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ITEM EX7

EXECUTIVE 14 OCTOBER 2003

WOODEATON MANOR AND IFFLEY MEAD SPECIAL SCHOOLS

Report by the Director for Learning & Culture

1. The Executive, at its meeting on 13 May 2003, asked officers to consult informally on the six options in relation to Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Special Schools identified in the Member Panel report on the inclusion of children with special educational needs (see Annex 1). This was one specific element in a package of proposals from the Member Panel, the majority of which - leading to recommendations for an overall strategy for further consideration - are deal with in the preceding agenda item. The present report provides background to the Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead consultations and describes the response. This has highlighted three clear alternatives, which it is recommended should provide the basis for further work.

Background

2. In December 1999, after extensive consultation, the Education Committee adopted a Policy on Special Educational Needs (SEN) which had, as a key principle, the greater effective inclusion of children with SEN. An explicit focus was the effective inclusion in mainstream schools of children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD).
3. The Oxfordshire policy reflects the national agenda most recently underpinned by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and the SEN Code of Practice. There is a new requirement on LEAs to provide places in mainstream schools for virtually all children with SEN, if requested by parents. The DfES Working Group report on special schools also emphasises that "this strengthened right to a mainstream education provided by the new statutory framework for inclusion does not make it any harder for parents, whose children have statements, to obtain a place in a special school if that is what they want". LEAs are required to balance these requirements carefully.
4. The DfES Working Group on Special Schools (2003) notes that "mainstream schools will have a growing role to play in providing education for children with SEN", but also emphasises "the key role which special schools have to play at the heart of federations and clusters of schools and their leading role in helping mainstream schools to develop more inclusive learning environments".
5. In Oxfordshire 2.5% of children have statements and the vast majority of children (approximately 99%) are educated in mainstream schools. Both of these are in line with similar authorities.
6. Because the great majority of children with SEN are in mainstream schools, and always have been, the Oxfordshire strategy has been to strengthen the capacity of those schools to meet their pupils’ needs. To this end, delegated and devolved funds have been increased significantly, in-service training and guidance for schools has been enhanced and support services have been strengthened. As mainstream capacity has been developed, it has also been possible to support a small, additional number of children who might otherwise have had to transfer to special schools. This has, in part, been achieved by the allocation of additional resources to six secondary schools to develop inclusive provision. Feedback from these schools indicates that they are positive about the impact of the additional resources in enabling them to meet children’s needs.

Pupil Numbers

7. Unlike some LEAs, Oxfordshire has not adopted a policy of special school closure with the associated return of pupils to mainstream, but instead has tried to develop support in mainstream schools so that children’s needs are met. The success of mainstream schools in developing their inclusive practice has resulted in a small downturn in the percentage of pupils in special schools from 1.1% in 1997 to 1% in 2002. Those relatively few pupils who no longer need to transfer to special schools are generally children who have very similar needs to those other pupils with SEN already in mainstream schools, i.e. they have moderate learning difficulties.
8. Woodeaton Manor School and Iffley Mead School are special schools for children with moderate learning difficulties and other complex needs, typically to do with language and behaviour. As greater emphasis has been placed on inclusion and mainstream schools have been strengthened, so there has been a reduced need to transfer pupils with less complex needs to special schools. This has resulted in falling pupil rolls at these two schools, as shown below:

School	2000/01	2001/02	2002/03	2003/04
Iffley Mead	100	99	90	88 (88)
Woodeaton Manor	61	57	36	23 (44)
Total	161	156	126	111 (132)

Planned places in brackets

Admissions Process

9. LEA officers play a very large part in determining admissions to all special schools, as is their statutory duty. It is therefore accepted that officers’ actions have a strong influence on the balance between pupils and funding going into mainstream or into special schools. Where the question of transfer from mainstream into special arises, usually at the annual review of a mainstream child’s statement, an officer considers the recommendations from the review and parental views. Particular attention is paid to the nature and amount of support the child has been receiving and the progress s/he has made. The officer then determines the support required by the child. If special school admission is suggested, s/he determines whether such a placement would meet the child’s needs, has the support of the parent and is an effective use of resources. In some cases this detailed consideration leads to a decision that continued placement in mainstream school, usually with enhanced provision, is appropriate. All recommendations for special school admission (or additional support), and the review reports on which they are based, are also scrutinised by a panel of officers and a senior educational psychologist before decisions are taken. The potential receiving special school is also consulted, generally through a termly admissions meeting.
10. Whilst most parents would like to see their children educated in their local school, they also need to be satisfied that their child’s needs will be met effectively. Parents therefore must be engaged in the decision making process. This is achieved by parents being involved in their children’s reviews and having well publicised rights to make representations to officers and to meet with them. They also have a statutory right to independent conciliation and appeal to an SEN Tribunal if agreement is not reached with the LEA on placement or other aspects of statements.

