Our Capital Programme

July 2023

Castle East School, additional places

From September 2024, Castle EAST School in Bungay will increase its places from 80 to 120. This expansion will cover academic year groups 5 to 11.

The SEND school educates pupils with a diagnosis of communication and interaction needs or Autistic Spectrum Disorder. It opened in September 2011 and continues to grow. Pupils benefit from smaller class sizes and a higher level of staff to pupil ratios. There is a range of fully equipped specialist teaching rooms with access to specialist teachers and support staff throughout the day.

This expansion is part of Suffolk County Council’s SEND Capital Programme to create up to 1065 new places for children with special educational needs or disabilities. As with all special school places children usually require an Education Health and Care Plan and the Local Authority is the admitting authority.

May 2023

Phase 3 - development of specialist units attached to mainstream schools

The SEND Capital Programme was taken back to Cabinet in October 2022, Cabinet unanimously agreed to develop 8 new units for Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) in Key Stage 2,3 and 4 split across Suffolk. 

We will create 2 new reception and key stage 1 specialist units. There is currently a reception and key stage 1 specialist unit with expertise in Communication and Interaction (C&I) in Ipswich. It is recommended that this is duplicated in both the West and the North.

How can I find out more?

Provider Services have held virtual information sessions for the SEMH and C&I Units. If you would like more information, please email ProviderServices@suffolk.gov.uk 

March 2023

Phase 3 of the SEND Capital Programme – Specialist Units

Following the implementation of the SEND Capital Programme, for Phase 3 we will create 8 new units for Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) in KS2,3 and 4 across Suffolk and 2 new R/KS1 specialist units with an expertise in Communication and Interaction (C&I) in the West and North.
We will be holding virtual information sessions for interested schools on Thursday 27 April 2023 at 3pm (SEMH) and on Thursday 4 May 2023 at 3pm (C&I).

If you would like to attend either of these virtual events, please email ProviderDevelopmentTeam@suffolk.gov.uk by Friday 21 April 2023

December 2022

Following the implementation of the SEND Capital Programme, below is an overview of the places that have been developed as part of Phase 1 and proposed further developments from Phase 2.

In the Summer, Suffolk County Council reviewed their SEND Sufficiency Plan in order to identify what the growing demands were and what future provision may need to be considered over the coming years to support those with SEND. This review identified that the demand for the following needs was predicted to increase significantly:

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)
• Speech, Language and Communication (SLCN)
• Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD)
• Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)

Suffolk County Council have considered ways in which to support this growing need, and in October 2022, Council officers attended Cabinet in order to request support and additional funding to continue the SEND Capital Programme past Phase 2. Cabinet were asked to agree that a DfE provided fund of £7m, could be spent solely on the development on new SEMH specialist units across Suffolk. In addition, Cabinet were asked to commit to additional borrowing of £3m to continue this development of SEMH units and units for those with communication and interaction needs. This was unanimously agreed and Phase 3 is now due to commence.

Phase 3 will consist of the following:

In addition to the above developments, Cabinet supported Suffolk’s application to the DfE two free schools, which will support the increasing demand for children with SLD, along with a further school for those with ASD and complex SEMH.

In order to ensure that all 5 predominant areas of need as outlined above as the biggest predicted demand, Suffolk are working closely with their existing specialist provision to enable them to, where possible, expand the provision that they are already providing to Suffolk’s children and young people.

September 2022

Development of specialist units attached to mainstream schools

What is a specialist unit?

A specialist unit is a specialist education provision which is part of a mainstream school. Children could spend over 50% of their time in the unit but are an integral part of the school and the life of it.

Children will be on the roll of the school and will also be expected to participate fully in the life of the school at times that is suitable and appropriate to each individual child, such as accessing assemblies, after school clubs and trips. Where a child has a specific strength for a subject, they can participate fully alongside their peers in the main school. All children placed in the unit will have a personalised curriculum offer and would receive a high proportion of their classes in the specialist unit and will be taught in smaller groups averaging 8 to 12, possibly as low as 6 where children need extensive support.

Why are specialist units needed in Suffolk?

In September 2018 Suffolk County Council Cabinet identified a significant undersupply of local specialist education placements across Suffolk to meet both current and projected future increased demand.

Demand data from education, health and care sources indicated a projected rise of 18% in the number of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) between 2018 and 2020, with a likely continuing increase in demand of a similar magnitude beyond this timeframe.

In response to this, Cabinet agreed to create over 800 specialist placements through a combination of special schools and specialist units as part of the SEND capital programme. This enabled Suffolk to create an offer that adhered to the principles that had been adopted by Cabinet for the development of specialist provision and enabled the council to meet its statutory obligations.

