of the provision. The transitional committee benefited from the involvement of one of the Basingstoke mainstream secondary head teachers, who in turn fed back to her mainstream colleagues as and when appropriate.

4.3 From the beginning of September 2005, one year into this experimental and innovative project, a more permanent Management Committee was formed, involving three mainstream secondary headteachers, two governors from mainstream schools, two parents, three community colleagues, two County Council representatives, two staff representatives and the Head of BS+. The head of BS+ is now managed directly by the chair of the Management Committee, in the same way as a Chair of Governors manages the head teacher of a school.

4.4 The budget for BS+ is still located within the Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) Service. BS+ is intended to operate very much as a school, but there is not a governance model or scheme of delegation that enable this for a non school establishment. As such, in developing the business case it is also proposed to look at the development and innovation of a scheme of delegation that meets statutory and local requirements. This will be done in conjunction with DfES, County Treasurers and Chief Executive's departments.

4.5 Because of the continuing vulnerability of the provision (due at least partly to the extremely needy young people involved) BS+ is still treated by the County Council as a school in special measures. There is therefore a Strategy Group, under the chairmanship of a local School Improvement Manager which monitors and makes judgements about the progress, standards and safety of pupils and holds the management committee and leadership team to account for any improvement as determined necessary. The strategy group also co-ordinates support and resources focused on delivering identified improvements.

4.6 In addition to a multi-agency task group (see paragraph 6.2), formed from local practitioners who support the provision and its young people and their families, the attached inspector for the school is also able to allocate additional time in order to support curriculum and policy development.

5 Post-16/college involvement

5.1 Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) and Queen Mary's College (QMC) are both positively engaged in the need for collaborative working with Basingstoke schools and specifically with BS+. The consortium in Basingstoke has a tradition of such collaborative working, offering several courses as part of an Increased Flexibility Partnership (IFP) between the colleges and the secondary schools. However, across the county, particular difficulties arise with this work in the context of Education Centres. The need for small groups due to behavioural issues often makes the provision uneconomic. The level of pre-course induction required to secure a successful outcome is longer and more intensive which consequently adds to the financial pressure. Students from education centres are often on short-term placements and their arrival is frequently unpredicted. Such students need both a personalised curriculum and intensive support to benefit from college link courses. The lack of availability of suitably qualified specialist staff has compounded the issue.

5.2 The benefits of specialist skills centre provision, which could be accessed by both pre and post 16 students and some adult learners, has already been discussed by BCoT and QMC. These benefits include a more motivating curriculum, improved progression post-16 and support for parents through a parenting programme. The potential benefits to colleges through shared commitment to a Skills Centre should encourage them to see this as a positive development with which they would wish to be involved. The enhanced expertise of staff in the centre and the time to prepare students properly for both the courses and possible work placements would increase the chances of young people achieving a positive outcome.

6 Skills Centre Approach - curriculum and holistic/staged family support

6.1 The proposal is to provide a site for KS4 teaching and learning which is more in tune with pupils' needs. The delivery of a vocational and practical curriculum for year 10 and 11 pupils will demand, in addition to provision for basic skills teaching, practical workshop areas which deliver the vocational opportunities available through college link courses. It will also provide a more contained environment for pupils who cannot manage the demands of a college site. The kind of small industrial unit property identified as ideal for this purpose is likely to be easy to locate in the area concerned.

6.2 A multi-agency task group has operated around BS+ for the past few months. This group includes representatives from health, CAMHS, the previous Social Services and Education Departments. Discussions have also taken place with voluntary organisations in order to widen further the family support available.

6.3 BS+ has been successful in its bid for extended school/cluster status. Over time this will enable the development of early intervention and holistic/staged approaches to young people and their families across all Basingstoke secondary schools, which reflects the direction of the new Children's Services Department.