Residential

11. Woodeaton Manor has four nights per week, term time only boarding facility currently funded for 20 places. In almost every case the boarders spend less than four nights per week in residence and the Head, depending on the child’s circumstances, uses the facility flexibly. While it can be argued that a residential experience for many children is beneficial, few other authorities operate residential provision for children with moderate learning difficulties. From time to time Social & Health Care have bought residential places when a child in public care is also a pupil at Woodeaton Manor.

Consultation Process

12. The Members’ Panel report on inclusion was sent to all Headteachers, Chairs of Governors and SENCOs, as well as to support services, other agencies, and to all staff, parents and governors at Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Special Schools.
13. A wide range of informal consultation meetings have been held to discuss the options and listen to people’s views. These meetings have included primary, secondary and special school headteacher organisations, Oxfordshire Governors Association, Council of Oxfordshire Teaching Organisation, governors at Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools and Save our Special Schools Protection League. Members of the Scrutiny Task Group on SEN were invited to attend these meetings. (See Annex 2 for consultation timetable.) Copies of all letters received are in the Members’ Resource Centre.

Feedback from the Informal Consultation Process

14. The following feedback was received through the informal consultation process.
    
    
1. Woodeaton Manor Staff and Governors
   
   
15. Woodeaton Manor staff and governors emphasised the highly valued role which Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools play for children with moderate learning difficulties and other complex needs. The emphasised that all pupils at Woodeaton Manor have complex needs, including learning.
16. The strong feedback from Woodeaton Manor staff and governors is to maintain both Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Special Schools as two countywide schools for children with moderate learning difficulties and other complex needs and to maintain the residential provision at Woodeaton Manor. The staff and governors consider that Woodeaton Manor School has considerable further potential to develop its support for children with SEN, for example by increasing planned places (and thereby reducing the cost of places), part-time placements, outreach support and making greater and more flexible use of the residential provision. They highlighted the potential to use the residential provision more widely, for example, through joint funding with Social & Health Care, for children not on the roll of the school, to bring children back from out-county and to provide 7 day a week, 52 week a year respite care provision.
17. The option they prefer is to develop Woodeaton Manor (with the residential provision) and Iffley Mead Schools to their full capacity, ensuring there are clear written criteria for access to the schools, in order to support them in developing further their contribution to the continuum of specialist provision.
18. The staff and governors expressed their concern about the transparency of the admissions process for special schools and their view that some parents who wanted a place found it difficult to get one. They expressed their concern that a reduction in planned places in special schools will reduce the options for parents of children with SEN.

(b) Iffley Mead Governors

19. Iffley Mead governors emphasised the key role which the two schools play in meeting the needs of children who have not been able to cope in mainstream school. The governors expressed their concern about the real level of need for special school provision and the difficulty faced by some parents getting access to a special school place for their child.
20. The strong feedback from Iffley Mead governors is to maintain both Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Special Schools at current planned places, with a proviso that there should be a proper examination conducted of admissions procedures, with a view to increasing the number of planned places to reflect what the governors felt was the perceived need. The governors are opposed to any option, such as amalgamation, which results in the closure of Iffley Mead School.

(c) Oxfordshire Special Schools Protection League

21. There is strong feedback from the Oxfordshire Special Schools Protection League that both Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools should remain open, that they should keep their identities and that the LEA should use the schools to their full capacity to enable a needs-led, rather than, what they see as, a numbers-led, provision.
22. The group expressed particular concern over the admissions arrangements to the schools, believing that the LEA does not publicise sufficiently information about special schools and that parents are discouraged from considering special school as an option for their child. They believe the admissions criteria for the schools are set too high and that a child has to fail in mainstream over an extended period before special school is considered. They expressed concerns about a lack of transparency surrounding the admissions process and wanted the Executive to conclude its review of the resource panel process before making a decision about the two schools. They also felt that there should be further informal consultation with parents of children with SEN at this informal stage to afford equal opportunities with professionals and other agencies.

