Alternative Provision for Education

Tender description

Medway Council’s Education and SEND Division is looking to increase capacity of Alternative Provision to support pre-emptive and reintegration activity, including reintegration and outreach. The Local Authority invites applications from suitably qualified providers who can increase our Alternative Provision offer in Medway, in the following areas: • The development of specialist knowledge and skills on SEND (Lot 1) • Pupils presenting with challenging behaviour (Lot 2) • The reintegration of pupils out of school due to a health-related need (Lot 3) • Assessment placements for a cohort of children and young people arriving in Medway through the Fair Assess Protocol (FAP) where there is evidence of very challenging behaviours (Lot 4) Lot 1: AP Training 1.1 Working with Medway’s education leaders, Medway Councils Education and Specialist Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Division is looking to roll out an extensive core offer of training to build and extend expertise in specialist education needs and disabilities (SEND), including social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) and speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) across Medway’s schools (referred to from this point on as “Education Providers”). 1.2 This Programme of training will provide the menu of support linked to the Council’s High Needs Budget (HNB) Deficit Recovery Plan and strategic priorities to improve inclusion of children and young people with SEND in mainstream education. 1.3 The training and development programme needs to be driven by evidence informed practice and be accessible by all the education providers in Medway. 1.4 The overarching aim is for all Medway Education Providers to have access to a menu of outreach training and support to develop expertise in meeting SEND needs. This programme will build and expand as a greater understanding of the school's need is known. 1.5 The training and development programme needs to be focused on providing knowledge, practice, guidance, and resources for all Education Providers. Recognising that this cannot be done in one step and not all providers are in the same position currently, the programme needs to have flexibility towards delivery and expectations. Lot 2: Outreach Support for CB 1.1 This specification relates to the commission for Lot 2 for an Alternative Provision (AP) outreach service for pupils presenting with challenging behaviour. 1.2 Many children and young people go through phases when they challenge boundaries. Often this is nothing to worry about, and most will move out of this phase given time. However, some children and young people get stuck in patterns of challenging behaviour and struggle to develop strategies they can use to feel calmer. 1.3 Persistently behaving in a challenging way is often how children and young people communicate that something is wrong - or is a sign that they may be in distress. It can not only affect a child or young person’s ability to function, but it can cause distress to others too. 1.4 Persistent disruptive behaviours are one of the most common reasons for children being excluded from school, either permanently or for a fixed period. 1.5 Exclusion isn’t effective in changing a child's behaviour and presents a critical point in reducing the opportunities and successful life chances of a child. 1.6 A substantial programme of support is often already being provided by the school, however, there will be times that access to more specialist support is required. 1.7 Medway Council is seeking a provider to deliver specialist outreach services for individual pupils who are displaying challenging behaviours. The support is to help stabilise their placement in a mainstream school and develop early intervention strategies. Lot 4: Assessment FAP referrals 1.1 When school place applications are made outside of the normal admissions round, they are considered in-year applications (School Admissions Code). 1.2 Where it can be demonstrated that all reasonable measures have been taken to secure a school place through the usual channels, a child may be eligible for referral to the Fair Access Panel (FAP). 1.3 FAP purposes is to ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible, minimising the time the child is out of school. 1.4 FAP is a safety net for the most vulnerable and should only be used for those meeting FAP protocol criteria. This includes supporting those children who may have been living as a refugee, children with special educational needs but without an education, health and care plan (EHCP), permanently excluded from other schools, those who display challenging behaviour or from the criminal justice system. 1.5 Admission authorities, school leaders and local authorities should work collaboratively in making decisions under the FAP. They should take into account the needs of the child and the views of the school where the child might be placed. 1.6 In some circumstances the full needs of a child or young person may not be fully understood and before making a placement decision, consideration should be given as to whether a child / young person has any unmet needs. 1.7 Where an admission Authority receives an in-year application for a year group that is the normal point of entry and it has good reason to believe the child may display challenging behaviour, then the child can be referred for an assessment through FAP. 1.8 Challenging behaviour as defined in section 3 of the Schools Admission Code is behaviour that can be described as challenging where it would be unlikely to be responsive to the usual range of interventions to help prevent and address pupil misbehaviour or it is of such severity, frequency, or duration that it is beyond the normal range that schools can tolerate. We would expect this behaviour to significantly interfere with the pupil’s/other pupils’ education or jeopardise the right of staff and pupils to a safe and orderly environment.