Derbyshire council allocates over £13m of funding for SEND school projects and inclusion

Derbyshire County Council has agreed to allocate over £13m of Government funding towards three school projects and towards improving mainstream inclusion for youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Conservative-controlled council’s Cabinet recently noted and approved a £6,612,224 allocation of the Government Department for Education’s funding for building adaptations and new facilities at Holbrook School for Autism, in Belper, a three classroom modular building and a vocational learning space at Alfreton Park Special School and for a Pupil Referral Unit at The Hunloke Centre, in Chesterfield, and the Cabinet also agreed under the Children’s Services SEND High Needs Capital Budget to allocate £7m towards the expansion of mainstream alternate or specialist SEND provision leaving the council with £3,277,215 from the original, remaining funding balance from the Government of £16,889,439 to allow for any contingencies at a later stage.

County Council Leader, Barry Lewis, said: “It’s an important piece of work to be done there and it’s important for our mainstream schools and takes a lot of pressure off the system.”

The Cabinet agreed to allocate the £6,612,224 towards the first phase of on-going special school expansions and for the £7m to go towards a further phase which is focused on increasing the inclusive capacity of mainstream schools.

Holbrook School for Autism, or The Whitemoor Centre, in Belper, has previously benefited from a £250,000 funding boost to enable Phase One of its project to create two additional pupil places which created provision for pupils with both autism and severe learning difficulties with adaptations to the existing buildings, the provision of suitable outdoor facilities and specialist equipment.

The Cabinet previously approved a further £365,777 additional funding for Phase Two of this project to allow The Esteem Multi Academy Trust to self-manage the refurbishment and remodelling of the adjacent Whitemoor Centre to accommodate additional pupils with SEND, and councillors have now approved £5,712,224 of funding from the remaining Children’s Services SEND High Needs Capital Budget to cover the future costs of the project and to complete its three final phases.

Cllr Alex Dale, the Cabinet Member for Education, said: “It will be a really significant additional capacity for children with autism and there will be additional adaptations and top-ups.”

Alfreton Park Special School has already benefited from £1,600,000 of approved funding to provide a three classroom modular building and a one classroom vocational learning space in which to accommodate 10 additional pupils, increasing to 45 additional pupils at the end of the project and an additional £500,000 has now been agreed to initiate and complete this project.

The Cabinet has also now agreed to the allocation of £400,000 to enable a feasibility study into a project identified by The Hunloke Centre – Esteem Multi Academy Trust to lease Hunloke Education Centre on the Spire Nursery and Infant and Birdholme Children’s Centre site for a Pupil Referral Unit and further funding will be sought once full design and costings have been received through the tender process.

Its allocation of £7m of funding from the remaining Children’s Services SEND High Needs Provision Capital Budget is to be used to support the increasing demand for alternative specialist provision for pupils in Derbyshire under the Derbyshire Education Partnership Board’s Expansion of Mainstream Alternate or Specialist Provision.

Cllr Dale confirmed the £7m will help increase the inclusion of SEND pupils in mainstream schools and that the council is eager for this money to be put to use as quickly as possible.

A council spokesperson stated: “The objective of such provision is to ensure sufficiency of specialist places for children with special educational needs and disabilities across Derbyshire.”

Cllr Dale told the Cabinet meeting on April 10 the total allocation of over £13m would support the provision of places in specialist or mainstream settings for children with special educational needs and disabilities and the leftover £3,277,215 from the original balance of £16,889,439 of Government funding would allow for any contingencies with ongoing project costs.

In May and July, last year, the council also announced plans to spend approximately £11m of its overall share of Government funding to support the creation of 300 new special school places across the county as part of the first phase of wider plans to improve the number of SEND places across specialist and mainstream settings leaving £16,889,439 for its latest plans.