Consultation:
Holsworthy Community College: Proposal to establish a Resource Base
Update January 2024
The proposal to establish a Resource Base for up to ten learners with communication and interaction needs at Holsworthy Community College has been approved by the Department for Education’s Regional Director for the South West.
Background information:
If you need this document in a different format or language, please contact the school consultation team on 01392 382057 or via email: schoolconsultations@devon.gov.uk
Proposal
Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust is proposing to establish from September 2024 a resource base for up to ten learners with communication and interaction needs at Holsworthy Community College.
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, 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 (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 proposals 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.
Holsworthy College Proposal
The proposed resource base at Holsworthy Community College would support children and young people with a primary need of communication and interaction with an EHCP. The provision would be inclusive of children with communication and interaction needs and likely presenting with behaviours consistent with an autism diagnosis. It is proposed that the base would open from September 2024 for up to ten learners.
Existing suitable space at the College has been identified for the resource base. The published admission number of the College will remain the same and will not be impacted by this proposal.
Costs and Expenditure
It is estimated that this will cost an initial £135,000.
Revenue funding from Devon County Council is in place to support these proposals.
Admission to the Resource Base
To be considered for a place in a resource base, the child or young person must have an EHCP. Should the creation of the resource bases be agreed, it is the local authority 0-25 SEN team who will allocate places in the bases, in consultation with the Trust.
Consultation and decision-making process
This consultation will take place from Monday 31st October to Monday 27th November 2023. There will be a consultation evening on Wednesday 8th November running from 5pm to 6pm in the purple circle at Holsworthy Community College. This will be an opportunity to hear about the proposal and ask any questions that you may have.
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 establishment of the resource bases.
Responding to the consultation
Comments can be made to Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust either by:
Email: resourcebaseconsultation@dmatschools.org.uk
By post to: Holsworthy Community College, Victoria Hill, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6JD
Please note that all responses must be received by 27th November 2023.
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.
Email: resourcebaseconsultation@dmatschools.org.uk