During the review of phase 1 of the capital programme, children attending the specialist units, parents/carers of children placed at the specialist unit and staff at the specialist unit were given the opportunity to share their views. You can read the testimonials below.

What specialist units are needed in Suffolk?

Following an analysis of phase 1 of the SEND capital programme, there is a demand for three additional specialist units across Suffolk.

Please click here for a description of a cognition and learning unit.

How to register your interest as a school

As a headteacher or Chief Executive Officer, you can register your interest for opening a specialist unit in your school by completing this Microsoft form.

August 2022

SEND Capital Programme – Phase 1 Review

In 2019 Suffolk County Council announced its plan to provide hundreds of new education placements for children with special education needs and disabilities. This is called the SEND Capital Programme. The Programme would see a total investment of £45m, from SCC and the DfE, to create at least 874 new education placements for children with SEND.

The programme has seen the delivery of three new special schools so far, 23 new specialist units attached to mainstream schools, as well as an increase in provision across the system in already existing settings. In total, Phase 1 of the programme has delivered 825 new specialist places across Suffolk.

The table below shows the provision of Phase 1:

A review of Phase 1 has been carried out to demonstrate the impact of the new provision, particularly the introduction of specialist units attached to mainstream schools. This review has been carried out to support and inform the implementation of Phase 2 of the programme; to identify the impacts of these new units; determine whether the demand has been met, along with identification of any continuing or new gaps which may still be present in our specialist provision offer. Part of this review involved SCC sharing a survey with the units, the children accessing the new units and also their families.

From the survey results, it is evident that most parents are pleased with the progress their child is making and feel the unit is meeting their child’s needs. Parents feel the units are a unique education provision that sits comfortably between specialist schools and mainstream education. They like the fact that their child still has access to mainstream experiences.

The unit leads reported that the units have had a huge positive impact on their families and pupils. It is considered positive that pupils can now access suitable education closer to home and can attend the same school as their siblings and local friends. Units reported that this has had a big impact on pupils’ wellbeing and sense of belonging.

The majority of children accessing the units report that they have made friends at their new school, that they are learning and they feel comfortable in their new setting. When visiting the school one child said “Everyone thought I was bad at my old school, and I thought I just had big feelings until I found out I had autism. I now feel like I actually fit in.”

We are now ready to embark on Phase 2 of the programme. The SEND Capital Programme was taken back to Cabinet on 20 June 2022, to offer information on the impact of the developments so far and to seek approval to continue with Phase 2 of the programme. Cabinet unanimously agreed that the previously earmarked £6m will be used in order to complete Phase 2. This will see the continued growth of the new Communication and Interaction school, Castle EAST, in the North of Suffolk up to 120 places. This will also enable Suffolk to develop 3 new specialist units attached to mainstream schools.

Cabinet also agreed for SCC to return to Cabinet in October 2022 with a request for implementation of a Phase 3 of the SEND Capital Programme to continue to develop the much needed specialist provision across Suffolk. The plans for the request for Phase 3 will be identified following the review of the SEND Sufficiency Plan which is currently underway.

 February 2022

SEND Capital Programme update February 2022

In April 2019 Suffolk County Council agreed to develop a continuum of provision based on pathways which would provide additional specialist education places across Suffolk to meet growing demand. This is through the establishment of new special schools or through specialist units in mainstream schools. The framework for specialist provision for our Suffolk children and young people is below:

This development was split in to two phases and we are nearing completion of Phase 1. This academic year we have all experienced significant challenges, and the knock on effect of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some unfortunate delays to our developments. Despite this, with the support and drive from all involved, the developments that were due for this year are almost complete. An overview of what has been developed so far this year is as follows:

