Proposed decision –That Cabinet APPROVES the adoption of the Delivery of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE) Strategy.

 

Reason for the decision

 

This is a new strategy outside of KCC’s Policy Framework aligning to the Strategic Statement ‘Reforming Kent 2025-2028’.

 

Background

 

The ‘Department for Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE)’ was established by the Administration in May 2025.The proposed strategy sets out the second phase of DOLGE and the recommended collaborative KCC way of working to support this.In support of ‘Reforming Kent 2025-2028’, the strategy aims to promote further cost-consciousness, efficiency, and better spend of taxpayers’ money. The strategy will set out sensible and pragmatic solutions where efficiency is at the core.  

 

The four proposed strategic areas of focus are:

 

• Efficiency and simplification
• Ensuring spend and savings are to budget
• Commercial and income generation

§   Resilience and Local Government Reorganisation

 

Each strategic area will be supported by a series of top priorities; a number of core principles are proposed for use by the authority as a whole. 

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

 

None, as the logical progression for the DOLGE effort is to move the programme to an authority-wide and collaborative format, which is the strategy’s purpose.

 

 

 

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

 

The proposed decision aligns with Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement ‘Reforming Kent 2025-2028’ specifically Aim 2 ‘Reforming Kent County Council’ and the objective tomake every penny count, using a common-sense approach and DOLGE to find efficiency savings and income generation opportunities. The Strategic Statement proposes a DOLGE Strategy as it enters its second phase.

 

 

Proposed decision – To approve the implementation of the Families First Partnership Programme, in line with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 and The Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme Guide.

 

Following the Key Decision 25/00047 in August 2025 to approve the acceptance of grant funding for the Families First Programme for the period 2026/27, 2027/2028 and 2028/29, and to permit preparatory, mobilisation and design activity for the development of the Families First model, under delegated authority, the Interim Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education formally accepted the Children, Families and Youth Grant through Officer Decision OD/26/00006, which enabled the continued use of grant funding for preparatory and design activity and the funding of existing services, but did not authorise implementation of the new model.

 

This proposed decision is intended to approve and subsequently implement the new Families First Partnership Programme model in children’s services, moving from design into full delivery in line with statutory requirements.

 

Central government is investing over £800m between 2025 and 2029 into the  Families First Partnership (FFP) programme to support local authorities and their partners to deliver system wide reform of children’s services focused on the implementation of Family Help, Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams and Family Group Decision Making, in response to recommendations from: The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, and The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report on Child Protection in England. These reforms bring a significant shift and refocus how we help, protect and support children and families.

 

The aim of the Families First Programme is to deliver a fully integrated, family-centred system of support underpinned by strong multi-agency collaboration and shared accountability. The aim is for families to access and receive the right help at the right time from trusted practitioners who understand their story, coordinating support and providing consistent presence throughout their journey. The programme also seeks to deliver financial sustainability, ensuring that resources are used efficiently to deliver long-term value and improved outcomes.

 

The Families First Partnership programme aligns with the government’s vision for transformation across children’s social care (CSC) and is expected to realise the four outcomes of the Children’s Social Care National Framework:

Outcome 1: children, young people and families stay together and get the help they need

Outcome 2: children and young people are supported by their family network

Outcome 3: children and young people are safe in and outside of their homes

Outcome 4: children in care and care leavers have stable, loving homes

 

 

Background

 

The Council has progressed the transformation journey through initiation and co-design and a Target Operating Model for Families First for Children has been developed. The model was designed in collaboration with statutory partners and colleagues from voluntary services, frontline practitioners, children, young people and families, in line with the current timeline.

 

The reforms set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, combined with the Families First Partnership Programme Guide underpin the key reforms of Early Help, Child in Need, and Child Protection service delivery:

 

·   Family Help (Integrated Early Help and Child in Need): A single, integrated Family Help system replaces separate Targeted Early Help and Section 17 pathways, providing earlier, coordinated, relationship?based support through multi?disciplinary teams. In Kent, Family Help Teams will bring together Early Help, Children’s Social Care and Adolescent Services, led by social work managers, with specialist adolescent safeguarding roles for extra?familial risks.

·   Family Help Lead Practitioner (FHLP): A designated practitioner (social worker or alternatively qualified professional) responsible for assessing needs, coordinating the family plan and ensuring the right support is in place at the right time.

·   Single Family Help Assessment: One assessment framework within Liquid Logic (Liberi) enabling consistent recording and decision?making across Early Help, Child in Need and Child Protection, reducing duplication.

·   Multi?Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs): Virtual multi?agency teams holding strategy meetings and child protection decision?making, improving timeliness, information?sharing and consistency.

·   Lead Child Protection Practitioner (LCPP): A specialist Qualified Social Work leadership role providing oversight of risk assessment and decision?making across Section 47 activity, without holding cases.

·   Family Group Decision?Making (FGDM): Strengthened expectations that families are actively involved in decision?making and planning from the earliest point, building on family networks and resources.

 

These reforms aim to provide earlier, more coordinated intervention; strengthen professional decision?making through supervision and multi?agency challenge; ensure specialist oversight in all child protection work; and embed a more relational, family?centred approach across all levels of need, so that families are supported early and consistently.