7 Building and funding implications

7.1 A suitable empty commercial building in Basingstoke has been identified for acquisition, following a search for appropriate properties. It includes an industrial extension to the main building and two poor quality separate buildings used as stores. An initial feasibility study has been carried out by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services, but further work would be needed to finalise the scope of the work to be carried out and the costs. The industrial extension and the two storey buildings could be demolished and new accommodation provided for a health and fitness suite, construction studies and motor vehicle studies linked to the main building. The main building would be stripped out, fully refurbished and adapted for educational use, with an appropriate ICT infrastructure, in addition to appropriate spaces for counselling, parent/family support, CAMHS practitioners and other relevant agencies.

7.2 The final scope of the works would determine how long the project would take, but the amount of building work required is very substantial and completion would not be practicable before September 2007 at the earliest. A change of use approval would be required from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and this is being investigated.

7.3 There is no specific capital funding for the proposed relocation of BS+ or for the creation of a vocational skills centre and resources would need to be made available through the Children's Services capital programme.

7.4 The cost of acquisition of a suitable building, together with adaptation costs to make it suitable for educational use and for the provision and equipping of a vocational skills centre are estimated at about £3.5m. These costs are based on an initial feasibility only and could increase once a full survey was available. Further costs might be incurred, depending on the scope of the vocational provision.

7.5 An allocation towards these costs is included in the report recommending a capital programme for 2006/07 elsewhere on this agenda. The bulk of the funding would come from New Deal for Schools allocations and from unallocated resources in the current year's capital programme, carried forward to 2006/07. Depending on the final cost of the project, further capital funding might need to be identified in 2006/07 and 2007/08. A recommendation to the Cabinet from the Executive Member for Policy and Resources would be required for the taking out of a lease.

7.6 There would be continuing revenue payments for ground rent of some £30,000 to £40,000 p.a. which would have an impact on the central spending limit.

8 Educational/Performance targets and time-scales

8.1 Currently the teaching and learning at BS+ is suffering due to the accommodation available. This issue has been identified both through the strategy group, convened around the school in view of its need for intensive support, and through the headteacher's target setting process. Monitoring of the impact of strategies to improve teaching, learning and progress will be undertaken formally each term, led by the school's attached inspector with details fed into the strategy group. The KS3/4 split has been effective in giving a clearer focus to the teaching and curriculum delivered.

9 Legal implications

9.1 The proposals for BS+ satisfy the legal requirements for pupil referral units (PRUs).

10 Financial implications

BS+ currently receives a revenue budget on the basis of its status as a PRU. It faces a number of operating challenges which are putting real pressure on this budget. The development of the business case for the future provision and operation of this unit is therefore essential - not only to review the funding issues identified but also to set out a sustainable way forward consistent with the governance and delegation scheme which is developed.

11 Personnel implications

11.1 The adoption of a "skills centre" approach for the KS4 provision at BS+ would change the profile of the present staffing. It is likely that a greater number of professional skill tutors / practitioners would be appointed, who might or might not be qualified teachers. This would raise issues about the current skills of existing staff and there would need to be consideration of the scope for their further training and development before other employment implications were considered.

11.2 As and when formal decisions are made on the direction Basingstoke School Plus might take, it will be important to initiate consultations with staff and their representatives to engage with them on the matter and take account of their views.

12 Impact assessment

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

13 Crime prevention issues

13.1 Improved provision, increased "holistic" support for families and a more integrated approach for young people in the Basingstoke area would have an inevitable and positive impact on Crime and Disorder.

13.2 The development of a new KS4 vocational skills centre for BS+, to include "out-of-hours" activities for other young people in Basingstoke mainstream schools and the wider Basingstoke community, would have a further positive effect.

14 Views of the Local County Councillor

14.1 Local Members have had the opportunity to express their views throughout the development of BS+. A draft version of this paper has been sent to local Members and the offer of a meeting to discuss in further detail has been made.

