Issue details

On 25 June 2024, Cabinet approved the investment of £500k in 2024/25 in the development of an inclusive, community-based offer of mainstream play and leisure provision for children with additional needs and disabilities (AN&D). This supports the Council’s overall ambition that “no one is left behind”, with some children currently struggling to access everyday opportunities that their non-disabled peers might take for granted. Currently around 1,100 children each year access specialist play and leisure short breaks commissioned by SCC, but these are oversubscribed, with more than 300 children currently on waiting lists. These challenges were highlighted in feedback from SCC’s Ofsted and CQC Local Area Inspection in 2023, as follows:

“Too often, children and young people with SEND and their families do not feel valued or visible in their communities. Many children and young people are unable to access mainstream after-school and holiday clubs, and these are not routinely adapted to their needs. Children and young people on waiting lists for Short Breaks programmes wait too long to access the provision they want. Children and young people in older age groups feel there is a lack of support and suitable opportunities for them, such as safe spaces or groups outside of education.”

By investing in inclusive provision, children with lower levels of need will be enabled to access other local provision that delivers improved independence and social outcomes, whilst also mitigating pressure on the existing specialist short breaks service.

The £500k funding is being allocated through a grants process, which will fund short-term pilot initiatives to rapidly test and learn about what works in delivering inclusive services in local communities across Surrey, whilst also seeking to bring about changes that have a sustainable impact on children with additional needs and/or disabilities. These pilots could include both proposals that are focussed on direct-delivery and proposals focussed on training and development to support inclusion within mainstream provision. The learning generated will inform the development of a longer-term strategy in 2025/26 and beyond.

The types of services in scope for this funding include (but are not limited to): leisure centres; sports clubs; holiday schemes; youth clubs; and uniformed groups.

The kinds of changes we are proposing to fund to support inclusion include: improvements to accessibility, lay-out and equipment (non-capital costs); staff training; tailoring of activities to meet different needs; levels of staffing; and improved range of methods of communication.

The grants process was launched on Monday 25 November 2024 and, since then, SCC has awarded a total of 27 grant awards, reaching £500k funding. These grants are funding a wide range of schemes in locations across Surrey.

Since these awards have been made, SCC has agreed a reduction in the grant given to one partner, who was unable to deliver their full proposal due to a lack of availability of suitable venues. This has created space within the grant budget to consider two final additional grant awards, which are set out in this report. These include:

·         One additional grant application for £15,000 that was received ahead of the planned third window of applications for grants, before the process was formally closed. This has been evaluated by an SCC panel and has been assessed as meeting the required quality standard.

·         An increase of £4,200 in the grant award to one of the previous grant recipients, who had originally been awarded less than the total of grant funding they applied for, due to SCC having reached its total £500k funding allocation.