 

Given the statutory nature of the reforms which are underpinned by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, and the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, a full public consultation is not required. The Act and the statutory guidance direct Kent County Council and all the other Local Authorities to implement these reforms in Children Services.

 

A further Key Decision will be required to formalise the deployment of the funding for the implementation of the Target Operating Model for Families First for Children, in accordance with the associated grant conditions:

 

·   Strengthen the Family Help offer in collaboration with safeguarding partners, by bringing together local services under a combined, multi-disciplinary practice team and seamless offer. This means ensuring join up between the non-statutory (targeted early help) and statutory components of Family Help (Section 17 of Children Act 1989) to wrap support around the family at the earliest opportunity, streamline re-assessment points and ensure consistency of relationships by establishing the role of the Family Help Lead Practitioner.

·   Work with safeguarding partners to deliver multi-agency child protection reform, including through establishing multi-agency child protection teams, with embedded social worker Lead Child Protection Practitioners, health, police and education practitioners and other agencies according to local needs.

·   Incorporate systemic use of family group decision-making and family network support packages to make greater use of family networks. Where it is in the best interests of the child, local partnerships should ensure that the offer of family group decision-making is made as early as possible and repeat the offer as a child’s needs and the support they receive changes.

 

The Children’s Wellbeing and School’s Act alongside the statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, mandate these reforms.

 

Formal approval of the implementation of the Families First for Children Target Operating Model design enables the Council to achieve its statutory obligations, meet the Central Government imposed implementation deadline of April 2027 and provide the right support and intervention for families at the right time.

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

The alternative option is to refuse the implementation of the new Families First Model. Since the Children Wellbeing and Schools Act achieved Royal Assent in April 2026 and with the publication of the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 these reforms are a legal requirement that must be implemented by all Local Authorities. Failure to implement the reforms would leave the Council non?compliant with legislative requirements, withdrawal of funding creating pressure on Kent County Council’s base budget for Children Services. Failure to implement Families First for Children will lead to increased scrutiny from Central Government and potential formal improvement intervention.

 

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

Formally approving the implementation of the Families First for Children Target Operating Model design, aligns directly with Aim 3: Supporting Residents That Need Help in the Reforming Kent 2025–2028 Strategy, as it strengthens Kent’s ability to embed a greater focus on prevention and early intervention and empower residents to take responsibility for improving their own outcomes. The grant directly supports our priorities to give families timely access to the right support so they can stay together wherever possible, to invest in prevention where financially viable and to put in place practical measures that empower families to make sensible life choices.

 

 

Financial Implications

The Families First model directly impacts the Children’s Social Care and Early Help services of the Council with a total net revenue budget of £297 million in 2026-27 of which £193m relates to children’s placements/support, and £104m to staffing. This budget is funded from the Council’s General Fund.

 

Kent County Council has received funding towards implementing the Families First Partnership Programme, known as the Children’s, Families and Youth Grant, totalling £21.7 million for 2026/2027, £21.7 million for 2027/2028 and £18.5 million for 2028/2029. This ring-fenced grant replaces funding previously received separately in 2025-26, through the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant (£6.7m) and Children’s and Families Grant (Supporting Families, £6m), along with additional new investment of £8.9m. It is expected the new model will be delivered with grant funding available. Failure to implement the Families First model in line with Government expectations may result in the potential loss of government funding.

 

Legal Implications  

The Corporate Director of Children's Services (DCS) at Kent County Council has statutory duties outlined in Section 18 of the Children Act 2004. These duties involve ensuring the delivery of Local Authority Social Care functions for children and young people. This includes, but is not limited to, providing services that meet the needs of all children, youth, including the most vulnerable, and their families.  The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and the statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 ‘ legally obliges Kent County Council to comply with the delivery requirements.

 

As the funding agreement extends beyond the anticipated go?live date for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in 2028, legal consideration has been given to the continuity of statutory duties and the future governance arrangements required to maintain compliance. The obligations attached to the grant will continue to apply regardless of structural changes arising from LGR, as the statutory requirements underpinning the reforms rest with the Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education.

 

Once the preferred LGR model is confirmed in July 2026, the programme will be aligned with the agreed transition arrangements to ensure that grant conditions, accountability for spend, and decision?making responsibilities can transfer lawfully to any successor body or bodies. This will include mapping statutory functions, reviewing governance frameworks, and establishing clear mechanisms for continuity of service delivery during and after the transition. The Executive Decision therefore establishes a legally secure basis for implementation now, while noting that formal variation or transfer arrangements may be required once LGR outcomes are confirmed.

            

Equalities implications

Future operations and activity will be designed to complement, develop and build on established family support services, including supporting diverse families that are seldom heard, which aligns Aim 3 of our Reforming Kent Strategy, ‘Supporting residents That Need Help'. An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) has been completed for the Families First Partnership Programme, considering potential impacts on individuals and families with protected characteristics. While the reforms introduced through Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 may increase early identification, information?sharing and multi?agency involvement for some groups, no disproportionate negative impacts have been identified that cannot be mitigated.

