Return to Agenda

Division(s): Blackbird Leys, Iffley, Wheatley, Wolvercote

ITEM EX6

EXECUTIVE – 6 JULY 2004

DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTYWIDE SPECIAL SCHOOL PROVISION INCLUDING WOODEATON MANOR AND IFFLEY MEAD SCHOOLS

Report by the Director for Learning & Culture and Head of Property

Introduction

  1. At its meeting on 7 April 2004 the Executive approved statutory consultation in relation to proposals to:

    1. re-designate Woodeaton Manor school as a school for 40 pupils with emotional and social difficulties including up to 17 residential places;

    2. reduce the number of pupils at Northfield school from 80 to 60 places.

  2. The Executive also commissioned a Conservation Plan in relation to Woodeaton Manor School.

  3. The Executive is asked to consider the feedback from the statutory consultation process and a progress report in relation to the Conservation Plan.

    4. Background

  4. In line with the national position, the number of children in the County’s two special schools for children with moderate learning difficulties/complex needs has fallen over recent years. It would now be possible to meet the needs of children with MLD/complex needs in one rather than two schools.

  5. There is a need to increase the number of special school places for pupils with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties and to develop a more flexible range of provision. Northfield School currently caters for a wide range of children’s needs. Vulnerable pupils with emotional and social difficulties are educated alongside pupils with challenging behaviour. There is a need to develop provision which is more closely tailored to the particular needs of different groups of children.

  6. There is a need to refocus the County’s residential provision to meet the needs of pupils who have the greatest needs and are therefore at most risk of requiring out-county placement ie those with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

  7. In the light of the feedback through the consultation process and an examination of planning and conservation issues in relation to the Woodeaton Manor building, it is proposed to:

    1. maintain Iffley Mead as a countywide school for up to 119 pupils with moderate learning difficulties;

    2. increase the number of secondary special school places for pupils with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties from 80 (April 2004) to 100 by maintaining Northfield as a separate school for 60 pupils with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties and re-designating Woodeaton Manor as a school for 40 vulnerable pupils with emotional/social difficulties requiring a therapeutic approach;

    3. increase the number of residential places for pupils with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties by maintaining Northfield Hostel for 12 pupils and refocusing residential provision at Woodeaton for up to 17 vulnerable pupils with emotional/social difficulties requiring a therapeutic approach.

  8. There are currently pupils at Northern House and Northfield Special Schools, in mainstream schools and out of school, who have social and emotional difficulties requiring a therapeutic approach, whose needs could be met at Woodeaton Manor School in September 2004 if it were re-designated.

    9. Consultation Process

  9. There has been extensive formal and informal consultation in relation to the proposals for Woodeaton, Iffley Mead and Northfield. There was significant support for the proposals under consideration from teachers, governors, and teacher associations. There was opposition from the residents of Woodeaton. (See the report to the Executive on 7 April 2004).

  10. Statutory notices have been published in relation to Woodeaton and Northfield schools (see Annex 1 and Annex 2). The final date for objections is 28 June 2004 for Northfield School and 5 July 2004 for Woodeaton Manor School.

  11. No objections have been received at the time of writing this report. Any received will be circulated or reported at the meeting.

    12. Conservation Plan

  12. The Council takes very seriously its obligations towards Woodeaton Manor School as a Grade 2* listed building. English Heritage has commended the Council and the school for the care they have bestowed on this important building over the years. There has been extensive consultation, including with English Heritage, District and County Planning Officers and Oxford Preservation Trust to consider the suitability of Woodeaton Manor for any proposed new use. The original proposals for Woodeaton have changed significantly in the light of feedback about the impact on the building.

  13. A Conservation Plan for Woodeaton Manor has been commissioned from Oxford Archaeology.

  14. To date, Oxford Archaeology has been working on assessments of the site’s significance and the relevant issues affecting it. In developing policy advice on the acceptability of future uses, they have, in particular, been considering whether the revised proposals under consideration may be considered appropriate in terms of risk to the historic building.

  15. A report from Oxford Archaeology, advising whether the revised proposals under consideration may be considered appropriate in terms of risk to the building, will be available for the Executive on 6 July and the School Organisation Committee on 15 July 2004. This report will reflect the views of English Heritage. A full Conservation Plan will be available by 31 August 2004.

  16. It is likely that the Conservation Plan will advise that whatever types of educational use are adopted as appropriate for the historic building, they would need to be accompanied by a range of policies and procedures, designed to protect its significance. These would be likely to include:

    • a formal acknowledgement of the dual role of the Council in relation to meeting the needs of children and in relation to conservation of Woodeaton Manor as an important historic building;

    • acknowledgement about the important role which Woodeaton governors have in the maintenance of the building and a proposal that someone with appropriate expertise in historic buildings is invited to join the governing body;

    • explicit reference in the job description for the new headteacher about their responsibility for maintenance of the building;

    • commitment of the Council to retain the services of a conservation consultant to provide advice in general in relation to the conservation of Woodeaton Manor, and in particular in relation to repairs and maintenance;

    • the production of admission policies and procedures to ensure that pupils admitted to the school do not present a risk to the building;

    • upgrading of budgets for repairs and maintenance to ensure that repairs are carried out to conservation standards;

    • commitment from the Council to undertake impact assessments where further changes are proposed which may have an impact on the fabric of the school.

  1. The LEA, as the responsible authority, already undertakes repairs to "conservation standards", i.e. repair techniques and materials are used that are sympathetic to the building’s character and status.

    2. Financial Implications

  2. These proposals maintain the overall level of special school places at the current levels. There is a reduction in places for children with moderate learning difficulties and an increase in places for children with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

  3. The proposed improvements in day and residential in-county provision for pupils with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties are necessary to reduce the upward pressure on the out-county budgets, both within Learning & Culture and Social & Health Care.

  4. The financial implications of the detailed Conservation Plan will need to be fully evaluated.

    5. RECOMMENDATIONS

  5. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. note the outcome of the statutory consultation process and the Conservation Plan report and acknowledge that it may be necessary to increase the repair and maintenance budget with effect from 2005/06 in order to fund repair works recommended in the Conservation Plan;

          2. determine whether to implement the proposals for Woodeaton Manor and Northfield Schools subject, in the event of any objection being received, to approval by the School Organisation Committee.

KEITH BARTLEY
Director for Learning & Culture

NEIL MONAGHAN
Head of Property

Background papers:

Contact officers: Gillian Tee, Head of Children’s Services, Tel. 01865 815125

Greg Lowe, Buildings Officer, Tel. 01865 815532

June 2004

Return to TOP