Schools - public notices - Proposal to increase the capacity of Ivel Valley Community Special School, Biggleswade

Start date

Monday 26 February 2024

End date

Friday 5 April 2024

Information

Proposal to increase the capacity of Ivel Valley Community Special School, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire to a further 32 places.

Notice is hereby given for related proposals in accordance with Section 19 (1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the statutory guidance for proposers and decision makers ‘Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools, January 2023’ that Central Bedfordshire Council, Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, Beds SG17 5TQ intends to make a prescribed alteration to Ivel Valley Community Special School, Hitchmead Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire SG18 0NL from 1 September 2024.

This statutory consultation invites interested parties to respond to making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations to maintained schools’) for the proposed increase in capacity at Ivel valley community special school to a further 32 places, securing 348 places in total. The proposed changes will align with the relocation of pupils at the Biggleswade academy satellite site to the main Hitchmead Road site, resulting in the discontinuance of the SEN provision at the satellite site at Biggleswade academy. These changes are due to be implemented from the 1 September 2024.

Description of proposed alteration

In January 2023, Executive considered the future of specialist school place provision. Executive recognised the need for more places following feedback from parents and updated forecasts. It was agreed to continue work on the delivery of the short to medium-term need for additional places within Central Bedfordshire, whilst working on the strategic specialist place plan to meet longer term need.

Central Bedfordshire Council proposes to increase the capacity for Ivel Valley Community Special School to enable the school to meet the increasing demand for special school places within the area.

In order to increase the capacity at Ivel Valley Special school the Department for Education requires the Central Bedfordshire Council to publish a proposal to make a prescribed alterations as set out in the guidance (Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools).

The proposal is to discontinue the Biggleswade academy satellite provision and relocate the pupils to the main site on Hitchmead Road. This must follow the ‘prescribed alterations' statutory process.

Ivel Valley and College proposal

Ivel Valley Special school currently operates from three different sites: the main school is based at Hitchmead Road, key stage 2 and 3 are in satellite classes at Biggleswade Academy and the sixth form is based at The Baulk, Biggleswade.

The expansion at Ivel Valley Special School and College will create an additional 32 places, increasing the schools capacity, totalling 348 places. The proposal is over 3 phases and takes us up to August 2030. In phase 1, an additional 22 places were created at the sixth form block at the Baulk, providing a refurbishment of the post-16 provision for a new purpose built classroom and additional dining space.

From September 2023, an additional 10 places were created for Key stage 1 at the Hitchmead Road site as part of phase 2. The refurbishment of teaching space at the Hitchmead site will accommodate the 10 places, supporting the relocation from the Biggleswade Academy Satellite site.

By relocating pupils from the Biggleswade satellite site through the refurbishment at the Hitchmead Roads site, it will allow for all pupils at the school to benefit from enhanced SEND provision and enable the school to provide additional support to students, currently not available or not accessed by all pupils due to the school being on a split site.

Additional places at the school are being phased in on the Hitchmead Road site, prior to the construction of a new school building, this is due to current site constraints as part of phase 3.

On the 9 January 2024, Executive approved the launch of a full statutory consultation on the expansion at Ivel Valley Community special school, Hitchmead Road to increase its capacity to an additional 32 places, this is to supports the relocation of the Biggleswade Academy Satellite site to the Hitchmead Road site.

The proposals set out to meets a key priority of the Central Bedfordshire Council’s SEND Strategy 2022-25.

SEND Strategy Plan

Ensuring suitable educational provision

Central Bedfordshire Council has a statutory duty to provide school places for all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or a disability. There is a duty to ensure that a school place is in place to meet this demand within the Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) sector.

Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to ensuring that all children can access high-quality education and, where possible to attend school as close to where they live. If a child or young person requires specialist provision, we want to be able to identify this quickly and secure places that allow for them to move quickly into this provision. We will work closely with our special schools to continue to provide high quality.

This is outlined in the co-produced (Council and NHS) Specialist Place Plan 2023.

The Specialist School Place Plan 2022 – 2030 was reviewed by Overview and Scrutiny in October 2023 and has been revised to take account of a growing need for specialist provision as well as the prevalence of different types of need. Autism continues to be the main area of special educational need of children and young people with SEND in Central Bedfordshire with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs coming second.

Ivel Valley and Chiltern are ‘area based special schools’ and meet a range of complex needs. Broadly, Chiltern takes most of its students from the west of Central Bedfordshire, while Ivel Valley takes nearly 90% of students from the east. Pupils from Ampthill and Flitwick and Cranfield attend both Chiltern and Ivel Valley.

Objectives – including how the proposal would increase educational standards and parental choice

The objective of the proposal is to ensure that Central Bedfordshire Council can continue to fulfil its statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with SEND in Central Bedfordshire.

