Issue - meetings

To approve the Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) Capital Strategy to ensure Surrey County Council meet their duty to provide suitable premises for the purpose of discharging its responsibility to secure suitable education for those who have been excluded or are otherwise unable to access suitable education.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & CultureSelect Committee]

RESOLVED:

1. The approach set out in the submitted report to provide appropriate Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) provision that adhered to the statutory requirements and accommodation guidelines for alternative provision to support our ambition for children and young people was noted.

2. £1m to support the relocation of the Pewley Hill PRU was approved.

3. £1m to carry out a feasibility study for long term accommodation requirements and inform a business case to be considered at Cabinet in the Autumn 2020 was approved.

Reason for decision:

The existing PRU estate was not fit for purpose and did not meet the needs of our most vulnerable leaners. The recommendations sought to ensure that the PRU settings met the minimum Department for Education space standards, were informed by national guidance on alternative provision and were suitably located within communities to appropriately meet the needs of our vulnerable learners. 

The recommendations would ensure urgent relocation of the Pewley Hill provision in the short term, (mitigating the poor condition of the current estate on the site), inform a business case to ensure that there were appropriate educational facilities in the long term, and address the wide range of pupil needs and flexibility required to manage fluctuations in pupil numbers throughout the year - including early intervention programmes to reduce exclusions. 

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee]

The Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning introduced a report that reported how existing Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) provision within Surrey was made up of eight providers (across Primary and Secondary phase and including hospital-based provision) delivered across 14 different sites within Surrey. All providers are rated Good or Outstanding as at March 2020.  PRU was an integral part of education. The PRU estate in Surrey was no longer fit for purpose and did not meet the Department for Education minimum standards or best practice guidance for alternative provision.  The proposed capital strategy underpinned the development of a revised delivery model for the education provision for pupils attending PRUs, enabling the Local Authority to meet the current need and projected future demand of some of our most vulnerable learners.

She went on to explain that the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee (CFLL&C SC) had concluded that this was a long overdue investment in the estate. 

In response to a Member query about how primary and secondary age groups were to be separated in the new development the Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning stated that the CFLL&C SC had also raised this question.  She went on to explain that whilst there was no agreed plan the spaces would be designed that each year group could work separately and would be risk assessed.

RESOLVED:

1. That the approach set out in the submitted report to provide appropriate Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) provision that adhered to the statutory requirements and accommodation guidelines for alternative provision to support our ambition for children and young people be noted.

2. That £1m to support the relocation of the Pewley Hill PRU be approved.

3. That £1m to carry out a feasibility study for long term accommodation requirements and inform a business case to be considered at Cabinet in the Autumn 2020 be approved.

Reason for decision:

The existing PRU estate was not fit for purpose and did not meet the needs of our most vulnerable leaners. The recommendations sought to ensure that the PRU settings met the minimum Department for Education space standards, were informed by national guidance on alternative provision and were suitably located within communities to appropriately meet the needs of our vulnerable learners. 

The recommendations would ensure urgent relocation of the Pewley Hill provision in the short term, (mitigating the poor condition of the current estate on the site), inform a business case to ensure that there were appropriate educational facilities in the long term, and address the wide range of pupil needs and flexibility required to manage fluctuations in pupil numbers throughout the year - including early intervention programmes to reduce exclusions.