 

Mitigating actions are embedded within the programme design, including the consistent application of relational, trauma?informed practice; proportionate use of Family Help plans to support rather than penalise families; transparent and lawful information?sharing practices; and strengthened expectations around anti?discriminatory and anti?racist practice across agencies. The reforms also enhance family and community involvement, particularly through Family Group Decision?Making, to ensure plans are co?produced and culturally responsive, and that caring responsibilities are shared appropriately.

 

Specialist roles and multi?agency structures are designed to improve professional oversight, reduce bias, and support consistent, timely decision?making, while system design and practice guidance emphasise privacy, dignity and inclusion for all families. Equality impacts will continue to be monitored through implementation, supervision, data analysis and ongoing programme governance, and mitigations will be strengthened where required.

 

Data Protection implications

A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) has been completed and the following risks and mitigations have been identified.

 

• There is a risk that information may be shared or accessed by parties who do not need to access

Mitigation - Access to systems will be based on level of need and individuals will only have access to information relevant to their role. Where partners have access to The Liberi/ Liquid Logic Case Management System (to be determined) they will be signed up to the appropriate access policy and will have specific user profiles which will limit their access and requires extra justification around accessing KCC information.

 

• There is a risk that information relating to the wrong child is accidentally shared.

Mitigation – The implementation of a unique, universal identifier across all organisations to ensure each organisation is referring to the same child is to be rolled out nationally.

 

Proposed decision –

 

Cabinet is asked to:

 

(a)  NOTE the revenue and capital outturn position for 2025-26 detailed in the report, and accompanying appendices

(b)  AGREE roll forwards into 2026-27 in line with existing criteria (per Appendix)

(c)  AGREE the drawing down from reserves to fund the 2025-26 overspend

(d)  AGREE the capital slippage / re-phasing from 2025-26 will be added to the 2026-27 and later years’ capital budgets (per the report)

(e)  NOTE the review of the capital programme

(f)   AGREE the proposed capital cash limit changes (per Appendix)

(g)  AGREE the changes made as a result of a reserves review

 

Reason for the decision

 

The capital and revenue outturn position for the Council needs to be noted by Cabinet.  The rolling forward of funds into 2026-27, the capital budget changes and the reserves drawdowns and review needs to be agreed by Cabinet.

 

Background

 

The report on the Council’s financial position as at the end of 2025-26 will be reported to Cabinet on 25 June 2026. The report provides detail of our capital and revenue outturn positions and how the revenue overspend is funded from reserves, which needs to be approved by Cabinet.

 

Cabinet is also asked to agree revenue budget roll forwards, capital re-phasing, capital programme cash limit changes and reserves realignment following review.

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

 

N/A

 

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

 

The Council’s strategic statement, Reforming Kent 2025-28, recognises the significant financial and demand pressures the Council faces, balancing the need to manage spending, deliver savings and generate income, whilst delivering positive outcomes for Kent residents, businesses and local communities.

 

The Council’s strategic statement acknowledges the significance of adults social care and SEND on the wider KCC budget position and therefore the need for the financial position to presented to Cabinet for consideration on a regular basis. The forecast outturn report for 2025-26 provides the detail of the financial position and the relevant information on the delivery of savings, reserves position and Treasury Management.

 

 

Proposed decision –

To approve Kent County Council’s approach to photovoltaic (PV) generation

 

Reason for the decision

 

-      To update the 2014 position statement ‘Development of Large-Scale Solar Arrays’ to provide guidance to applicants, communities, and district councils to help support well designed and appropriately sited solar installations across Kent.

 

Background

 

KCC considers that Solar Developments:

 

(a)  Should be well-designed and appropriately located, which is consistent with its commitment to protecting valued landscapes, habitats, heritage, and agricultural land.

 

(b) Require careful consideration and should not be located on Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land (grades 1 to 3a). 

 

KCC does not support applications for ground mounted solar arrays that do not have a grid connection secured with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO)/National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) at the time the application is submitted.

 

KCC acknowledges that co-located Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) storage is generally necessary to make solar farms viable; however, KCC does not support grid-scale BESS.

 

KCC considers that BESS should only be co-located if “a” and “b” policy positions above are satisfied, and that safety measures are in place including minimum 25m separation distances, emergency access, fire?fighting provision and an Emergency Response Plan.

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

 

-      Retract, without replacing, the 2014 position statement ‘Development of Large-Scale Solar Arrays’.

-      KCC to have no position statement on solar development.

 

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

 

-      Stand firm against excessively large housing and solar farm developments.

-      Protecting our land from excessively large solar farms.

-      Push back on inappropriate solar farm development planned for Kent which is threatening the character of many local communities.

 

Proposed Decision:

To commission, via an external provider, Independent Advocacy, Independent Visitors, Independent Persons, Accompanying Adults, Appropriate Adults and Leaving Care Mentoring services to support children and young people.

 

Reason for decision:

 

The current service, called Representation, Rights and Advocacy (RRA), is commissioned via an external provider due to the need to have provision independent of the Local Authority. Having used all allowable extensions, the current contract ends in September 2027. This service is required to allow Kent County Council to meet its statutory obligations.

