PROPOSAL TO EXPAND GOLDWYN SCHOOL,
GODINTON LANE, ASHFORD, KENT, TN23 3BT
Introduction
Kent County Council is proposing to expand Goldwyn School by 55 places from September 2014, increasing the designated number from 60 to 115. The expansion will be achieved by providing 10 places at the main school site in Ashford and by creating a satellite of the school in Folkestone for 45 students.
Contact Details
The proposal to expand Goldwyn School is being published by Kent County Council, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ. Contact Name and Address: David Adams, Area Education Officer (South Kent), Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford, Kent TN24 8XU. Tel: 01233 898559
School details
Goldwyn School is a special school for children with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Needs (BESN) in Ashford. The school currently caters for 60 pupils aged 11 to 16.
Description of alteration and evidence of demand
In accordance with section 19(1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 Kent County Council intends to make the following prescribed alteration to Goldwyn School:
· To expand the School by 55 places, taking the number of places from 60 to 115. 45 of these additional places will be provided in a satellite of the School based in premises currently occupied by The Brook PRU in Parkfield Road, Folkestone and 10 places will be provided at the main school site in Ashford.
Kent’s Strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) aims to address, amongst other things, gaps in provision. Therefore, the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent (2013-18) sets out the intention to commission 121 additional places for pupils with BESN. The Commissioning Plan is available at this link:
http://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/6212/Kent-education-commissioning-plan-2013-2018.pdf
Objectives
As the strategic commission of school provision, the Local Authority has a duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places for the residents of Kent, including sufficient special educational needs places. The Commissioning Plan outlines the requirement for additional places for pupils with BESN.
KCC is proposing to expand Goldwyn School in order to provide 55 places with effect from 1 September 2014. The bulk of the proposed additional places (45) will be created in satellite provision in premises currently occupied by the Brook PRU in Parkfield Road, Folkestone, which will close in August 2014. The satellite provision will be known as Goldwyn Brook for easy identification and will provide local provision for students living in the Shepway area.
The remaining 10 places will be at the school site in Ashford. No additional buildings will be required at Ashford.
Goldwyn School also educates some of its young people off-site via its curriculum offer known as “Goldwyn Plus”, which provides flexibility to meet the needs of its students.
This proposal is linked to the proposal to redesignate Furness School, Swanley from a 60 place provision for pupils with BESN to a 60 place provision for high functioning children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Currently, Furness School has 35 pupils on roll, 28 of whom have a primary need of ASD and seven have a primary need of BESN. It is therefore evident that Furness School would be more appropriately designated as a school for ASD pupils. The 60 ASD places at Furness School would help meet the requirement set out in the Commissioning Plan for 96 ASD places in Sevenoaks. The proposed expansion of Goldwyn School will effectively replace the unfilled BESN places lost at Furness, but located in an area of pressure.
The proposal will help to secure our ambition “to ensure every child will go to a good school where they make good progress and can have fair access to school places” as set out in ‘Bold Steps for Kent’.
The effect on other schools, academies and educational institutions within the area
The Goldwyn School site in Ashford can accommodate 70 pupils, but not the further 45 pupils. No adverse impact is anticipated on the other two BESN schools in Kent (Furness and Portal House Schools). Furness School is, as mentioned previously, redesignating to become a school for ASD pupils. Portal House School is situated in the Dover district. There are plans to increase the capacity at Portal House School by 20 places for 2015.
It is envisaged that this proposal will have a positive impact in South Kent as Goldwyn School will be able to increase its outreach offer to local schools.
The number of students proposed at Goldwyn Brook equates with the current number on roll at the Brook PRU and therefore no impact is envisaged on the local community in Folkestone.
Project costs and indication of how these will be met, including how long term value for money will be achieved:
Capital Programme – There are no capital costs associated with this proposal, beyond some basic refurbishment of the Brook premises.
Revenue – The school will receive increased funding through the Delegated Budget. Special schools are funded using the DfE Place Plus funding methodology for High Needs Pupils. For September 2014 the Local Authority has agreed to purchase a total of 120 places at Goldwyn School; 75 of these will be at the Ashford site (including five places for “Goldwyn Plus”) and 45 will be at Goldwyn Brook.
Human – Staff currently employed at the Brook PRU will transfer to Goldwyn School and there will therefore be no redundancies.