Recommendations

That the Children's Services Policy Review Committee should advise the Executive Member for Children's Services that:

1 the strategy for delivering a vocational skills based education at BS+ should be endorsed and the development of a business case for the investment should be supported;

2 further reports should be presented on the progress and impact of the Basingstoke School Plus initiative on student outcomes and that the first of these reports should be presented in July 2006;

3 further investigations into how best to meet the BESD needs of young people across Hampshire, as described in Appendix A, should be supported;

4 further work taking place with Basingstoke secondary schools and the BS+ Management Committee, in order to devlop a federated approach to provision and governance, should be supported;

5 a report identifying the outcomes of these further investigations, including possible funding implications, should be received in autumn 2006.

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.

List documents here or type `none'.

None.

Appendix A

Every Child Matters - a discussion paper

Behaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD)

Provision in Hampshire

When considering how best to meet the needs of young people with BESD, it is important to put it in the context of the educational provision around the county and the wider strategic developments that need to be considered in order to better meet the requirements of Every Child Matters, the Children Act 2004 and the Change for Children agenda.

There are seven PRUs/Education Centres across the county. These are located as follows:

· Andover Education Centre, Andover

· Basingstoke School Plus (BS+), Basingstoke

· Bridge Education Centre, Eastleigh

· Linden Education Centre, Farnborough

· Forest Education Centre, Dibden

· Quayside Education Centre, Gosport

· Woodlands Education Centre, Havant

A number of these Education Centres also have satellite units attached, e.g. The Woodside Unit which is located in Colden Common, is under the direct management of The Bridge Education Centre, Eastleigh.

In addition to these seven Education Centres, there are also two primary BESD schools:

· Waterloo Primary BESD School, Havant

· Wolverdene Primary BESD School, Andover

and three secondary BESD schools:

· Lakeside Secondary BESD School, Chandler's Ford

· Lord Wilson Secondary BESD School, Sarisbury

· Sundridge Secondary BESD Secondary School, Havant

Within these differing provisions, there are a number of categories of behavioural need which can be clustered as follows:

· children with long-term, complex and agreed BESD needs, usually (but not always) involving statutory assessment and the issuing of a statement of special educational needs (SEN)

· children excluded from school, or children at risk of being excluded from school

· children whose medical / health needs make it impossible for them to attend mainstream school.

In Hampshire, children in the first of these categories usually have their needs met in a school that specialises in meeting BESD needs. However, due to the geographical location of Hampshire's BESD school provision, some children are travelling considerable distances across Hampshire, in order to have their needs met. For example, it is not unusual for a child to travel in a taxi or mini-bus for in excess of an hour each way, in order to attend an appropriate provision. On occasions, a journey will involve passing a possible alternative provision e.g. a young person living close to the Farnborough Education Centre, might be travelling to Basingstoke, purely because he/she has a statement of SEN. Equally, and for the same reason, children pass near to the Forest Education Centre, on their long and potentially difficult journey to Andover.

Within the categories of need previously identified, there will always be some children whose needs are so challenging and so long-term and complex, that specialised BESD school provision is likely to be the only or best way forward. However, there are also those young people whose needs are less clearly defined and who could, with the careful training of staff and the appropriate provision being carefully planned and managed, have their needs met more locally. For example:

· a child with a statement for BESD, who is at risk of being excluded (or has been excluded) but who professionals believe has needs of a less long-term and complex nature

· a child in Years 10 or 11 with a statement for BESD, but for whom it is important to establish a local college / work experience package, in order to establish and maintain important links within the community

· a child with a statement of BESD, who is both vulnerable and sensitive (yet still disruptive in the mainstream setting) where mixing with children in a complex BESD school setting would be counter-productive.

In such circumstances and in the light of Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004, a number of questions arise:

· are a child's needs so complex and the provision being made so specialist, that up to two hours travelling each day is justified?

· is the provision being made, including the cost of transport, providing good value for money?

· is there a better way - at least for some children?

In the light of developments in Basingstoke, further work needs to be carried out and a report made to CSPRC identifying funding issues and making recommendations as appropriate. The County's BESD Group (chaired by Chris Lloyd - County Lead Inspector for SEN) will have a strategic role in this development.

Discussions will also need to take place with colleagues in the DfES and Ofsted, due to the issues of young people with statements of SEN possibly having their needs met in an Education Centre (PRU).