Changing the Resourced Provision at Hookstone Chase Community School to an Enhanced Mainstream School (EMS)

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Dear North Yorkshire County Council,

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. In order to assist you with this request, I
am outlining this request as specifically as possible.

North Yorkshire County Council are consulting on changing the Resourced Provision at Hookstone Chase Community Primary School, Harrogate, into an Enhanced Mainstream School (EMS).

From the Department of Education document Making changes to a Maintained Mainstream School (Other than Expansion, Foundation, Discontinuance & Establishment Proposals):

When considering any reorganisation of provision that would be
recognised by the LA as reserved for pupils with special educational needs, including that which might lead to some children being displaced through
closures or alterations, LAs, and all other proposers for new schools or new provision, will need to demonstrate to parents, the local community and Decision Makers how the proposed alternative arrangements are likely to lead to improvements in the standard, quality and/or range of educational provision for children with special educational needs. All consultation documents and reorganisation plans that LAs publish and all relevant documentation LAs and other proposers submit to Decision Makers should show how the key factors set out in paragraphs 4.59 to 4.62 below have been taken into account by applying the SEN improvement test. Proposals which do not credibly meet these
requirements should not be approved and Decision Makers should take proper account of parental or independent representations which question the LA’s own assessment in this regard.

Key Factors (Paragraphs 4.56-4.59)

4.56 When LAs are planning changes to their existing SEN provision, and in
order to meet the requirement to demonstrate likely improvements in provision, they should:
a. identify the details of the specific educational benefits that will flow from the proposals in terms of:
i. improved access to education and associated services including the
curriculum, wider school activities, facilities and equipment, with
reference to the LA’s Accessibility Strategy;
ii. improved access to specialist staff, both education and other
professionals, including any external support and/or outreach
services;
iii. improved access to suitable accommodation; and
iv. improved supply of suitable places.

In order to assist both the Council Executive in making any future decision on proposals and the branch in responding to the consultation/proposals please answer the following questions:

1.What is the current cost of a Resourced Provision place at Hookstone per child (full time placement assumed)?

2. What is the proposed cost of an EMS in reach place at Hookstone School per child (full time placement assumed)?

3. How much of the £4.5 million is specifically to be spent on Hookstone in reach (not outreach) including adaptations etc?

4. What accommodation did the Resourced Provision have prior to refurbishment?

5. What additional or different accommodation do EMS pupils have?

6. Is the Resourced Provision accommodation still in use? Will it remain in use?

7. How much time will the EMS teachers and teaching assistants spend on outreach work? Please break this down per member of staff. How many outreach schools are they responsible for?

8. What percentage of time has each staff member spent on outreach during the half term the EMS has been 'open' (Sept-Oct 2010).

9. Please supply the full specification for the Resourced Provision.

11. How much extra EP time per pupil will Hookstone School (main part of school and EMS) receive over that provided to Hookstone main School and the Resourced Provision?

12. How much time has the EP provided to Hookstone EMS in the past half term? How many visits have there been?

13. How much time is it intended EMS pupils will receive from the specialist staff per week?

14. What will be the wording about staffing / 1:1 time on statements for EMS pupils?

15. What autism specific training courses have the mainstream teaching staff at Hookstone received? Please detail courses, course providers and what courses / training are planned for this academic year.

16. In what ways will the curriculum be improved for EMS children over that provided to Resourced Provision children?

17. In what ways were Resourced Provision children not accessing a 'broad and balanced curriculum', specialist facilities or resources such that improvement was deemed necessary?

18. In what ways were Resourced Provision children unable to 'take part in all areas of school life according to their individual capabilities'?

19. The consultation document states children in the EMS "will access a full curriculum". Does that mean there will be no flexibility to disapply parts of the curriculum?

20. In what ways were Resourced Provision children not able to access 'high quality teaching from skilled staff'?

21. Who were the staff employed in the Resourced Provision last year and what were their qualifications?

22. Who are the new staff employed and what additional qualifications do they have that were not available to the Resourced Provision previously?

23. If the staff are in effect the same how can this be "improved' access to high quality staff?

24. Did staff in the Resourced Provision not have a commitment to continuous professional learning?

25. How much extra continuous professional development will the specialist staff receive over that provided to staff in the Resourced Provision?

26. Are any staff trained to provide autism specific curriculums? Notwithstanding access to a "full curriculum" ie the national curriculum, will children be able to receive autism specific curriculums? If so, please give details.

27. Did Resourced Provision children have a 'personalised learning plan'? If so, in what ways is the 'personalised learning plan' for EMS pupils different than what was in place before? If not, why could children in Resourced Provision not utilize a personalised learning plan?

28. How is a change from 10 full time places to 6 full time (or up to 12 part time) places an improved supply of places?

29. Is it correct (as reported to PACT on 13 October by Peter Gallagher, NYCC) that most EMS places are designed to be 'time limited' with pupils returning to their original school’s mainstream classroom as quickly as possible?

