Consultation on proposal to increase the number of places from 8 to 10 in the Communication and Interaction Resource Base at Newport Community School Primary Academy, Barnstaple

Update: 23 April 2024

Following consultation and completion of a full business case submission to the Department for Education (DfE), the Regional Director for the South West, DfE, has given approval for an increase in the number of places in the Communication and Interaction Needs Resource Base (CAIRB) from 8 to 10 at Newport Community School Primary Academy with effect from September 2024.

Background Information – archived

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Proposal
Newport Community School Primary Academy has a Resource Base for up to 8 learners with Communication and Interaction Needs. The proposal is to increase the number of places from 8 to 10 from 1 September 2024.

Background
Increasing resource base provision is part of a county-wide strategy by Devon County Council 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 (EHCP), 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.

Evidence of need
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 in recent years.

This 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.

There is capacity within the existing Resource Base to increase the number of places without any adjustment to premises being necessary.

The published admission number of the school will remain the same and will not be impacted by this proposal.

Costs and Expenditure
Revenue funding from Devon County Council is in place to support this proposal.

Admission to the Resource Base
To be considered for a place in a resource base, the child or young person must have an EHCP with the primary area of need identified as Autistic Spectrum Disorder/Speech, Language and Communication Needs. It is the Local Authority SEN Statutory Team who allocate places in the base, in consultation with the Academy Trust.

Consultation and decision-making process
This consultation will take place from 19 February to 18 March 2024.
The Academy Trust will make an application, through the submission of a business case, to the Department for Education’s (DfE) Southwest Region’s Group. The business case application will include the outcome of the consultation.
It is the regional directors of the DfE’s Southwest Region’s Group who will consider the application and outcome of the consultation and decide whether to approve the proposal to increase places from 8 to 10.

Responding to the consultation
Comments can be made to the Tarka Learning Partnership Academy Trust either by:
Email: admin@newport.tarkatrust.org.uk please mark the email ‘Resource Base Consultation’.
By post to: School Business Manager Newport Community School Primary Academy, Landkey Road, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 9BW.

Please note that all responses must be received by 18 March 2024.

All responses to the consultation will be considered and will be shared with the school’s leadership team, board of directors and trustees. Responses will also be shared with Devon County Council and the regional director’s office at the DfE, but we will not send individual responses to any specific points made.

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