The proposal will ensure school places for children with BESN are available more local to children’s homes thereby reducing transport costs and journey times.
Implementation and any proposed stages for implementation
Should the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform agree that the proposal can go ahead the expansion will take effect from 1 September 2014.
Expanding onto an additional site
What is the rationale for this approach and this particular site?
As stated above, Goldwyn School is currently full. It is unable to expand to accommodate 55 additional students. There is demand in Shepway for more places; the Brook PRU is closing in August thereby freeing up available accommodation which means that the additional places provided will be available in the Shepway district.
Admission and curriculum arrangements
· The satellite provision will cater for students aged 11-16 years.
· Students will be on the roll of Goldwyn School.
· Students, although based in either provision, will move between the two sites at times. This will ensure that staff and students at both sites get to know each other and flexibility in the use of both premises will be maintained.
Governance and administration
· Governance and leadership of Goldwyn Brook will be provided by the Governing Body and Senior Leadership Team of Goldwyn School. Day to day administration of the satellite provision will be provided by Goldwyn Brook.
· Staff for the satellite provision will be employed by Goldwyn School and there will be movement between the two sites in order that all staff gain experience and share expertise.
Physical characteristics of the satellite provision:
Students and staff will move between the two provisions so will share facilities and resources available at both sites.
Goldwyn School and Goldwyn Brook are approximately 18 miles apart. Students currently attending Goldwyn School come from a wide geographic area. The new satellite provision will be nearer to some of the students and parents and therefore easily accessible to those families.
Special educational needs (SEN) provision
It is proposed that 45 additional places be created within a satellite of Goldwyn School from September 2014 and reserved for students with a statement of SEN for BESN. Students attending Goldwyn Brook will be on the roll of Goldwyn School and it will be named on their statements of SEN. The remaining ten places will be provided at the school’s Ashford site.
The overarching aim of Kent’s SEND strategy is to improve the health, well-being, attainment and progress, and the quality of provision, for children and young people with special education needs and/or disabilities. The SEND Strategy can be obtained from the following link:
http://www.kelsi.org.uk/pupil_support_and_wellbeing/targeted_support/sen_and_disabilities/send_strategy.aspx
This proposal will lead to improvements in the standard, quality, and range of the educational provision for SEN children and young people and will enhance the quality of education provided through the sharing of skills and expertise.
Travel
It is anticipated that there will be a positive impact on travel as students attending Goldwyn Brook will, in the main, live closer to Shepway than Ashford. This will, in turn, free up capacity at the school’s Ashford site in order to accommodate students from Ashford and some areas of West Kent.
Consultation
All applicable statutory requirements to consult in relation to these proposals have been complied with. A public consultation was carried out by the Local Authority between 23 April and 20 May 2014 including a public meeting. A consultation document was produced. A copy of this document together with a copy of the Equality Impact Assessment can be obtained from KCC’s website:
https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-consultations
The consultation document was distributed to statutory stakeholders, including but not limited to the following groups:
· The staff, governors and parents/carers of students attending Goldwyn School.
· The Department for Education
· The Dioceses of Canterbury and Southwark
· Chief Executives and Leaders of Ashford Borough Council and Shepway District Council
· Elected Members (Kent County Council, Ashford Borough Council, Shepway District Council)
· Great Chart with Singleton Parish Council and Folkestone Town Council
· Local MP
· Schools in Ashford and Shepway
· Special schools in Kent
· Local Libraries in the Ashford and Shepway areas
· All stakeholders were able to access copies of these documents on the KCC website.
The outcome of the consultation was reported to the Cabinet Member for Education, Health and Reform.
The procedure for responses: support; objections and comments
A public notice was published in a local newspaper on 25 June 2014. Each parent/carer of a child at Goldwyn School has been provided with a copy. The notice is displayed at all main entrances to both Goldwyn School and the Brook PRU; in local libraries and in the reception areas of Ashford Borough Council and Shepway District Council. It is also available on KCC’s website:
https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-consultations
Within four weeks from the date of publication, any person may send in a response supporting, objecting or commenting on the proposal to David Adams, Area Education Officer (South Kent), Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford, Kent TN24 8XU. Tel: 01233 898559; or email . The final date for sending in written representations is 22 July 2014.
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