(d) Oxfordshire Governors’ Association

23. The Oxfordshire Governors’ Association (OGA) expressed concern about the capacity of mainstream schools to meet the needs of some groups of children with SEN. They highlighted in particular the needs of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties and those with complex needs.
24. OGA emphasised the need to maintain Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Special Schools at least at their current level of planned places until further information is available. They expressed the view that a comprehensive evaluation of the true level of need, including those who are not currently attending school at all, is required. The criteria and process for admissions to special schools need to be reviewed and the levels of achievement of pupils with SEN, in a variety of settings, need to be evaluated.
25. OGA highlighted the value of the residential provision at Woodeaton Manor School and requested further work looking a more flexible use of this provision to support more pupils.

(e) Oxfordshire Secondary Schools Headteachers Association

26. Oxfordshire Secondary Schools Headteachers Association (OSSHTA), emphasised the need take the time to make the correct decision about Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools and ensure that there is sufficient information about pupil needs to inform the decision-making process.
27. They expressed particular concern about the challenges faced by mainstream schools in meeting the needs of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
28. They concluded that there needed to be further work on some of the options under discussion. They supported the following options for further consideration:
    
    

1. amalgamation of the two schools, with planned placed determined by the level of need for places, to create one larger MLD/complex needs school. Any revenue savings created by this should be used to increase provision for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties;
2. maintain one school as a countywide school for children with moderate learning difficulties and redesignate the remaining school as an EBD special school or use the resources to create additional provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

OSSHTA would wish to investigate the need for residential provision but would not want to increase the need for costly out-county placements and recognised that decisions would need to be made jointly with Social & health Care;

3. close both schools and use the resources to:
   
   

- strengthen mainstream provision

- develop community special schools

- enhance EBD provision.

It was recognised that this position could only be achieved in the longer term through an increase in support in mainstream and community special schools and a phased reduction in pupils at Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead.

29. OSSHTA requested that Members of the Executive consider using any capital, as well as any revenue savings from changes made, to enhance provision for children with SEN, particularly those with EBD.

(f) Oxfordshire Primary Headteachers Association

30. Oxfordshire Primary Headteachers Association (OPHTA) emphasised the concern of primary school headteachers about the challenge of meeting the needs of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
31. They noted the need to plan jointly with Social & Health Care in relation to the issue of residential provision. They suggested the need to consider the potential to use the residential provision more flexibly.
32. OPHTA supported the following options for further consideration:
    
    
1. the amalgamation of Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools (planned places to be determined by the need for places). Any revenue savings created by this to be used to enhance provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties;
2. close both schools and use the resources to:
   
   

- strengthen mainstream provision

- develop community special schools

- enhance EBD provision.

33. OPHTA requested that Members of the Executive consider using any capital, as well as any revenue savings from changes made, to enhance provision for children with SEN, particularly those with EBD.

(g) Oxfordshire Association of Special School Headteachers

34. Oxfordshire Association of Special School Headteacher (OASSH) welcomed the recognition in the Member Panel report of the "vital role of special schools within an inclusive education system" and the proposal in relation to the development of community special schools. They emphasised their willingness and enthusiasm to develop a more flexible role as community special schools, but also highlighted the need for additional resources to be able to do this.
35. OASSH supported the following options for further consideration:
    
    

1. the amalgamation of Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools (planned places to be determined by the level of need for places). Any revenue savings created by this should be used to enhance support for mainstream schools from community special schools and/or to enhance provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

They considered that residential provision should be reviewed jointly with Social & Health Care, in order to make a joint decision about the most effective use of the funding to meet the family support needs of children with SEN in Oxfordshire;

2. close both schools and use the resources to:
   
   

- strengthen mainstream provision

- develop community special schools (particularly support for mainstream schools and support for children with severe learning difficulties and challenging behaviour)

- increase EBD provision (particularly for young children with EBD, children who are emotionally vulnerable rather than challenging).

36. OASSH requested that Members of the Executive consider using any capital, as well as revenue savings, from any changes made, to enhance provision for children with SEN.

(h) Council of Oxfordshire Teacher Organisations

37. The majority of COTO representatives held the view that the status quo (Option 1) should not continue because it was an inefficient use of SEN resources. The ATL and NUT representatives did not share this view, believing that there was a need for more, rather than less, provision and that any apparent savings gained by amalgamating on one site would be reduced by increased transport costs getting children to it.
38. All members of COTO sought an assurance that the LEA would not end current residential provision without determining (with Social & Health Care) how continuing needs would be met without recourse to expensive out-county provision.
39. All emphasised the particular concern of their members about the difficulty of meeting the needs of children with severe emotional and behavioural problems in mainstream schools.

