Consultation hub

Whether Sunnydown School should be redesignated as Communication and Interaction Needs (CoIN).

83% of responses agreed with the proposal.  17% disagreed.  Concerns were raised about the impact on existing pupils.  However there are no plans to change the pupils currently attending the school, and these pupils fit within the CoIN need description so would be unaffected.

Statutory notices were published on 12 April for a further 4 week period during which interested parties can make representations.

Should we amalgamate The Hope, Epsom with The Hope, Guildford to become one pupil referral unit (PRU), with one establishment number, but based across two sites.  Pupil admissions would remain unchanged, and the existing single management committee would continue to oversee both centres; there would be no change to existing staffing structures or working arrangements.  By being registered as a single PRU, the service would receive a single Ofsted inspection, instead of two.

A total of 4 responses was received during the consultation period which closed on Wednesday 7 October 2015.  All the responses agreed with the proposal to amalgamate The Hope Epsom and The Hope Guildford to become a single establishment.

It was decided to proceed with the proposal and the statutory notice was issued on Monday 12 October 2015.  No further representations were submitted.  The proposal and consultation results were presented to the Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement on Monday 14 December 2015.  The Cabinet Member approved the recommendation of the proposal to amalgamate both sites.  From January 2016 the Hope Service will be registered as one school based over two sites.

In May 2015, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust informed the Surrey County Council, the CCGs and family voice Surrey that it proposed to discontinue short breaks services at Beeches from November 2015. In light of this outcome, Cabinet agreed on 29 July 2015 to consult further before determining if Surrey County Council should fund services at Beeches, or fund alternative services, which may result in Beeches being closed.

The feedback from current users is centred on the impact the removal of the service will have on their children and the wellbeing of their families. The families that do not currently use Beeches say that there is unknown need within the community and Surrey County Council is failing to reach out to families. They comment that Beeches is not offered as an overnight short break option to families and that it does not feature in Surrey County Council’s directory of short breaks. Overall, the feedback is that short breaks are a lifeline to families (described in the joint strategic review) and without them they would not be able to cope with their children’s needs.

At Cabinet on 27 October 2015, the following recommendations were approved. 1. Surrey County Council contracts with Surrey and Borders Partnership (SABP) for overnight short break at Beeches for up to 12 months commencing on 1 December 2015 as an interim arrangement. 2. The interim arrangement is reviewed by Cabinet as part of a revised special educational needs and disability (SEND) strategy be brought back to Cabinet that includes recommendations from the SEND Governance Board regarding future provision for short breaks. 3. A report is presented to Cabinet within the 12 month interim period based on an assessment of the needs for children with disabilities in the east of the county, and an assessment of capacity available in order to meet demand, in relation to short break provision.