Have your say on proposals to improve education services for children in Torbay with additional needs

Local parents, children, schools and other stakeholders in Torbay are being asked to take part in a consultation on a proposed new way of working for services for children with additional needs including Special Educational Needs (SEND).

Torbay Council is proposing to work with local partners on a new Locality based model, to drive area wide improvements to mainstream inclusion and education, to ensure the needs of children and young people with High Needs who are aged 5 to 18 years are sufficiently planned and provided for. It also aims for a more consistent provision for children who are medically unwell to attend their school, and may also help reduce suspensions and exclusions.

The new Locality based proposal sees education settings organised into Clusters which will work collaboratively, including:

• Schools
• parents/carers
• Torbay Council
• the NHS
• other local service providers

Councillor Nick Bye, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “I would strongly encourage local families, parents and carers, children and young people with additional needs, schoolteachers and other professionals working with children and families, to get involved with this important consultation about how we deliver these services in the future.

“We want to see a happy, healthy and prosperous Torbay, and we are working towards Torbay being recognised as a UNICEF Child Friendly community.

“The ambition with this proposed change is that children and young people’s needs will be identified accurately and assessed in a timely and effective way, so they receive the right support, in the right place and at the right time.

“So please do either take the survey online, complete a paper survey or attend one of the upcoming consultation events.”

Proposed changes

Each Locality will have a ‘Cluster Panel’ to consist of headteachers, SEND Coordinators (SENDCo) and other school leadership representatives of the mainstream primary and secondary schools within their defined cluster who have direct experience and expertise in organising and providing support in schools to children and young people. Around each Cluster there will be a multi-agency team of professionals working together for the best outcomes.

One of the proposals is new Enhanced Resource Bases (ERPS or Hubs) for each Cluster. An ERP is a specialist base set up in mainstream schools to support particular needs of our children and young people who find it challenging to remain in a typical classroom environment for the entirety of the school day, and may need to access learning in smaller groups. This Locality proposal would seek to retain the concept of these but make the model more flexible to support more needs without necessarily the need for an EHCP. In our proposal these ERPs or Hubs would include:

• a greater offer of Outreach Services to other schools in the Cluster,
• short term and flexible support to young people (rather than a long term ‘place’ in the hub) and
• be open to young people with and without plans (and those without a diagnosis) equally.

In some cases there may be more than one of these ERPs/Hubs per Cluster.

Parkfield

The covenant for the Parkfield building states that it must be used primarily for youth activities, and through this consultation the Council will work with parents, carers, and community groups to consider how we maximise use for young people at weekends, evenings, school holidays, and outside of the hours dedicated to the delivery of existing services.

Find out more

To have your say, visit our website to do the survey online or request a paper copy.

Take the survey

Read the Cabinet Report on the consultation

Read the consultation document

Come to one of our Consultation events

We have organised a series of face to face and online consultation events, details of which are below. Young people in Torbay will also be consulted through various groups running this term, and we thank SEND Family Voice and Tissues and Issues who are hosting events for parents and carers. We will also publish details of further engagement events during the three month consultation.

Events we’re hosting and how to get involved

Tuesday 8 October, 1.30pm to 2.30pm: Next Steps Group, Family Hub, The Barn, Brixham Enterprise Estate, Rea Barn Road, Brixham, TQ5 9DF - Drop in event, open to all

Friday 11 October, 1.30pm to 2.30pm: Next Steps Group, Family Hub, The Beehive, Bishops Place, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3DZ - Drop in event, open to all

Monday 14 October, 5pm: Coaching Room, Paignton Academy, Waterleat Road site, TQ3 3WA - Schools engagement event – Please note this event is aimed at school leaders in Torbay. RSVP to Localityconsultation@torbay.gov.uk

Wednesday 16 October, 1.30pm to 2.30pm: Next Steps Group, Torquay Family Hub, 32 Market St, Torquay TQ1 3AQ - Drop in event – open to all

Thursday 17 October, 5.30pm to 6.30pm: Online virtual event (via Teams). Open to all - Sign up via Ticket Tailor

Thursday 17 October, 1pm to 5pm: Hosted by Mayfield College Sixth Form, Occombe House, Cockington Road, Preston Down Road, Paignton TQ3 1RN. Event for Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to focus on the use of the Parkfield Space within the Locality proposal. RSVP to Localityconsultation@torbay.gov.uk

12 November 5.30pm to 6.30pm: Online virtual event (via Teams). Open to all - Sign up via Ticket Tailor.

Wednesday 4 December 5.30pm to 6.30pm: Online virtual event (via Teams). Open to all - Sign up via Ticket Tailor.