COTO recommended that the following options should be given further consideration:

1. amalgamate Woodeaton and Iffley Mead Schools (planned places determined by the level of need) and use resources released by this to enhance provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
2. maintain one countywide school for children with MLD/complex needs and redesignate the other school as an EBD special school.
   
   
40. COTO requested that Members of the Executive consider using any capital, as well as revenue savings from any changes made, to enhance provision for children whose complex emotional and behavioural needs were such that they could not be met by inclusion in mainstream schools nor alongside the timid an vulnerable in another special schools.
41. Preference was expressed for a separate facility serving the northern areas of the county.

(i) Social & Health Care

42. There are two groups of children for whom Social & Health Care find it difficult to make appropriate family support arrangements:

- children with severe learning difficulties and challenging behaviour

- children with EBD.

43. There is increasing pressure on both Learning & Culture and Social & Health Care to place these children out of county because of difficulty meeting educational and family support needs in-county.
44. Six of the eleven children currently in residence at Woodeaton Manor are known to Social & Health Care, which emphasises the need to plan for these children’s needs jointly. These children tend to have moderate learning difficulties and emotional and behavioural difficulties.
45. Colleagues in Social & Health Care are keen to work with Learning & Culture to review the use of residential provision at Woodeaton Manor and to look at the most effective use of resources to support a greater number of children’s family needs.

(j) Woodeaton Parish Council

46. A letter was received from Woodeaton Parish Council strongly supporting the work of the school and its retention as a countywide residential MLD/complex needs school.

(k) Parents and Pupils

47. Seven letters were received from parents and two from pupils strongly supporting the work of Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools and requesting that Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead schools should be retained as they are.

Conclusions

48. Three options received particular support in the consultation process:

1. maintain Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead as currently, with the level of planned places to be determined on the basis of pupil needs;
2. amalgamate Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead Schools (level of planned places to be determined on the basis of pupil needs). Use any resources released to develop additional provision in community special schools and/or to enhance provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties;
3. close both schools and use the resources to:
   
   

- strengthen mainstream provision;

- develop community special schools;

- increase EBD provision.

It is recognised that this position could only be achieved in the longer term through an increase in support in mainstream and community special schools and a phased reduction in pupils and Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead.

Options (a) and (b) could be developed with or without residential provision.

49. It is clear from the feedback through the consultation process that further work is required prior to the formal consultation stage.
    
    

1. Residential Provision

There is a need for detailed work with colleagues in Social & Health Care to plan jointly the use of resources for residential provision, e.g. exploring the potential for more flexible use of residential places to support a greater number of children, exploring alternative ways of providing family support for children with SEN.

2. Admissions Criteria and Admissions Arrangements

A number of respondents highlighted the need for further work to review the admissions criteria and admissions arrangements for special schools. Work is already underway to review the admissions criteria for special schools and a working group, with an independent chair, has been established to review the SEN assessment and resources panels. There is a need to await the outcome of this work.

3. Need for Places at Woodeaton and Iffley Mead Schools

There are reports that some pupils who require places at Woodeaton and Iffley Mead are not able to access them. It is proposed to do further work on this through a survey of headteachers of mainstream schools and further informal consultation with parents.

Financial Implications

50. There are no financial implications resulting from this particular report. However, there would be both capital and revenue implications for any proposals to close or amalgamate the schools. There would also be transport and building implications which would be determined by the nature, location and number of pupils provided for in the future. The Executive would be recommended to ensure that if proposals to close or amalgamate the schools went ahead reduction in the special schools revenue budget would be made available to further enhance provision for children with SEN.

Implications for People Living in Poverty

51. There are no implications arising directly from this report but any subsequent decision to change provision may have implications which would be considered as part of the result of a consultation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

1. note that the response to consultation on the options previously identified for Woodeaton Manor and Iffley Mead has highlighted three clear alternatives favoured by different respondents and confirm that further work should concentrate on those alternatives;
2. ask the Director for Learning & Culture to carry out the further work described in the report in respect of those alternatives and to report back in December on the outcome of this work, with detailed options for formal consultation.

October 2003

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