West Croft School: Proposal to establish a new Resource Base

Update 23 April 2024

Following consultation and completion of the statutory process, Devon County Council has approved a proposal to establish a Resource Base at West Croft School, Bideford. The Resource Base will be for up to ten learners with Communication and Interaction Needs.

Background Information – archived

If you need this document in a different format or language, please contact Devon County Council’s School Consultation team on 01392 382057 or via email: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk

Devon County Council is formally consulting on establishing a Resource Base at West Croft School, Bideford, from 6 January 2025. It is proposed that the Resource Base will be for up to ten learners with Communication and Interaction Needs. The provision will be for learners who have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) and placements will be agreed by DCC’s SEN Statutory Team.

The proposal at West Croft School is part of a County-wide strategy by Devon County Council to increase Resource Base provision in response to the demand for increased special educational needs provision and to enhance the inclusive capacity of mainstream schools.

A Resource Base supports learners whose needs can be met in a mainstream setting but who require a specialist environment and support within the school. Pupils are supported within this environment with an Education Health and Care Plan, small class sizes and high staffing ratios. Their plan will also support their involvement in larger classes within the school according to the needs and progress of the pupil. Our aim is to enable pupils to fulfil their potential to successfully access part or all of the curriculum within the mainstream school.

Devon has one of the lowest percentages of learners accessing Resourced Provision in comparison to its statistical neighbours and is lower than the national average. Alongside this Devon has seen a significant increase in the number of children and young people with Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP) in recent years.

This proposal will ensure a better offer for children and young people that is local and suitable to their needs. The proposal will support more children with special educational needs to be educated and thrive in their local school and community, facilitating better access to the curriculum and avoiding the need for children to travel to an appropriate school further away from their local community.

West Croft School was last inspected by Ofsted in February 2022 and is a Good school. Ofsted reported that Leaders have high expectations of what pupils can achieve at West Croft. They want all pupils to become well-rounded learners. Leaders have constructed a curriculum that supports pupils not only academically, but also personally.  The report further comments that leaders, including governors, are ambitious for all pupils, including those with the most complex needs. Staff support this ambition. They understand how to support individual pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Pupils’ targets are set and reviewed at regular intervals to enable them to succeed.
All Ofsted reports are available via: www.ofsted.gov.uk

To ensure standards, quality and range of provision, expressions of interest were invited by Devon County Council from schools interested in extending their special educational capacity in areas of need. The criteria for selection considered applications only from ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rated schools and invited expressions of interest from within both primary and secondary schools and using selection criteria to ensure a good geographical spread, that there was existing capacity within the school to develop the base and there was staff expertise and specialist support available in the setting.

The provision of a Resource Base at West Croft School would not have a negative effect on other schools.

Capital funding of £8,000 has been approved by Devon County Council to support the provision of a Resource Base, should the proposal be approved.  An area for the Resource Base has been identified but the adjacent outdoor space would require fencing and adaptations to make it more accessible.  No planning consent is required.  Revenue funding from Devon County Council is in place to support this proposal.

During the informal consultation stage, it was proposed to open the Resource Base from the beginning of term, September 2024. However, this has now been modified to January 2025.

The Resource Base will not effect the Published Admission Number of the school.

An informal consultation was held between 4 January 2024 and 22 February 2024. Two responses were received. One from a parent which objected to the proposal and one from County Councillor Linda Hellyer for Bideford East in full support.

How to respond to this next stage

You can object to or comment on this proposal by:

Emailing: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk

Writing to: Shona Meek, Strategic Planning – Children’s Services, Room 120, Devon County Council, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QD.

by the closing date of 28 March 2024.

All responses to the consultation will be considered by Devon County Council and will be shared with the school’s leadership team and governors, unless you request otherwise. We will not send individual responses to any specific points made. Please see Devon County Council’s Privacy Notice for further information:
www.devon.gov.uk/privacy/privacy-notices/privacy-notice-for-representations-to-school-organisation-statutory-consultations/