30. Where children cannot succeed and learn in a mainstream classroom will they be able to be taught full time in the EMS accommodation or will they have to be transferred to special school?

31. Please detail the alternative provision that has been made for children from the Resourced Provision, and how you will ensure appropriate full-time education will be available to all displaced pupils. Which special schools have agreed to take in pupils who cannot cope or learn in the mainstream setting following proposals to close the Resourced Provision? If they will be transferred to special school which school is it proposed they go to? Is entry to Forest or Springwater limited to those of low cognitive ability (IQ under 70)?

32. Do these schools have the staff and capability to provide education to potentially very high functioning children with autism? Please detail the new capability at Forest School for pupils with autism including admission criteria. Does IQ under 70 apply?

33. Please detail provision made outside North Yorkshire for pupils whose needs will not be able to be met as a result of the discontinuance of the Resourced Provision.

34. Please provide the impact assessment on the local special schools.

35. When were pre-consultation meetings with parents whose children were affected held? What format did these take? Were parents given the option of their children remaining in the Resourced Provision until the Consultation was complete (March 2011)?

36. Have the statements of SEN of the Resourced Provision children who remain in Hookstone School been changed?

37. As the current consultation on the closure of the Provision is not due to complete to March 2011, after the admissions round for Reception entry in September 2011 has closed, what is the position for parents with children due to start School in September 2011 who wish their children to attend the Resourced Provision in September 2011?

38. Is entry to the EMS at Hookstone restricted to those children who have a recommendation from their Head at annual review? Why can parents not self-refer? How do pre-school children who do not yet have a Head access provision? Is the EMS provision only designed for children from Year One?

39. In what ways is the branch 'confused' about the 2006 consultation (ref Jenny Morgan, Harrogate Advertiser 15 October 2010). When was the closure of Hookstone Resourced Provision first put to NYCC?

40. Why does NYCC not believe that EMS in reach and outreach roles cannot co-exist with a Resourced Provision for autism, given the SEN improvement tests stipulates an increase in range of provision?

41. Does NYCC accept that a Resourced Provision caters for the needs of a different cohort of children than in an EMS?

42. What evidence does NYCC draw on to show that teaching in a mainstream classroom with 'pullouts' to EMS delivers better outcomes than teaching in a Resourced Provision? Please provide details / copies of research relied upon.

43. What evidence does NYCC rely upon to show that placement of children with autism in a mainstream classroom with peers produces a better outcome than placement in a Resourced Provision? Please provide details / copies of research replied upon.

44. How does NYCC intend to deal with children with autism who have sensory needs which make a mainstream classroom too noisy, busy, distractible a place to learn?

45.EMS children will not have full time 1:1 support when in the mainstream classroom as there are only 4 specialist teaching staff for 6 children (and some of their teaching time will be spent on outreach). Given these children will have high level needs, how is it proposed that they will make good progress and obtain better outcomes with a much lower staff:pupil ratio (1:30) than they had in the Resourced Provision or in their 'host' school (where will have had high level of 1:1 TA support). Again, where is your evidence base for this model?

46. How has NYCC obtained the views of the children with autism about its planned changes?

47. Please publish the relevant Annual School Census data for this proposal.

I would be interested in any information held by your organisation
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I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have
received this request. I look forward to your response within 20
working days, as outlined in the statute.

Yours faithfully,

John Furlong
Committee Member, Harrogate and District National Autistic Society

DataManagement Officer, North Yorkshire Council

Dear Mr Furlong

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom Of Information Act 2000, of which we acknowledge receipt.

Your request has been passed to the appropriate officer to provide a response as soon as possible, and in any event within 20 working days, as required by the Act.

Kind regards

Miriam Townsend, for

Data Management Officer
North Yorkshire County Council
01609 533219 [email address]

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North Yorkshire County Council.

Julie Hutson, North Yorkshire Council

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Furlong
 
Please see attached our response to your recent request for information.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Julie Hutson
Business Support Manager
Access and Inclusion 
Access your county council services online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
at [1]www.northyorks.gov.uk.

WARNING

Any opinions or statements expressed in this e-mail are those of the
individual and not necessarily those of North Yorkshire County Council.

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and solely
for the use of the intended recipient. If you receive this in error,
please do not disclose any information to anyone, notify the sender at the
above address and then destroy all copies.

North Yorkshire County Council’s computer systems and communications may
be monitored to ensure effective operation of the system and for other
lawful purposes. All GCSX traffic may be subject to recording and/or
monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation.

Although we have endeavoured to ensure that this e-mail and any
attachments are free from any virus we would advise you to take any
necessary steps to ensure that they are actually virus free.

If you receive an automatic response stating that the recipient is away
from the office and you wish to request information under either the
Freedom of Information Act, the Data Protection Act or the Environmental
Information Regulations please forward your request by e-mail to the Data
Management Team ([2][email address]) who will
process your request.

North Yorkshire County Council.

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