 

The current service has several service elements:

 

• Appropriate Adults - Service for young people aged 10 - 17 years and vulnerable adultsdetained at police custody suites who require support.
• Advocacy - Advocacy for Children in Care and for Care Leavers aged 16 – 24. (Must be delivered independently from the Local Authority).
• Independent visitors (IV) -For Children in Care aged 8 – 18 years.
• Independent Person- For Stage 2 complaints. (Must be delivered independently from the Local Authority).
• Accompanying Adults - For the purpose of age assessment interviews for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).(Best practice suggests independence from the Local Authority).

·   Leaving Care Mentoring – The provision of mentoring for care leavers aged 18–25 who are transitioning to independent living. 

 

The proposal is to commission an externally delivered service with the six elements together with one provider covering the county.

 

Using the current cost of the service, £258,800 per annum, for a contract for four years with two, two year extensions would mean that the total value of the contract exceeds £1m and impacts more than two electoral divisions.

 

Background:

·       Local authorities have statutory duties that underpin the elements of the these services. 

·       This proposal seeks approval to commission a new service that covers all of these elements for an initial term of four years (with two, two year extensions) following a compliant procurement .

·       Commissioning activity includes developing the Specification with professional stakeholders and children and young people.

 

Options  

In any commissioning activity, the options considered include

1.  Do nothing – KCC would fail to meet its statutory obligations

2.  Creating a new in-house model – Would not meet requirements of some elements to be independent from the Local Authority

3.  Externally commissioning a new service – Would meet statutory requirements for provision

 

These will be explored in more detail for the Recommendation Report.

 

Links to the Council’s Strategic Statement

This proposal aligns with Reforming Kent, 2025-2028; Aim three of Reforming Kent “Supporting residents that need help.”

 

The proposed service will support and empower young people to make informed choices about their care and to feel safe throughout their care journey. It will provide consistent, rights?based support during the custody process and throughout any age assessment, ensuring young people understand what is happening, can express their views, and are actively involved in decisions that affect them.

 

Financial Implications:

This service is currently budgeted from the Council’s General Fund. Spend is reported within the revenue budget against the Key service line Children in Need – Care and Support (payments and commissioned services).

 

The current cost of the service is £258,800 per annum which has been held for many years. We are expecting a price negotiation at the point of the agreed extension in September 2026.

 

Financial modelling is currently being undertaken and will be available at the point of Decision. This is to understand the impact of holding the price of the current contract to todays values along with a model of delivery consistent with market feedback.

 

The new proposal seeks a contract term of four years with two, two year extensions.

 

Legal Implications:

As this service has six elements, the legal basis differs, as follows:

 

 

Service Element	Statutory obligation
Appropriate Adults	Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and its Code of Practice C.
Accompanying Adults	Case law – including B v Merton, FZ v Croydon, together with Home Office policy, establishes that a supportive adult is required as best practice to ensure procedural fairness and achieve a Merton?compliant age assessment.
Independent Visitors	Children Act 1989, ss.23zb
Advocacy	Adoption and Children Act 2002, ss.26a
Independent Persons	Children Act 1989, ss.24d and 26
Leaving Care Mentoring	A non-statutory element that helps children in care prepare for adulthood and directly address the improvement area highlighted by Ofsted in The 2025 Ofsted Children’s Services Review, by strengthening the support available to care leavers.

 

The procurement of the services will be conducted in compliance with the Procurement Act 2023.

 

Proposed decision –The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills:

 

1. APPROVE the increase of Broomhill Bank School’s designated number from 318 students to 490 students

 

2. AGREE to allocate the funding from the Children Young People and Education Services High Needs Capital Budget that will be required to complete the expansion

 

3. AGREE to issue a Public Notice to permanently increase Broomhill Bank School’s formal designated numbers following a representation period of four weeks with no substantive objections received, implement the decision

 

4. DELEGATE authority to the Director of Infrastructure, in consultation with the Head of Law and Director of Education to enter into any necessary contracts or other legal agreements as required to implement the decision; and

 

5. AGREE for the Director of Infrastructure, to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements and to enter into variations as envisaged under the contracts.

 

Reason for the decision

 

Kent County Council (KCC) as the Local Authority, has a statutory duty to ensure sufficient high quality school places are available, in the right places for all learners, while at the same time fulfilling our other responsibilities to raise education standards and promote parental preference. The Kent Commissioning Plan 2025-2029 indicated that there will be a shortfall in Special School provision in North and West Kent. Even though KCC’s direction of travel is to increase Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision in mainstream schools and associated Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs), due to already identified shortfalls and anticipated population growth in certain areas of North and West Kent, more specialist provision is required for children and young people with more complex needs.

 

KCC SEN Data for North Kent as at April 2025, evidenced that there were 237 children and young people waiting for a Special School placement, and 243 open cases, of which was anticipated that a large number would require a Special School placement. For West Kent as at April 2025, there were 201 children and young people awaiting a Special School placement, with 207 open cases.

