Issue - decisions

As Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, I agree to:

1. APPROVE the change in the model of support to children and young people with Vision Impairment (VI) from SRP provision, to being supported by the KCC Specialist team in their local mainstream school.
2. APPROVE and adopt the policy position not to commission places in SRPs with a designation of Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
3. Confirm the policy position, that secondary school SRP places are commissioned for Years 7-11 only, with exceptions being considered on a case by case basis.
4. APPROVE the allocation of £20m of the High Needs Capital Grant to enable the delivery of an increase in commissioned SRP places, in line with the proposals set out in Tables 8c to 8f of the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2026-30.
5. DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director Children, Young People and Education to enter in to all and any necessary negotiations, consultations and contracts to commission the increase in SRP places set out in Tables 8c to 8f of the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2026-30, to change the designations of some existing SRPs as set out in Table 8g of the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2026-30, and to decommission some SRP provisions to implement the decisions set out at I. and II. above,
6. DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director Children, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to issue public notices and approve proposals on behalf of the Local Authority.
7. Delegate authority to the Corporate Director Children, Young People and Education to approve capital expenditure on individual SRP proposals contained in Tables 8c to 8f of the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2026-30 provided that the total capital expenditure remains within the agreed £20m, and in cases involving capital expenditure above £1m, such approval to be made in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills.
8. DELEGATE authority to the Director for Education and Special Educational Needs to enter into contracts and service level agreements (SLAs) with mainstream primary and secondary schools that provide either new or existing Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs), on behalf of Kent County Council under the current contract/SLA in place as agreed under key decision 23/00128.