Decision details
St Mark's School - SEND Resource Base
Decision Maker: Director of Children and Education
Decision status: Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Purpose:
To fund capital works which will enable BANES
to open a Secondary School Resource Base to accommodate children
and young people with SEND. The new SEND Resource Base will support
up to 20 pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Resource
Bases are for pupils with special educational needs and an
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who will attend mainstream
school and receive additional specialist support at a resource
base. This is in line with the Council's priorities as set out in
the SEND Education Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2024.
Decision:
To fully approve a £390,679.30 capital
budget, funded by CIL, Basic Needs Grant and High Needs Provision
Capital Allocation Grant (HNPCA).
Alternative options considered:
MATS/Schools in BANES were approached to
ascertain if they were interested in opening resource base
provision for SEND children on the roll of mainstream schools both
primary and secondary. The MATS/Schools had to submit a "vision" of
the type of base, new build or adaptation and how the base would be
run. The "visions" were then considered jointly between the LA,
BPCF and the MATS/schools. The proposed resource bases needed to
offer provision that fitted with the B&NEs requirement based on
the data available at the time. The data clearly showed the need
for secondary ASD facilities within B&NES.
Feasibility and Development has been carried out at Somervale
linked to this provision as per the ODD previously published.
Following a robust feasibility study and full funding approval, at
very early stages of project delivery, where more detailed design
and site surveys are carried out, it became clear that there were
issues with the proposed location on the Somervale School site,
following further site location options appraisals for the new RB
it became clear that the project was undeliverable at Somervale
School. The funding is therefore being realigned to St Mark's
School via this decision as it is identified as being in the right
area and has available space to open a resource base. St Mark's
School already successfully run a resource base for children with
MLD. St Mark's School is an area of need for this type of secondary
SEND provision. The funding required to deliver the project at St
Marks is less that Somervale and therefore the balance of the
currently approved budget will be released to realign to future
SEND RB provision in Secondary schools within the BANES area.
Publication date: 27/11/2024
Date of decision: 18/11/2024