SAHSP Meeting Notes
Meeting held on 1 December 2011 at Long Sutton Golf Club
Present: Karen Milton KM - Chair
Melanie Marshall MM
Mark Collis MC
Mark Armstrong MA
Alison Murkin AM
Diana Denman DD (from 11.15)
Bob Cochrane BC (from 9.30)
Liz Hayward LH
Harry Dicks HD
Jill Ewen JE
Caroline Fuller CF
Helen Perris HP
Sally Hebler SH
Apologies for absence: Jaqui Tobin, Claire Axten, Judith Walker and Jacky Mackenzie. Mike Turner unable to attend.
Notes from the meeting held on 13 October 2011:
· Schools to check if they pay for SASH membership.
· There is enough money for the Aspiring Leaders programme so it can run again for a further year.
· Budget, CF has started to monitor the budget for SAHSP but does not yet have full details for likely expenses and travel. Taking a broad stroke for a full year’s expenditure she estimates this to be £46,000. MC asked if the £50,000 will rise each year but KM expected that this is unlikely and that in years to come schools might have to support this.
· AM has written to M Turner re risk assessments on students with challenging behaviour.
· HD will circulate papers to everyone including Access Managers – Helen Perris, Sally Hebler, Judith Walker and Jacky Mackenzie.
· HD has had meeting with Nick Harwood, SCIL/Outreach but this area is still developing. Action: All to send outreach for each school to MC who will lead on this and bring to the next meeting.
· David Hayward said that many Academies had attended the Compact Launch.
· Secondary Framework Planning Tool – HD brought CDs they need to be passed to Deputy Headteachers.
· SEN Review is now complete.
· AM will raise her P level attainment to 80% so she is in line with other schools. Mark A still uses 70%.
· HD handed out Allegation Management paperwork.
· MC – SEN SCITT being piloted with students spending up to six months in a special school. Two in Fiveways and four in Brookside. MC is finding it to be really useful. Next academic year chance for other schools to join the scheme. MC recommends no more than two students in each school. SCITT trainees are looking for short placements in Spring 2012 as has happened in the past. SH would be pleased to offer a day in PRUs across the County, including the medical centres.
· Learning Walks – thanks to JT for organising. MA sent three TAs on an Inset Day and this had been useful for them. Action: MA will write up their experiences.
· Action: MC will circulate old Terms of Reference to help get the ball rolling for forming new version for SAHSP.
Aspiring Leaders Update – KM. Money is in place, J King and A New are running the programme. KM suggested that HD might like to take over A New’s role. Some coaching is bring provided by Vince. HB invited them to visit PRUs, especially the medical units.
Bob Cochrane, Headteacher of Sky College, Taunton, joined the meeting at this point. KM welcomed him to the group.
Children Who Need More (CWNM) – thoughts on a way forward – MC Do we need a strategic plan? Individual bits are happening in the County, 16+ at Fairmead, Federation consultation in Bridgwater but the sector still lacks direction. KM – should be included in Terms of Reference. HB – there is no strategy for BESD and who will lead this with the narrowing of roles in the LA. HP – Compact discussions have picked up on this, so there may be more information coming. HD feels that there are some good ideas from Sky College. BC – just had a mock inspection to try and focus on the learning rather than the behaviour. LH – feeling disillusioned that yet again the document is not being used by others. MA – it lacks having a driver or cohesiveness. What changes are there going to be made in schools? MC – the last section of the paper with the Actions detailed have never been done. MC feels the Compact Executive need to take this on. LH – feels every school is moving forward but she doesn’t know what is happening in other schools. MA concerned that the SEN Review doesn’t even look at the CWNM. Action: HD to raise this at Compact Executive on 7 December 2011. MC will provide a short paper. Action on the CWNM paper will follow.
BMIS update – HD KM, MC, and LH want it to continue, MM will only need to cover building from April-October 2012 so will come out of the scheme. AM is concerned that South West One do not give value for money. Action: HD will keep the group updated.
Student Transport – HD: Concerns over how children are cared for on their journey to and from school. Should schools take over the budget and run their own service? KM will represent SAHSP at a meeting on Thursday 8 December 2011. Action: Heads to email KM with specific concerns.
16-19 Provision – HD: Fairmead are developing provision and HD passed the consultation flier around. Google Maria Williams at Columbus School and College for 3-19 year olds, a special school in Chelmsford, Essex. Parents of Maria felt that her age did not reflect her needs so she is still at school at the age of 22. This school has a unit for 19+ which is being very successful but is not being funded correctly. Where should Somerset schools be going? AM wants to extend the age range as high as possible as the colleges do not have the ability to provide good placements. She would not be keeping the students in school but working up a programme of activity in the community. KM feels that because many of her youngsters move placements at 18 that this might be the best time for them to leave school too. LH felt that she provided stability for her students during this period of change. Colleges do not cope with students displaying challenging behaviours and some PMLD students. All agreed it is better to move students out of the school environment and put them into satellite hubs. JE has contacts with The Bridge School. MA some students need to move on to college but others need the option of staying on in school. LH – reminded the group that the Somerset special schools have children who are older than the children who figure in CWNM. MM and MA would both like the option to keep some students and BC would also like to offer a personalised provision. Heads were unhappy that funding strands prevent colleges from supporting SEN youngsters. JE reminded Heads that Blackburn College are achieving this. Yeovil College have been to visit and Bridgwater College have said they will too. Action: MC to include 16-19 arguments in his paper.