• Castle EAST – Communication and Interaction school in Bungay. This experienced some delays however is now open. This school will continue to grow over the next couple of years – it opened this year for 40 pupils, and from September 2022 they will be able to support an additional 40 pupils, and 40 the following the year – totalling 120 places once complete.
• Copleston High School – This is our new KS3/4 Communication and Interaction unit for 18 pupils which opened in the Autumn term 2021 and is being delivered in partnership with Raedwald Trust.
• Exning Primary School – Reception/KS1 specialist unit in Newmarket. This opened up for new pupils at the start of September and has been developed for 12 pupils.
• Saxmundham Free School – two units have been developed - one for KS3/4 Communication and Interaction for 18 pupils and one for KS3/4 Cognition and Learning for 18 pupils. Pupils allocated for this academic year transitioned in to the new units in November 2021.
• Beccles Free School – Unit for KS3/4 Cognition and Learning opened in September 2021 for 18 pupils.
• Mendlesham Primary School – New unit for KS2 Cognition and Learning or 18 pupils opened and transitioned pupils in for November 2021, being delivered in partnership with SENDAT.
• Stowupland High School – A KS3/4 Cognition and Learning unit opened for 18 pupils in October 2021, being delivered in partnership with SENDAT.
• Woodhall Primary School – New unit for KS2 Communication and Interaction for opened for 18 pupils in January 2022.
• The Ashley School – Additional classroom provision built to enable increase in places for children in KS2 and KS3 with Cognition and Learning needs. This was completed in September 2021 and offers an additional 24 places.

In addition to the above which are now complete, we have some still under development. Detail on these are as follows:

• St Edmunds RC Primary School – At this school in Bury St Edmunds we are in the process of creating two new units, one Reception/KS1 unit for 12 pupils and one KS2 Cognition and Learning unit for 18 pupils. The building is underway and we have pupils allocated to start in the KS2 unit at the start of the Summer term 2022. The R/KS1 unit will open in September 2022.
• Chantry Academy – This 18 place KS3/4 Cognition and Learning unit is in the process of being built, and is due to be completed towards the end of March 2022. Pupils have been allocated and started with the school in September 2022, receiving their education and support at Murrayside Community Centre until building works are complete. During this time pupils have started to have some access to the mainstream elements within Chantry with support.
• Oulton Broad – This will be a R/KS1 specialist which is now due to open in the academic year of 2022/23. We have experienced significant delays in the development of this unit, the school and all teams involved are working closely together to secure completion as soon as is feasibly possible.
• Sir Peter Hall – This is our new special school within Bury St Edmunds to support those with Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties. This build is nearing completion and pupils will able to attend their new school from September 2022. For the first year the school will be able to support 40 pupils, opening up for further 40 pupils the following year.
• Woodbridge Road Academy – This new school will cover the Ipswich area for those with Communication and Interaction needs. It was due to open in September 2022, however delays have been experienced with this development. We are working closely with the school and all stakeholders involved and secured provision within the Murrayside Community Centre from September 2022 so those pupils who have been allocated can begin to receive the education and support that they require. We are currently working towards a completion for the school of March 2023. Once fully open the school will be able to support 60 pupils.
• Chalk Hill – This is currently an Alternative Provision (AP) setting, however the Trust are working with SCC to build new educational provision to develop a school for 48 pupils who have complex Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs and ASD. Currently this is still awaiting approval as to whether this is a provision that will be developed, therefore at present there is no anticipated completion date for this development.
• Horizon School – In the North of Suffolk, the Pupil Referral Units have been merged together and we are in the process of combining all provision in to one site. This development includes part new build and it is anticipated that this project will be completed by January 2023.

All of the above, and those that were developed for September 2020 are all part of the developments planned within Phase 1 of this programme. In order for us to progress on to Phase 2 to complete the project, the LA and all parties involved will be reviewing the impact of the project so far. This will include looking at current numbers and profile of need of the pupils accessing these new provision, looking at what the demand continues to be along with gaining feedback from the provisions themselves. We will also be looking at gaining the views of the families of those who have pupils accessing these provisions. Following on from this review the LA will be able to identify what additional provision is required for us to focus on for Phase 2.

January 2022

SEND Capital Programme – Phase 1 Review

May 2021

Allocation of Specialist Placements: May 2021 update

A message from Allan Cadzow, Corporate Director for Children and Young People

26 May 2021

Dear Colleagues, Parents and Carers,

We are very aware that we have not been able to confirm specialist placements for all children where a request has been received, within the timescale we would have liked to. The pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have most definitely made the situation more complex.

We know the delays have caused distress and anxiety for some parents, children and young people. We also know we have not always communicated as well as we could and should have with some families. That is not a place where we want to be.

SCC staff have worked very hard to deal with a further increase in demand for specialist education placements. We have shared with families this week a number of placement offers and further outcomes will be shared by the end of the first week of June. The majority of local specialist places will have been allocated at that time.

We are struggling to secure places for some children requesting a specialist placement for reception and for older children with identified social, emotional and mental health needs, despite having increased Suffolk’s specialist placements for September 2021. We will review the outstanding requests over the half term break and work with colleagues to identify possible solutions.

Requests for specialist provision are still coming in. Priority will be given to those children and young people without a current or school placement for September 2021 and these will be responded to as quickly as possible.

