Warwickshire County Council Alternative Provision Free School Seeking proposals to establish a Alternative Provision Free School Warwickshire County Council Sept-Dec 2019 1 SECTION ONE: OVERVIEW 1. Summary The Department for Education (DfE) is working collaboratively with selected Local Authorities to establish new schools that fit within the local authorities’ strategies for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those requiring alternative provision. This opportunity is intended to identify and meet untapped demand for special and alternative provision free schools as a supplement to LAs’ existing resources. If a strong proposal is received by a trust that both the Local Authority and the Secretary of State wish to take forward, DfE will provide capital funding and start-up grants subject to value for money assessments. This document sets out the key information regarding the schools that Warwickshire County Council will be establishing alongside DfE. Trusts should use the information within this document, alongside the engagement events, to determine whether they would like to apply to open the school, and to base their application on. 2. Key dates 24 July 2018 Special and AP free schools wave is launched – the guidance and criteria for local authorities seeking to establish new special or alternative provision free schools is published. Announcement of successful LA bids. Competitions in successful areas subsequently open. Deadline for proposers to submit applications in successful areas. Warwickshire County Council and DfE to evaluate submitted applications and interview trusts Approved applications announced. 3. Contact details and further information 2 If you would like any further information or would like to discuss your application, please contact: Name: Marie Rooney Job title: AP Strategic Lead Email: [email protected] Tel: 07740083162 If you would like any further information or would like to discuss the site, please contact: Name: Marie Rooney Job title: AP Strategic Lead Email: [email protected] Tel: 07740083162 Please find below the contact details of the Regional Schools Commissioner: [Include RSC details for that region] RSC: Andrew Warren RSC’s office: West Midlands Email: [email protected] 3 4. Warwickshire County Council Context and Planning Transition Warwickshire County Council has no Pupil Referral Units (PRU) for either primary or secondary schoolWhen youngaged students. people are Currently permanently WCC excludedschools workfrom verysecondary positively schools, together WCC to ABPavoid co-ordinators permanent exclusionswork with theby schoolsfirstly engaging to access in 6the day managed provision move from process,the existing which AP isavailable. underpinned This provisionby an agreed is not managedalways available move protocol. when we However need it onwhen day the 6. managedWhere providers move process are full haswe havebeen toexhausted ask those and schools any studentwith learning requires support a more units bespoke to support provision day 6 either provision. as 6 Thisday provision,in turn places short the stay, schools part timeunder (PT) additional or full timepressure (FT), andthis iswhen commissioned it comes to from re-admitting private alternative students whoprovision. have been in AP back into schools there can be delays e.g. on average it takes 12 to 18 months to get permanently excluded students back Ininto 2017/18 schools across from the WCC AP (North,world. Central, East and South) there was a need of 227 FTE AP places. Out of these 227 FTE places 77 of these places were needed to support permanently excluded students.The profile The of theremaining students 150 who FTE will beplaces referred required will be were in-line to withsupport Warwickshire students referredlocal authority directly Fair from schoolsAccess whoProtocol remained i.e. on the schools rolls. The schools commission the FTE AP places by paying a • Students not on any school roll who fall into the category of “Hard to Place” as outlined in the Fair topAccess up from Protocol. their own school budgets, with the schools being supported with these AP costs from the WCC• Students ABP fundingon roll at pot a schooli.e. the whoAP is are jointly at risk commissioned. of immediate permanent exclusion. • Students on roll at a school where all other interventions including managed moves have failed and Commissioningit is now deemed Schoolsappropriate : The that following alternative schools provision will is beconsidered. the feeder schools and have committed• Some of these to commissioning students may be a totalstudents of 86 with FTE additional places from needs the but Free have school. not had a statement issued Ae.g.sh GreenASD, SEMH. School, Ash Lawns School, Aylesford School, Avon Valley School, Bilton School, CampionThe purpose School, of theEtone placement Academy, will George meet Elliotthe needs School, of Harris 11-16 School,year old Hartshill students School, that Higham Lane School, Henley in Arden, Kingsbury School, Kineton School, Kings Edwards VI Grammar School,a) Provide Nicholas short Chamberlaine stay programmes School, (6-12 North weeks) Leamington for students Academy, who Nuneaton may have Academy, been permanently Myton School,excluded Polesworth and are identified School, Queen a new Elizabeth school place School, and Rugby following Free some School, re-orientation Shipston School, programmes Southam are supported from the Free School to re-integrate back into mainstream schools. We would expect that Academy, Stratford Grammar School, Stratford Upon Avon School, The Coleshill School and Trinity the Free School provide outreach re-integration support for the students returning back into schools. School (See letters of support attached to this submission). b) We also recognise that there may be some students for whom the mainstream curriculum model is Innot 2018 engaging all the them funding and for a thepart ABP time partnerships programme wasof vocational recentralised options into (1 the or local 2 days authority a week, and this the is Localwhere Authority some other will APbe provisionreleasing can all thebe commissionedrequired funding to widento cover the thecurriculum place funding offer). Thisfrom will the enable ABP DSGstudents funding to remain (£600K) engaged and the in schools their mainstream will commission education the top and up prevent as per permanenttheir letters exclusions. of support (up to £890K).c) Likewise we also recognise that there may be other students who are able to access GCSE's however a smaller setting is required to engage them. These students would access full time Gapprovision in AP at provision the Free School.in Warwickshire. There are two registered providers who have combined PANs of 38 FTE placements. The remaining provisionBased on available IDACI, 28% is from of childrenunregistered attending providers schools who in can Nuneaton only provide and Bedworth part time provisiondistrict live that in thewhen top 30% most deprived areas nationally. This is closely followed by those attending schools in North combined only offers 60 FTE placements (total FTE available 98 FTE). However these providers also Warwickshire where 21% live in the top 30% most deprived areas. Locally held data identifies commissionNuneaton and places Bedworth to other as Local an exclusions Authorities hot (e.g. spot. Coventry, By having Birmingham the AP freeand Leicestershire).school (North) basedThis in resultsNuneaton in fewer this willplaces make being this availableprovision foreasily Warwickshire accessible students. for a large In numbertotal the of actual the WCC number students of FTE who placesrequire available AP. All others for Warwickshire will be provided students with transportis approximately to access 70 the FTE. provision. ThisThe meansAP Free that School we have will hadadd aa deficitnew layer of approximately to the continuum 150 FTE of provision places in that WCC. will The serve provision the whole does of WCC working in partnership with the existing AP providers to build capacity to meet the need that is not meet the demand preventing us from ensuring that all the students who need AP get their full not able to be met by the existing provision across the county. Current AP providers provide access entitlement.to 70 FTE and the Free School will add a further 60 FTE= total of 130 FTE. This still leaves a gap of 97 FTE places however this AP Free School will help take the pressure off the current system. We plan to put another proposal in for a second AP Free School when the next window opens to address the shortfall. Other services working with the school are social care and early help, educational psychologist, YOT, Warwickshire Attendance Service, Compass and the police and RISE and school health, SENDAR where appropriate. All these are 4part of the ABP leads group. commissioning places. SECTION TWO: THE SCHOOL The tables below list key details of the school proposed. Your application must be for a school that has these key characteristics. Please note you only need to complete the relevant table depending on the type of school. 5 Type of school Alternative Provision Purpose(s) of placement (e.g. The school will provide provision for 11-16 year olds. This reintegration/long term provision) will include provision that: and needs of children (please a) Provide short stay (max 6-12 week placements) include local context and needs of provision for permanently excluded