School Performance:
The new Ofsted framework – HD: Notes have been circulated on the new framework that will start in 2012. JE – directed colleagues to the Ofsted You tube site that have several videos which will help. HD/JE feels that if Outstanding and no change in Head then you will not be inspected, otherwise every three years. HD encouraged the Heads to work together as an association. Heads discussed how they would like support and that it needs to be robust but sensitive. KM cited an instance of three Taunton primaries who went into special measures to the shock to their local colleagues. Action: HD will take this on and provide a mechanism to get peer support.
Update on tracking of student progress – KM: Each school is looking at this in a different way. Deputies are discussing how data is held. LH is interested in knowing what everyone is doing. Action: JE will work with Di Farnham and see if she can describe what schools are doing.
Self evaluation – HD: ACSL paper had been circulated. He feels it is still valuable for Heads to maintain a model of self evaluation. HD to send to SH. He will also try and upload documents to the SAHSP SLP page. Action: KM to connect Sky and Penrose so they can access SLP.
Executive Officer Report: HD circulated several papers, some of which had been emailed. The Education Funding Agency is proposed but not yet in force. They will fund the first £10,000 of a placement. There will be a policy paper follow up to the Green Paper, expected 2012.
Compact Update: One Executive meeting with the next meeting due next week. HD attended meeting and met Steve Mumby from the NSCL along with Paul Nugent and Louse Goll. MC had contributed to the presentation. HD spoke of how Teaching Schools can help their colleagues to improve. NCSL will be running courses for Middle Leaders and MPQH. Aiden Nelling at NCSL is a contact that Heads can use if interested.
DD – fed back on a Universal Provision meeting she attended. It looked at Transport and mainstream schools do not want to take this on. LH – Complex Cases panel is a difficult task as the children need to be placed somewhere but schools are above their capacity – specialist equipment like standing frames, wheelchairs etc take up room that Penrose just doesn’t have. MC feels that youngsters with SEN who would not normally have survived at birth will plateau out. LH said her evidence is that it is still rising. HP added that some young mothers are drug addicts which is adding to the complexities. HD commented on how children now grow up in chaotic households, with social and organic difficulties. DD at Fairmead she is getting far more EBD youngsters and these do not work alongside ASD youngsters. MA – Strategic lead needed from LA.
Action: all Heads to email the Compact Groups they are sitting on, to KM. Reports to be brought to each SAHSP meeting.
Update from each Headteacher, to include current student numbers and capacity, current developments and sticky situations.
MM: 71 students, new build on course, consulting on federating with Penrose, JT resignation 31.8.12.
DD – 67 students. Newest students at KS2 more suited to BESD provision but her numbers falling in KS1/2 down to 11. Transition giving a squeeze, is this from Academies? Post 16 at formal consultation stage. Had young person with challenging behaviour, was not permanently excluded at LA’s request and he has now been out of school for a year. He remained on Fairmead’s role and she was upset that the LA asked her to do this and she feels she has failed the child. KM suggests that this be added to HD’s watching brief when Head’s are asked to keep students rather than permanently exclude. SH there is no strategy in place. HD asked if Mike Turner and Paul Nugent realise this problem and the group felt that M Turner was aware.
AM 32 on role but can go to 45. Conservation projects, working on the farm, complex youngsters work on site creating wild life farm, painting, collecting scrap metal, catering, being very successful. £1.2m building project for a distinct 6th form centre and rest of building being refurbished afterwards.
LH new deputy head, her 3rd. She is leading on Teach classes in primary and secondary phases. She is talking to Sedgemoor business men who have come up with apprentice schemes at Morrisons and Robert Wisemans. Still pursuing funding for a new build. She has written to
Mr Gove and had no response. Building might happen but in hubs.
SH – 86 on role all centres had Ofsteds this year. Always overflowing with students, particularly with ASD students.
HP – 95 for south Somerset with varying needs.
MA – 43 with 3 new children and another 2 due. Wants to extend to post 16, working with JE on data tracking system. Will be losing 9 children in 2012 and a further 7 in 2013. MM Elmwood also losing 20 in 2012 and none in line for Sept 2012.
MC 68 on role involved in a Tribunal. Building relationships on the Teaching School front. Building a Training Centre on site. He circulated a paper giving the main functions of the Teaching School. He is finding his role to be huge with not enough time to focus on school. Working with Brookside School. SLEs is there any funding? MC – the two schools have to provide this there is no external funding.
BC – 43 and 3 due to arrive soon. No trees on site to allow for a building programme. Internal inspection over 2 days, with 11 judgements moving up a grade which encouraged him. 4 students have been reintegrated back on site which is positive.
KM – gone from 72 to 86. Not enough room at Selworthy School so one group at Hestercombe gardens, another at Somerset College and looking to put another group off site. Gone from one primary class to five next Sep. Have requested extra resources as her children are not fitting easily together. Resource Centre providing a good resource for parents and local schools.
KM welcomed Lucy Watson, Ethne Bashford and Fanny Rowe to the meeting.
Lucy Watson (LW), Acting Director of Nursing and Patient Safety. Had been invited to talk about school nurses. We are provided with support for complex difficulties but still feel a nurse on site would stop the frequent calling of ambulances. MC has employed a school nurse for the last five years from its own budget. It came about as the complex difficulties of some youngsters had grown and not fair to expect lay staff to cope. KM recounted scary medical occurrences.
LW explained that schools view nurses as a “school nurse”. To LW this means they are public health nurses, because of their training. These people could not fulfil the nursing needs outlined. These children should have a community nurse who should communicate care plans for children placed in special schools. A registered nurse should not be necessary onsite but that appropriate training should have been delivered to school staff. LW thinks this is not happening well in schools. In emergencies schools are usually happy to cope with epilepsy, diabetes and if necessary to call an ambulance. If a child needs a ventilator then LW feels a skilled medical professional should be in attendance.