 

In July 2023 KCC was informed that it had been successful in bidding for a new 250 place Profound, Severe, and Complex Needs (PSCN) Special School in North Kent (Swanley). The school had an initial target opening date of September 2026 and was to be funded and built by the Department for Education (DfE). However, for a number of reasons progress has been incredibly slow and there are now concerns that the school may not progress any further. Even if it were to continue, that school would not be built until 2028 at the very earliest and as the data shows, provision is required now. KCC Officers and the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills continue to push the DfE and Ministers for confirmation of the status of the proposed new Swanley Special School.

 

The proposal to permanently increase the formal designated number of the Broomhill Bank School from 318 students to 490 students, will require new teaching spaces and enhancements to existing infrastructure on both school sites in Tunbridge Wells and Hextable.

 

If no further action is taken in the longer term, KCC will find it extremely difficult to provide sufficient state-funded Special School provision in North and West Kent.

 

Background – Provide brief additional context

 

Broomhill Bank School is a Foundation Special School and a member of Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KsENT), catering for students aged 11-19 years who have communication and interaction needs associated with Autism and speech, language, and communication needs. All students have Education, Health, and Care Plans. Following an inspection that took place in October 2023, Ofsted deemed Broomhill Bank School to be a ‘GOOD’ school.

 

Due to delays regarding the proposed new PSCN School, the numbers of students in North Kent still requiring specialist provision at this time, and the fact that all Special Schools in the locality are already over capacity; this is unsustainable in the short and medium term, and if not addressed will lead to further places in the independent sector. There is a clear need for further expansion of state-funded specialist provision, where appropriate, to secure the current number of places on a permanent basis alongside the expansion of SRPs and mainstream inclusion.

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

 

KCC has considered whether other Special Schools in the North and West Kent areas are viable candidates for a permanent increase to their formal designated numbers. There is also a proposal to expand Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy, but this alone will not produce sufficient places to meet current demand, as that expansion primarily relates to additional places for Primary age children. Therefore, Broomhill Bank School is the most appropriate and viable option to also increase its designated number.

 

By increasing their formal designated number through the physical expansion of Broomhill Bank School, which is KCC maintained provision, it protects the Local Authority from increased revenue costs. The proposal will help to mitigate against the need to place students further away from home and incurring additional transport costs, alongside incurring increased costs from placing a greater number of children in high-cost independent settings to alleviate the current pressures in KCC state-funded Special Schools in the area.

 

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

 

The 'Securing Kent's Future' strategy outlines the measures that KCC intend to take to ensure that Kent remains financially stable, now, and long into the future. It describes the statutory priorities.

 

This proposed decision supports Priority 1 of Framing Kent’s Future-Our Council Strategy 2022-2026:

·         Priority 1: Levelling Up Kent – It will help maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families.

 

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future 2022-2026: Securing Kents Future - Budget Recovery Strategy.pdf

 

This proposed decision is compliant with Objective 1 of Securing Kent’s Future, KCC as the LA proposes to expand Broomhill Bank School.This proposal is necessary for KCC to continue to deliver the statutory duty, in a cost-effective way, in line with the guidelines described in the Securing Kent's Future 2022-2026 strategy.

 

The proposed new Strategic Statement will be presented to Full Council on 6 November 2025 and considered for adoption. As this FED was drafted prior to that date, it aligns with the relevant policies at the time. Even though the Cabinet Committee Paper will be published after 6 November 2025 Full Council meeting, it will have been drafted prior to the adoption of a new Strategic Statement and so will also refer to Securing Kent’s Future 2022-2026.

 

Financial Implications

 

Progression of the scheme will be dependent on the outcome of detailed feasibility and design work – these will inform the full overall cost of the scheme, at which point the formal decision will be taken by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills. The project will be a school managed scheme and will be confirmed via legally binding funding and development agreements between KCC and Broomhill Bank School. The costs of the two new blocks on the North (Hextable) site, and upgrades and modifications across both the North (Hextable) site and West (Tunbridge Well) site will be borne by the CYPE High Needs Capital Budget. This is funded from a ring-fenced Capital Grant from the DfE. From initial feasibility studies, the estimated cost for the whole scheme was £4,000,000.

 

However, after initial feedback from KCC Planning and Highways colleagues, there is a possibility that costs may increase, primarily due to the need for additional Highways mitigations around the Broomhill Bank School North (Hextable) site. Therefore, we will not be requesting the formal decision to be taken until such time that planning is concluded, and the full extent of the cost of the scheme is known.The latest estimates indicate the costs could increase to as much as c£5.5m, but much work still needs to be undertaken with Planners and Highways to determine the extent of the mitigations required.

 

For Special School capital projects, the average cost per student place for a school expansion in Kent is c£85,000. However, even if this scheme were to produce only the teaching accommodation for 105 students the higher estimated cost equates to a cost per place of c£52,000, which still demonstrates good value for money.

 

KCC Project Managers will be undertaking continuous checks to keep project costs as low as possible.

 

An allowance of up to £2,500 per teaching space may be payable to Broomhill Bank School; to outfit each new teaching room with appropriate ICT equipment, such as touch screens or projection equipment. This will be met from the overall Capital allocation for this scheme.

