Agenda item

To provide an overview of SEND provision in Blackpool.

Mr Paul Turner, Assistant Director of Children’s Services (School Improvement and Special Educational Needs) provided an update on provisions in Blackpool for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Mr Turner reported that Park Community Academy, Woodlands School and Highfurlong Special School were all operating at capacity and that Lotus School was expected to be at capacity within the next two years. As a result, the provision of temporary capacity was being planned at the Oracle building. He explained that this would allow sixth form students from Park Community Academy to potentially be located at the Oracle from September 2021 thereby freeing up classroom space within the rest of the school, with the precise pupil numbers and details to be determined by the headteacher at Park. Building work at Highfurlong Special School would also result in the addition of further capacity.

The Committee was informed that work was underway to facilitate the continued use of the Oracle building by community groups in the evenings and at weekends as far as possible, with details of the groups that were currently utilising the building being reviewed as to their suitability to continue using the facilities. Mr Turner explained that whilst it was hoped that the majority of groups could continue to use the building, once the Oracle was being used by children, suitability would need to be carefully considered.

Mr Turner reported that the Oracle building was not entirely suitable for the housing of SEND provisions in its current condition and as such some improvements were planned, with a budget of £85,000 allocated for the work. Mr Philip Thompson, Head of SEND and Early Years briefly outlined the proposed modifications and the rationale behind them.

With regards to mainstream schools meeting SEND requirements, Mr Turner assured the Committee that consultation had been undertaken with all headteachers to ensure schools were adequately fulfilling their responsibilities as part of the SEND Strategy and he was confident that all schools were fully committed to ensuring pupils’ needs were being met. The Committee questioned whether schools provided a pre-determined level of SEND provision or if schools responded proactively to the individual needs of their particular pupils. Mr Turner clarified that the expectation was that all children would be educated in the school of their parents’ choosing and that the SEND team would work to support teachers to adequately meet their pupils’ needs. As a result, schools found it necessary to adapt their SEND provision on a termly basis to react to their students’ requirements. He added that it might not currently be possible to educate all Blackpool children in mainstream settings but where this was not possible the aim was to be able to provide a suitable place within a specialist setting.

The Committee sought clarification around the number of SEND places that the Council was required to provide. Mr Turner reported that the Council had a statutory duty to provide a suitable place for all children who required one, whether that be within Blackpool or out of Borough as available.

The Committee agreed: To request that Mr Turner present the full detailed plans of the SEND provision proposals at the Oracle once available, with the Committee meeting on 9 December 2021 suggested by Mr Turner as being an appropriate timescale.