Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. A strategy for improving nursery education for children with special educational needs (SEN) was agreed by the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) in October 2008.

1.2. In order to fully implement this strategy non-maintained childcare providers based in, or linked to, a Children's Centre which is suitably accessible from across the area it will serve, need to be identified to host new SEN nursery provision in areas of the county which do not already have an `Early Years SEN hub centre'. The Children's Centre management needs to be supportive of the initiative.

1.3. The principle of focussing the new SEN nursery provision in Children's Centres has already been agreed as part of strategy because a number of other services are centred there.

1.4. The pre-school at one of the Children's Centres in Basingstoke, Pebbles Children's Centre in Popley, is being re-tendered for September 2009 which has provided an opportunity to include integrated SEN provision in the specification.

1.5. No re-tendering opportunity of this type is anticipated for a non-maintained childcare provider in a Children's Centre in either the Havant or New Forest areas and existing childcare providers will therefore need to be identified.

2) Issues covered in the report

2.1. If there were to be a full open tendering process, then any provider in the relevant geographical area could apply. To select from providers based only in certain Hampshire Children's Centres will need an exemption for the Council's Standing Orders on Contract such that there will be a limited tendering process rather than a full open tendering process.

3) Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

3.1. the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) agrees that in setting up SEN nursery provision in new `Early Years SEN Hub centres' in line with the strategy agreed on 16 October 2008, which aims to provide more consistency across the county by developing new nursery provision in `Early Years SEN hub centres', only childcare providers already based in, or linked to, a Children's Centre which has indicated a willingness to be part of the initiative and which is suitably accessible from across the area it will serve, should be invited to tender for the provision of these services.

MAIN REPORT

1) Contextual Information:

1.1. A strategy for improving nursery education for children with special educational needs, which has the aim of providing more consistency across the county, was agreed by the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) on 16 October 2008.

1.2. This early years SEN strategy involves developing inclusive specialist SEN nursery provision in `Early Years SEN hub centres' in five areas of the county that do not already benefit from this provision. The development is linked to the Children's Centre programme and involves working in partnership with the non-maintained sector to provide the nursery education.

1.3. There are a large number of non-maintained childcare providers across the county. The aim is to identify providers linked to Children's Centres to host high quality SEN nursery provision in line with an agreed model. Children will be placed in the new provision by the local authority, in practice by the SEN Service, in accordance with agreed admission criteria. Over time these providers will work in partnership with the Children's Centre to develop a range of services and function as an `Early Years SEN hub centre'.

1.4. Funding has already been agreed by Schools Forum to establish nursery provision of this type in each of three areas of the county agreed as top priority for developing a new `Early Years SEN hub centre', namely Basingstoke, Havant and the New Forest. Discussions are already taking place for each of these areas, related to identifying childcare providers linked to Children's Centres to host the new provision.

1.5. The childcare provider at one of the Children's Centres in Basingstoke, Pebbles Children's Centre in Popley, is being re-tendered for September 2009 which has provided an opportunity to include integrated SEN nursery provision in the specification. An advert was placed and a number of expressions of interest received. A full Invitation to Tender document was subsequently sent to groups expressing interest with a deadline for response in February. Four tenders have been received and are under consideration.

1.6. There are childcare providers already based at or linked to each of the relevant Children's Centres in the Havant and New Forest areas and no re-tendering opportunity of this type is anticipated in either area. Existing childcare providers will therefore need to be identified to host the new SEN provision.

2) Key Issues:

2.1. The principle of focussing the new SEN nursery provision in Children's Centres in this way has already been agreed as part of the strategy. This is because a number of other services, for example health support and advice for parents are centred there. Children's Centres operate as `one-stop shops' and parents and carers of children placed in the SEN provision and the professionals who work with the children should have the opportunity to benefit from this.

2.2. The Children's Centre management needs to be supportive of the initiative and the centre needs to be suitably located so that the SEN provision is easily accessible from across the whole of the area which it will serve.

2.3. In order to select an existing childcare provider in each of the Havant and New Forest areas and, subsequently in the two other areas of the county which do not currently benefit from an `Early Years SEN hub centre'; there will need to be tendering processes to award contracts for the provision of this service.

2.4. To enable the SEN nursery provision to be linked to one of the Children's Centres it will be necessary for either one of the established providers to take on this responsibility or for one of them to be displaced. Any such displacement would require the County Council to terminate its contractual arrangements, when there is no reason to believe that an existing provider could not undertake the work to a high standard.

2.5. Standing Orders on Contract require that generally tenders should be invited through an open competition. If there were to be a full open tendering process, then any provider in the relevant geographical area could apply irrespective of whether the provision was linked to a Children's Centre and one of the current providers may need to be displaced. Such an open tending process is therefore inappropriate. The Head of Corporate and Legal Services has advised that where the Executive Member is satisfied that it is necessary for the implementation of the agreed strategy, an exemption can be made under Standing Orders on Contracts such that only childcare providers based in, or linked to, certain Children's Centre should be invited to tender the provision of the services.

3) Developing some Children's Centres as `Early Years SEN hub Centres'

3.1. Children's centres are a Government initiative to provide better outcomes for children, families and local communities. They are intended to act as a local `hub' for a wide range of integrated services. They provide a range of services aiming to offer information, advice and support to parents and carers, as well as providing integrated childcare and early learning, health services, family support, parental outreach and employment advice.

3.2. The aim of the early years SEN strategy is to ensure one of the Children's Centres in each area of the county can also operate as `Early Years SEN hub centre'.

3.3. A number of the services the Children's Centres are intended to provide will benefit parents of children placed in the SEN provision and/or help to promote development of the centre into an Early Years SEN Hub centre, for example:

· early identification of children with special needs and disabilities and services and support for their families;

· systems for referring/signposting families to further services;

· providing information for parents/carers about the range of family support services and activities available in the area;

· support and advice on parenting including support at significant transition points for the family;

· access to specialist, targeted services for those families which need them, eg support for parents/carers of disabled children;

· activities which increase parents/carers' understanding of their child's development

· promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, including identification, support and care for those suffering from maternal depression, antenatally and post-natally;

· provision of therapy services, for example speech and language;

· support for healthy lifestyles.

4) Financial Implications

The new provision, which will lead to significant improvement in provision, will be delivered from within the current budget.

5) Outline of Options:

As the aim of the early years SEN strategy is to develop new SEN nursery provision based in or linked to Children's Centres it is agreed that a variation to Standing Orders would be appropriate and there are no other recommended options.

6) Conclusions:

6.1. In order to fully implement the agreed early years SEN strategy, existing non-maintained childcare providers need to be identified to host specialist SEN nursery provision in areas of the county which do not already have this provision. In order for them to benefit from a range of other services and to ensure they can develop effectively into an `Early Years SEN hub centre', the providers need to be linked to a Children's Centre which has indicated a willingness to be part of the initiative and which is suitably accessible from across the area it will serve. It is therefore appropriate that only existing non-maintained childcare providers already based in or linked to a suitably located Children's Centre should be invited to tender for the provision of these services.

7) Recommendations:

Please see Executive Summary for recommendations.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

reports\Year 2009\12.3.09 Nursery prov for children with SEN (jan14r13).doc