Central Bedfordshire Council and the Governing Body of Ivel Valley Community Special School have carefully considered the increase of the school’s capacity and believe that it would bring potential benefits to the school and the local community including:

ensuring that local children with special educational needs can attend their local school
the expanded school would continue to have the same values, ethos and links with the town that currently exist
an increase would build upon an Ofsted ‘good’ school which is already very much part of the community providing the opportunity for the wider and expanding community to benefit
an opportunity to continue to raise standards of attainment, building on existing best practice and extending it to more children
facilitate more school-based SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) provision

The proposed change would not adversely affect parental choice within the town. This is due to parents being unable to express a choice for SEN provisions via school admissions. Placements are allocated by the local authority. Parents express a preference for their child with an EHC Plan, via the SEND Team at Central Bedfordshire Council. The offer of placement is determined based on if the school would be:

suitable for the age, ability, aptitude or SEN of the child or young person, or
the attendance of the child or young person there would be incompatible with the efficient education of others, or the efficient use of resources

The effect on other educational institutions within the area

There would be no adverse effect on other similar provisions within the area.

Project costs and indication of how these would be met

Central Bedfordshire Council have agreed to fund the additional places from September 2024.

Capital for the proposed expansion is set within the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and approved by Executive on the 11 October 2022.

Education standards and diversity of provision

Ivel Valley School and College School is an Ofsted ‘good’ school. Central Bedfordshire Council supports school expansions where schools are rated Good and above.

Ivel Valley community special school is already existing to provide a secure and sustainable high-quality education for children with special need in the area. Therefore, increasing spaces at the school would enable more children with the appropriate special educational needs to have access to this provision.

School size

The school operates over three sites. Pupils aged 3-16 are based at Hitchmead Road, pupils aged 16-19 are based at the post-16 provision at the Baulk, and the key stage 2 and 3 pupils at the satellite site, situated within the grounds of Biggleswade Academy. Ivel Valley community special school and college has 247 pupils on roll.

The pupils at the at Biggleswade Academy Satellite Site have been relocated to the main Ivel Valley, Hitchmead Road site ahead of the proposed change, this is due to the reactive and responsive requirement to place children with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) and to co-located growth to meet the need for additional places.

In order to admit more than 200 children, the Department for Education requires the school to increase its capacity . For an increase of 10% or 20 pupils (whichever is the smaller number) the school, governing bodies and local authorities may seek to increase the number of places by following the statutory consultation process. It is important to know that while the current increase to the schools capacity, will full in line with the 10% increase, if Ivel Valley community special school wish to increase their capacity further, they can admit up to 360 places before having to follow a full statutory consultation process.

Proposed admission arrangements

The admission arrangements for the school will not change. Central Bedfordshire Council’s special educational needs and disabilities team will continue to be the admitting authority for the school.

National curriculum

Ivel Valley community special School is a local area special school and as such is not required to follow the National Curriculum. This is due to the individual complex needs for pupils.

Equal opportunity issues

Central Bedfordshire Council has a statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and foster good relations in respect of nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. To consider local needs and implications, an Equality Impact Assessment will be carried out in respect of the proposal.

Central Bedfordshire Council has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient special school places for children that need them. Age and disability are key considerations in respect of this duty and for the Special School Places strategy.

There would be a continuation of the school’s current policies and procedures to ensure there is no discrimination and to promote equal opportunities and foster good relations.

Community cohesion

Ivel Valley community special school is a local area special school for children aged 2-16 and enables children with significant learning difficulties to remain living at home and attending school in their local community.

Ivel Valley also provides a Post 16 college offer to young people aged 16-19. Students accessing this offer have the opportunity to extend their skills accessing the local community to develop independent living skills. This would enhance and improve wider opportunities and experiences within the local community for all families.

Travel and accessibility

The proposed increase in pupil numbers would increase the number of staff employed by the school and is likely to increase the number of vehicles needing access to the school.

Due to specialist needs, the majority of pupils will travel in by school transport, therefore the school and Central Bedfordshire Council will continue to mitigate any highways issues.

School premises and playing fields

The additional numbers would be spread across the school’s main Hitchmead Road site and the Baulk site and would have no adverse effects on the school premises or playing fields.

Proposed stages for implementation

Timeline for decision making

As the schools are maintained schools, Central Bedfordshire Council is the responsible body in terms of leading on any statutory processes. The Department for Education’s (DfE) Statutory guidance for proposers and decision makers: Making significant changes (prescribed alterations) to maintained schools (PDF) outlines the process.

The statutory process for making prescribed alterations to schools

The process has 4 stages:

stage 1: publication (statutory proposal/notice
stage 2: representation (formal consultation)
stage 3: decision
stage 4: implementation

Although there is no longer a statutory ‘pre-publication’ consultation period for prescribed alteration changes, there is a strong expectation from the DfE that the local authority will consult interested parties in developing their proposal prior to publication.

The programme for the decision-making process if the proposal is supported to launch a statutory consultation

Executive Committee meeting: Seek approval to launch a statutory consultation for new special school places, and ARP provision at Shefford Lower School
statutory consultation (February/April)
overview and scrutiny committee meeting: Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee consulted (February)
overview and scrutiny committee meeting: Report to Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee for recommendation to Executive (April)
Executive Committee meeting: Determination – Report to Executive to consider all responses and determine proposal (June)

If the change is approved by Central Bedfordshire Council, it is anticipated that it would be implemented from 1 September 2024.