As soon as we have finished allocating the places for the 2021/2022 Academic Year, we will be working on the timeline and processes for the 22/23 academic year to ensure timescales are met and our communication processes are more pro-active and more responsive. We will include parents/carers and education providers in the refining of those processes.

Thank you for your understanding at what has been a very difficult time for so many. I apologise that it has been so difficult.

Best wishes

Allan Cadzow – Corporate Director for Children and Young People, Suffolk County Council

March 2021

Specialist Provision Plan Update March 2021

Our Plans to Develop New Specialist Education Places in Suffolk

Whilst there have been significant developments in developing a number of specialist units and new schools in Suffolk we still do not have enough specialist education places in Suffolk to meet the needs of all the children who need them. This means that some children continue to have to wait a long time to secure a specialist placement and others have to travel a long way from their home community. We know that it is better for children to be able to learn closer to home and we want to reduce the times that children have to wait for a specialist placement once it has been decided this is the best option for them, so we are developing plans to increase the number of places locally.

Short Term Developments

In the meantime, there are some new placements we know that we need to continue whilst longer term units and schools are established. A list of the types of places we are developing through this competition is included in the Special Provision Plan that we have started to develop. You can find a link to this plan at the bottom of this page.

New Specialist Schools

The Bobby Robson School: In September 2020 we opened a new special school in Ipswich for children aged 9 to 16 years who have social emotional and mental health and behaviour support needs. This has created 60 new specialist places.

Castle East School: In September 2021 we will open a new special school in Bungay for children aged 9-16 with communication and interaction needs. This will initially create 40 places growing to 80 from September 2022.

New Specialist Free School in Ipswich: Suffolk County Council and the Department for Education have recently completed the process to select the site and provider of a new free school in Ipswich catering for pupils with very complex needs in terms of social, emotional and mental health and a highly therapeutic offer. This will be a new school built in Lindbergh Road, Ipswich, information is available on the DfE website.

How we will find the capital funds to develop new places

If we need to build a new school this costs several millions of pounds and the most likely way we can fund this is by gaining agreement from the Department for Education (DfE) to fund a new free school. This is the way the new specialist free school in Ipswich mentioned above will be funded. However, if we create smaller specialist units linked to existing education providers this often only requires small amounts of capital. They have asked us to complete a planning spreadsheet called a Special Provision Plan Template in order to release this funding.

December 2020

Specialist Units update

Suffolk County Council are pleased to inform you that developments are well underway for the new Specialist Units being created throughout Suffolk. In April 2019 it was agreed to create 36 new specialist units within Suffolk, in order to meet the growing demand for pupils with additional needs.

Below offers an overview of all the new units due to open in September 2020. Please note there may be some delay in offering all commissioned numbers immediately due to the impact of Covid-19 on planned building works. However, all units are committed to providing as much of an offer as possible from September 2020.

In addition, our existing units and Specialist Support Centres (SSCs) will be maintaining their specialist provision but will be transferring their destination and profile of need descriptors to match in with Suffolk’s new framework. As these are established specialist provisions these are in addition to the 36 units agreed in Council to be developed throughout Suffolk. These will continue to run from September 2020 and continue to offer for the following:

Suffolk County Council are also pleased to inform that positive conversations and work is taking place with eight other schools who have been through the commissioning process and keen to develop a specialist unit within their school. These will be confirmed in due course subject to feasibility studies and once agreements have been made. These will be due to open in academic year 2021/22. An overview of these potential units are as follows:

The LA are continuing to support all schools towards the opening of their units despite the current Covid-19 situation. This is thanks to the dedication of the schools in persevering through what is currently a difficult and uncertain time.

All Specialist Units opening in 2020 have developed a prospectus which offers an overview of what they offer to children who gain a place with them. These can be found in the links above.

A detailed description of the units covering each profile of need can also be found below:

• Reception and Key Stage 1 Specialist Units
• Specialist Unit for Communication and Interaction
• Specialist Units for Cognition and Learning

September 2020

As Suffolk looks to develop its specialist education offer to meet the increasing demand for education places for children with additional needs, a number of developments have occurred over recent months. In April 2019 Cabinet agreed the following recommendations following the work of the cross-party Policy Development Panel (PDP).

Cabinet agreed the following:

• Suffolk adopts a Specialist Education Pathway Framework that provides a clear and systematic approach to the future development of local specialist education provision and is made available to parents / carers to provide them with better information about the range of local education options.
• A capital investment programme is undertaken for the development of a substantial number of new specialist education placements within Suffolk. The specialist provision would be for a range of different needs link to the areas of need identified in the SEND Code of Practice and involve the creation of specialist units attached to mainstream schools and new special schools.