 

The High Needs Capital Programme has been running since 2020-21 with a total combined budget of just under £109m of which £67m has been either spent or committed to current known schemes (as at Quarter 1 2025 capital monitoring reported to Cabinet in September 2025). In the same way as the Basic Need programme is managed, to ensure all schemes are prioritised appropriately and expenditure is controlled within available funding, any proposed new or additional capital expenditure, first needs to be considered by KCC Officers through Education Asset Board, before being progressed through the formal governance processes and included in the capital programme.

 

Should the scheme not proceed through to completion, any costs incurred at the time of cessation would become abortive costs and are likely to be recharged to Revenue. This would be reported through the regular financial monitoring reports to Cabinet. This would be a cost to the General Fund.

 

As the scheme progresses, £8,000 per newly provided learning space, would be provided towards the cost of furniture and equipment, such as tables, desks, chairs, cabinets and learning resources. This would be funded from the Dedicated Schools Grant Growth Fund.

 

State funded Special School places are commissioned by Local Authorities and paid based on a rate per place. The rate per place set by KCC for Broomhill Bank School is currently between £15,041 to £24,946 dependant on need type. The higher rate for Broomhill Bank School is approximately £35,000 less than a place in an independent Special School. Local Authorities use the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant to pay for these places. Broomhill Bank School will use the revenue income they receive to facilitate additional staffing requirements and increased running costs.

 

Legal Implications

 

Under the Children and Families Act 2014 KCC has a duty ‘to support the child and his or her parent, or the young person, in order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help him or her achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes’. By ensuring we have appropriate provision as locally as possible, we are delivering on our obligation in accordance with this legislation.

 

Local Authorities need to deliver their statutory duties and be aware of non-statutory guidance and advice, which relate to children and young people with SEN. These are:

·       Department for Education-Making significant changes to maintained schools 2025: statutory guidance for proposers and decision makers.

·       The Equalities Act which: places duties on Local Authorities to review support services and in doing so requires Local Authorities to have due regard to the way in which any changes will affect children and young people with a disability.

·       The SEND Code of Practice places requirements on Local Authorities to: provide access to advice from a suitably qualified person as part of the EHCP process and subsequent “assess, plan, do, review” cycles, and make appropriate provision for those with an EHC plan in the 0-25 range.

·       Sufficiency Duties: KCC is under a statutory duty to contribute towards the spiritual, moral, mental, and physical development of the community by securing that efficient primary education and secondary education are available to meet the needs of the population of their area: section 13 of the Education Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”).

·       KCC must ensure that its education functions are exercised by the authority with a view to promoting high standards, ensuring fair access to opportunity for education and training, and promoting the fulfilment of learning potential by every person under the age of 20 and those over the age of 20 and for whom an EHC Plan is maintained: section 13A. By section 14, KCC must secure that sufficient schools for providing primary and secondary education are available for their area, defined as being sufficient in number, character and equipment to provide for all students the opportunity of appropriate education.

·       Under section 27 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”), KCC is under a duty to keep under review the educational provision, training provision and social care provision made in its area (and outside it) for children and young people who have special educational needs or a disability. KCC must consider the extent to which its provision is sufficient to meet the educational needs, training needs and social care needs of the children and young people concerned.

·         KCC, when carrying out its functions must have “due regard” to the provisions of section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, known as the ‘public sector equality duty’.

 

All individual proposals to either establish new, expand current or cease current provision are required to go through the statutory process under The School Organisation (Prescribed Alterations to Maintained Schools) (England) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025. As part of this process, a public consultation was undertaken ahead of presentation of the proposal to CYPE Cabinet Committee. Should the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills agree to the permanently increase to the formal designated number of the Broomhill Bank School from 318 students to 490 students, through a permanent expansion, a Public Notice will be issued for a period of 4 weeks.

 

The Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Director of Education will be overseeing the scheme to ensure public funds are utilised appropriately.

 

Proposed decision –The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills:

 

1. APPROVE the requisite funding from the Children Young People and Education High Needs Capital Programme that will be required to increase Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy’s designated number from 120 to 192 students

 

2. DELEGATE authority to the Director of Infrastructure, in consultation with the Head of Law and Director of Education to enter into any necessary contracts or other legal agreements as required to implement the decision; and

 

3. AGREE for the Director of Infrastructure, to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements and to enter into variations as envisaged under the contracts.

 

Reason for the decision

 

Kent County Council (KCC) as a Local Authority, has a statutory duty to ensure sufficient high quality school places are available, in the right places for all learners, while at the same time fulfilling our other responsibilities to raise education standards and promote parental preference. The Kent Commissioning Plan 2025-2029 indicated that there will be a shortfall in Special School provision in North Kent. Even though KCC’s direction of travel is to increase Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision in mainstream schools and associated Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs), due to already identified shortfalls and anticipated population growth in certain areas of North Kent, more specialist provision is required for children and young people with more complex needs.

 

KCC SEN Data for North Kent as at April 2025, evidenced that there were 237 children and young people waiting for a Special School placement, and 243 open cases, of which was anticipated that a large number would require a Special School placement.

