Agenda item - Children, Young People & Skills Urgency Sub-Committee

To note the outcome of the decision taken by the Urgency Sub-Committee held on 13 June 2017 (copy attached).

4.1         The Chair provided the following statement:

“Last week on 13 June a specially convened Urgency Sub- Committee made a final decision to close Patcham House Community Special School as from the 31 August 2018.  The Urgency Sub-Committee had to be convened for a decision to be made by that date in order comply with the statutory requirements. The recommendation for closure followed a formal consultation process and then a period in which statutory notice of closure was published for comment. No comment or responses were received in the statutory notice period.

The Urgency Sub- Committee made the decision with regret, acknowledging the very good and highly valued work undertaken by the leadership and staff team at the school over many years in support of young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities and their families. However a mixture of  a low and decreasing pupil numbers and significant consequent financial difficulties over a number of years have rendered the school unviable in the longer term. Currently Patcham House has 21 pupils, half of whom will leave at the end of this term. At the point of closure in July 2018, it is anticipated that Patcham House will have no pupils remaining on roll.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the valued skills and experience of the specialist staff at the school are not lost to the City via appropriate redeployment where possible. There will be no reduction in numbers of special school places available as a result of this closure as more places are being created elsewhere through the wider planned reorganisation of special provision in the City, including in a new Special Facility planned to open in a mainstream school for September 2018.

The outcome of the Urgency Sub-Committee is included in the second addendum as an information item for the Committee and do not need to be agreed”.

4.2         RESOLVED- That the decision be noted.