As a result of this capital investment 10 units attached to mainstream high schools have been commissioned, focussed on supporting both cognition & Learning and Communication & Interaction needs. A list of these units can be found below. In addition there will also be a significant investment in creating additional specialist schools across Suffolk.

• 2 Specialist Key Stage 1 Units – Pipers Vale Primary Academy & Burton End Primary Academy
• 3 Communication and Interaction Key Stage 2 Units – Murrayfield Primary Academy, Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy & Causton Junior School
• 1 Cognition and Learning Key Stage 2 Unit – Clements Primary Academy
• 3 Communication and Interaction Key Stage 3/4 Units – Copleston High School, Ixworth School & Newmarket Academy
• 1 Cognition and Learning Key Stage 3/4 Unit – Castle Manor Primary Academy

Short Term Placements

Whilst longer term specialist placement processes are established, there remains a need to provide education for the increasing number of children and young people whose needs are immediate. Whilst some of these placements will cease in July 2020 as a result of the newly developed units attached to mainstream schools, a number of placements a number will remain.

New Specialist Schools

The Bobby Robson School: Due to open in September 2020 for children aged 9 to 16 years who have social emotional and mental health and behaviour support needs. This will create 60 new specialist places.

Communication and Interaction school in Ipswich: The competition process for this school has now been completed, with the successful provider being announced shortly. The aim is for the school to potentially open in September 2022/2023.

Communication and Interaction school, north Suffolk: This school is currently open to competition and will potentially open in September 2022

Social Emotional & Mental Health School, West Suffolk: This school is currently open to competition with a view to potentially open by September 2022/2023.

Social Emotional Mental Health/Autistic Spectrum Disorder specialist provision: Hampden House will convert from its current use as residential pupil referral unit to become a specialist setting, catering for children and young people with a profile of SEMH and ASD. An element of this provision will remain residential. Feasibility works are being undertaken on the building to establish the level of works required.

SEMH & ASD residential school: As part of the recommendations made in the Cabinet Paper it was agreed Hampden House would change its profile from a PRU to an SEMH & ASD provision. This will cater for 12 residential places alongside 36-day pupils.

New Specialist Units

In addition to the new schools being developed a number of new specialist placements will be created in line with the pathways identified in the Cabinet Paper regarding Specialist Education. The creation of these places will take place over a 5-year period with initial units opening in September 2020. A competition process was undertaken during the autumn term with 11 units attached to mainstream schools confirmed. A further round of commissioning for units to open in 2021 is currently in process.

How we will fund the capital funds to develop new places

A significant commitment has been made from the Department for Education (DfE) to fund the new Communication and Interaction school Ipswich. As we create the other schools mentioned above and the smaller specialist units there will be a need for capital funds. The DfE has given us £2.3 million to help with this.

March 2020

New Unit Provision Development 

The programme to provide more specialist education places across Suffolk is progressing well, however, we do still need to secure commitment from schools for additional provision in the North of the County.

As part of our investment in additional specialist education placements for Suffolk, Local Authority staff have met with leaders from schools in the Lowestoft area. This is to help identify why they may not have expressed an interest in developing specialist units attached to their mainstream schools. We are committed to working with schools in the Lowestoft area to find a positive way forward to support this work, this will include holding an ‘Information session’ alongside Suffolk Parent Carer Network in the area to communicate the process and encourage applications. We are also arranging further meetings with individual schools over the coming month to try and engage with as many schools as possible. There are some positive responses from some schools and trusts which we are now following up. Any developments and updates will be shared with you as soon as we have them.

December 2019

New SEND provision identified – ready to offer 168 additional spaces from September 2020

December 2019

Suffolk County Council is now in a position to provide further information regarding the development of new Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) units attached to mainstream schools in the county. The authority is very pleased to announce that following a thorough evaluation process, a number of suitable schools have been identified to develop:

• 2 Generic Key Stage 1 Units – Pipers Vale Primary Academy & Burton End Primary Academy
• 3 Communication and Interaction Key Stage 2 Units – Murrayfield Primary Academy, Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy & Causton Junior School
• 1 Cognition and Learning Key Stage 2 Unit – Clements Primary Academy
• 3 Communication and Interaction Key Stage 3/4 Units – Copleston High School, Ixworth School & Newmarket Academy
• 1 Cognition and Learning Key Stage 3/4 Unit – Castle Manor Primary Academy

In total, this means an additional 168 new specialist placements will be available for children and their families in Suffolk from September 2020, on top of existing specialist provision. Successful schools are currently working with the council to ensure the appropriate infrastructure and support is in place to enable these new units to be open in September 2020.