 

In July 2023 KCC was informed that it had been successful in bidding for a new 250 place Profound, Severe, and Complex Needs (PSCN) Special School in North Kent (Swanley). The school had an initial target opening date of September 2026 and was to be funded and built by the Department for Education (DfE). However, for a number of reasons progress has been incredibly slow and there are now concerns that the school may not progress any further. Even if it were to continue, that school would not be built until 2028 at the very earliest and as the data shows, provision is required now. KCC Officers and the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills continue to push the DfE and Ministers for confirmation of the status of the proposed new Swanley Special School.

 

The proposal to facilitate the expansion of Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy will create 48 places of additional primary provision (Reception to Year 6) plus additional places for secondary aged pupils. The building project for this expansion will be managed by Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy, while KCC Infrastructure will oversee the scheme from a quality assurance perspective.

 

If no further action is taken in the longer term, KCC will find it extremely difficult to provide sufficient state-funded Special School provision in North Kent.

 

Background – Provide brief additional context

 

Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy is a Single Academy Trust and officially sits under the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) but is located in Swanley Kent. KCC is the

main placing authority with the school. Parkwood HallCo-operative Academy is a Special

School for children and people aged 8-19 (Year 4 to Year 14) who have moderate to severe

learning difficulties and Autism. Many of the students have additional needs including ADHD,

Downs Syndrome and language difficulties. All students have Education, Health and Care

Plans. Following an inspection that took place in July 2025, Ofsted deemed Parkwood Hall Co-

operative Academy to be a ‘GOOD’ in 4 out of the 5 areas, and ‘OUTSTANDING’ in the area of

Behaviours an Attitudes.

 

The Principal of Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy is already admitting students over and

above the designated number. Currently the number of students on roll is 135. Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy continues to admit students with more complex needs, whilst ensuring the quality of education for all students is maintained.

 

Due to the school’s location RBKC now has limited interaction with the school and places a

very limited number of children and young people there. KCC continues to be one of the main

placing authorities with Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy, placing 61 students out of a total school roll of 136 for the 2024/2025 academic year. For the start of this current academic year, 2025/2026, the school has 65 students placed by Kent out of a total school roll of 135 with no students placed from RBKC.

                       

KCC has formed strong working relationships with the Senior Leadership of Parkwood Hall Co-

operative Academy, and the school has indicated its very clear desire to be recognised as part

of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system in Kent. Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy

has acknowledged the need for more specialist placements for children with complex needs

predominantly across the primary age groups, and has therefore proposed to expand its age

range from what is currently 8- to 19-year-olds (Year 4 to Year 14) to 4-to-19-year olds

(Reception to Year 14) to support need in the North Kent area.

 

North Kent is still encountering significant growth primarily in Dartford, but the other two districts

of Gravesham and Sevenoaks are fast approaching completion of their new Local Plans, which

will see significant housebuilding required for the period up to 2040 and beyond.

 

Due to delays regarding the proposed new PSCN School, the numbers of students in North

Kent still requiring specialist provision at this time, and the fact that all Special Schools in the

locality are already over capacity, there is a clear need for further expansion of state-funded

specialist provision to ensure the current number of places can be maintained on a permanent

basis.             

 

This proposal is part of a plan to help alleviate current pressures and help mitigate future

population growth across the wider North Kent area, alongside the expansion of SRPs and

mainstream inclusion.

 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

 

KCC has considered whether other Special Schools in the North Kent area are viable candidates for a permanent increase to their formal designated numbers. There is also a proposal to expand Broomhill Bank School, but this alone will not produce sufficient places to meet current demand, as that expansion primarily relates to additional places for secondary age children. Therefore, Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy is the most appropriate and viable option to also increase its designated number. It is however, recognised there is no guarantee these places will be offered to Kent children, and we have no statutory intervention powers to secure these placements. Although this has been considered an acceptable risk.

        

By increasing their formal designated number through the physical expansion of Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy, which is a state-funded provision, it protects the Local Authority from increased revenue costs. The proposal will help to mitigate against the need to place students further away from home and incurring additional transport costs, alongside incurring increased costs from placing a greater number of children in high-cost independent settings to alleviate the current pressures in KCC state-funded Special Schools in the area.

 

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

 

The 'Securing Kent's Future' strategy outlines the measures that KCC intend to take to ensure that Kent remains financially stable, now, and long into the future. It describes the statutory priorities.

 

This proposed decision supports Priority 1 of Framing Kent’s Future-Our Council Strategy 2022-2026:

·         Priority 1: Levelling Up Kent – It will help maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families.

 

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future 2022-2026: Securing Kents Future - Budget Recovery Strategy.pdf

 

This proposed decision is compliant with Objective 1 of Securing Kent’s Future, KCC as the LA proposes to expand Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy.This proposal is necessary for KCC to continue to deliver the statutory duty, in a cost-effective way, in line with the guidelines described in the Securing Kent's Future 2022-2026 strategy.

 

The proposed new Strategic Statement will be presented to Full Council on 6 November 2025 and considered for adoption. As this FED was drafted prior to that date, it aligns with the relevant policies at the time. Even though the Cabinet Committee Paper will be published after 6 November 2025 Full Council meeting, it will have been drafted prior to the adoption of a new Strategic Statement and so will also refer to Securing Kent’s Future 2022-2026.

