Schools - public notices - Sandy Secondary School ARP statutory notice consultation

Proposal to Create a New Additional Resource Provision (ARP) for Students with recognised Cognitive and Learning difficulties at Sandy Secondary Foundation School.

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, March 2025’ that Central Bedfordshire Council, Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, Bedfordshire SG17 5TQ intends to make a prescribed alteration to Sandy Secondary School, Engayne Avenue, Sandy, Bedfordshire,SG19 1BL from October 2025.

This Statutory Consultation invites interested parties to respond to the (outlined in section 6) making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations to maintained schools’) to the proposed establishment of a new additional resource Provision creating 24 places for students with recognised cognitive and learning difficulties at Sandy Secondary School. These changes are due to be implemented from the October 2025.

Notice date: Tuesday 26 August 2025

School: Sandy Secondary School, Engayne Avenue, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1BL

Proposer: School Organisation, Admissions and Capital Planning, Central Bedfordshire Council, Priory House, Chicksands, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5TQ

Description of proposed alteration

In January 2024, the 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 needs.

We propose to create a new Additional Resource Provision (ARP) for 24 places at Sandy Secondary School. The provision will support pupils with recognised cognitive learning difficulties.

The decision to establish this provision is to enable us to meet the increasing demand for SEN places within the area.

In order to establish an additional resource provision at Sandy Secondary, the Department for Education requires us to publish a proposal to make a prescribed alterations as set out in the guidance (Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools (PDF)).

Additional Resource Provisions (ARP) for Students with recognised Cognitive and Learning difficulties Proposal at Sandy Secondary School

Sandy Secondary School is an 8-form entry foundation secondary school that has several new builds and purpose-built units to enable the school to expand and deliver a bespoke new ARP provision for students with cognitive and learning difficulties.

The school have three fully trained SENCO’s, one of which will manage the Cognitive and Learning Provision and design the curriculum, with the support of their remaining SENCO team. They have a large team of highly qualified and experienced Learning Support Assistants that work across the school and have had regular training on specific learning difficulties, as well as bespoke training for individual children, where needed.

ARPs are provisions attached to mainstream schools across Central Bedfordshire. Pupils attending the ARPs have access to a mainstream curriculum and a safe space to be in where their needs are met. This school is a mainstream school that will have an additional resource provision offering up to 24 pupil places.

The school receives place funding for each funded place within the ARP as well as ‘top up’ funding from the local authority who maintains the EHCP of each child within the ARP.

This is a new provision in partnership with the school and is part of the Specialist School Place Plan 2022 – 2030.

SEND policy

The proposal set out in this report align to our commitment to the principles approved by Executive on the 9 January 2024.

Principles

1. promote inclusion in mainstream settings to support pupils identified with SEND Support and those with EHCPs where those pupils can access the curriculum and their other needs can be met through reasonable adjustments
2. agree a strategic approach to ARPs and their number/designation/location/size/entry and exit strategies
3. develop robust collaborative working with ARPs to ensure that there are clear accountability processes linked to appropriate revenue funding
4. increase places available in special schools and address accommodation shortfall/suitability so that they can meet the needs of our children and young people with the most complex needs
5. embed culture/processes that share and develop expertise, capacity and resilience across our schools, including strong leadership, secure safeguarding, quality assurance, and appropriate levels of staffing with identified development

On 21 April 2025, Sandy Secondary School launched a preliminary consultation, on the establishment of a new ARP for students with cognitive and learning difficulties.

The proposals set out to meet a key priority of our SEND Strategy 2022-25.

SEND Strategy Plan

Ensuring suitable educational provision

We want children, where possible to attend school as close to where they live as possible. 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 provision.

• increased specialist educational places in the local area so that children can stay in their local community when appropriate
• inclusive mainstream education with the right resources and training to support children at the point at which needs are identified
• regular and high-quality reviews of plans for children and young people to ensure educational provision is based on their needs and aspirations as they change over time

We have 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.

We are committed to ensuring that all children can access high-quality education, as near to their family and local community as possible. 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.

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

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

Central Bedfordshire Council and the Governing Body of Sandy Secondary School have carefully considered the expansion of the school’s capacity to establish the cognitive and learning provision, which will provide the additional 24 places 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, and parents express a preference for their child with an EHC Plan, to be considered for a space at the school via our SEND Team. 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

The establishment of a new additional resource provision for students with cognitive and learning difficulties at Sandy Secondary School to create a 24 place ARP, Will not require a feasibility study to understand the accommodation and infrastructure required due to the space being already available within the site.

Capital for the ARP is set within the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and approved in February 2025. Therefore, CBC have agreed to fund the additional places from September 2025.

Education standards and diversity of provision

Sandy Secondary School is an Ofsted ‘good’ school. We support school expansions where schools are rated Good and above.

The development of the ARP at Sandy Secondary school would enhance the offer of special educational provision within the local area for children for which the ARP is intended to cater (students with cognitive and learning difficulties). This will not affect the education for other children as these spaces are additional to the mainstream spaces the school already offers to local children.

School size

The school is an 8-form entry foundation secondary school situated on Engayne Avenue, admitting pupils aged between 11-19 with a PAN of 240. As of autumn 2024, there are 1210 on roll.

Proposed admission arrangements

The admission arrangements for the school will not change. Our special educational needs and disabilities team will continue to be the admitting authority for the ARP provision for the school.

National curriculum

Sandy Secondary School will continue to provide the age-appropriate National Curriculum for all children attending this school, including the children who attend the ARP. However, these children may require reasonable adjustments to be made, to enable them to access the curriculum offer.

Equal opportunity issues

We have 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.

We have 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 are no planned changes - 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

The establishment of the cognitive and learning provision at Sandy secondary school will enable more children with cognitive and learning difficulties to receive their education locally and not have to travel further in Central Bedfordshire or outside the local authority to access educational provision.

Travel and accessibility

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

School premises and playing fields

The additional numbers have no adverse effects on the school premises or playing fields.

Proposed stages for implementation

Timeline for decision making

As the school is a maintained school, we are 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’ outlines the process.

The statutory process for making prescribed alterations to schools is set out below:

• 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.

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

Committee / action

July 2025: delegated authority

August to September 2025: statutory consultation

October 2025: Executive

If the change is approved by us, it is anticipated that it would be implemented for the new term for the start of the new academic year 2025/26.

How to respond to this formal consultation

This formal consultation commences on 26 August 2025 and will run for 4 full weeks.

Or you can complete the response form on page 8 and return it to the FREEPOST address provided at the end of the form.

Both online responses and completed forms to confirm your support, raise any objections and submit any comments should be returned by the 23 September 2025.

Following the close of the consultation, the Council’s Executive will be asked to consider the responses received and determine the proposal at the meeting to be held on 7 October 2025.