Central Beds Council swaps free school plans for £6.5million towards special education

Central Bedfordshire Council could choose to build a planned social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) Free School in Biggleswade or to redistribute a capital equivalent sum of £6.5m to localise extra specialist places, according to a report to its executive.

This choice reflects a national policy shift intended to accelerate the delivery of SEN places and to give local authorities greater flexibility to meet need through a wider range of local solutions, said the report.

“Accepting the alternative capital funding on balance provides a more deliverable, lower-risk and locally responsive solution to meeting SEMH and other need types in Central Bedfordshire.”

Independent Flitwick councillor Gareth Mackey told the committee: “There are a couple of options, with funding being made available in the summer.

“This requires quite a quick decision, so we don’t have the timescale to bring this to scrutiny,” he explained. “But I’m happy to do that retrospectively.

“A full new building would need a site sponsor and considerable expenditure to deliver it. Or we take what amounts to £6.5m funding ,which we can distribute more flexibly.

“Certainly that aligns better with the government strategy, and we can assign our SEN provision closer to where children live.”

Conservative Cranfield and Marston Moretaine councillor Sue Clark described it as “a lost opportunity”, saying: “We were successful in getting a free school bid in October 2022.

“We prepared a really good school planning places paper to increase our specialist availability in Central Bedfordshire. The Labour government put a halt to that process. But there was time before that to put it in motion.

“I can’t believe we’re sacrificing a whole school of 130 places for £6m. That’s your decision, but I think it’s a real failing of this council.”

Independent Leighton Linslade West councillor Steve Owen said: “After some delay not caused by us, the government funding has arrived.

“There’s no loss here. The director’s view is the money is better spent on a decentralised basis, rather than in one place.

“The reasons are sound. This will have the benefit of offering children a shorter distance to school each day, with provision closer to their homes.”

The Central Bedfordshire Community Network Biggleswade West councillor Hayley Whitaker suggested: “It feels premature making a decision on this before the White Paper, which is due out next week.

“We’ve an idea about what that contains, but don’t know for sure. We hear it’s more about inclusion in mainstream, rather than individual settings. Is that included in mainstream, or is that additional resourced provision (ARPs)?

“If you’ve had this (news) since December, not going to scrutiny first is wrong. There was a children’s services committee meeting last month.

“I’m really disappointed, as this is so important for our SEN children and families. We should have waited until that White Paper is out to make this decision in the right context, as it’s very premature.”

Executive member for children and families councillor Mackey replied: “I’ll take the feedback to the education department and say we’d have liked more time to scrutinise this.

“We’re not losing any places. We’re delivering them far more flexibly, closer to home, in environments which suit the children’s needs. Exclusive provsion on the outskirts of this authority isn’t conducive to the way we operate. We incur transport costs for that.”

Independent Aspley and Woburn councillor John Baker added: “It’s a shame it’s taken the government so long to give us funding promised in 2022.”

The executive unanimously approved the capital offer to finance more SEN places locally.