A further commissioning round will begin in Spring 2020 and will consider further expressions of interest from mainstream schools who hope to open units in September 2021. This will include targeted work from our provider development team in areas of the county where gaps have been identified to ensure we are able to offer local provision for our children and their families.

Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, Cllr Mary Evans said: “We are delighted with the interest shown by our mainstream schools and would like to thank all those who came forward wanting to work in partnership to deliver this provision. If you are a mainstream school that would like to become involved or would like further information there is still time.”

“Regular updates will follow as we continue to work hard in the delivery of our capital programme across the next 5 years, resulting in an additional 870 specialist places.”

The council is very pleased to work in partnership with the Suffolk Parent Carer Network and a spokesperson for the Network, said: “The development of new specialist education placements is something that SPCN continue to be involved in at all stages, with the parent carer voice & feedback we have received being an integral part of the specialist unit provision process.

“To see so many providers coming forward saying they want to be part of the solution gives us real hope that we are now on our way to having an education offer that meets the needs of Suffolk's most vulnerable learners and we look forward to working alongside all partners in the future developments of the Capital Programme.”

November 2019

Green light from Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet to develop more specialist education placements in Suffolk to meet growing demand

Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet has agreed recommendations to move forward with creating more specialist education places in Suffolk.

Between 300 to 400 places are needed for children with additional needs in Suffolk between now and 2020 and this figure is likely to continue to increase. The demand for specialist education places in Suffolk is rising rapidly due to the county’s population growth, advances in medicine and the increasing complexity of specialist needs.

The recommendations include three new special schools and 36 specialist units attached to existing mainstream schools, which combine will create over 800 hundred new specialist education places in the county.

It is also been agreed that a clarified education pathway for specialist provision is created to assist families in understanding what the local offer is.

Following the approval of the recommendations today the proposal to borrow up to £45.1 million to fund the new places will now go to the county council’s Capital Strategy Group to be reviewed. If agreed, the decision will go back to Cabinet in the Spring for final sign-off so the recommendations can be rolled out.

Councillor Gordon Jones, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills, said: “I welcome today’s decision. Suffolk County Council is committed to ensuring all of Suffolk’s children and young people are able to attend a good local school, one that meets their individual needs and supports them to achieve their full potential regardless of the challenges they may face. The decision today will help to create hundreds of more specialist school places across the county, reducing our dependence on placements outside of Suffolk, which come at a high cost, and transforming the experience of education for our children and young people with SEND.”

Jo Hammond, Co-Chair of Suffolk Parent Carer Network (SPCN), said: “We very much welcome this news, particularly at a time where there seems to be no relent in the on-going challenges families with children and young people with SEND face, due to lack of resources. We are hopeful that this much needed investment will be fundamental in changing the lived experience of so many of our families and we will continue to be their voice during these future developments.”

Jo Dedicoat, Headteacher at Dale Hall Community Primary School, said: “The news that Suffolk is finally going to be able to offer our children the provision they so desperately need will be a life line for so many families and schools. There has been a significant rise in the need to provide specialist targeted provision and support for pupils and their families, in particular those experiencing complex mental health issues. The proposal to not only increase the provision, but to use mainstream schools to facilitate a new type of inclusive specialist unit, will ensure that our pupils will have the chance to access a full curriculum alongside their peers. This means schools will finally be able to provide the nurture, counselling and therapeutic support that these children need and enable schools to provide the very best educational outcomes for their pupils.”

Lisa Nobes, Chief Nurse, NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk and NHS West Suffolk clinical commissioning groups, said: “It is so important that we give our young people the very best start in life, which is why I am so pleased with this decision. We know that a good education is integral to having the best chance of living a happy and healthy life. The creation of many more local suitable educational placements is a big step forward in ensuring everyone has that opportunity. The CCGs will continue to work with our educational partners to commission services that support the good health and wellbeing of our county’s young people.”

November 2019

Following previous requests for expressions of interest from mainstream schools, Suffolk County Council has identified a number of suitable providers to develop units across Suffolk in 2020.

Throughout November, the council will consider further expressions of interest from mainstream schools which hope to open further units in September 2021.

September 2019

Our Plans to Develop New Specialist Education Places in Suffolk - September 2019

As Suffolk looks to develop its specialist education offer to meet the increasing demand for education places for children with additional needs, a number of developments have occurred over recent months. In April 2019 Cabinet agreed the following recommendations following the work of the cross-party Policy Development Panel (PDP).

