Agenda item

This short item provides information on the work carried out by Children’s Services and the Corporate Finance team regarding BCP’s invitation to join the Safety Valve Programme from the Department for Education.  

During October 2023, Officers have been working to identify a proposal which would see the in year High Needs Block Budget for children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disability to be balanced within a 5-year period.

Despite significant efforts the Local Authority has been unable to provide a proposal which balances the budget within the 5-year time period set down by the Safety Valve Agreement framework.

A proposal has been submitted to the Department for Education as detailed within. The Local Authority will be informed of the outcome during January 2024.

PLEASE NOTE: Should the Committee wish to discuss the detail of theconfidential appendix the meeting will be required to move into Confidential (Exempt) Session

The Corporate Director for Children’s Services and the Interim Director of Education and Skills presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report provided information on the work carried out by Children’s Services and the Corporate Finance team regarding BCP’s invitation to join the Safety Valve Programme from the Department for Education.  

During October 2023, Officers had been working to identify a proposal which would see the in-year High Needs Block Budget for children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disability to be balanced within a 5-year period.

Despite significant efforts, the Local Authority had been unable to provide a proposal which balanced the budget within the 5-year time period set down by the Safety Valve Agreement framework.

A proposal had been submitted to the Department for Education as detailed within. The Local Authority will be informed of the outcome during January 2024.

The Committee discussed the report and comments were made, including:

• In response to a query, the Committee was advised that Children’s Services had been working with special education providers and education pyschologists to expand an already established programme that would provide mainstream settings specialist support in caring for children with SEND. The support would be focused on the transfer of skills to enable mainstream settings to provide the right environment for SEND Children. The Safety Valve Programme also looked at how outreach could be improved and would provide provisions to cover that.
• The Committee highlighted the national recruiting crisis teachers were facing and queried how much control BCP had within schools, as most of them were academies. The Committee was advised that it was a partnership, and Children’s Services and schools would work together with the support of DfE colleagues.
• In response to a query regarding the Safety Valve proposal and what the reaction had been from schools, the Committee was advised of meetings that had taken place with headteachers regarding this. The officers explained it was positive although there was a lot of stress and anxiety, there was also a desire to get it right and a passion to do things differently.
• In response to a concern regarding the decision-making process of the proposal and at what point Council would have the opportunity consider the final proposal, the Committee was advised that where the DfE requested a five-year proposal, BCP had submitted a 15-year proposal and any final decision could not be considered until a response had been received.
• In response to a query regarding member engagement in the process or negotiation, the Committee was advised that the process had not yet involved negotiations but submitting a proposal to the DfE to which a response was due.
• In response to a query regarding the legality of the decision

making with case law being cited , the Monitoring Officer advised the Committee that legally BCP Council would make sure every decision regarding the Safety Valve Programme would be made in the best interest of the council.

• The Committee expressed concern that they did not receive the full proposal as a part of the meeting. The documents that were shared with them only showed an overview of the proposal submitted to the DfE and did not show the full proposal that was submitted.

The Committee requested a short adjournment for the full DfE proposal to be sent to them so they could scrutinise the full document.

The Committee adjourned from 6.56pm and reconvened at 7.30pm once having sight of the full submission.

The Committee discussed the report and comments were made, including:

• In response to a concern regarding the possible risks, especially regarding EHCPs and how they could be mitigated, the Committee was advised that risks would need to be mitigated by working closely with partners, detailed on a register and monitored.  The Committee was advised that there was a detailed SEND improvement plan which sits behind the safety valve proposal.
• In response to a query regarding health partners contribution to the proposal, the Committee was advised that work had been done with a group of special education headteachers to establish what was be needed to support health’s engagement which would then go to the SEND Improvement Board for further consideration and action.
• In response to a query regarding the impact COVID had on children and young people, the Committee was advised there had been an impact and increased needs as a result of COVID and it was about how children’s services and health needed to support those additional needs, whether through early help or EHCPs.

Following advice from the Monitoring Officer regarding the document circulated in the adjournment being exempt in accordance with paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, it was Proposed, Seconded and agreed to exclude the public and press at this point:

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee continued to discuss the report.

It was Proposed, Seconded and RECOMMENDED that the Committee notes the hard work undertaken to date but expresses continued concern of the lack of wider engagement on the issue. The Committee would therefore urge the Leader in consultation with the Portfolio Holder and Chair of the Committee to:

a)      consider what further engagement can happen upon receipt of any offers from the Department of Education.

b)      consider as wide as possible member engagement in the final decision should one emerge from the Department for Education.

Voting: For - unanimous