 

Financial Implications

 

Progression of the scheme will be dependent on the outcome of detailed feasibility and design work – these will inform the full overall cost of the scheme, at which point the formal decision will be taken by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills. The project will be a school managed scheme and will be confirmed via legally binding funding and development agreements between KCC and Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy.

 

The cost of the works will be borne by the CYPE High Needs Capital Budget; this is funded from a ring-fenced Capital Grant from the DfE. From initial feasibility studies, the estimated cost for the whole scheme was £1,500,000. However, after initial feedback from KCC Infrastructure colleagues, there is a possibility that costs may increase, primarily due to the possible need for additional Highways mitigations around the Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy site and other requirements on the refurbishments of existing buildings. Therefore, we will not be requesting the formal decision to be taken until such time that planning is concluded, and the full extent of the cost of the scheme is known. The latest estimates indicate the costs could increase to as much as c£3,000,000, but much work still needs to be undertaken with Planners and Highways to determine the extent of any mitigations that may be required. 

 

For Special School capital projects, the average cost per student place for a school expansion in Kent is c£85,000. However, the higher estimated cost for this scheme equates to a cost per place of only c£42,000, which demonstrates good value for money.            KCC Project Managers will be undertaking continuous checks to keep build project costs as low as possible.

 

An allowance of up to £2,500 may be payable to Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy to outfit each new teaching room with appropriate ICT equipment, such as touch screens or projection equipment. This will be met from the overall Capital allocation for this scheme.

 

The High Needs Capital Programme has been running since 2020-21 with a total combined budget of just under £109m of which £67m has been either spent or committed to current known schemes (as at Quarter 1 2025 capital monitoring reported to Cabinet in September 2025).In the same way as the Basic Need programme is managed, to ensure all schemes are prioritised appropriately and expenditure is controlled within available funding, any proposed new or additional capital expenditure, first needs to be considered by KCC Officers through Education Asset Board, before being progressed through the formal governance processes and included in the capital programme.

 

Should the scheme not proceed through to completion, any costs incurred at the time of cessation would become abortive costs and are likely to be recharged to Revenue. This would be reported through the regular financial monitoring reports to Cabinet. This would be a cost to the General Fund.

 

State funded Special School places are commissioned by Local Authorities and paid based on a rate per place. The rate per place for Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy is currently between £30,430 to £31,400 dependent on the Key Stage. The higher rate forParkwood Hall Co-operative Academy is approximately c£30,000 less than a place in an independent Special School. Local Authorities use the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant to pay for these places. Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy will use the revenue income they receive to facilitate additional staffing requirements and increased running costs.

 

Legal Implications

 

Under the Children and Families Act 2014 KCC has a duty ‘to support the child and his or her parent, or the young person, in order to facilitate the development of the child or young person and to help him or her achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes’. By ensuring we have appropriate provision as locally as possible, we are delivering on our obligation in accordance with this legislation.

 

Local Authorities need to deliver their statutory duties and be aware of non-statutory guidance and advice, which relate to children and young people with SEN. These are:

·       Department for Education-Making significant changes to an academy 2025: non-statutory guidance on collaborative school place planning and making organisational changes to academies.

·       The Equalities Act which:  places duties on Local Authorities to review support services and in doing so requires Local Authorities to have due regard to the way in which any changes will affect children and young people with a disability.

·       The SEND Code of Practice places requirements on Local Authorities to: provide access to advice from a suitably qualified person as part of the EHCP process and subsequent “assess, plan, do, review” cycles, and make appropriate provision for those with an EHC plan in the 0-25 range.

·       Sufficiency Duties: KCC is under a statutory duty to contribute towards the spiritual, moral, mental, and physical development of the community by securing that efficient primary education and secondary education are available to meet the needs of the population of their area: section 13 of the Education Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”).

·       KCC must ensure that its education functions are exercised by the authority with a view to promoting high standards, ensuring fair access to opportunity for education and training, and promoting the fulfilment of learning potential by every person under the age of 20 and those over the age of 20 and for whom an EHC Plan is maintained: section 13A. By section 14, KCC must secure that sufficient schools for providing primary and secondary education are available for their area, defined as being sufficient in number, character and equipment to provide for all students the opportunity of appropriate education.

·       Under section 27 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”), KCC is under a duty to keep under review the educational provision, training provision and social care provision made in its area (and outside it) for children and young people who have special educational needs or a disability. KCC must consider the extent to which its provision is sufficient to meet the educational needs, training needs and social care needs of the children and young people concerned.

·       KCC, when carrying out its functions must have “due regard” to the provisions of section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, known as the ‘public sector equality duty’.

 

Planning permission will be required for the new accommodation to enable the expansion of the school’s accommodation. As part of the Funding Agreement, Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy will be responsible for gaining the appropriate planning consent.

 

All individual proposals to either establish new, expand current or cease current provision will be required to go through the DfE process of making significant changes to an academy (non-statutory guidance on collaborative school place planning and making organisational changes to academies, August 2025).

 

The Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Director of Education will be overseeing the scheme to ensure public funds are utilised appropriately.