Cabinet agreed the following:

• Suffolk adopts a Specialist Education Pathway Framework that provides a clear and systematic approach to the future development of local specialist education provision and is made available to parents / carers to provide them with better information about the range of local education options.
• A capital investment programme is undertaken for the development of a substantial number of new specialist education placements within Suffolk. The specialist provision would be for a range of different needs link to the areas of need identified in the SEND Code of Practice and involve the creation of specialist units attached to mainstream schools and new special schools.

Short Term Placements

Whilst longer term specialist placement processes are established, there remains a need to provide education for the increasing number of children and young people whose needs are immediate. These placements will run whilst the process for establishing longer term specialist units attached to mainstream takes place.

New Specialist Schools

The Bobby Robson School: Due to open in September 2020 for children aged 9 to 16 years who have social emotional and mental health and behaviour support needs. This will create 60 new specialist places.

Communication and Interaction school in Ipswich: This school is currently open to competition, with a view to potentially open in September 2022/2023.

Communication and Interaction school, north Suffolk: This school will potentially open in September 2022 with initial discussions taking place in autumn 2020.

SEMH School, West Suffolk: Initial discussions will take place this term, with a view to potentially open by September 2022/2023

SEMH/ASD specialist provision: Hampden House will convert from its current use as residential pupil referral unit to become a specialist setting, catering for children and young people with a profile of SEMH and ASD. An element of this provision will remain residential.

SEMH & ASD residential school: As part of the recommendations made in the Cabinet Paper it was agreed Hampden House would change its profile from a PRU to an SEMH & ASD provision. This will cater for 12 residential places alongside 36-day pupils.

New Specialist Units

In addition to the new schools being developed a number of new specialist placements will be created in line with the pathways identified in the Cabinet Paper regarding Specialist Education. The creation of these places will take place over a 5-year period with initial units opening in September 2020. A competition process will take place over the autumn term for those mainstream schools who wish to put forward an expression of interest.

How we will fund the capital funds to develop new places

A significant commitment has been made from the Department for Education (DfE) to fund the new Communication and Interaction school Ipswich. As we create the other schools mentioned above and the smaller specialist units there will be a need for capital funds. The DfE has given us £2.3 million to help with this. They have asked us to complete a planning spreadsheet called a Special Provision Plan Template in order to release this funding.

 April 2019

Funding secured for new SEND school in Suffolk

Suffolk County Council has been successful in its bid to the Department for Education for a new free school to create educational provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The new school will offer up to 60 places for children and young people aged between 7 and 16 years old, who have Complex Communication and Interaction needs, including autism.

The school will be co-educational, catering for girls and boys and will offer day facilities only. At present, it is expected that the school will open in 2022.

The next step for the council to undertake is securing a sponsor for the new free school.

Suffolk, like many other local authorities, faces a large increase in demand for placements for a variety of different Special Educational Needs. Suffolk’s SEND Sufficiency Plan (2018) identified that the number of children and young people with SEND will increase by 18% between 2017 and 2020. This compares to an overall growth in the school age population in Suffolk of 4%.

Greater Ipswich is an area of the county where is it expected to experience a particularly large increase in demand for SEND provision, and this is where the council would like to see a school developed. Currently there is no specialist provision to meet this need within the Greater Ipswich Area, the nearest appropriate school is in Haverhill, over an hour’s travel from Ipswich – and this setting is already oversubscribed.

As well as providing up to 60 places for children and young people with Complex Communication and Interaction needs, there is an expectation that the new free school will provide a pool of professional expertise to support mainstream schools in developing their skills. This is particularly important when considering the management of any transition that a pupil may make back to a mainstream school setting.

Councillor Gordon Jones, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, said: “This is an exciting step forward in our plans to increase educational provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Suffolk. “We know that demand for provision is increasing and we need to be able to meet that demand. The Department for Education feels the same way which is why they have agreed to allocate funding to establish a new SEND free school in the Ipswich area. “The next important step is to secure a suitable sponsor for the prospective free school. We are asking for expressions of interest and hope to be able to announce a sponsor by winter 2019/20.”

Jo Hammond, Co-Chair of Suffolk Parent Carer Network, said: “It is great news that Suffolk has yet again been successful in the Free-School bidding process, this can only be a positive step towards strengthening Suffolk’s Local Offer for some of our most vulnerable learners. “We very much welcome all of the conversations and developments that are currently happening around Specialist Education placements and will continue to work alongside the Local Authority on behalf of our families to ensure the needs of our children and young people are met throughout the process.”

March 2019

Development of New Specialist Education Placements – Local Offer Provision Expansion

Further to the notification last week as part of our ongoing development of new specialist school places in Suffolk, the Council is seeking expressions of interest from mainstream schools or specialist providers who would like to develop specialist provision for secondary age learners in the west and north of Suffolk for September 2019 onwards.

This call is to meet immediate needs ahead of the major expansion programme that will begin later in 2019, however schools and providers who set up new provision through this call will be well placed to establish long term specialist units going forward. We are seeking to establish two Cognition and Learning groups for secondary learners with moderate learning difficulties in west/mid Suffolk and the establishment of a Hearing Impaired Secondary Unit in north Suffolk

January 2019

Plans to create more places for specialist education in Suffolk 

The Cabinet will review recommendations put forward by a cross-party Policy Development Panel on Tuesday 29 January 2019. Working together with parents/carers, education providers, partners and children to establish what support they need, Suffolk County Council wants to create more specialist education places in the county to give young people the best possible start in life with the right level of tailored support for their learning.

Between 300 to 400 places are needed for children with additional needs in Suffolk between now and 2020 and this figure is likely to continue to increase. The demand for specialist education places in Suffolk is rising rapidly due to the county’s population growth, advances in medicine and the increasing complexity of specialist needs.

Recommendations, which will be considered at Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 29 January, have been put forward by a cross-party Policy Development Panel (PDP) which was established to realise suitable specialist education places as promptly as possible.

The work of the Panel involved a comprehensive analysis and consultation, visiting a variety of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) settings from in and around the county, considering the views of service users and their families, partners and educations providers on the best way to grow Suffolk’s specialist education offer both in the short term and long term to meet future demand.

Some work has already taken place in the county to deal with the increase in demand for education places for children with additional needs. A new special school in Lowestoft opened in September 2017 and following Department for Education approval another special school will open in Ipswich in 2020. Several of the county’s existing special schools have expanded and a new campus with additional space for Riverwalk School in Bury St Edmunds opened in September 2018. Work has also taken place to establish a number of specialist small groups for specific local needs.

However, more work is needed in this area of education and Suffolk is not alone in this. The challenge Suffolk is facing is reflected nationally, with an increasing number of children requiring specialist placements, often needing to access these provisions outside of their local community and peers.

It is being recommended to Cabinet that:

• Suffolk adopts a Specialist Education Pathway Framework that provides a clear and systematic approach to the future development of local specialist education provision and is made available to parents / carers to provide them with better information about the range of local education options.
• A capital investment programme is undertaken for the development of a substantial number of new specialist education placements within Suffolk. The specialist provision would be for a range of different needs and involve the creation of specialist units attached to mainstream schools and new special schools.

Suffolk County Council cabinet member for children's services, education and skills, Councillor Gordon Jones, said: “We need to do more for Suffolk’s children and young people with additional needs. Suffolk County Council has a duty of care to provide a suitable education placement for every child of school age and for young people with additional needs up to the age of 25. It is vital we take swift and effective action to address both the current shortfall of SEND Services in our county, but also build capacity with our partners for future demand and these recommendations do exactly that.”

Ed Garratt, Chief Officer of the NHS Ipswich & East Suffolk and NHS West Suffolk clinical commissioning groups, said: “The CCGs will continue to prioritise our support for the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy in Suffolk. As a key priority within the strategy, we recognise the importance of children and young people having access to suitable education settings, and this is a positive step forward. We will continue to work closely in partnership with our education colleagues to understand the impact of the proposals as we develop our commissioned health services.”

Jo Hammond, Co-Chair of Suffolk Parent Carer Network (SPCN), said:

“We know there isn't enough Specialist Education Placements in Suffolk and this has resulted in some children having to attend school a long way from home, some no longer attending school because the right placement just isn't available and on some occasions, children attending the wrong provision because it has been the 'best fit'. SPCN has continued to work closely with the Local Authority to ensure the views of parents/carers and their families continues to be at the centre of any future developments regarding the provision of SEND Services and Specialist Education Placements in Suffolk.

“We are thankful that Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet has acknowledged this issue with the urgency it deserves. We remain hopeful that if approved, schools and educations settings will embrace the opportunity as we believe these recommendations could bring around the changes in Specialist Education that is so desperately needed by our children and young people in Suffolk.”

Full details of the committee paper for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 29 January is available under the item 29-01-2019, The Cabinet.